UPDATE ON IRAN - Sept. 13, 2010

The Beginning of the End of the Clerical Rule in Iran

No. 700

Downfall

Sanction – Economy - Crack within regime

Downfall

Talk of removal of Iran foreign minister
Sept. 12, 2010
With the increase of the rifts among regime officials, some state-run media have talked of the removal of foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his replacement with Saied Jalili or Samareh Hashemi.
“The choices for a replacement for Mottaki will be announced by the president soon. Those close to the president are looking to replace the foreign minister and a number of choices for his replacement have been discussed including Saied Jalili and Samareh Hashemi”, a state-run media wrote.
According to Iranian media, Ahmadinejad has still not given his final opinion in this regard but is determined in changing Motakki.
“Motakki sharply criticized some measures taken on diplomatic policies and some people thought that was enough for his removal”, one newspaper wrote.
At the same time, a member of the presidency council of the Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Majlis warned that ‘removing Motakki does not benefit the government in the current situation’.

Interview with Iranian diplomat - Finland
Sept. 12, 2010
Khezr Heidari Hossein, the charge d'affaires of the Iranian embassy in Finland was the second top diplomat in the Iranian embassy. He said in an interview with Radio Farda that ‘I will not be the last person in this regime who seeks asylum (from another country)’.
He also explained that he had asked from asylum ‘to join the people, and those who protested last year’s election results’.
“We did not know what answers to give to our children. We could not come up with excuses for all these crimes and tragedies. We could not come up with excuses for all these unreasonable ideas by the government to the extent that even the Majlis is beginning to speak out and that fact that the whole system is tumbling down”, he said.
“One of my friends recently came here from Iran. I asked him what the condition of the framework of the Ministry is like. He said that 90 percent of the forces in the ministry think like you. Now if you consider that the figures are not 90 percent and only 9 percent of the forces of the ministry are not satisfied with the current political status, you should not be surprised to see cases like mine”, he said.

Disgraceful designation of mullah’s regime embassy diplomats in Finland
Sept. 11, 2010
Mullah’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, in order to cover up the disgraceful designation of one diplomat who refused to go back to Iran, said that his mission was finished in August but because of his child’s exam, he wants to stay abroad.
According to Fars news agency, Mehmanparast added: Alizadeh’s mission was finished last August. Then he asked if he can stay, until the exams in Helsinky are finished, but this will be investigated first.
The spokesman reminded that another diplomat in Norway did the same last winter.


Sanction

RGC expresses concern over regime condition
Sept. 12, 2010
With the rise of sanctions against the Iran, the regime has become very concerned. This concern can be clearly seen in the words and actions of RGC officials.
Despite the fact that Ahmadinejad says nothing threatens the regime, Iran has taken new measures that show its serious concerns. The transfer of the Command Center of the RGC Naval Forces from Tehran to Bandar Abbas and the transfer of a section of the missiles in Khuzestan to Bushehr are some of these actions. The empty threats of RGC commanders to raise the spirits of their forces are also in this framework. For example, a RGC commander announced that 100 US bases in the region are in the range of its Zalzal missiles.
Fadavi, the RGC commander of the Navy Forces said, “American battleships and foreign countries are in our constant observation”, and Safari, the former head of the RGC Navy claimed that “we have 100 battle ships for every American battleship”.
In addition to this, Bassij forces are also receiving new training to counter the new threats against Iran. New rounds of training for the so-called Ashura Battalions and also defense training for Bassij Forces are some of these measures. The increase of the budget for the Bassij up to 7 times more than before is another step taken by Iran to preserve its low spirited forces.
Expanding Bassij bases is also on their agenda. But all these measures have not been able to decrease the fear of the regime and its forces and Khamenei said in a speech last week that ‘the enemy is tying to throw the revolution to the ground with sanctions and pressures’.

Assistant Majlis speaker expresses concern over consequences of sanctions
Sept. 12, 2010
The Assistant Majlis speaker expressed concern over the consequence of international sanctions and said, “These sanctions are serious”.
According to the state-run Khabar Online Website, the assistant Majlis speaker said in a speech on September 9 that ‘issues in this resolution… are harsher in content with more limitations and the sanctions are serious”.
“We have been sanctioned on selling some matter and equipment which can have chemical, nuclear or military purposes and they have also progressed on the issue of bank sanctions up to subjecting the Central Bank to sanctions. On the other hand, the US senate has also talked of sanctions on selling fuel to Iran”.
“This resolution lacks a plan and is unsuitable and against out interests. On the other hand, the European Union has also made these sanctions more widespread. They have also brought up discussions that they want to search the boats which is actually going beyond their own boundaries”, he added.  

Iran concerned over IAEA report
Sept. 12, 2010
The Resalat state-run daily attacked the recent report by the head of IAEA and wrote: “The third report of Amano shows that what still seems like a challenge, is the continuance of the method of holding on to deviant issues or using equivocal language… in light of the fact that this report has quoted some sections of the Security Council resolution, it has damaged the technical credibility of the IAEA. This report has showed once again that double-sided reactions over the nuclear issue in Iran are a result of illegal pressures and meddling of the White House”.
This state-run daily wrote in its article entitled ‘The Special Stature of the Agency’, “The recent report of Yukio Amano, the secretary general of the IAEA regarding the nuclear activities in our country once again undermines the independence of this seemingly international organization. This report has been written in a double-sided manner to attract the interests of the US”.
The state-run Jomhouri daily wrote in an editorial titled, “US Footprint in New IAEA Report”, “The Monday report by Mr. Amano was written in such a way as though Mr. Amano has forgotten his responsibility as the head of the IAEA and is on a mission for the US. He has written things in his report that are suitable for the advancement of the grim intentions of the US in relation to Iran”.
Showing its regret over the absence of Mohammad Alberedai as the head of the IAEA this daily wrote that ‘Amano’s report is not balanced with Alberedai’s reports”.

High rates of fuel imports: Summer of 2010 seventeen times as much as summer of 2009
Sept. 12, 2010 
The Minister of Oil claimed that fuel imports were stopped from this week and that Iran was self-reliant in providing fuel. But only a day after this claim, official figures of fuel imports show a moving reality.
Fuel imports in the first five months of the current Iranian year (starting from March 24) has been more than 3 million tons and compared to the same time last year has increased 135 percent. According to official reports, in the first five months of last year, one million and 289 thousand tons of gas were imported into the country.
These figures also show that if only two percent of the weight of the country’s imports were allocated to gas imports last year, in June of this year one fourth of the weight (25 percent) were allocated to fuel imports.

High trade level between regime of Iran and China
Sept. 11, 2010
In the first midyear of 2010, the trade level between Iran and China has been between 24 to 25 trillion dollars.
Asdollah Asgar Oladi the head of trade office of Iran and china said this news: china is the first trade share of Iran. 40% of trades between Iran and China is being transferred through United Arab Emerates.
He also said that: the amount of trade between Iran and China in years 2008 and 2009 has been 26 and 29 trillion dollars.
Government media confessed that the Iran’s markets are full of junky goods and the large amount of imports of such goods has ruined production of internal goods.


Suppression

Paralyzed political prisoner returned to prison before surgery
Sep. 11, 2010
According to reports, political prisoner Hadi (Homayoun) Bakhoda who was paralyzed in the 1980’s after being shot by security forces was prevented from continuing his treatment and was returned to Rasht Central Prison.
He was granted a medical leave and sent to hospital because of his deteriorating health on orders of a legal doctor. He was prevented from receiving further treatment in the middle of his medical tests before surgery and was returned back to prison on September 4.
This 50 year old political prisoner who is suffering from spastic paralysis and neurogenic bladder was jailed in the infirmary of Rasht Prison since November 8, 2009. He was in a critical condition because of his paralysis and several other problems and was kept in inhumane conditions in the infirmary along with newly arrested drug addicts. Also the appalling sanitary, and food conditions and lack of medical treatment made his condition more critical.
Abedi was sentenced to two years of prison in the second branch of the Revolutionary Court. He was also under severe torture in the 80’s in Evin and Qezelhesar Prison on charges of supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI)...
His brother Hormoz Abed Bakhoda was executed in the 80’s for supporting the PMOI.

Iran police will deal with those who walk dogs in public
Sep. 12, 2010
The head of the Isfahan state security forces stressed that dog walking in streets is an apparent crime and said, “This phenomenon has to be seriously dealt with”.
“The people expect the police to deal seriously with apparent crimes and be resolute in this regard and when these are dealt with on time and quickly, this can result to the power of the police in the society”, said Brigadier Hassan Karami. (Kayhan state-run daily)

Student activist sentenced to five years of prison
Sep. 12, 2010
Hassan Assadi Zeid Abadi, a member of the Central Council of the Office for Consolidating Unity who is also the head of the Human Rights Committee of this student organization was sentenced to five years of prison and a one million rial (about 100 dollar) fine. According to his lawyer an interrogator was present in Hassan Assadi’s trial and made new charges against him in an illegal measure.
He was sentenced to five years of prison for four charges and about 100 dollars for insulting the president…
Assadi was arrested on November 3, 2009 by security forces and was released on bail after a month. He was once again arrested on August 22, 2010. He is currently in cellblock 240 in Evin Prison.

Children’s and women’s rights activist sentenced to five years of prison
Sep. 12, 2010
Mohammad Ghaznavian, a women’s and children’s rights activist who has a degree in political science was sentenced to five years of prison. He was released on bail after a few months of prison on a 20 million toman bail which was later raised to 100 million tomans. Ghaznavian was trialed on July 4 and it was announced to him two days ago that he had been sentenced to five years of prison.

8 Babol University students suspended from education
Sep. 12, 2010
A new round of pressures has started against student activists in Mazandaran University in the start of the new academic year.
The management and Protection Department of the Babol Science University have issued illegal disciplinary sentenced for student activists in this university. This is while these students were not summoned to the Disciplinary Committee and these sentences were announced to them when they came to university for the new semester.
Until now, five students have been suspended for a semester, three have received suspended suspensions and 10 other students have received written reprimands in their educational files.

Mashhad Political prisoner: more than 500 prisoners secretly executed since last year 
Sep. 10, 2010
After reports of secret executions in Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad were published, a political prisoner in Mashhad Prison has also disclosed these executions in a letter:
“The tragedy going on in Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad is too atrocious to describe. Section 5 in Vakil Abad Prison is the most mysterious and secret section in this prison and when international inspectors come for inspection, blankets are lined in front of the door and it is introduced as a blanket storage room and only a few people are aware of what actually goes on in there. Section 5 has four cellblocks including:
Cellblock 101: more than 500 death row prisoners who have been convicted of dealing narcotics
Cellblock 102: about 300 prisoners sentenced to retribution and 250 prisoners with other crimes
Cellblock 103: about 600 prisoners between 18 to 25 year of age with charges such as robbery, adultery, and selling narcotics
Cellblock 104: about 600 prisoners over 25 year with charges such as robbery, narcotics and adultery
In cellblocks 102, 103 and 104 there are about 200 death row prisoners who have been transferred from cellblock 101 with the approval of the Prison Protection Unit.
Cellblock 101 is the most sensitive in Vakil Abad Prison. Severe security measures have been carried out in this cellblock. Unlike other cellblocks, 101 has a two layered iron door and it is impossible to see inside of the cellblock from outside. People rarely use this door and all movements are approved by the Protection Unit. Prisoners in this cellblock are only allowed to call the phone numbers that have been pre-approved by the Protection Unit and are only allowed calls every other day for five minutes. Their death sentences are not announced to them, their lawyers or their family in a written form and they are only verbally informed in the Revolutionary Court or by an agent in prison that they have been given the death sentence. None of them know when they will be executed and until their death sentence is carried out they all have to count themselves dead. This means that before their execution, they are executed in their minds many times. In the time between July 2009 and April 2010 close to 250 people were executed in Vakil Abad prison. Sixty eight prisoners were hanged in august 2009, 40 in November 2009, 30 in January 2010, about 20 in February 2010 and in April 2010 more than 50 prisoners were hanged. This number excludes women who have been hanged in each incident from the women’s cellblock. There are no exact numbers on how many female prisoners and those who have been brought for execution from towns near Mashhad especially Torbate Heidarieh and Fariman were executed.
In August 2010, in four counts of group hangings about 70 people were hanged in each incident. In August 4, 2010, 70 prisoners and on August 18, 67 people were hanged. On the two days of July 28 and August 10, 60 to 70 prisoners were hanged but the exact numbers are still unknown”.

Student activist tortured in prison to give false confessions 
Sep. 10, 2010
Abdollah Momeni, the spokesperson of the student Office for Consolidating Unity who was arrested in the post election events and is currently in prison detailed severe torture, false confessions, a show trial and also the complete absence of judicial independence in his trial in a letter to the leader of the Islamic Republic Khamenei and requested that a truth seeking committee be established to see to these issues.
This student activist is currently serving his 4 years and 11 months of prison in cellblock 350 in Evin Prison in Tehran…
In this letter, Abdollah Momeni said he was severely beaten and was choked until he passed out. His interrogator also put his head in a toilet bowl and he was kept in a solitary cell for 86 days (in a 1.6 by 2.2 meter cell). He was constantly threatened that he would be executed, and sexually harassed. Momeni was also forced to practice his false confessions before his trial. He said that the judge on his case, Abolqasem Salavati, and other judiciary officials who were involved in his trial did not have judicial independence and that interrogators of the Ministry of Intelligence had too much influence in the court process which all show the political nature of his trial.

Iran puts more pressure on jailed dissident cleric 
Sep. 10, 2010
According to reports, on September 8, Ayatollah Borujerdi was once again verbally attacked and abused by prison officials in Evin Prison for protesting the lack of the minimum human needs and the violation of prisoners’ rights.
Prison officials said, “Why do you report prison news to the outside and do not stop propagating against the government even here?”
“Instead of animosity with this victimized government, you have to condemn the US on TV so that we could provide the conditions for your hospitalization”.
Mr. Borujerdi said, “I am not political and I only request that religion be separated from state and that is why I have been under torture in jail for years. In Iran the clerics and officials are the ones committing the crimes and not the US. You intend to kill prisoners of conscience and if the news does not get out of prison, you will kill everyone. It is your inhumane measures that have had an international reaction”.
The latest reports from prison are that the heated exchange of words deteriorated Borujerdi’s heart condition to the extent that he fell unconscious to the ground for a few moments.

Female death row political prisoner taken to hospital 
Sep. 10, 2010
Death row political prisoner Farah Vazehan (PMOI supporter)  was taken to a hospital outside of Evin Prison after she suffered severe heart problems.
Vazehan, who was arrested two days after Ashura Protests (Dec. 27, 2009) in her home, was taken to the prison infirmary after she suffered severe pain from her heart condition. She was mistreated by the personnel in the infirmary was mocked and asked why she chose this day to become sick.
After being checked, the prison medic transferred her to the Modares Hospital in Tehran to receive more treatment.

Post-election protester sentenced to 6 years of prison
Sep. 10, 2010
Nezam Hassanpour, a political prisoner who was arrested in post-election events, was sentenced to six years of prison by Judge Salavati in the 28th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
He was sentenced to five years of prison on the charges of acting against national security based on article 616 of the Islamic Penal Code and one year of prison on charges of resisting government forces based on article 607 of the Islamic Penal Code.
This 25 year old man is a resident of a village in Kouhdasht and was arrested in his village five months ago by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence with the help of Bassij forces. This is while he was kept in an undetermined state for four months in cellblock 350 in Evin Prison and his case was not seen to.
He was arrested for participating in post-election protests last year and his picture was also published in a special edition of the State Security Forces publication.
Hassanpour’s brother was initially arrested and security institutions announced that Nezam Hassanpour had to turn himself in for his brother’s release.

Ill student prisoner denied treatment
Sep. 10, 23010
The deterioration of Mahdieh Golro’s illness has made her extremely ill and her condition is critical.
This jailed student who was banned from continuing her education is suffering from intestine infection and her illness is deteriorating every day because of lack of treatment, unsuitable prison food and lack of sanitary facilities.
Golro is also suffering from severe weight loss and gets nauseous even by drinking water.
Despite this, prison officials have refused to send her to the infirmary from last Wednesday under various pretexts such as religious ceremonies and the absence of a medic.
Attempts by her family to send her the medicine prescribed by a doctor were also without result.
Her family has requested that she be granted a leave twice in the past 15 days from the Prosecutor but despite her urgent need for medical treatment and care, the Prosecutor has still not answered.
Mahdieh Golro is a member of the Council in Defense of Education and was arrested last November. Her two year prison term was upheld by a court of review. Before this, her one year suspended prison term was also added to her sentence.

Political prisoner attacked by mentally ill prisoner; mentally ill prisoners jailed in prison instead of asylums
Sep. 10, 2010
On Sunday September 4, a prisoner in cellblock 4 in Rajayi Shahr (Gohardasht) Prison attacked political prisoner Saleh Kohandel (PMOI supporter) and tried to choke him by wrapping a shirt around his neck. Kohandel was saved by other prisoners. There are many prisoners in Rajayi Shahr Prison who are mentally unstable and jailing them in hard prison conditions deteriorated their mental illnesses and not separating mentally ill prisoners from other prisoners has led them to hurt both themselves and other prisoners.
The person who tried to choke Saleh Kohandel has been recently released from an asylum and instead of being kept in a center for the mentally ill, he was sent to Public Cellblock 2 in this prison.
Prisoners have to be checked in terms of their mental health before being accepted in prison but unfortunately there are many prisoners who are suffering from mental illnesses who sometimes inflict severe injuries to other prisoners by attacking them without reason. They sit without clothes for hours in other prisoner’s rooms or sleeping places and even kill other prisoners. There have been many forgotten mysterious deaths in this prison.
These incidents are very common in Rajayi Shahr Prison in Karaj because usually ordinary prisoners are attacked and reports of these attacks never find their way to the media.

Prison official sends prison gang to take revenge from prisoner in Gohardasht 
Sep. 8, 2010
According to reports, Abbas Tavakoli Berazjani who is jailed in cellblock 6 in Gohardasht Prion in Karaj on charges of clashing with security forces was attacked by a prison gang which struck him in the left eye and left hand with a knife severely wounding him.
On September 7 at about 2 pm a number of gang members who work as informers of prison officials in cellblock 6 attacked Abbas Tavakoli Berazjani intending to kill him.
One of the assailants was Sayid Yazdani who says he is a relative of the head of this prison Ali Haj Kazem.
Despite his severe injuries and being wounded in the eye, Abbas Tavakoli has been denied treatment under the excuse that there are no specialists in the prison. His eye can get infected.
After this attack, Abbas Tavakoli was summoned to the Prison Inspection Unit this morning and was interrogated and threatened that they would make new charges against him.
His assailants who were also in the Inspection Unit office threatened and insulted him in front of the head of the Inspection Unit, Reza Torabi. But Torabi backed the assailants and told Tavakoli that he would be transferred to the notorious cellblock 1 known as the ‘end of the line’.
Tavakoli had defended and supported jailed teacher Rasoul Badaqi when he was attacked by prison guards. He had also defended jailed Baha’i leaders who were brought to this cellblock against the insults of the prison gang and stood up to the gang.
Because of defending political prisoners who were attacked by prison guards and the prison gangs, he had been threatened a number of times by Ali Haj Kazem that if he continues defending them or if he even talks to political prisoners, he would have to face the dire consequences.
Abbas Tavakoli Berazjani was arrested in a raid to his home in 2008 by agents of the Intelligence Agency. His aunt, 50 year old Soudabeh Shadpour was shot in the neck in this attack and was severely wounded. All of his family members present in his home were arrested and were severely tortured for a long time in the Shahpour Detention Center. His brother, Amir-Hossein Tavakoli Berezjani, 33, died under the brutal torture. Agents of the Shahpour Detention Center forced his mother, Mahin Shadpour to sign a paper which said that her son had died from a lung illness and that she has no complaints.
Abbas Tavakoli was suddenly taken to court on August 17 without his chosen lawyer and was sentenced to death by branch 71 of the Penal Court headed by Norollah Aziz Mohammadi on charges of clashing with security forces.


Students Committee in Iran (Supporters of PMOI)