UPDATE ON IRAN - Aug. 24, 2010

The Beginning of the End of the Clerical Rule in Iran

No.690

Sanctions & Downfall

Fuel Shortage and long waiting cues to get fuel and gas in Gorgan
August 23, 2010
In Gorgan (the northern city of Iran), people suffer from shortage of fuel, queue to get fuel and gas, expensive goods and economical problems. One of Gorgan residents says: “my car uses two kinds of fuel but the queue are more than 2 kilometers and gasoline is not enough. I am more than evolved with my living problems like paying the bills and loans, which I don’t feel that how days are passing. This is only my situation who I have about 300$ income by working hard in a private company.

Iran: Senior parliamentary deputy admits diminishing influence of Khamenei in regime
23 August 2010 
A ranking member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (Parliament) confirmed on Sunday that the mullahs’ Supreme Leader has been discredited among the various factions, adding that some are refusing to comply with his views.
According to the state-run Fars news agency, Mohammad Dehqan, a member of the presiding board of Majlis, said there are some who want to remain in the establishment yet refuse to follow the orders of the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and thus are harming the entire system.
The deliberate refusal on the part of officials to align themselves with the views of the mullahs’ Supreme Leader means that they have rejected the entire establishment, Dehqan said, adding, “These kinds of people are occupying their positions illegitimately and their salaries are not permitted in accordance with Sharia.”
Dehqan added, “Currently, the fundamentalist faction must first and foremost think of unity among officials, the three branches of government and the people. Those who disregard the need for unity would be dealing irreparable blows to the country.”
Suppression

Lockup plot for youth’s cars, rising up repression under Ramdan’s name
23 August 2010 
The Mullahs regime in order to increase the repression have setup of control points in squares and central shopping areas and they stop the youth’s cars and after getting the cars papers and documents, they transfer the cars to Police parking and they take the drivers to police stations.
Some of the reasons for arresting them are model of the hair, radio voice, ladies veil, eating or drinking.
Some of these investigation stations can be seen in west of Tehran in Ponak square and Sattarkhan.
This plot has increased more hate from the people toward the regime.
  
Mullah’s regime confessions about the dreadful situation of Khamenei’s prisons
23 August 2010 
Mehr news agency one of Mullah’s agencies declared: 20% of the country’s prisons suffer from different diseases.
Farnia added: The total annual budget of this department is 140000$, for food and clothing of the prisoners is less than 1$ per day and the health care of each prisoner is 0.24 $ per day.

Political prisoner on 39th day of hunger strike in critical condition and denied treatment
Aug. 22, 2010
According to reports, political prisoner Arjang Davoudi is on his 39th day of hunger strike and in critical health. He is in danger of death.
He is suffering from low blood pressure, and general weakness. He is almost unable to move and does his personal tasks with the help of other prisoners and he cannot stand and his vision has been impaired to a very high degree. He has also lost more than 15 kilograms and is also suffering from headaches and dizzy spells.
Davoudi has been deprived of treatment and has not been taken to the infirmary for close to 3 weeks.
All the evidence shows that interrogators of the Intelligence Agency and the heads of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj intend to physically eliminate this political prisoner. Decisions about political prisoners are made by Khamenei and announced to the Intelligence Agency via his office. Intelligence agents then give the orders to the heads of prison to carry out the inhumane measures against prisoners.
Political prisoner Arjang Davoudi, who is currently jailed in cellblock 3 known as the Worker’s Cell, went on a hunger strike on July 14 in protest to prison conditions and inhumane limitations. Davoudi has demanded his minimum rights like ending the visitation and telephone ban to his family, medical treatment for his physical condition, and ending the (illegal) seizure of his home which has made his family homeless. He has also demanded that his complaint against the head of Gohardasht Prison, Ali Haj Kazem, be dealt with.

Iran arrests several people for advertising banned satellite channels
Aug. 21, 2010
Security forces arrested a number of people working for satellite channels after getting reports that they were using a secluded pedestrian bridge near Tajrish to carry out advertising activities for this network.
These people, who were carrying placards with foolish love words in English and Farsi, were trying to film the scene from different perspectives and intended to sendp the clips to networks outside of the country. (Fars state-run News Agency) 

Christians under pressure in Tabriz
Aug. 21, 2010
Security and intelligence forces in the Eastern Azarbaijan province threaten Christians in this province by prosecution, summoning and interrogation. According to reports, in one of the last measure by security forces on Wednesday July 28, four agents of the Intelligence Agency went to the home of converted Christian Jamal Zarin Kamari, after showing a search warrant from the Ministry.
These agents confiscated his personal belongings while Zarin Karimi and his wife were out of the house. On their way out of the house with the confiscated belongings, they gave a summons without a stamp and signature issued by the Tabriz Intelligence Agency to Jamal and told him he had to go the address on the summons on August 1.
Before this, two newly converted Christians in Tabriz were accused of participating in Christian ceremonies in home churches, teaching Christian sacraments to Muslims who have converted to Christianity, attempting to baptize converted Christians and establishing and cooperation in the establishment of home churches. Initially a 200 million toman bail was set for the release of these Azeri Christians by the Tabriz Islamic Revolutionary Court but since they could not afford such a bail, they were temporarily released after the bail was lowered by the Revolutionary Court.


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UPDATE ON IRAN - Aug. 22, 2010

The Beginning of the End of the Clerical Rule in Iran

No.689

Suppression

Political prisoner details abhorrent condition of Rajayi Shahr Prison
Aug. 20, 2010
Letter of PMOI political prisoner Saleh Kohandel from Rajayi Shahr (Gohardasht) Prison: Today, 250 people have to sleep in 100 cubic meters of space and hundreds of prisoners are forced to sleep compressed next to each other on their sides and sometimes even sleep on top of each other.
About 40 to 50 people are brought to this prison every day. The new arrivals are left in prison without the minimum necessary items and it only takes a few minutes for them to realize that in order to escape the beatings and abuse, they have to become blind, deaf and mute and to give in to the hell like conditions of prison.
If they have someone on the outside to at least transfer 250,000 tomans a week to their account, they will be able to buy narcotics or have a place to sleep but otherwise, they have to give in to the derogatory conditions and it does not take long for them to either commit suicide or cut their wrists as a result of the pressure. Or they go mad and sit around in the prison yard completely nude. Every once in a while a young handsome new arrival is hunted down by other prisoners and is group raped on the first or second night. Afterwards he pounds himself to the walls in a crazed fashion. You barely find anyone who is safe from the lice and groups of people can be seen sitting under the sun in the yard looking for lice in their underwear…
Only one overflowing bathroom exists for hundreds of people…
There are old men who stink of urine and excrement from meters away and mentally ill young men who urinate on each other at night or go to the bathroom anywhere they want, whether it is in their own pants, the area where they sleep, or the praying hall.
This place is filled with young and old men who have lost hope in everything and it is as if they have surrendered to death and there is no one to save them from torments of life…
I have nothing to say to the regime and its mercenaries whose sole responsibility is to be at animosity with the people of Iran and other countries, but I have a few words with human rights organizations.
The world that you human rights activists see is completely different from the world of Rajayi Shahr Prison. You talk of human rights, but here prisoners are even deprived of animal rights. You talk about sanitary facilities but the word ‘sanitation’ is like a dream for a prisoner and is so unheard of that prisoners easily transmit the most dangerous diseases to each other. You talk of the lack of fruits and vegetables in prisoners’ diets while prisoners here have to look in the trash for a piece of bread…
Your idea of the real pain of prison is much smaller than what I see in prison and if someone has experienced Rajayi Shahr Prison, they would protest and ask me why I was not able to convey the condition of this prison in these few sentences. I ask their forgiveness beforehand because they are right.

Iran cuts tongue of Kurd political prisoner
Aug. 20, 2010
Evin Prison interrogators cut the tongue of Kurd political prisoner Matin Arjan who is from the town of Batman in Turkey’s Kurdistan and he is in danger of death in prison. Arjan suffered two brain strokes in the past year in prison and is now paralyzed in both legs. Zaki Arjan, his brother, confirmed this report and said that he has gone to Iran four times to visit his brother.
“Matin is continuously tortured and is kept in solitary most of the time. They have cut his tongue and he has not received treatment and is close to death”, his brother said.
“They asked for 20,000 Euros for my brother’s release but they not only did not release him, they threatened that if I don’t leave Iran, I will be killed”.

Man sentenced to death on fabricated charges of murder of security forces
Aug. 19, 2010
According to reports, Amir-Abbas Tavakoli Berazjani was sentenced to death by the 71st branch of the Tehran Penal Court on false charges including murdering security forces.
On Tuesday August 17, Berazjani was taken to the Tehran Penal Court without prior notice and was trialed by Norollah Aziz Mohammadi. This prisoner is detained in cellblock 6 in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj.
He was accused of complicity in the death of a security agent, 5 counts of armed and unarmed robbery, the possession of and carrying arms and ammunition, addiction and beating security forces…
The Judge did not allow him to defend himself in court…
Judge Aziz Mohammadi charged Berazjani with addiction even as this prisoner does not even smoke cigarettes…
On the same day after the trial, state-run media published false reports on Tavakoli’s trial and announced that he was sentenced to retribution (death) because of intentional murder, 10 years of prison on charges of armed robbery, and 74 lashes.
Before this, Tavakoli defended jailed teacher Rasoul Bodaqi in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj after he was attacked by security forces and was summoned to the office of the head of the prison intelligence department where he was abused and threatened.
Three agents of the intelligence agency went to the home of Soudabeh Shahpour, his mother, and after threatening her told her that she is not to mention in court that she was shot in the neck by security forces else she will be charged with apostasy on charges of becoming a Christian and will be executed. She was also threatened that they would harm her other children and nephew.
Notably on July 17, 2008, Tehran's security and intelligence agents raided the apartment of the Tavakoli Berazjani family arresting all the members of this family present at the time. Agents shot Soudabeh Shahpour, the 50 year old mother of the family in the neck. Abbas Tavakoli and his brother Hossein Tavakoli Berazjani were beaten and tortured in front of their other family members in their home for several hours.
All the arrestees were taken to this city's criminal intelligence department. Some of the people arrested were, Tan-naz Abolhusseini Ahmadi (16 year old female), Khosro Qaedi (17 years old), Mahnaba Tavakoli Berazjani (26 year old female), Fatemeh Farahani (female), Soudabeh Shahpour (50 year old female), Abbas Tavakoli Berazjani (38 years old), Hussein Tavakoli Berazjani (33 years old), and Mohsen.
The tortures inflicted on this family were as follows:
The skin of the sensitive parts of the prisoner's body were pressed with pliers which sometimes led to wounds and injuries
Toe nails were pressed with pliers
Beatings with clubs and other objects for a prolonged amount of time
Tying the hands and feet of the prisoner from the back and keeping him this position for a long time
Hanging the prisoner from the ceiling until the prisoner passed out
Depriving the prisoner of drinking water in the hot summer temperatures
The prisoner was only allowed to use the restroom twice in 24 hours
The judge handling their case threatened the female detainees with rape
Pulling a bag over the head of the prisoner while he was being tortured
Jumping on the hands and feet of the prisoner while handcuffed
The prisoners witnessed the torture of his/her family members or heard their cries while they were being tortured
Hussein Tavakoli Berazjani whose whole body was black and bruised from the torture, died in this detention center.

Political prisoner under torture for more than 90 days
Aug. 20, 2010
According to reports, political prisoner Reza Sharifi Bukani has been under physical, sexual and mental torture for close to 82 days to give a confession on television.
This 29 year old prisoner who has a degree in the French language was arrested on May 10 in Tehran by agents of the Intelligence Department of the Revolutionary Guards Forces. He was jailed in solitary in the 2A cellblock. Sharifi was physically and mentally tortured in solitary for 22 days. One of the tortures was being placed in a solitary cell for 22 days which was pitch-black both night and day. He was also tortured with electric shocks.
After 22 days, he was taken to a solitary cell in cellblock 209 in Evin Prison and was tortured there by intelligence agents for another 70 days.
Intelligence agents of the RGC tried to force him to ‘confess’ on television to later use against him in court by physically, sexually and mentally torturing him.
Sharifi did not have any visits or any contacts with his family while in solitary in cellblock 2A or 209. His family was not aware of his condition in this time.
Reza Sharifi was a member of the RGC Intelligence Agency who was arrested on charges of having email communications with a Kurd party. He has been charged with espionage and cooperation with political parties.
Sharifi has been transferred to Gohardasht (Rajayi Shahr) Prison and is kept under medieval conditions.

Jailed kickboxing instructor becomes paralyzed in prison as result of torture
Aug. 18, 2010
Hossein Armin, a kickboxing instructor was arrested after police filed a criminal record for him and was tortured to accept the charges. As a result of the torture, his spinal cord was damaged and he has become paralyzed.
According to reports, he was falsely charged with murder but with time it was determined that the charges were made because the police were not able to arrest the real culprits and because of public dissatisfaction.


Iran: Rise in the abduction of ‘street children’
19 August 2010
According to a report from Iran Press News, with the economic pressures on a daily rise as a result of the Iranian regime’s plunder and looting, the number of ‘working children’ in the streets is on the rise and families are forced to send their children to the streets for work to provide their daily necessities. This has caused crimes against children to rise, and by luring children are forced into vehicles and kidnapped.
Such crimes have risen to the point that state run news agencies are forced to broadcast several reports on it. In one case, Jahan News wrote: Ali, a small child who is seen throughout all hours of the day with his clear plastic bags of pealed nuts in the Tehran Pars intersection, told the Jahan News reporter: “Last night at around 9:30 pm, while my mother was waiting for us on the other side of the street, a big black truck stopped in front of us and pulled my sister in. I screamed so much that the man had to let my sister go!”

Iran: Suppressive forces attack and arrest youth in Tehran on bogus charges
20 August 2010 
The Iranian regime’s State Security Forces (SSF) attacked youths and passersby in Tehran’s Narmak and Tehran Pars districts, according to reports on Monday, arresting more than 50 people under the pretexts of “mal-veiling” and as “hooligans and thugs.”
SSF forces went on alert on Monday afternoon in Narmak, Haft Hoz, and Javadieh streets in Tehran Pars, patrolling the areas and arresting and beating passersby. Youths, however, resisted the violent attack and clashes ensued. SSF forces fired tear gas to combat the protests.
In Haft Hoz Street, a number of young girls were arrested for “mal-veiling.” Motorcycle riders were also attacked and a number of them were arrested and later transferred to the police station in Haft Hoz.
On Sunday, there were reports of several hours of clashes between people and the regime’s suppressive forces, with gun shots being heard, in the southern Tehran district of Ghiasi.
A number of pictures have in recent days been published on the Internet showing the suppressive agents’ attacks against youths in Iran

78 workers of a company fired in one month
19 August 2010
78 workers from the Yassan Company have been fired from work. The Yassan Company is the manufacturer of various lifting cranes located on Arak Road, south of Tehran,  Hambastegi Meli website reported.
At the beginning of the month, these workers with different ranks in the factory were fired by the management and 200 other workers of this factory are also facing the possibility of being fired.


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