Blogger Rojin Mohammadi detained

GVF — An Iranian blogger has been arrested after returning from the Philippines.

According to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, Iranian blogger and student, Rojin Mohammadi, was arrested upon her return to Iran on 14 November and taken to Evin prison.

24 hours after her arrest, Mohammadi, who studies medicine at the University of Manila, was released on bail. Five days later, security forces raided her father’s home in Kermanshah province in an attempt to detain her, however she was absent at the time. Authorities summoned Mohammadi to Evin prison for questioning on 21 November and after three days of interrogation, they finally transferred her to Evin prison on Wednesday.

The charges against Rojin Mohammadi are still unknown.

Protester wounded in 2009 demonstrations dies from wounds

GVF — Another Green Movement protester wounded during the protests that erupted following the country’s 2009 presidential election has passed away in Boston, Massachusetts following a stroke.

Alireza Miandehi Sabouri, along with millions of other Iranians also outraged by what they saw as widespread rigging in the elections, had taken to the streets of the capital on 15 June 2009 to ask peacefully, “Where is my vote?” However, like many others on that unforgettable day, Alireza’s peaceful show of protest was answered with the barrel of a gun.

In the afternoon of 15 June, when he was just nineteen years of age, Alireza was trying to help rescue fellow protesters wounded in front of the Basij militia’s Ashura base, Battalion 117, when he was struck by a bullet and fell unconscious. He was then taken to Ibn Sina hospital in west Tehran for treatment.

Although he gained consciousness at the hospital, doctors were unable to fully remove the bullet from inside his skull. “The bullet exploded inside his head, a fragment left through an eyebrow, [but] the projectile stayed inside his skull while four shrapnel fragments were stuck. The projectile was extracted during a complicated and intense operation, but the fragments remained inside,” a family member told the Green Voice of Freedom on condition of anonymity.

Months after his operations, Alireza continued to suffer from numerous physical and psychological complications. He would experience recurring seizures either at home or on the street.

“We still have all of the evidence and Ali’s documents which show how they shot him in the forehead. The side-effects were due to the fragments in his brain. The two complicated brain operations led to his premature death,” the close relative explained.

Eleven months after he was first wounded, Alireza, accompanied by the family member, left Iran for Turkey to seek medical treatment through the UN office there. However, despite family pleas to relocate him to Germany where some of his relatives reside, the UN officials in Turkey rejected the family’s calls and instead decided to send Alireza to the United States. “We told them [the UN] time after time that he should be in Germany, close his relatives who could take care of him. But as usual, the UN completely ignored our calls and sent him to the US,” the family argued.

Nearly 900 days after being shot, Alireza Miandehi Sabouri died at the tender age of 22, 6,000 miles away from home in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was buried. “He passed away in a foreign land in silence and loneliness,” the family member continued. “He was treated unjustly both in Iran and abroad. We couldn’t take our complaint to any organisation.”

“You don’t know the fire that burns me from within, maybe you’re able to understand me. But at the very least you can write the truth [about Alireza] so that the world can know what they’ve done to us and how they’ve treated us. Everyone knows that Alireza was innocent, just like the many thousands of youth who were on the streets on 15 June. He was very innocent and did not deserve this.” 

Alireza had five older sisters while his only brother had died during Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq. It is also said that his father was reportedly close to the Iranian regime and did little to improve his son’s poor health.

“The death of Ali is not the death of a single person. For me it has a universal meaning. I hope that I can one day say what I have not yet said … I am filled with pain,” the relative told us.

While the exact casualty figures from the 2009 anti-government protests are still unknown, the tragic death of Alireza Miandehi Sabouri 2 ½ years later is yet another reminder of the brutality and heartlessness exercised by the Iranian regime in quelling dissent.

Baha’i Citizen Farhood Eshtiyagh Incarcerated for the Past 5 Months

Farhood Eshtiyagh has been in prison since June without an arrest warrant. According to the Human Rights House of Iran, he is held in Mashahd prison after 4.5 months of detention.

he is suffering from heart problems and Guuillain-Barre Syndrome. The judicial authorities prevent his release.

In October, his arrest warrant was extended twice. He was granted prison visits twice during this time and his children are awaiting his release. His family has traveled to Mashhad several times in order to follow up on him.   

'Iranian prisons holding 8 times maximum capacity,' says official

GVF — Prisons in Iran are currently overcrowded as much as eight times their maximum capacity, according to a report by the reformist Shargh daily.

Describing the poor prison conditions in the country, the newspaper said that in some cases, some 800 inmates were being held a single prison whose maximum capacity was 100 detainees.

“The country’s prisons can hold up to 55,000 inmates, but there are currently more than 220,000 prisoners,” says Iran’s head of Prisons Organisation. Less than three months ago, Gholamhossein Esmaili announced that since he took over as the country’s prison chief a year and a half ago, the number of prisoners in the country had risen by 55,000.

Citing a member of the Iranian parliament’s judicial commission, the newspaper said the condition of some of the prison complexes made them “inoperative,” raising the vulnerability to diseases under poor hygienic condition.

“At the moment, the number of prisoners is four times the capacity, and in some places, the number of inmates is as much as eight times bigger. This means that in a prison that can hold up to a hundred detainees, 800 are being held. This is something we can see in smaller cities,” Yousefian told Shargh.

While acknowledging the need for more prison space, he asked “with the changing laws on a global scale, is there really a need for so many prisoners?”

According to Shargh, on 30 April, Younes Mousavi, another member of the judicial commission of the parliament, voiced similar concerns regarding overcrowded prisons, claiming that some prisoners were forced to sleep in prison corridors due to a lack of space.

Brother of slain protester Kianoush Asa detained

GVF — The brother of Kianoush Asa, one of the protesters slain during the clampdown on anti-government protesters in 2009, has been detained.

According to opposition website Jaras, Aziz Daneshvar Asa, has been arrested and is currently being held by the Revolutionary Guard in Kermanshah. It’s still unclear why Aziz had been arrested, the family told Jaras.

Agents from the Revolutionary Guard reportedly went to Asa’s house on Friday and summoned him for a “number of explanations.” Nevertheless the family allege that “Aziz went there at 9:30am and never returned home.”

On 15 June 2009, Kianoush Asa, Aziz’s younger brother, was killed during massive protests in Tehran against the results of Iran’s disputed presidential election. The family could not identify Kanoush’s body until eight days later. He had been shot twice.

Thus far, the family’s efforts to identify Kianoush’s killers have been futile.

Since his tragic death, the Asa family, have been continuously harassed and intimidated by the authorities. Despite being summoned numerous times, this is the first time that Aziz has been imprisoned, the family explain.

Mehdi Mahmoudian was transferred from Rajaee Shahr Prison to a hospital

Mehdi Mahmoudian, an imprisoned journalist and member of the Participation Front political party, was transferred from Rajaee Shahr Prison to a hospital in May 2011 and will undergo surgery Thursday morning. In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, a source close to the prisoner who asked for anonymity for security reasons said, “Mehdi suffers from serious blood pressure fluctuations and keeps having seizures. Only since yesterday have the doctors been able to stabilize his blood pressure. He will undergo surgery on Thursday. Finally, a whole year after his illness and his requests for treatment, the Tehran Prosecutor gave him permission to leave prison.”

Mahmoudian, one of the individuals responsible for disseminating information about the events at Kahrizak Detention Center, was arrested on 16 September 2009 at his home. He was initially detained at Evin Prison, but was moved to Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj. Mahmoudian was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion against the regime.” He wrote a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader about the horrific prison conditions, including the occurrence of rape, at Rajaee Shahr Prison.

“When he was in Evin’s Ward 209, on many nights they sent him to the prison yard without any clothes. This was in December when it was very cold and he spent many nights until morning under the rain. He developed respiratory problems since then and complained numerous times, asking to be sent out of prison for treatment. The Evin Prison infirmary did not even give him medicine. After a while the prison guards wanted to transfer him to a hospital with foot cuffs, but he did not agree to being transferred like this,” the source told the Campaign.

“Mehdi’s situation kept worsening in Rajaee Shahr Prison, until finally last May they transferred him to the hospital. According to the doctors, he has lost a large part of his lung capacity and there is nothing that can be done for him. He will have to live with his half lung now. But since last December, he also developed a fluctuating blood pressure, to the point where several hours each day he would lose consciousness. Prison doctors said that he needs an immediate brain scan and must be immediately transferred to the hospital, but in order to leave the prison he needed permission from the Prosecutor. It took nine months to receive this permission. His transfer was further delayed for a month because they wanted to take him to prison with foot cuffs and Mehdi resisted this, until the prison authorities agree to transfer him without foot cuffs,” the source added.

According to this source, many political prisoners at the Rajaee Shahr Prison are also suffering from poor prison conditions.

“The political prisoners’ ward of the Rajaee Shahr Prison has 30 rooms that are 2 square meters each and are situated along a large corridor. There are no exits at the beginning or end of the corridor, and the prisoners have no contact with each other. This ward houses 60 political prisoners who are forced to spend 21 hours a day next to each other in a cramped space without any connection to the outside world. During the day, the prisoners are allowed only three hours of fresh air. In the cold and hot seasons the time spent outside is during the coldest or hottest times of the day, during which most prisoners do not want to leave their cells. Also, contrary to the procedures that allow prisoners to write to their families twice per month, none of their letters ever reach their families, and after several months the letters are returned to the prirsoners undelivered,” the source said. Many of the political prisoners at this prison have remained unidentified, and up until now the media had not spoken to their families, according to the source. The prisoners are subjected to extra mistreatment and harassment. Many have been beaten and insulted by other prisoners and prison authorities.

The source told the Campaign that prison authorities have commissioned prisoners to beat imprisoned student Ali Ajami many times, causing black bruises under Ajami’s eyes and on his face. Prison authorities not only failed to investigate his complaints but they transferred him to solitary confinement after he complained.

The source added that Issa Saharkhiz, also imprisoned in Rajaee Shahr Prison, is not in good condition and has been assaulted by the other prisoners many times. Previously, prison physicians told him that he might have cancer and that he must be tested for it, but it took three months before he was taken for testing. “Rajaee Shahr Prison is well known to be the worst prison in Iran, but apparently they have made the conditions even worse for political prisoners. They have made a hell inside another hell for them.”

“The prisoners have no in-person visitation, and if they ever are lucky enough and get a visit, in reality it is a behind-the-wall visit, meaning they are not allowed to shake hands or kiss their visitors, something similar to a cabin visit,” the source said.

Aliakbar Javanfekr was arrested for 1 year prison sentence and....

Javanfekr

Aliakbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad's media advisor and Head of IRNA, Islamic Republic News Agency, Iranian Government's Official News Agency, was arrested this morning by security forces trying to enforce the 1-year prison sentence against him issued by Iran's Judiciary. But Javanfekr's entourage apparently scuffled with security forces and there were reports of tear gas fired and several people arrested. There were also conflicting news about the whereabouts of Javanfekr but latest news indicate Javanfekr has been released upon involvement by Ahmadinejad and pressure on Judiciary.

Javanfekr's indictment was on the surface related to an old article about Chador, the black garment veil imposed by traditionalist Islamic scholars on Iranian women. But his most recent interview with Etemad Publication, is cited by observers as the main reason for Iran's Judiciary taking actions against him. In his interview, Javanfekr had warned Ezheyee and other powerful conservative clerics in the Judiciary to "practice silence" before it is too late and their secrets are revealed and "beans are spilled" by Ahmadinejad!

Iranian Judiciary is controlled by conservative clerics close to Iranian leader. During the recent $3 billion embezzlement scandal, Ahmadinejad and his team stood up against accusations by the Head of Judiciary (Ayatollah Larijani) and his brother the Speaker of Iranian Congress (Ali Larijani).

Iran's leader Ayatollah Khamenei has been at odds with Ahmadinejad who had said earlier this year he would break his silence if the "red lines" are crossed. He has defined "red lines" as arrest or harassment of any of his cabinet members or advisors.

U.S. human rights abuser using PSYOP against Iran:

U.S. human rights abuser using PSYOP against Iran: Shocking torture video proof

Examiner – Three hours ago

US manipulating Iranian human rights to justify committing worse violations against it Countries responsible for the most human rights accusations against Iran rank first in the list of human rights violators if their performances are examined in a fair and impartial manner Iranian Foreign Minister spokesman Tuesday, citing United States , crimes against Palestinians, and crimes of torture and inhumane behaviors that U.S. civil and human rights groups also condemn. The Obama administration is manipulating Iranian human rights record in a ...

One month since his arrest, Houman Fakhar remains incommunicado

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On October 14 plainclothes agents who were verbally aggressive and did not have a warrant, violently arrested activist Houman Fakhar.

More than one month has gone by since the arrest of this children’s rights activist, but there is still no news of him. Since his arrest, he was able to make one very short contact with family only saying that he is well.

A family member who went to Evin prison inquiring about his situation was told that Houman’s name is not on the list of prisoners being held there.

Houman Fakhar was previously arrested on February 17, 2011 and he was on temporary release after paying his bail. Houman Fakhar is a 32-year-old electrical engineer from the Netherlands residing in Tehran and serves as secretary of European Association of Education. He is now behind bars incommunicado.

Iran's Human Rights Case Might End Up at the Security Council, Says the UN ...

Omid Memarian

Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, believes that if Tehran does not cooperate with his mandate and continues on the current path in ignoring international mechanisms to monitor the worsening human rights crisis in the country, Iran's human rights case might eventually end up at the Security Council by UN member-states.

In an interview I conducted with him in New York, he responded to my questions on his interactions with the Iranian officials, the reason a special rapporteur was designated to Iran, and different scenarios ahead of the Iranian government if it decides to pursue its current path.

Mr. Shaheed is currently working on a comprehensive report on the country's human rights situation to be presented this March before members of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Iranian authorities have consistently rejected Mr. Shaheed's requests to enter the country and have not responded to any of the issues that were raised in his interim report to the General Assembly last month.

Excerpts from the interview follow:

Have you received any positive signals from any Iranian officials over the past few weeks?

Well, no. There was a very public statement made by the Iranian delegation in the 3rd Committee before the eyes of the entire world that Iran was willing to cooperate by providing the information that was needed for my report. That is a very positive statement, and I'm hoping that Iran's concerns that the mandate is politicized against them are addressed. It is up to me to convince them that this is not the case. I'm looking at ways to demonstrate that to the Iranian authorities, and if I can perhaps do that, maybe they will move towards more cooperation.

What if the Iranian government decides to continue its current path and refuses any communications with you? How will you then pursue writing your report?

Well, I think if Iran does not communicate with me again, there will again be a situation where I will be presenting a report based on the information that I was able to gather, in a very objective, transparent, and rigorous fashion, which I am sure the world community would find as objective, sound and balanced. But then it would lack the space for Iran to communicate its views to me. Therefore it would be a missed opportunity for Iran to have their views reflected in my report.

My work will continue. I will be able to produce a report, because many among the Iranian diaspora and the Iranian NGO network are actually very active in documenting issues and cases, and presenting the material that are addressed in the mandate with very sound evidence. So, I am not basing my work on hearsay, I am basing my work on first-hand testimonies, established evidence, and things that can be scientifically proven to be logical research on the subject.

What would be missing from my report would be my representation of the perspective from the Iranian government in its own words as to why things are the way they are. In the absence of this cooperation, the pressure on Iran will mount to respond to this, and it would perhaps become far more difficult to come back later and try to explain it. It is far easier and more productive for them to explain this as we go along, and to work with me to try and find the confidence that things in Iran will start to improve.

What is the next step? Does Iran have the capacity to be introduced to the Security Council in the months to come, regarding the dire human rights situation the Iranians are facing now? 

The rapporteurs do not report to the Security Council. The rapporteurs only have the capacity to report to the Human Rights Council. Members of the Council will determine what happens to Iran as it concerns its conduct vis a vis the mandate. Member states' concern about Iran will only increase and heighten if Iran does not cooperate. If Iran is cooperative, then the confidence that the processes in place are working will stop the next [escalation] steps.

What's your personal opinion on this?

For me, it is still premature to talk about what will happen afterwards. I think we must be careful. I know the frustration is out there. But we must be careful to give this mandate time to work. I must say that I do not regard the country mandate as a punitive measure, therefore these are not a series of measures against Iran. This is the start of a process that we can hopefully work through peacefully and collaboratively. If that ends and there is a further deterioration in the situation in Iran, then it's up to the members of the world body what other steps to take. But as a mandate holder, my view is that the most effective mechanism of this lies in working with the government of Iran.

So, there is a potential, technically and in terms of procedures, that if the Iranian government does not cooperate, it has the capacity...

It is not up to the rapporteur to go the General Assembly on that. It will be up to member states to determine if, and only if, there are no more options left. I do believe that having a rapporteur, having a monitoring body for Iran, having visits to bring forth communications, if there is substantial cooperation from Iran, there will be sufficient grounds to believe that things can improve. But if Iran undertakes other measures, then there is a whole different scenario. Between now and March is a very long time. I would like to show people that I do not begin my work with the threat of tentative measures at the end of it.

Not a threat, but the other scenario.

Speculation about that other scenario should not come from me, because I should remain focused on trying to work with the government. But I think this is something for the Human Rights Commissioner or the Human Rights Council to see what options they would be willing to explore if this current metrology does not work. It is not appropriate for me to determine when my work ends; that would be self-defeating.

Some in Iran ask why the Human Rights Council does not assign a special rapporteur for the U.S.? After all, we have seen a lot of human rights violations in this country.

There are countries that have self-correcting mechanisms that do occur. If there is sufficient faith that the Judiciary of a country is independent, then a lot of concerns of the human rights activists are alleviated. The ultimate safeguard for human rights abuse is a professional, independent, and sound Judiciary. Now, if there are serious questions about the U.S. Judiciary, then, yes, we begin to have worries about that, because it means that the mechanism of redress is not there. If countries have their own, built-in redress mechanisms, then a lot of the concerns disappear. If you look at the indices on different bodies on their freedom, you can look at where U.S. is, it isn't at the top, but it is among the top.

There are many countries at the bottom that invite rapporteurs into their countries. Countries at the bottom usually have rapporteurs assigned to them. So, there are certain indicators that show you whether this country has a self-correcting mechanism to address grievances or is the country really in the grip of the situation where there is no knowledge about the abuses, there are no records available of them to address the issues, and then you have a concern.

What kind of self-correcting mechanisms?

For example, an independent Judiciary -- a Judiciary that is effective and is professional and people have faith in the way it works. Often times the faith in the Iranian Judiciary is very low. There is a widespread belief that there is no independence of the Judiciary, and that there are many problems with the appeals processes. Another would be a national human rights institution, national watchdogs on human rights.

You mean non-governmental?

No, this would be government watchdog that are independent. There is something that is called the Paris Principle that sets out the structure of such bodies, the most important thing is that they should be independent. They should have sufficient funding. They should have the ability to look into a case and even bring about prosecutions. So, if these mechanisms are working, then you don't need to have an extra mechanism. And there are also international mechanisms, which can again support this.

Now, in Iran there are allegations of torture in prisons. There is a mechanism to address this. Iran could participate in the Convention Against Torture, and under that, participate in the Optional Protocol to the CAP Convention that has a voluntary UN special mechanism. It is called the SPT, Subcommittee of Prevention of Torture. The Subcommittee sits in Geneva. That Subcommittee is mandated to visit countries of their concern. They will come to a country that has signed that Convention and has already agreed. They can come when they want to. They can go to any prison they choose to visit, they can meet with people, and have their recommendations implemented.

If this was done, you would have a non-politicized, free-standing mechanism. Another self-correcting mechanism is free and fair elections that enable people to hold governments accountable on their practices. If a government is repressive, oppressive, and it is violating people's rights, then you won't reelect it.

Your mandate was created through a resolution at the Human Rights Council with a vote of 22 in favor and only 7 countries against. Yet, the Iranian government keeps insisting that this is a western plot, and that western countries drive your mandate. What is your response to the Iranian allegation?

Well, other countries have not articulated Iran's position. I presented the report on Iran to the 3rd Committee of the Assembly, where there are 193 members. It was a very chilling report, a hard-hitting report in many aspects. Of course, the Iran delegation had issues with it, and they accused me of being selective, outdated, and partial, and they did point out that it did not include the points of view of the government, because they didn't give it to me. I was surprised that no other delegation echoed those words. If this was a politicized, western, or geographic or cultural tool against Iran, there is still a very large number of groups within the world body who would point that out. The western group is a very small group. Why didn't the entire body pick up against this? This is because many believe there is a legitimate case for Iran to talk about. I think it is an easy argument to make in Tehran to accuse the accountability demands as a western demand, but I think in human rights cases, it would be important to move beyond that mindset and look at issues as they are presented.

There are multiple crises involving Iran at the UN level. How will you make sure your mandates remain independent and are not repeated by political conflicts at the UN level, such as the nuclear issue and for example the assassination plot?

Well I believe that this other noise is in fact a distraction. It does impede the focus on Iran's human rights situation. I would be very careful in not joining these agendas. In my work, I am not concerned about the nuclear issue. The question about the plot, again, this is not about human rights in Iran and my work must stay clear of these issues because my focus is to look at the situation of Iranian nationals and see how their situation can be improved in relation to human rights.

What does Iran have to gain by cooperating with your mandate and letting you into the country?

What Iran can gain by cooperating with me is being able to represent their views in my reports. See, if you only speak to one part of the picture, then the other part will be under-represented. I can only project the other parts with great difficulty. It will not be as accurate as it could be. So if the Iranian government cooperates with me, they would have a bigger opportunity to have their views and concerns reflected in my report.

By talking to me I will get more familiar with their perspective and concerns and I will reflect them in my further report. I will not ignore the government's perspective in the reports I produce. By letting me into their country, first of all, they are sending a very strong signal to the world that the government has nothing to hide; that the government is committed to investigating things that are going wrong.

No country has a perfect record. No country is free from criticism. No country is beyond reproach, but those countries that admit to their issues have a better chance of addressing them than those who deny those issues. So, by cooperating with me, the government of Iran will have a better chance to have their perspective reflected; they can have a better chance of convincing others that Iran is serious about addressing the difficulties it has on the international front.

Another argument by the Iranian Government is that Iran has been picked selectively to have a special mechanism. In your evaluation, why does the situation in Iran require a special mechanism for a special rapporteur?

The first thing to remember is that we should not consider the establishment of a special rapporteur to be a penalty to a state. Not every country regards it that way.

There was a time when countries regarded a review of their case to be a penalty. There was a time when the countries regarded a proposal for a visit by a human rights reporter to be a penalty. But it no longer is the case. All countries are reviewed in the UPR process and now when a Special rapporteur visits, it is no longer seen as a sign of trouble.

A field rapporteur cannot pay too much attention to a country's peculiarities because they are looking at the global trends, but a country's mandate holder will have the time, the space, and the interest in understanding and looking at the country's cultural and social contours and see the solutions in that framework.

Iran did say at the UPR review last year, that they will voluntarily implement over 100 recommendations. That means Iran is a country willing to work. Now, to give credence to their willingness, [they should] work with the rapporteur. So, where are they on this? And if this mission comes through me, I'm sure many will gain confidence that, yes, Iran is serious about working towards implementing them.