Monday, February 15, 2016

NEWS))))))

Iranian regime banned Valentines Day in Iran!
The Department of Public Places issued a directive banning shops from allowing gathering of girls and boys and giving dolls, flowers, chocolates, etc. as gifts.
The Union of Fruit Juice, Ice Cream and Coffee shops of Tehran issued the directive to counter promotion of Western culture about the Valentine's Day. The union announced that violation of this rule will have consequences for the business units.




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Supporters of political prisoner Mohammad Ali Taheri rallied on Tuesday, February 9 in Tehran protesting Iranian officials’ refusal to release him from unjust imprisonment. Taheri has served his 5-year prison sentence and was scheduled to be released on February 7th. Human rights activists were also seen in this rally, including former Tehran University dean Dr. Mohammad Maleki. Mohammad Ali Taheri is currently on an indefinite hunger strike and based on reports a group of his followers have joined in and began their hunger strikes.


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A year since the young Iranian ethnic Arab identified as Hamze Hosseinzadeh (Asakere) was abducted by the infamous Intelligence Ministry (MOIS/VEVAK) from his residents in the city of Mahshahr, southwestern Iran, there is no information of his whereabouts.
Hamze's family has throughout the past year sought information about their son at the Iranian regime’s judiciary offices and intelligence bureaus in Mahshahr and the capital of Khuzestan Province. However, to this day all of their efforts have been futile.
A year ago Hosseinzadeh had trampled an Islamic republic flag and a few days later he was abducted by plainclothes agents in a city street. He is 17 years old.


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More than 800 Hashooni Mine workers in the city Pabedana in Kerman province, Central Iran started their 3rd day of strike on Saturday, February 13. Hashooni Mine workers are demanding their unpaid paychecks from the past 4 months.
The workers shut down the mine’s main gate and continued their protest from there.


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Three hospital workers from Khatam Hospital in the southern Iranian city of Iranshahr were exiled to the town of Nik-shahr, a long distance away from their home and family. These 3 workers protested the decision through an open letter to the authorities demanding the reversals of this decision.
Bijar Zehi, one of the exiled workers said in this letter 'we are innocent. Our crime was to say don’t feed the patients in dirty and unsanitary dishes. Our crime was to say why a patient’s wound must get infected and filled with worms. Why would a patient has to stay weeks in hospital, because his family is unable to come up with the money? And why a student has to miss his school and classes for more than a week, just because his parents are unable to produce the discharging fees? These have been our crimes for which we have been exiled to a town far away from our family and home.

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According to Iranian resistance on Feb. 11, a group of mothers of martyrs and political prisoners staged a protest rally in Tehran expressing their support for two family members of these political prisoners. Simin Ayvazzadeh, Omid Ali Shenas's mother, and Hashem Zeinali,  Saeed Zeinali's father, both appeared in court recently. The mothers of martyrs and political prisoners held tracts showing their solidarity with these two individuals.
Sho’le Pakravan, Reyhane Jabbari's mother (26-year-old woman executed for defending herself against rape); Shaheen Maheenfar, Amir Arshad Tajmir's mother (murdered by state agents during the December 2009 uprisings); Akram Neghabi, Saeed Zeinali's mother; Houri Golestani, Behnud Ramezani's mother; Mansoure Behkeesh; Asanlu's mother; Shahnaz Karim-Beigi, Mostafa Karim-Beigi's mother (murdered by state agents during the December 2009 uprisings) all took part in this rally.

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On Friday, February 12, a conference entitled, 'Firm Policy on Iran, Supporting Iranian Resistance', was held at the office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, north of Paris with a number of British MPs, officials and dignitaries.
Right Honorable David Jones, former senior secretary, President of the International Parliamentary Campaign in Defense of Ashraf and President of the Parliamentary group for a Free and Democratic Iran, presented a declaration signed by 200 members of British Houses of Parliament to Mrs. Maryam Rajavi president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
In her address to this conference, Rajavi applauded the British MPs’ declaration and said: Some in the West claim that doing business with Rouhani will lead to the regime’s moderation, while Rouhani is no different from Khamenei and has been involved in all the regime’s crimes over the past 37 years. But even if he were any different, he does not have much authority within the regime. Therefore, every contract signed with Rouhani is a helping hand to the mullahs’ Supreme Leader. At least half of Iran’s GDP is controlled by Khamenei and his Revolutionary Guards Corps. Therefore, most of the contracts signed with Iran are actually signed with companies that are affiliated with Khamenei or the IRGC. And the IRGC spends this money on terrorism and war in Syria and ultimately threatens the very security of Europe.
In addition to Rt. Hon. David Jones, Sir Alan Meale, Vice Chairperson of the Socialist Group in the Council of Europe; Lord Tony Clarke; Jim Fitzpatrick MP, former Minister of State for Farming and the Environment; Mark Williams MP; Toby Perkins, MP, senior secretary and Shadow Minister of Defense; Dr Matthew Offord MP; Mike Freer MP; Martyn Day MP, representative from the Scottish National Party; and Mrs. Clair Offord, Attorney, were among the participants and speakers at this conference.

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Merchants of a large fish market in the city of Sari, northern Iran closed their stores partially or totally at 8 am Tuesday, February 9 for nearly one hour. This was the second consecutive day that these store owners staged such a strike.
Following a new law imposed by the regime for fishermen that has decrease their profits, many fishermen have gone on strike calling for the revocation of this law. According to this law the fishermen must have registered fishing cards and pay certain fees as tax.

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State -run ILNA news agency reported Feb. 7, that Vahideh Negin, an adviser of women’s affairs to the minister of trade, labor and social ministry, shed light on increasing unemployment amongst women in Iran. “Today, Iranian women still do not enjoy adequate conditions regarding social activities and according to social welfare indexes,” she said.
“Currently unemployment amongst women is twice that of men,” Negin added.

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The Iranian regime is set to launch a new wave of executions on the brink of the Iranian calendar New Year (March 21st), according to a number of prison guards in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran. Prison officials have informed death row prisoners that the regime didn’t want Rouhani’s trip to Europe to face a massive wave of global protests. However, following these developments they will re-launch a wave of executions, specifically seeking to carry out these executions before the New Year when the media is busy covering other issues, in order to stir less protests, gain a limited amount of media coverage and raise lesser international pressure, the prison guards added.

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On Feb. 8, the Sanandaj “revolution” court has summoned Dr. Mokhtar Hashemi to appear before court in reference to maintaining his connection with and protecting a local natural water fountain. Dr. Hashemi has in the past few years been very active on protecting the environment of the Kurdistan region (western Iran) and saving the Bel fountain, and this recent measure by the judiciary is most certainly related to his activities.
During the construction of the Darian Dam and the catastrophic consequences, a plan – supervised by Dr. Hashemi – was convened to save the Huraman area and especially the ancient Bel fountain.
Dr. Hashemi has a PhD in construction and management of water resources from Newcastle University in Great Britain.