Sunday, December 04, 2016

NEWS))))))

Syrians in different cities took to the street against bombing and killing of the people of Aleppo. In a act of solidarity with the Syrians the supporters of the Iranian resistance in different cities around the world held demonstrations on Friday and Sat. Dec. 2nd and 3rd, in Norway, Denmark, Romania, Berlin, Paris, Cologne, Sweden, Hamburg, Ottawa and Toronto to name a few condemning the genocide of the residents of Aleppo. They demanded an stop to killings of Syrians. In Ottawa the Iranian-Canadians chanted: Down with Khamenei (the Iranian regime's supreme leader), Down with Assad, Shame on Putin.

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The Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a statement on December 2, condemning the Iranian regime's clampdown on female, Kurdish political prisoners, Afsaneh Bayazidi and Hajar Piri, in the Central Prison of Kerman. Intelligence agents raided the cell where Afsaneh Bayazidi and Hajar Piri are detained in the Central Prison of Kerman and confiscated some of their personal belongings.
The NCRI Women's Committee called on all human and women's rights organizations and authorities to join it in condemning harassment of women imprisoned in Iranian jails on political or security charges. The Women's Committee also urged an international initiative to effectively stop the Iranian regime from pressuring female political prisoners.
The two Kurdish women are accused of disseminating anti-government propaganda and acting against national security, but are held on internal exile among ordinary criminals in the Central Prison of Kerman. Intelligence Ministry forces raided their cell on November 28 and confiscated their belongings while using foul language to humiliate them.
Hajar Piri, 33, has been imprisoned since November 2007 without any leave day. She is sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Afsaneh Bayazidi was sentenced to four years in prison in September 2016, and banished to Kerman's Central Prison.
The two prisoners are accused of support for and membership in opposition Kurdish parties but are detained with dangerous and common criminals charged with drug trafficking.

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In a joint statement published on December 2, forty-two student groups and associations demanded unconditional release of political prisoner Narges Mohammadi who is very ill.
In protest to the Judiciary's injustice and fraud of the officials, the statement reads in part: "How is it that the punishment for Nargess Mohammadi is more painful than the punishments given out to those who have pillaged the country's wealth and properties, adding to the suffering and problems of our people."
The students have also stressed, "Narges Mohammadi paved the path of righteousness to give new life to her people and society at the expense of herself being deprived of living in this society and among her people for 16 years. Her cause is like a seed planted in our minds and we will water it to bear fruit. We, students, seek to build a future that guarantees human dignity and respect. And we demand unconditional release of Narges Mohammadi."
The student associations who signed this statement were from some of the most credible universities of Tehran as well as universities from all across the country including Semnan, Mazandaran, Hormuzgan, Kerman, Qazvin, Shahr-e Kurd, Birjand, Damghan, Lorestan, Lorestan, Shiraz, Zanjan, Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz, Orumiyeh, Sistan and Baluchistan, Arak, Kashan, Rafsanjan, Golestan, Ahwaz, Yasouj, Boroujen, Birjand, and Shahroud.

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Civil activist and defender of children's rights Atena Daemi sent a letter out of prison after she was arrested and taken to Evin Prison on November 26, protesting the corrupt Iranian Judiciary that leaves real criminals, namely the officials and government affiliates who issue death sentences, embezzle money and rape children, at large but imprisons human rights activists and advocates of children and women's rights. She wrote: "They attacked our house today, November 26, 2016, while I was not raping any students, or embezzling, or issuing a death sentence for anyone. I was simply sleeping! My parents were on a trip.

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Aliyeh Motallebzadeh, a women's rights activist and photographer, in a phone call to her family informed them that she was detained in Ward 209 of Evin prison.
Ward 209 is run by the Intelligence Ministry (MOIS).
She has been detained for five days, but she said she was not aware of her charges, yet. Ms. Motallebazadeh's lawyer wrote a letter to the Minister of Intelligence on December 2, demanding to be informed of the charges of her client. He also asked the ministry to observe his client's rights.

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For the second time in recent months, five prisoners detained in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj have been deprived of visiting their relatives. Their relatives are also prisoners, detained in the women's ward of the Evin Prison. This is said to be a reprisal for the men who refuse to wear the prison uniform and the handcuffs and shackles. The names of the prisoners are:
Political prisoner Reza Akbari Monfared whose sister is Maryam Akbari Monfared;
Political prisoner Hassan Sadeghi whose wife is Fatemeh Mossana;
Baha'i prisoners of conscience Adel and Shamim Na'imi whose wife and mother, Elham Farahani, is detained in Evin;
Baha'i prisoner of conscience Payman Koushk Baghi whose wife Azita Rafizadeh is detained in Evin.
In another development, the Iranian judiciary has issued a ruling to evacuate and confiscate the house belonging to the imprisoned couple Hassan Sadeghi and Fatemeh Mossana.  They have two children. The couple's properties had already been confiscated before they were arrested, but now their only remaining property which is their house is going to be evacuated and confiscated while both of them are in prison.

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According to the State-run Fars news agency, Nov. 8, the commander of the paramilitary Bassij in Lenjan announced that a number of people had been arrested for supporting an outlaw group.
Hojatollah Safarpour told reporters that four women and 14 men who support the mystic group of Erfan-e Halgheh, including two leaders have been arrested.


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Gold retailers in the city of Gorgan, northern Iran, went on strike and closed their stores on Sunday, November 27th, protesting tax embezzlement imposed by the cabinet of Iranian regime's president Hassan Rouhani.
“Gold retailers have been protesting tax embezzlement imposed on the added value, and today a decision was made to show our protest and make our voices heard for the decision-makers,” a protesting gold retailer said.
It is worth noting that on Saturday, November 27th the gold retailers of Zanjan, Qazvin and Khoram-Abad went on strike protesting similar tax embezzlement measures.
All gold retailers in Zanjan were closed on Sunday and written messages placed on the stores saying they were closed due to added value taxes.
Half of the gold retailers in the markets of Qazvin and Khoram-Abad went on strike on Saturday, November 26th, protesting recession and tax embezzlement, eyewitnesses reported.

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Ahmad Montazeri described a ruling issued by the special clerics court sentencing him to 21 years behind bars and stripping him of any clergy authority as “ridiculous.” He said: “If I feel I have a duty, I will take action. It depends what conditions we will be in the future and if it is suitable to unveil the files or not. If I go to prison these files may be published even sooner. I don’t know. Time will tell what decisions will be made,”.
Iranian regime's judiciary, the special branch of 'Special Clerical Court (SCC)' on Sunday, November 27, sentenced Mr. Montazeri's son to Prison and defrocked him, according to Montazeri's website.
Mr. Ahamad Montazeri, son of the late Ayatollah Montazeri was sentenced to 21 years of harsh prison term and was also defrocked for posting his late father's audio tape criticizing the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. He has been charged with 'acting against the National Security', 'posting classified documents' and 'Propaganda against the System.'
According to Mr. Montazeri's website, he has to actually spend 6 years of this sentence in prison.
Ahmad Montazeri has also been defrocked, but since according to the mullahs' rules, he is the son of a martyr, the sentence would be suspended for 3 years.
The exposing of the audio tape with the voice of Ayatollah Montazeri harshly criticizing a number of officials which were known as 'the death squad' stirred a huge storm inside and outside Iran among the international community and human rights defenders.
It also created a large scuffle inside the government's apparatus and has been continued to date. Issuing this sentence would undoubtedly stir a major controversy among the rulers of Iran in the war of wolves between the two factions.