News on Human Rights in Iran
Iran shoots and kills two young Kurd tradesmen
June 23, 2010 - Two young Kurds were killed in the ongoing pressure of regime forces against Kurd tradesmen. According to reports from eastern Kurdistan, on June 11 in the Valeh Sour Alia Village, security forces opened fire on two Kurd tradesmen killing Samad Hassanpour, 20 and Jamil Rashidi, 18. (Norouz TV)
June 24, 2010 - According to reports, Mrs. Samadi, the daughter in law of Mansour Osalu, the jailed head of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company was kidnapped by three agents of the Intelligence Agency and was violently tortured.
On Wednesday, June 23 at about 5:30 pm, while Zoya Samadi was going home from work and got off at the Karaj Metro Station, she was violently attacked by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence. These agents pulled her by her hair and beat her. Samadi cried out for help and told other passengers that she was Osalu’s daughter in law but these agents taped her mouth shut to prevent her from crying out.
She was then taken to an unknown location with a car. These agents shackled, blindfolded and tied down in a cell and subjected her to beatings for a long period of time.
She was mostly struck in the face and head and her head was pounded on the wall a number of times. The signs of torture are clearly evident all over her body. She sustained cuts in her gum, injuries in her teeth, bumps on her head and injuries and cuts in her hands and right foot. Her whole body has also been bruised as a result.
Agents shouted and threatened while beating her that she had to pledge that when Osalu was released from prison, he would not carry out any activities.
After hours of torture and abuse, they dumped her tortured body at about 9:45pm under the Seyed Khandan Bridge and left the scene. They also threatened that she was not to file a complaint and should not talk to anyone about the incident or she would have to face the consequences.
After 24 hours, Zuya Samadi is still in shock and has not returned to a normal mental state.
Police ‘deal with’ students instead of ‘troublemakers’
June 24, 2010 - Three students of the Central Tehran Unit of the Free University were insulted and humiliated and temporarily arrested on charges of ‘harassing women’ while they were talking in their car.
Criminal records for harassing women were filed for these three students who are political activists in the Free University.
These students who went to the Central Tehran Unit with a science committee scholarship are forced to go to the free university in their original cities.
Political prisoner barred from going to mother’s funeral
June 24, 2010 - Taha Ahmadi, a Kurd political activist went on a hunger strike in protest to a measure by prison authorizes which banned him from going to his mother’s funeral.
According to the regime’s own rules, when a family member of a prisoner passes away, he/she can participate in his/her funeral.
But prison authorities refused to give Taha Ahmadi this right. He went on a hunger strike from June 23 in protest to this measure.
This political prisoner who suffers from kidney problems has requested a medical leave several times but officials have not allowed such a leave as yet. He has been charged with cooperating with Kurd parties. (Kurdistan News Agency)
Iran top human rights official: flogging is not torture
June 22, 2010 - According to the Secretary of the Human Rights Staff of the Judiciary, methods like flogging have been considered torture in the Human Rights Conference while according to Islamic rules, flogging is a punishment and not torture. He also said that according to the constitution, torture in banned in Iran and therefore there is no torture in Iran, only punishment. (Radio France)
325 politically active people arrested in one month in Iran
June 22, 2010 - In the 31 days of the month of Khordad (May 22 – June 21) according to evidence, 325 citizens were arrested for political activities or protesting against the government.
From the beginning of the month of Khordad, arrests have increased and on the first anniversary of the presidential election (protests), a large number of protesters who came out on the streets were arrested.
According to this report, 206 citizens, 69 students and student activists, 9 Kurd activists, 8 Azeri activists, 5 people who followed a minority religion, 5 journalists, 4 political activists, one human rights activist, one women’s rights activist and 13 other people who included a teacher and a head of university were arrested under various excuses.
35 Qazvin University students receive disciplinary sentences for political activities
June 22, 2010 - Thirty five Qazvin University students were given heavy disciplinary sentences by the Disciplinary Committee in this university.
Details of the sentences are still not known. This is while a large number of students from this university were suspended from education and a number of others were arrested and sentenced to heavy prison terms last June.
According to reports, four professors and five students in this university were arrested after June 2009. It seems they were arrested for participating in protest gatherings after the presidential elections last year and in protest to the killing of protesters.
Student activist sentenced to 6 years of prison and flogging
June 23, 2010 - According to reports, Arash Sadeqi, a student activist from Alameh Tabatabayi University who is also a member of the Youth Branch of the Participation Front was sentenced to six years of prison and 74 lashes by the 26th branch of the Revolutionary Court on charges of assembling and conspiring against the government and spreading propaganda against the government.
Arash Sadeqi was sentenced to 3 years of prison for a previous case related to Student Day events and his current sentence is related to his arrest on Ashura (December 27, 2009).
Arash Sadeqi told his friends on his New Years leave from prison that he was beaten and that he sustained injuries in his right shoulder for the second time.
More than 1,500 people arrested for improper veiling and immoral behavior
June 23, 2010 - The social assistant of the State Security Forces announced that from the start of the Chastity and Veiling Plan, 1,524 people were arrested.
“Sixty-seven percent of the detainees were between 16 to 20 years old, 31 percent were between 21 to 25 and 13.8 percent were between 26 to 30 years old”. (ISNA state-run News Agency)
Baha’i man sentenced to more than 4 years of prisonJune 23, 2010 - Afshin Iqani, a Baha’i man from Semnan was sentenced to 4 years, 3 months and one day of prison.
He was sentenced to four years of prison for ‘creating groups with the intention of disrupting the security of the country’. It has been stated in the sentence that any activity related to the Baha’i faith is illegal therefore these activities are only carried out with the intention of disrupting the security of the country. He was sentenced to 3 months and one day of prison for spreading propaganda against the government and advertising and promoting dissident (Baha’i) groups.
Iran Students Committee (Supporters of PMOI)
