Sunday, November 28, 2010

NEWS))))))

UN Rights Chief Warns Of New ‘Crackdown’ In Iran

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay highlighted the case of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who staged a hunger strike for several weeks after her arrest on September 4. A spokesman for Pillay, Rupert Colville, said other cases included a defense lawyer for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose pending death sentence by stoning sparked international protests. Lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei has been granted political asylum in Norway after fleeing Iran.

In Iran, new Bassij unit set up to control cyber space

According to National Council of Resistance of Iran’s statement, the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is using 1,500 of its paramilitary Bassij forces to control Internet use in Tehran. According to the IRGC’s commander in Tehran, Hossein Hamedani, the group will be named “cyber warriors.” He added that they will increase their activities in the near future. According to reports, the Irainian regime has faced a multitude of severe roadblocks in its attempts to confront the activities of Iranian youths over the Internet. The IRGC’s commander in Tehran said, “Defense in the context of soft war is doomed to fail. So, one must attack instead.” He also revealed that the regime intends to set up a new division of Bassij to control religious minorities. The new group will be called “Bassij of Minorities.” According to this statement at the same time, Mullah Naser Makarem Shirazi has expressed worries about low morale among Bassij units, saying, “We must be aware of the damages to Bassij. Otherwise, the current Bassij will be different from the one in the past.”

Iran: People in ZarrinShahr set ablaze Bassij force motorcycles

On November 20, a motorcycle from the Bassij (paramilitary forces) office of the Amir al-Momenin Mosque in ZarrinShahr was stolen. According to witnesses, during the past week a number of brand new motorcycles were handed out to Bassij members of the mosque, and by traveling back and forth with these new vehicles, the Bassij members intended to show off and create an atmosphere of fear among the people. The locals took one of the motorcycles and set it ablaze a few blocks down the road.