UPDATE ON IRAN - Aug. 26, 2010

The Beginning of the End of the Clerical Rule in Iran

No.691

Sanctions & Downfall

Sanction and Crisis in Economic Situation of Iran

Plastic Factory of Kian tyre
Situated in Saveh –ChaharLang road with 1200 workers, this factory due to repression and pressures which was manipulated on workers is a critical factory, which in different occasions many protests took place. These facts were repeated in this factory over and over again. The latest protest gathering took place on 19th of August this year by 400 workers seeking for their unpaid salary of 5 months since the year 2009 and unpaid lawful premium since 2007.  All of these are happening in the hot days of Ramadan and in the situation of living under poverty line. The manager of this factory called Sharafi who is one of the government’s relatives, has done nothing to consider or change the situation of this factory.

Industry Company of Azarbaijan
Based in Tabriz, in the past it used to produce agricultural machinery with combine is now faces crisis. The remained workers of this facture are about 70. They have not been paid since 5 months ago and they have not received their unpaid salaries of last year.

Neopan Company of Ahwaz 
Based near cane complex in the old road of Ahwaz- Khoramshahr  - Salary of 7 months of more than 800 workers of this company have not been paid. This company was built in 2001 and used to have about 1500 workers and it was same as other critical factories.

Tabriz car making Factory
Now this factory is divided into three departments of car making and Industry Company and one other. The industry company is facing problem due to not having any sale and is in crisis.  One of the employee’s of this company said that car making department because of lack of نقدينگي and also problem of providing parts from foreign countries is facing downfall and crisis. For example they used to use electrical pipes made in America, now they have to get it from Turkey with less quality which high prices and by long time of preparation.

Chinandegan company of Marand
This Company produces incombustible bricks and their materials, and has 800 workers. These workers despite hard works have not received their salary for more that 4 months and they are facing with many living problems.

Varaghkaran Company 
110 workers of this company have not received their salary for more than 3 months.
This company is in Eastern Azarbaijan in Tabriz city. The workers of this company are asking for their unpaid salaries but they don’t get any reply.

Pipe making workers of Khuzistan- 
22nd of August 2010, more than 80 workers of this company gathered and asked from the representative of Ahwaz city in parliament, and other authorities for 17 months unpaid salary and raised they voice and protests against them.
Workers shouted "Ramadan month came but our salaries didn’t come Rights should be taken and we will do that".

Carpet and blanket factory of Tabriz-
 This factory started in 1976 and in the year 2000 it had more than 475 workers. After privatizing it faced crisis and started to expel the workers and now it has 65 workers. This factory due to lack of materials is in the verge of closing down. The original materials and strings used to be imported from Turkey, which now is impossible because of sanctions.

Shoe factory and manufacturing workshops of Tabriz
Due to the sanctions and not entering foreign goods and high price of original materials, workshops and manufacturing units can not continue to produce shoe and these sections are facing with closing down such as Jaroobi and Azin shoe.

Mullahs' judiciary confirms suspension of three officials linked to infamous detention center
24 August 2010
The Iranian regime’s General Prosecutor on Monday confirmed reports that three judiciary officials linked to the heinous crimes committed at Kahrizak death camp have been suspended from work.
Gholamhossein Ejei added that the case of crimes committed by the regime’s agents at the University of Tehran’s dormitory is also being investigated separately.
During the unprecedented nationwide protests against the ruling theocracy, suppressive forces rounded up scores of demonstrators and placed many under cruel torture. Some of the detainees were transferred to the infamous Kahrizak detention center later dubbed as the Kahrizak death camp. A number of the detainees died under torture there, provoking public outrage which forced the regime to “launch investigations” as a way to deflate the growing protests.
The announcement of suspension of three judiciary officials comes as three of the fathers of victims killed by the regime at Kahrizak declared that they will not rest until justice has been served for their sons. The fathers are Abdolhossein Ruhol-Amini, Ali Kamrani, and Ali Javadifar.
The three officials have not been identified yet, but a well-informed source who requested anonymity said they are Saeed Mortazavi, Hassan Haddad and Ali Akbar Heydarifar.
There were complaints already filed against Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran’s former prosecutor, who had rejected all allegations related to Kahrizak against him. The case was reopened several weeks ago at the regime’s courts.
On June 30, following a closed hearing in February regarding the allegations against 12 suspects in the Kahrizak case, Tehran’s military tribunal announced that 11 have been convicted and one has been freed due to lack of evidence.
Four young men are known to have lost their lives under cruel tortures by the regime’s agents in 2009 in Kahrizak detention center. They were Mohsen Ruhol-Amini, Mohammad Kamrani, Amir Javadifar, and Ramin Aqazadeh Qahremani.
According to the state-run Fars news agency, Ejei also made reference to the violent attack by regime agents against the University of Tehran’s dormitory, saying, “This case is being investigated at Tehran’s military prosecution office. It is also monitored by the head of the judiciary and a 3-member panel. The investigations are going very well.”


Suppression

Iran hangs three drug traffickers: report
Aug 23, 2010
Iranian regime has hanged three men, including an Afghan, in the central city of Isfahan.
The Iranian men, identified as Akbar Z., 33, and Hamid Reza H., 28, and the Afghan Shah S., 38, were hanged on Sunday in a prison in Isfahan (state run Kayhan Newspaper).

Female student activist sentenced to another year of prison
Aug. 23, 2010
Another year of prison was added to the prison term of student political prisoner Mahdieh Golroh.
“What we were afraid of finally happened and the suspended one year prison term for Mahdieh was carried out”, her husband Vahid Lalipour said.
According to the Evin Prison Court, Mahdieh Golroh was sentenced to three years of prison which consists of two years of prison and a one year of suspended prison.
This is while only one day after the one year suspended prison term was announced, Mahdieh was arrested and in this short time, she did not commit any crimes and also the sentence was not effective when she was arrested. Therefore, the sentence is illegal in practice.

Reliable Source Reports Of Group Executions Inside Mashad’s Vakil Abad Prison
Aug. 24, 2010
An informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that over the past few months, the Iranian judicial authorities have ordered the hanging of over one hundred individuals inside Mashad’s Vakil Abad Prison. According to this source, most of those executed were sentenced based on drug-related charges and the executions continue. “Last Wednesday 68, people were hung and over the coming weeks the executions will continue,” said the source.
The source stated that the number of individuals on death row inside Vakil Abad Prison’s Wards 101, 102, 103, and 104 as well as the Quarantine Ward is “in the hundreds.” The Campaign refrains from publishing the reported statistics pending confirmation from other sources. The Campaign asks the Iranian judicial authorities to be accountable regarding news about the weekly group executions of drug-related convicts and to provide exact statistics about events taking place inside Mashad’s Vakil Abad Prison.
Sadegh Larijani recently wrote a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, asking him for directions about what to do with the convicts, the source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
In order to verify the accuracy of the reports about the executions of drug-related criminals in Mashad, we asked Ahmad Ghabel, a theological researcher and a student of the late Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. Ghabel was arrested immediately after Mr. Montazeri’s death on 20 December 2009, and served 170 days in prison before he was released on bail. The Campaign asked Mr. Ghabel whether he was aware of similar executions during his imprisonment at Vakil Abad Prison. “I never saw any of these prisoners up close. I never tried to see outside my cell through the door or the window, but I heard the news. Soldiers are people just like you and me and they transfer news. I learned through news I received during fresh air breaks that 50 people were executed during the 170 days I was there,” said Ahmad Ghabel. He told the Campaign that though he doesn’t have direct information about the executions of individuals under the age of 18, he does remember hearing the prison guards talking about two youths under 18 among those executed.
“Inside our ward, Ward 6/1, in addition to cells where prisoners would serve their long prison terms, there were also suites where those on the death row would be brought a few hours before the execution. The situation would change so drastically, everyone would know a death-row inmate was inside the ward. All doors would close and if this was during the times when prisoners could make telephone calls, the lines would be disconnected. Even other prison authorities could not move about at this time, because Ward 6/1 was directly managed by the prison Intelligence Unit,” added the theological researcher.
“I have not conducted my own research on this, and I have been following the media news about it. Unfortunately, I have no access to my ex-cellmates, either. All I know is that the families of those executed read the number [of those executed] on the forms when they came to take the bodies. I think it is fair to say that these facts are undeniable. Prison guards and other prisoners are also members of the society and people like to talk about events like this, spreading the news. Especially as events like this are not unprecedented in our country,” said Ahmad Ghabel about news of 70 executions over the past few days.
The Campaign asked Ahmad Ghabel whether it is conceivable for such a large number of prisoners to have death sentences. “It is quite customary to have people with death sentences remain in prison for a long time,” Ghabel replied.
“People convicted of murder get the death penalty, but their families are given time to seek the forgiveness of the victims’ families and to attempt swapping the death penalty with diya [blood money]. Also, there are people who are sentenced to death because of carrying illegal arms, but they also have a prison sentence which they must serve prior to the execution. As we speak, there are hundreds of people inside prisons who received their death sentences several years ago. Even inside Ward 1/6 where I was serving, there was an individual who had been in prison for 13 years for illegally carrying. He had a death sentence, too. Another case is another suspect I was handcuffed to one time when returning from the court. His charge was possession of 70 kilograms of crystal meth and while serving a long prison term, he had also received a death sentence,” he added.
The source who provided the Campaign with detailed information about the group executions of Vakil Abad Prison said that the death row convicts are held inside Ward 6 of the prison which is under the oversight of the prison’s Intelligence Unit. Each month there are two sets of executions and in each set between 30 to 40 individuals are hung at once. “For example, between September 2009 and May 2010, almost 150 people were executed, but there was only one public announcement about the executions of five people on 3 April 2010. But on that date 35 people were executed, eight of whom were women,” said the source.
Other information received by the Campaign indicates that the frequency of mass executions has increased from twice per month to four during the recent month. Sources say total number of people executed is between 60 and 70. “There are hundreds of people on the death row inside Mashad’s Vakil Abad Prison,” another source said.
According to the said source, on the days when group executions are to take place, Vakil Abad Prison’s telephone lines are cut off. Ward 6/1 does not have public telephones and prisoners are only allowed short telephone calls once or twice per week.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran expresses its deep concern about the ambiguous conditions and statistics of executions offered by various sources and their discrepancies with the numbers announced by officials. The Campaign demands accountability and clear information about the group executions inside Vakil Abad Prison and other prisons in the country. (International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran)

Two abducted Kurd citizens announce their arrest by security forces after 20 days 
Aug. 24, 2010
Dalir Rouzgerd from Saqez who is a geology graduate from Tabriz University and Ghias Naderzadeh from Paveh who is a Tabriz University graduate were arrested by intelligence agents in Kurdistan.
According to reports, 20 days after their disappearance, a recent phone call indicated that they were detained. Afterwards, security forces went to the home of Dalir Rouzgerd and confiscated some of his books and personal belongings.
Notably, these two men were the founders of the Zagros Center in Tabriz University.
There are no reports on their charges and condition and security forces refuse to give information on their condition.

Iran kills prisoner in Orumieh prison; grieving mother self immolates outside of prison 
Aug. 24, 2010
On Sunday August 22, an ordinary prisoner in the Central Orumieh Prison was killed under torture in a solitary cell.
According to reports, Bahman Massoudi died after a prison guard identified as Khanzadeh struck him on the head with a baton.
After his family heard of his death, the mother of this prison doused herself in gas and set herself on fire yesterday outside the main door of this prison.
There is no information on how severely she was injured or her health.

Zanjan University dean sacked by Ahmadinejad ally
24 August 2010 
 The mullahs’ Minister of Science has dismissed a prominent university professor who chaired the Post-doctorate Physical Sciences University in the city of Zanjan.
Professor Yousef Sobouti was the founder of the current educational accreditation system in Iran and the architect of a famous observatory in the city of Shiraz. The Abu Reyhan Birouni Observatory, which was built in 1978, is the largest active observatory in Iran.
In the past 19 years, Dr. Sobouti has prevented his university from becoming a haven of the Iranian regime’s paramilitary Bassij Force and the intelligence service.
He was dismissed by Kamran Daneshjou, the Iranian regime’s Minister of Science. Daneshjou was the head of Ahmadinejad’s campaign office during the June 2009 sham presidential elections. He famously announced Ahmadinejad’s victory in televised remarks before the votes were counted.
Some media outlets in Iran have repeatedly questioned Daneshjou’s credentials saying that Ahmadinejad appointed him as Minister of Science as a reward for his services during the presidential campaign.
Daneshjou appointed Rasoul Khodabakhsh as the new dean of the Zanjan university, asking him to endeavour to educate “law-abiding students using an outlook respecting values and spirituality.”
According to the state-run Fars news agency on Monday, during Professor Sobouti’s farewell ceremony last night, students demanded that he be allowed to return to the post.
Picture: Professor Yousef Sobouti

Political activist on hunger striker put on trial
24 August 2010 
 The Iranian regime on Sunday tried a political prisoner on the fortieth day of his hunger strike, according to Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran.
Political prisoner Houshang Davoudi was summoned to a court chaired by Salavati.
Mr. Davoudi reportedly had trouble walking on his own but had very high morale and condemned the regime’s rights violations and injustices, saying that Iran is a country that has no laws or proper due process.
Mr. Davoudi’s family had no prior knowledge of the trial. The regime sought to exploit the deteriorating health of Mr. Davoudi on his fortieth day of hunger strike to put him on trial.
Picture: Iranian regime's notorious judge Salavati

Two political prisoners banned from calling family in Evin Prison
Aug. 24, 2010
Political prisoners Hengameh Shahidi and Hossein Marashi have been banned from using the telephone in prison.
According to reports, Hossein Marashi has only received one prison leave since March even as according to the law, a prisoner who is serving his/her time can go on a leave five days a months after serving one month of prison and has to be able to see his family in person once a week for at least 20 minutes.
This former Vice President only has visits from behind a glass partition which barely last 15 minutes and is banned from using the telephone to call his family.
According to other reports, Hengameh Shahidi has been banned from using the telephone from 11 days ago.
This jailed journalist was arrested after election events and sentenced to six years and three moths of prison. Political prisoners in cellblock 350 are also still barred from using the telephone.

Brother of slain student says he did not commit suicide 
Aug. 24, 2010
The brother of Mohamamd-Javad Porandakh broke his silence after one year on the eve of the anniversary of his brother’s death and announced that Mohammad-Javad did not commit suicide and that his family suit against agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and the judge presiding over his case has so far been without result.
Mohammad-Javad Porandakh was a chemical engineering student at the Isfahan Industrial University who was summoned to the Isfahan Intelligence Agency after students in this university protested election results. His body was found two days after he went to the Intelligence Agency.

Iran arrests two student activists
Aug. 23, 2010
Hassan Asadi Zeid Abadi and Ali Jamali, two members of the Central Council of the Office for Consolidating Unity were arrested on August 22 in Tehran.
Security forces arrested Zeid Abadi, the head of the Human Rights Committee in this organization in his home and Ali Jamali, the head of the Political Committee was arrested in his place of work.
Currently a number of the top members of this organization including Ahmad Zied Abadi (Secretary General), Abdollah Momeni (spokesman), and Ali Malihi (head of Public Relations) are in prison.
Hassan Asadi Zeid Abadi was arrested before this on November 3, 2009 and released about 40 days later on December 13.
He was trialed on August 3 in the 28th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court by Judge Moqiseh on charges of ‘assembling and conspiring against national security, propagating against the government, disrupting public order and insulting the president’. This court has yet to issue a verdict.

Iran arrests another Christian in Rasht
Aug. 21, 2010
Hamed Pishkar, a Christian living in the town of Rasht, was arrested on August 16 n his home for holding a session to answer questions (on Christianity) and carrying out religious rites.
Security forces initially conducted a search in his home and then took this Christian citizen to an unknown location.
In the past few months, there has been increased pressure on Christians in Rasht. Davoud Nejat Sabet and Shahin Taqi Zadeh who were both caretakers of the Church of Iran in Rasht were sentenced to one year of suspended sentence which can be carried out within five years.
Yusef Nodrkhani, another Christian has been jailed in the Lakan Prison in Rasht since last September waiting for his sentence to be issued.

Students Committee in Iran (Supporters of PMOI)

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