UPDATE ON IRAN - Nov. 23, 2010

The Beginning of the End of the Clerical Rule in Iran

No. 729

Student’s Day (December 7)

Call for widespread strikes on Student’s Day (Dec. 7)
Nov. 21, 2010
On the verge of Student’s Day in Iran, a group of students in Tehran University issued a statement and called on all students to join the strikes across Iran on December 6, 7 and 8.
Student activists stressed that ‘in the past year, we witnessed the blatant actions by the government including the murder of our compatriots in street demonstrations; scandal in Kahrizak Prison; violent attack against Tehran University dormitory; forced confessions from jailed activists; the arrest and detention of thousands of people; executions and hundreds of other illegitimate actions”.
They asked all student associations and activists to participate in their widespread strikes and cry out for freedom so that both tyrants and freedom lovers in the world would hear their cry.
“We ask all those who read this statement to publish it in their websites, weblogs and social networks and in distribute them in universities and dormitories and aid us in spreading this important message”.


Downfall

Head cleric admits that Iranians hate clerical rule
Nov. 21, 2010
Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts, cited the fact that the people hate the clerical rule of the mullahs and said, “Creating rifts among clerics is one of the actions of the enemy which leads to the people separating themselves from the government which provides the grounds for separating oneself from religion”.
“Today, some people are looking to carry out this theory and advocate an Islam without politics which is in line with the separation of religion from state, and the departure of clerics from politics which means that efforts of religious clerics in the past centuries would be wasted”.
“Today enemies approach religious authorities and lie to them to the point that the religious authority becomes neutral and after some time by being presented false information, he feels that he is in the middle of the anti-revolutionary field.”
“They bring this issue up to lie about clerics to the people and say that in Iran, only one sector of the society rules over all the other sectors”.


Crack within the Regime

MP undermines Rafsanjani in increasing rifts in government
Nov. 21, 2010
Rasayi, a member of the parliament from Ahmadinejad’s faction cited remarks made by another parliament member that ‘the united front of the fundamental (pro-Khamenei) movement stretches from Ahmadinejad to Hashemi Rafsanjani’ and said, “In light of the actions of these two personalities, this issue is like us believing that two parallel lines meet, because we believe that unfortunately Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani failed in last years seditions and is still not even willing to announce his separation from the sedition and the sedition movement still depends on him and has not lost hope in him. Therefore, with his actions in the past years, especially last years seditions, Mr. Hashemi cannot be a unifying side in the fundamental (pro-Khamenei) movement”.

Iranian regime changed 6 heads of universities in Tehran
Nov. 21, 2010
Ahmadinejad's government has changed 6 heads of universities in Tehran. These universities are:
Tarbiat Modares, Sharif Industrial University, Khajeh Nasir TosiUniversity, Arts University, Teacher's Training University, and the Industrial University (Electricity and water).


Economic Situation in Iran

Regime deprives families of political prisoners of cash subsidies 
Nov. 21, 2010
The Ahmadinejad government has refused to transfer cash subsidies to the bank accounts of political prisoners and their families.
The family of a political prisoner said, “When families of political prisoners or recently released political prisoners go to register in the Smart Subsidy Plan to receive the cash subsidies, they are banned from registering”.
“We had registered from before but when we went to the bank we realized that the money had not been transferred to our accounts. The amount which was announced would be transferred to the bank account of the guardian of a family was not transferred for the families of political prisoners”.
The Iranian regime wants to put more pressure on political prisoners and their families in this way. This is while the transferred cash subsidies are not usable.


Resistance

People in Isfahan torch Bassiji motorcycle
Nov. 20, 2010
On Saturday, November 20, a motorcycle which belonged to the Bassij Offices in the Amir Almomenin Mosque in Zarin Shahr was stolen.
According to eye witnesses, in the past week, a number of new motorcycles were given to Bassijis in this mosque and they showed off the new motorcycles by constantly riding them trying to create an atmosphere of fear. People in this area stole one of these motorcycles and burned it a few streets away from the mosque.

Angry Khuzestan Pipe Factory: death to despots 
Nov. 20, 2010
On Saturday morning (November 20), more than 250 workers of the Khuzestan Pipe Factory gathered outside the Khuzestan Governor General offices in Ahwaz in protest to not receiving their wages for 18 months and promises that were not kept by officials regarding the reactivation of the factory. According to reports, they were not given any answers until 9:30 am. The angry workers chanted “Governor General support us, support us” and “death to despots”. This gathering was still ongoing when this report was given.


Suppression

Minister of Higher Education threatens university heads with expulsion to tighten control over universities 
Nov. 21, 2010
The Minister of Higher Education said, “The heads of universities have always been told that anyone who does not implement the regulations of the Ministry of Science (Higher Education) has to go”.
“I believe that not implementing the regulations of the Ministry of Science is an excuse for universities to leave the (controlling) area of the government but it has to be noted that we believe that universities are independent but are not separate islands from the government”, Kamran Daneshju said. (Fars state-run News Agency)

Iran takes 15 year old boy hostage as ransom for brother
Nov. 20, 2010
The eldest brother of Mohammad Saber Malek Reiesi, a 15 year old Baluch boy who was taken hostage 14 months ago by the Ministry of Intelligence asked human rights activists in a letter to do their best to save his brother’s life.
Mohammad Saber was arrested along with two of his other brothers because his eldest bother Abdolrahman was not willing to cooperate with the Ministry of Intelligence. Intelligence agents went to their parent’s house and told them that if they did not hand in their eldest son, they would execute their three sons in prison.
This letter given to Human rights in Iran reads in part:
I am the eldest brother of Mohammad Saber Malek who was arrested on September 24 while he was with his smaller brother in the Ali Ebn Abi Taleb Hospital in Chabahar. He has been kept in a state of limbo for 14 months in the detention centers of the Intelligence Agency in Zahedan.
Ministry of Intelligence agents have constantly called my family and demanded that they turn me in as the condition for releasing my smaller brother and my family in under psychological pressure. Because of these threatening phone calls by the Ministry of Intelligence, my elderly father is in a dangerous physical condition.
All these threats and mental pressure on my family is because I was not willing to cooperate with the Ministry of Intelligence who wanted me to be spy for them in sessions of the Sunni clerics and the people of Baluchistan. I left the country for security reasons…
After my family and the headmen (in their region) pursued this issue, my two brothers were released after four months on a 70 million toman (about 70,000 dollar) bail but my smaller brother was not released. The Ministry of Intelligence is harassing my family to put me under pressure to turn myself in.

Iran expels female student from university because of religion
Nov. 20, 2010
Arezu Samimi, a Baha’i student at the Science and Industrial University in Behshahr was expelled from this university for ‘following the Baha’i faith’.
This student’s religion has been registered as Islam in the official website of this university but after she followed up and protested this issue to correct her student information form, heads of the university expelled her.
The expulsion of Baha’i students from university is ongoing while the heads of the Ministry of Higher Education have denied the existence of ‘students who have been expelled because of their religious beliefs’ and those ‘who have been banned from education’.


Students Committee in Iran (Supporters of PMOI)