Lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani sentenced to 18 years in prison and exile to the city Borazjan

Abdolfattah Soltani , award winning human rights lawyer, was detained on September 10, 2011 and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin prison. Judge Pir-Abassi presiding over Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court handed down an 18-year prison sentence that has been announced to Abdolfattah Soltani’s lawyers. In addition to the prison term, this human rights lawyer was handed a 20-year ban from practicing law.

Human Rights House reports that the sentencing stemmed from the charges of “propaganda against the regime,” “co-founding the Defenders of Human Rights Center [with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi]” and “assembly and collusion against the regime.” In addition he was charged with “accepting an illegal prize” and “illegal earnings” stemming from the prize.

The mayor of Nuremberg, Germany awarded Abdollah Soltani the Nuremberg prize for Human Rights in 2009 and his wife accepted the reward on his behalf. The Nuremberg Prize has been awarded yearly to a human rights activist since 1995.

Abdolfatah Soltani, born on November 2, 1953, is a prominent human rights lawyer, a member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center and serves on the board of directors of the Bar Association. During his tenure as a lawyer he has defended cases with issues of human rights violations for many including political activists, students and journalists.

Soltani had been arrested before in 2006 and spent 209 days in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin prison. He had pled the cases of scientists accused of spying on Iran’s nuclear program and charged with espionage. He was subsequently charged with “illegal divulgence of secret and confidential information” of one of his clients.

At that time Soltani was also defending the cases of journalists Akbar Ganji and Zahra Kazemi. Ganji had broken stories of government officials involved in the murders of intellectuals and journalists in the 1990’s. Zahra Kazemi was an Iranian-Canadian journalist who was tortured and died in custody in Evin prison in July 2003. The intelligence agent charged with being responsible for her death was acquitted and with Soltani’s help, her family was in the process of appealing to a get a new enquiry started.

Amnesty International said it believed that false charges were brought against Soltani in order to obstruct him from practicing his profession and intimidating other lawyers from pursuing human rights cases.

The lower court in the 2006 case presided by Judge Mortazavi sentenced Soltani to 5 years in prison. However after spending 209 days behind bars, the Court of Appeals struck down the sentence and handed Soltani a full acquittal.

Soltani was released with no apology, admittance of wrongdoing or retribution from the Justice Ministry. His efforts to have judicial authorities responsible for his arrest and detainment prosecuted heeded no results.

This prominent attorney had also been arrested on June 16, 2009 following the disputed presidential elections after which on August 27, 2009 he was released with an $80,000 bail.

Article in Persian:

Limbs of 2 convicted robbers amputated at Adel Abad prison in Shiraz

12 , December , 2011

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The amputation sentences of the 2 prisoners were carried out per order of the Shiraz public prosecutor.

Per a report by [the government affiliated] Isna News Agency, the judiciary public relations office of Fars province disclosed that the foot amputation of an accused bank robber has been carried out. The Revolutionary Court of this province handed down the amputation sentence which was carried out at Adel Abad prison per the orders of the Shiraz prosecutor.

This report also stated “the prosecutor of the central province ordered another amputation sentencing carried out on an individual who was convicted of committing several robberies.”

The Shiraz public prosecutor stressed the importance of the implementation of Sharia law for criminals by a decisive judiciary. He said, “When dealing with major crimes, the Fars judiciary will determine and impose God’s punishment.”

He emphasized the value of rapidly carrying out the sentences as a legal crime prevention strategy for deterring dangerous and serious crimes. He said the punishments would serve as a lesson for criminals.

Iran sentences former president's daughter to jail

created 01/03/2012 - 17:50

The daughter of influential former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was on Tuesday sentenced to jail and banned from political activities for "anti state propaganda" dating back to the 2009 disputed presidential election, Iranian media reported.

The Islamic state has piled pressure on the opposition ahead of a parliamentary election in March 2, the first test of the clerical establishment's popularity since the 2009 vote that critics say was rigged to re-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Rafsanjani, who heads a powerful body that resolves disputes between parliament and a hardline clerical body, sided with the pro-reformers after that vote, which brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets during eight months of protests.

Daughter Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani went on trial last month on charges of "campaigning against the Islamic establishment," student news agency ISNA said.

She was arrested and briefly detained after addressing supporters of candidate Mirhossein Mousavi when they gathered near the state television building in Tehran in defiance of a ban on opposition protests in the aftermath of the election.

"My client has been sentenced to six months in jail and banned from engaging in any cultural and political activities for five years," ISNA quoted her lawyer Gholam-Ali Riyahi as saying. She has 20 days to appeal.

Thousands of people, including senior members of the reformist bloc, were detained after the vote for fomenting unrest. Most of them have since been released, but more than 80 people have been jailed for up to 15 years and five have been sentenced to death.

Iranian media reported on Friday that Iran had blocked the former president's website for carrying pro-reform statements.

Mousavi, a former prime minister, and Mehdi Karoubi, a cleric and a former parliament speaker who led the opposition, have been under house arrest since February and denied any contact with the outside world.

Iranian authorities said the 2009 vote was healthiest in three decades and accused the United States and Israel of backing the opposition to overthrow the clerical establishment.

The election and its aftermath plunged Iran into its biggest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution and has created a deepening rift among the hardline rulers.

The registration of hopefuls for March's election ended on Friday with more than 4,500 candidates registered.

Ahmadinejad's allies will want to secure a majority in the assembly to bolster his chances of winning a presidential vote in 2013.

Leading reformist politicians said pro-reform political parties have decided not to provide a separate list of candidates because the basic needs of a "free and fair" vote have not been fulfilled.

Authorities are concerned that a low turnout will further harm the establishment's legitimacy. Frustration is simmering among lower- and middle-class Iranians over Ahmadinejad's economic policies. Prices of most consumer goods have risen substantially and many people struggle to make ends meet.

4 Baha’i citizens held behind bars under very unsound conditions at Shiraz Pirbenoy prison

16 , December , 2011

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The 4 Baha’i citizens who are serving their sentences are kept under grueling prison conditions.

Even though prison officials at Pirbenoy prison in the city of Shiraz assured the prisoners, Vehdat Dana, Afshin Ehsenian, Farham Masoumi, and Keyvan Karmi, that the conditions would become better, they have gotten much worse.

Human Rights House of Iran reports that in the past days, Vehdat Dana, Afshin Ehsanian, Farham Masoumi and Keyvan Karmi were transferred to Ward 1 of Shiraz Pirbenoy prison where they are being kept in a very cold cell with 30 other prisoners.

These 4 Baha’i prisoners are prohibited from exiting the cell, depriving them of any movement in the ward. They are banned from visitations and are not allowed to contact their families. Even though their families delivered their medications, the prisoners did not receive them due to the prison infirmary being closed. These conditions are especially dangerous for Vehdat Dana who is suffering from heart disease.

Branch 1 of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court handed down a 10-month prison sentence to these 4 Baha’i citizens on March 1, 2010 on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.” The sentencing was upheld at the Shiraz appellate court in August 2011. They were arrested in early December 2011 and transferred to Pirbenoy prison in Shiraz to serve their sentences behind bars.

Mousavi campaigner Asal Esmailzadeh given one-year jail term

created 01/09/2012 - 00:01, updated 01/09/2012 - 00:09

GVF — Another campaigner for 2009 presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has been sentenced to prison, according to opposition website Saham news.

Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced Asal Esmailzadeh, a young activist who supported Mousavi’s campaign during the rigged elections of June 2009 to four months in prison in combination with a suspended eight-month jail term.

According to a report by the Human Rights Activists news agency, Esmailzadeh has been detained a number of times in the past two years. Her most recent arrest was on 1 May 2011, when she was arrested by plain-clothed militias while returning home. She was finally released on a bail of around $90,000 after 31 days of solitary confinement.

Blogger Mahdi Khazali arrested 'violently'

created 01/09/2012 - 20:33

GVF — Security forces have arrested dissident Iranian blogger, publisher and physician Mahdi Khazali, according to reports.

Khazali, the son of the hard-line member of the Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Abolghasem Khazali, was arrested by security forces on Monday.

Khazali's wife described his arrest as “violent.”

Speaking to the BBC’s Persian service, she said her husband had been arrested right after leaving his workplace and was then taken to Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. “I don’t know how long these men had been ambushing him, but the moment he exited his office, they [the security forces] attacked him and injured his arm, teeth and other areas of his body,” she explained.

According to Khazali’s wife, the security forces presented an expired judicial summons while making the arrest.

Khazali, best known for the anti-government views he regularly published on his weblog, has been imprisoned a number of times in the past two years. His most recent arrest came in July 2011 when he was held in Evin for 27 days.

In strike contrast to his son’s critical views, Ayatollah Khazali is seen as a staunch supporter of Iran’s ruling elite, especially the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has so far openly distanced himself from his son’s positions.

Three Baha’i Citizens Arrested in Semnan

Baha’i citizen Erfan Ehsani has been arrested by the Intelligence agents and without a warrant.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, he had been summoned several times recently and his request for a written warrant was followed by threats to him and his family.

Moreover, Edalat Firouzian and Faramarz Firouzian were arrested by security forces. They were transferred to an unknown location after their residence was searched.