The International Committee against Executions is calling for a week of demonstrations, from December 27, 2010 to January 3, 2011, to protest against the execution sentence of Habibollah Latifi, and the arrest of his family members and all those arrested in the past few days in Sanandaj, Iran. We call on all honorable Iranian people and people all over the world: all those who believe in unconditional freedom of speech and belief; all those who believe in freedom for all political prisoners; all those who want commutation of Habib's execution sentence and freedom of his family members and other Sanandaj arrestees; and all those who protest against the Islamic Republic's crimes, executions, and suppression; to protest with all of your power in Sanandaj, in Kurdistan, in Iran, and all over the world against these atrocities committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the people of Iran.
Here is what you can do: Come out and demonstrate in different countries, sign petitions, send protest letters [for example, to your governmental representatives or the UN], gather in front of Sanandaj prison where they are holding Habibollah Latifi, write graffiti in the cities of Kurdistan and other cities of Iran, go on the rooftops at nighttime and shout, "FREE POLITICAL PRISONERS!", and by all other possible means.
Habib's execution sentence should be overturned. Habib, his family members, and all Sanandaj arrestees should be freed immediately and unconditionally. All execution sentences should be cancelled, and all political prisoners should be freed immediately and unconditionally.
The week of protest
December 27, 2010 to January 3, 2011
* In protest against the sentence of execution of Habib Latifi
* For freedom of his family and all other arrestees in the city of Sanandaj
* For the release of all political prisoners
* For abolishment of capital punishment in Iran
* and in protest to the outragous execution of Ali Saremi and Ali Akbar Siadat who were executed by the Islamic murderers on December 28, 2010.
The demonstrations below have been organised by political activists and organisations. The International Committee Against Execution (ICAE) calls upon all people to participate in these actions.
List of Demonstrations
Confirmed cities as of 27 December 2010
AUSTRIA
Vienna: Tuesday December 28 – 4PM in front of the IRI embassy
BELGIUM
Brussels: Tuesday December 28 – 4PM in front of the IRI embassy
CANADA
Ottawa: Monday January 3 – 1-3PM in front of the IRI embassy (245 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 2K2)
Vancouver, BC: Tuesday December 28 - 2PM Amnesty International 319- Pender st. ( between Homer& Hamilton)
DENMARK
Copenhagen: Wednesday December 29, 3-4PM in front of IRI embassy
FRANCE
Paris: Tuesday December 28 – 4PM in front of the IRI embassy, Trocadéro square
GERMANY
Berlin: Tuesday December 28 – 3PM in front of the IRI embassy
Cologne: Thursday December 30, 2-3PM, Domplate
Frankfurt: Tuesday December 28 – 2PM in front of the IRI Consulate
Hamburg: Wednesday December 28 – 4PM in front of the IRI Consulate
ITALY
Rome: Tuesday December 28, 4PM
Ambasciata Rep.Islamica Dell'Iran - Sezione Consolare Via Nomentana, 363, 00162 Roma
NETHERLANDS
The Hague: Tuesday December 28, 3PM, in front of the Foreign Ministry
NORWAY
Oslo: Tuesday December 28 – 4PM in front of the IRI embassy
SWEDEN
Gothenburg: Tuesday December 28 – 1PM, in front of GP
Gothenburg: Wednesday December 29, 3-4PM, in Brunnsparken in front of Femman House
UK
London: Tuesday December 28, 2-4 PM in front of the IRI embassy
16 Prince´s Gate, London SW7 1PT
USA
Allentown, PA: Tuesday December 28 - 2PM in front of Edward N. Cahn Federal Courthouse, 504 Hamilton Street
Los Angeles: Tuesday December 28 – 6-8PM in front of the Federal building
Monday, December 27, 2010
Mina Ahadi
International Committee against Execution
International Committee against Stoning
Email: minaahadi@aol.com
Tel: 0049 (0) 1775692413
http://notonemoreexecution.org/
http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/
Translation: Soheila Nikpour
Monday, 27 December 2010
Sunday, 26 December 2010
Islamic Judiciary Apparatus Prepares to Stone a Man and a Woman in Orumiya
December 23, 2010
Once again, the judicial murder apparatus of the Islamic Republic is preparing to stone a woman and a man to death.
According to the news disseminated by HRANA, Sarieh (Sarimeh) Ebaadi, 31 years old and mother of two, and Vali (Bou-Ali) Jaanfeshaani, 35 years old and father of one, are about to be stoned to death in Orumiya. The two have been imprisoned for the past two years, and have been handed down stoning sentences by the judiciary system on three different occasions.
Sarieh (Sarimeh) Ebaadi and Vali (Bou-Ali) Jaanfeshaani were arrested two years ago, were charged with adultery, and in less than 3 months, the Ordinary Court of Orumiya (Branch 3 of Western Azerbaijan court) handed down their stoning sentences. This sentence was then confirmed on January 6, 2010 by branch 12 of the Review Court of Western Azerbaijan. On August 28, 2010, the Supreme Court first upheld the verdict, but later found the case not to be based on good law and referred the judicial decision to another branch in Orumiya court. This branch upheld the stoning sentence on December 12, 2010. This inhumane, hideous sentence has been handed down despite the fact that the accused were prevented from choosing their lawyer and had not been given a chance to defend themselves in any part of the legal procedure.
The vast and intensive protests of people and general opinion across the world against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s stoning sentence, and against stoning in general, had forced the Islamic Republic to deny [the existence of] these sentences and their implementation, but the Islamic Republic depends on these crimes for its survival.
A regime that stones, that imprisons pregnant women and sentences them to stoning, execution, lashes and torture, should not be recognized by anyone, anywhere [as a legitimate government]. Officials of such a regime should not have a place in international organizations. They should instead be prosecuted and punished for 32 years of murder, torture, execution, stoning and lashing, for crimes against humanity.
The International Committees against Stoning and Execution call on all organizations, institutions, mass media and honourable, humanitarian people of the world to decisively protest against these heinous crimes of the Islamic Republic, and show the Islamic Republic that these crimes outrage the people of the world and will bring about their vast protests.
International Committee against Stoning
International Committee against Execution
Once again, the judicial murder apparatus of the Islamic Republic is preparing to stone a woman and a man to death.
According to the news disseminated by HRANA, Sarieh (Sarimeh) Ebaadi, 31 years old and mother of two, and Vali (Bou-Ali) Jaanfeshaani, 35 years old and father of one, are about to be stoned to death in Orumiya. The two have been imprisoned for the past two years, and have been handed down stoning sentences by the judiciary system on three different occasions.
Sarieh (Sarimeh) Ebaadi and Vali (Bou-Ali) Jaanfeshaani were arrested two years ago, were charged with adultery, and in less than 3 months, the Ordinary Court of Orumiya (Branch 3 of Western Azerbaijan court) handed down their stoning sentences. This sentence was then confirmed on January 6, 2010 by branch 12 of the Review Court of Western Azerbaijan. On August 28, 2010, the Supreme Court first upheld the verdict, but later found the case not to be based on good law and referred the judicial decision to another branch in Orumiya court. This branch upheld the stoning sentence on December 12, 2010. This inhumane, hideous sentence has been handed down despite the fact that the accused were prevented from choosing their lawyer and had not been given a chance to defend themselves in any part of the legal procedure.
The vast and intensive protests of people and general opinion across the world against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s stoning sentence, and against stoning in general, had forced the Islamic Republic to deny [the existence of] these sentences and their implementation, but the Islamic Republic depends on these crimes for its survival.
A regime that stones, that imprisons pregnant women and sentences them to stoning, execution, lashes and torture, should not be recognized by anyone, anywhere [as a legitimate government]. Officials of such a regime should not have a place in international organizations. They should instead be prosecuted and punished for 32 years of murder, torture, execution, stoning and lashing, for crimes against humanity.
The International Committees against Stoning and Execution call on all organizations, institutions, mass media and honourable, humanitarian people of the world to decisively protest against these heinous crimes of the Islamic Republic, and show the Islamic Republic that these crimes outrage the people of the world and will bring about their vast protests.
International Committee against Stoning
International Committee against Execution
Saturday, 25 December 2010
Iran witholds medical treatment as a form of torture
ICAE Press Release:
A large and growing number of political prisoners in Iran face a deadly form of torture under the Islamic Republic regime: the withholding of medical treatment for serious health conditions. The International Committee against Execution calls for international pressure be exerted to pressure the Islamic Republic to release all political prisoners and allow an international delegation to assess the conditions in Iran’s prisons.
Reza Sharifi Bookani is emblematic of this burgeoning crisis. Bookani is a political prisoner in Iran who is under sentence of death as a result of his efforts to work towards human rights in Iran. In addition to being subjected to severe physical and psychological torture, the Islamic Republic is, as a form of torture, intentionally refusing to treat his severe respiratory problems.
On December 22, 2010, Bookani transmitted a message from prison to the outside world:
“Today, Wednesday, I informed the head of the medical center in prison of difficulties I have in breathing and that I cannot breath normally and am unable to tolerate this anymore. I told him, 'If you want me to die, say it, and say it frankly. I need antibiotics and a respiratory machine to help me breath. I need surgery. Either provide me with medicine and some medical treatment here or allow me to get it from outside the prison.' And their response is only silence. Not even aspirin or penicillin is available. As of now, many of the prisoners in Rajaei Shahr prison are suffering from influenza but no medicine is available to treat them. This is our condition in prison.“
Reza Sharifi Bookani, along with Hamed Rouhinejad, Mansour Osanlou, Ahmad Zeidabadi, Behrouz Javid Tehrani, Ali Saremi, Abolfazi Abedini, Kouhyar Goudarzi, and many other political prisoners are all suffering from severe and agonizing morbidities for which the Islamic regime is intentionally withholding treatment as a form of torture.
The International Committee Against Execution asks all concerned individuals to contact the UN, the European Parliament, and national governments and demand that international pressure be exerted with the goal of pressuring the Islamic Republic to release all political prisoners and allow an international delegation to visit and assess the conditions in Iran’s prisons, specifically Rajaei Shahr prison.
International Committee against Execution
Spokes person: Mina Ahadi minaahadi@aol.com
0049-(0) 177 569 2413
A large and growing number of political prisoners in Iran face a deadly form of torture under the Islamic Republic regime: the withholding of medical treatment for serious health conditions. The International Committee against Execution calls for international pressure be exerted to pressure the Islamic Republic to release all political prisoners and allow an international delegation to assess the conditions in Iran’s prisons.
Reza Sharifi Bookani is emblematic of this burgeoning crisis. Bookani is a political prisoner in Iran who is under sentence of death as a result of his efforts to work towards human rights in Iran. In addition to being subjected to severe physical and psychological torture, the Islamic Republic is, as a form of torture, intentionally refusing to treat his severe respiratory problems.
On December 22, 2010, Bookani transmitted a message from prison to the outside world:
“Today, Wednesday, I informed the head of the medical center in prison of difficulties I have in breathing and that I cannot breath normally and am unable to tolerate this anymore. I told him, 'If you want me to die, say it, and say it frankly. I need antibiotics and a respiratory machine to help me breath. I need surgery. Either provide me with medicine and some medical treatment here or allow me to get it from outside the prison.' And their response is only silence. Not even aspirin or penicillin is available. As of now, many of the prisoners in Rajaei Shahr prison are suffering from influenza but no medicine is available to treat them. This is our condition in prison.“
Reza Sharifi Bookani, along with Hamed Rouhinejad, Mansour Osanlou, Ahmad Zeidabadi, Behrouz Javid Tehrani, Ali Saremi, Abolfazi Abedini, Kouhyar Goudarzi, and many other political prisoners are all suffering from severe and agonizing morbidities for which the Islamic regime is intentionally withholding treatment as a form of torture.
The International Committee Against Execution asks all concerned individuals to contact the UN, the European Parliament, and national governments and demand that international pressure be exerted with the goal of pressuring the Islamic Republic to release all political prisoners and allow an international delegation to visit and assess the conditions in Iran’s prisons, specifically Rajaei Shahr prison.
International Committee against Execution
Spokes person: Mina Ahadi minaahadi@aol.com
0049-(0) 177 569 2413
Friday, 24 December 2010
Regarding Reza Sharifi Bookani and other Political Prisoners in Iran
December 22, 2010
TO ALL THE FREE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD:
The International Committee Against Execution would like to draw your attention to the condition of Reza Sharifi, a political prisoner in Iran. Reza has been sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Despite his health condition - severe respiratory problems - not only is he being deprived of basic medical treatment, but he is also being detained under inhumane conditions in Rajaei Shahr prison.
The following is what Reza Sharifi Bookani said about his condition, communicated from prison on December 22, 2010:
“Today, Wednesday, I checked in with the head of the medical center in prison and informed him of difficulties I have in breathing and that I cannot breath normally and am unable to tolerate this anymore. I told him, 'If you want me to die, say it, and say it frankly. I need antibiotics and a respiratory machine to help me breath. I need surgery. Either provide me with medicine and some medical treatment here or allow me to get it from outside the prison.' And their response is only silence. Not even aspirin or penicillin is available. As of now, many of the prisoners in Rajaei Shahr prison are suffering from influenza but no medicine is available to treat them. This is our condition in prison. “
Reza has respiratory disease, and the prison guards, instead of providing him with medical treatments, have imprisoned him along with five other prisoners who are also sentenced to death or life in prison, including Ali Saremi, Khaled Hardani and Saeed Masoori. They have been in prison for many years and were recently left in the prison’s hallways for days. After these prisoners threatened the guards that they would go on hunger strike, they were transferred to two rooms that are in fact solitary confinement cells but now house six prisoners.
Reza’s condition is an indication of the condition of many others whose lives are in grave danger in the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran -- and their numbers are increasing on a daily basis. The world must stand in defense of Iran’s political prisoners and fight against the criminals who are now ruling Iran.
The International Committee Against Execution asks all of you who oppose the death penalty, are against torture and execution, are defenders of freedom of expression and opinion, as well as all of the human rights organizations around the world, to defend Iran’s political prisoners, to help end the death penalty and torture, and in particular to ask for the immediate release of Reza Sharifi Bookani, Saeed Masoori and Ali Saremi. Please spread the news about their condition, and put pressure on international organizations to press the Islamic Republic to release all of the political prisoners and allow an international delegation to visit Iran’s prisons, specifically Rajaei Shahr prison.
International Committee Against Execution
Translated by K. Montazemi
TO ALL THE FREE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD:
The International Committee Against Execution would like to draw your attention to the condition of Reza Sharifi, a political prisoner in Iran. Reza has been sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Despite his health condition - severe respiratory problems - not only is he being deprived of basic medical treatment, but he is also being detained under inhumane conditions in Rajaei Shahr prison.
The following is what Reza Sharifi Bookani said about his condition, communicated from prison on December 22, 2010:
“Today, Wednesday, I checked in with the head of the medical center in prison and informed him of difficulties I have in breathing and that I cannot breath normally and am unable to tolerate this anymore. I told him, 'If you want me to die, say it, and say it frankly. I need antibiotics and a respiratory machine to help me breath. I need surgery. Either provide me with medicine and some medical treatment here or allow me to get it from outside the prison.' And their response is only silence. Not even aspirin or penicillin is available. As of now, many of the prisoners in Rajaei Shahr prison are suffering from influenza but no medicine is available to treat them. This is our condition in prison. “
Reza has respiratory disease, and the prison guards, instead of providing him with medical treatments, have imprisoned him along with five other prisoners who are also sentenced to death or life in prison, including Ali Saremi, Khaled Hardani and Saeed Masoori. They have been in prison for many years and were recently left in the prison’s hallways for days. After these prisoners threatened the guards that they would go on hunger strike, they were transferred to two rooms that are in fact solitary confinement cells but now house six prisoners.
Reza’s condition is an indication of the condition of many others whose lives are in grave danger in the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran -- and their numbers are increasing on a daily basis. The world must stand in defense of Iran’s political prisoners and fight against the criminals who are now ruling Iran.
The International Committee Against Execution asks all of you who oppose the death penalty, are against torture and execution, are defenders of freedom of expression and opinion, as well as all of the human rights organizations around the world, to defend Iran’s political prisoners, to help end the death penalty and torture, and in particular to ask for the immediate release of Reza Sharifi Bookani, Saeed Masoori and Ali Saremi. Please spread the news about their condition, and put pressure on international organizations to press the Islamic Republic to release all of the political prisoners and allow an international delegation to visit Iran’s prisons, specifically Rajaei Shahr prison.
International Committee Against Execution
Translated by K. Montazemi
The Islamic Republic is preparing to kill political prisoner Habibollah Latifi in Sanandaj Prison
December 24, 2010
The Islamic Republic has informed Habibollah Latifi’s lawyer that his execution sentence will be served on Sunday December 26. Habibollah too has been informed and moved to solitary confinement.
Agents of the Islamic Republic arrested Habibollah on October 23, 2007, and charged him with “moharebeh” and “apostasy,” and, in a hearing that lasted only a few minutes, sentenced him to death. Habibollah is 29 years old, and in the past three years has been under tremendous physical and psychological pressure, as well as all kinds of torture.
The Islamic Republic is a killing apparatus, and it now wants to take Habibollah to the gallows.
The International Committee against Execution, in these last hours left until Habibollah’s execution, calls on everyone to protest this sentence. We ask the Iranian people, and especially people of Sanandaj, to protest in every way possible to prevent Habibollah’s execution. We call on people across the world to protest against this savagery of the Islamic Republic: spread the news, and wherever possible, demonstrate in protest on Saturday, December 25th, and ask the governments to put pressure on the Islamic regime and stop this execution.
International Committee against Execution
International Committee Against Stoning
Spokesperson: Mina Ahadi minaahadi@aol.com
0049-177-569-2413
The Islamic Republic has informed Habibollah Latifi’s lawyer that his execution sentence will be served on Sunday December 26. Habibollah too has been informed and moved to solitary confinement.
Agents of the Islamic Republic arrested Habibollah on October 23, 2007, and charged him with “moharebeh” and “apostasy,” and, in a hearing that lasted only a few minutes, sentenced him to death. Habibollah is 29 years old, and in the past three years has been under tremendous physical and psychological pressure, as well as all kinds of torture.
The Islamic Republic is a killing apparatus, and it now wants to take Habibollah to the gallows.
The International Committee against Execution, in these last hours left until Habibollah’s execution, calls on everyone to protest this sentence. We ask the Iranian people, and especially people of Sanandaj, to protest in every way possible to prevent Habibollah’s execution. We call on people across the world to protest against this savagery of the Islamic Republic: spread the news, and wherever possible, demonstrate in protest on Saturday, December 25th, and ask the governments to put pressure on the Islamic regime and stop this execution.
International Committee against Execution
International Committee Against Stoning
Spokesperson: Mina Ahadi minaahadi@aol.com
0049-177-569-2413
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Press TV’s Broadcast Is An Indictment of The Islamic Republic!
PR No. 111
10 October 2010
Press TV, an English-language television station sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran, broadcast a show about Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani on December 10, 2010. This broadcast is a document that, for any fair and decent human being, and any organization or institution that respects the human right and dignity,serves as the basis for a clear condemnation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is a document that demonstrates how morally bankrupt and desperate this regime’s propagandas have become as it attempts to defend its crimes in front of the rest of the world.
It was a show against a woman who is in prison and who was supposed to be stoned to death – a stoning execution that was stopped by international outrage and support – and who still is facing death by hanging execution. She is a woman who is deprived of any contact or communication with the world outside of prison, whose son and attorney are being held in prison, who does not have any support close at hand, and who, under these circumstances has been forced to appear in front of television cameras to make self-incriminating false confessions. Who can possibly watch this show and not see the Islamic Republic regime’s mocking and duplicitous intent, not feel disgusted and angry?
Judicial experts, the Department of Intelligence, and regime diplomats, along with the managers and producers of Press TV, have worked for months on this project. They have worked to “prove” that Sakineh is an accomplice to a murder, a prostitute who cheated on her husband; to introduce Mina Ahadi and her late husband as traitors and terrorists; to discredit Sakineh’s attorneys and question the validity of their arguments – all in an attempt to buy prestige and justify their own disgraced and deeply discredited judicial system. In fact, with this program, the Islamic Republic of Iran has bluntly confessed to its fabrication of files against defenseless prisoners, on which basis it executes and stones them. It showed how it denies basic rights for women, and how its repulsive and rotten laws work against them. It displayed its inhumane treatment of prisoners. This document was an indictment against this regime.
There was another 90-minute program that was broadcast in the Islamic Republic's Persian-language television the night before it was broadcast on Press TV – another desperate effort by the regime.
There are several important aspects of Press TV show:
1 – The show was a confession to a horrifying crime committed by the regime in 1980s. The Islamic Republic admitted that it executed Esmail Yegane-doost, Mina Ahadi’s husband. During those years, the Islamic Republic not only arrested Esmail, but also arrested hundreds of thousands of its opponents. Tens of thousands of them were tortured in medieval fashion or “tried” in minute courts.(1) From pregnant women to teenagers of ages 14 or 15, they were executed by the death squads, which even had the audacity to ask the [bereaved] families for the money the government spent on the bullets that killed their loved ones. They had neither lawyers nor did they commit a crime. The Islamic Republic charged them as terrorists and enemies of God and handed them to the death squads. As a result, Mina Ahadi and hundreds of thousands of others fled the country or took refuge in free zones in Kurdistan to continue their fight against this regime.
2 – The Islamic government has admitted that Sakineh does not have a lawyer. One of her lawyers fled the country and her other lawyer is now in prison. And while she is denied any contact with the outside world, her only great supporter, her son, is now in prison too. It demonstrated how the regime stole her file to manipulate and fabricate it to their liking, and under such circumstances forced her to confess against her will. This show tries to portray Sakineh as a cheater, a prostitute, and an accomplice to the murder of her husband, without allowing her to have any legal defense. Her son Sajjad, her lawyer Houtan Kian, and the two German reporters from das Bild newspaper also lack a lawyer to legally represent or defend them.
3 – The re-creation of the murder scene is so lame it would make an even a 10-year-old laugh. [In the show], a man named Issa Taheri calls Sakineh at home and says that he wants to come by today to kill her husband. He explains the whole murder plan over the phone and then, with Sakineh’s help, the plan is executed. The show makes no reference to the fate of the main killer, Issa Taheri.(2)
4 – As part of recreating the murder scene, Sajjad [Sakineh’s son] is forced to play the role of his deceased father; [thus, in recreating the scene, his own mother] is made to inject her son with anesthetics which, according to [the lines Sakineh is forced to mouth], is what Issa Taheri provided her. Only the regime’s criminals are capable of devising a scene so inhumane and disgusting. These scenes have been developed and produced to appeal to a European audience. We can only imagine that what this government is doing with other prisoners!
5 – The following are what constitute crimes according to the Islamic judicial system:
Sakineh’s crime: Being a woman, having an extramarital affair or relationship with another man and betraying her husband, which, in and of itself is considered prostitution, for which she was sentenced to 99 lashes and ten years in prison and then sentenced to the most heinous torture: death by stoning and being buried alive. Later, due to global pressures, when the regime could not carry out the stoning sentence [for the non-crime of adultery], they decided to steal her file from her lawyer’s office in order to fabricate evidence so they could press charges against her as an accomplice to her husband’s murder, [thus opening the door to] sentencing her to death by hanging. Their act constitutes clear evidence on how defenseless women are [before the judiciary], and how retrogressive and anti-human the rule of law is [under the Islamic Republic].
Sajjad’s crime: Contacting and communicating with Mina Ahadi, getting a lawyer to help his mother, and trying to save his mother from being stoned to death or executed by hanging.
Houtan’s crime: Making Sakineh’s file available to the media to save her from being stoned to death. His crime has made it very difficult for Islamic Republic to alter Sakineh’s file any further.
The visages of both Sajjad and Houtan convey evidence that both have been subjected to extreme mental pressure and physical torture in prison.
The two German journalists’ crimes: As tourists, traveling to Iran and talking with Sajjad and Houtan to help free Sakineh. Some officials from the regime accused them of spying but were forced to redact. Since their “crime” is contacting Mina Ahadi, Sajjad and Houtan, these two reporters are no longer allowed to contact anybody, not even their family members. They have been denied visitation rights and, for having committed their “crime,” they have been forced to make false televised confessions, have been humiliated, and have been held in prison without any official charges brought against them.
6 – Finally, this show is a confession of the fact that Press TV is not independent media but an advertising agency and mouthpiece for the regime’s propaganda, specifically its judiciary system and its intelligence service. Press TV is partner in crime with all of these agencies and is complicit in all of the crimes committed by them. This state sponsored television station’s reporters are in fact interrogators for the [judiciary] system, much like all of the Islamic Republic’s other television channels.
Considering the aforementioned facts:
1 – The International Committees Against Stoning and Execution strongly condemn this program and encourages everyone to condemn it.
2 – The Press TV show was intended to work against Sakineh, Sajjad, Sakineh’s lawyer, Mina Ahadi, the Campaign to Save Sakineh, and the media that has covered this campaign. However, not only did this show fail to achieve its goal, but it revealed the true inhumane face of the Islamic Republic of Iran to people around the globe, in even greater detail than before. The Islamic Republic of Iran did not accomplish anything [to its benefit] by this show irrespective of all of the efforts it made.
3 – The Press TV show provides a clear indication of the complete innocence of Sajjad, Houtan, and the two German journalists, and the baseless case against Sakineh. Even by relying on the evidence presented in this show, and all the allegations against them, all five of them are innocent and must be released immediately and unconditionally.
4 – According to this program, those who killed Esmail Yeganeh-Doost and thousands of other political prisoners are the same ones responsible for Sakineh’s imprisonment, flogging, and the nightmare of death by stoning. They are also responsible for the imprisonment and torture of Sajjad and Houtan, and for the abuse and imprisonment of the two German journalists. These killers must be tried and held accountable.
5 – Once again, this show reveals the inhumane nature of the Islamic Republic’s judicial system to everyone. The Islamic Republic, over its 31-year-long rule, and based on such a system, has imprisoned and/or executed tens of thousands of people, and brutally tortured hundreds of thousands others. It is based on this system that a large number of opposition activists, labor and student activists, women's rights advocates, lawyers, and believers of different religions, are put in jail, tortured, and deprived of any rights. The Press TV program is an absolute proof of the necessity of overthrowing the Islamic Republic as a terrorist and criminal government.
The International Committees against Stoning and Execution and the Campaign to Save Sakineh will continue the fight with strength and full force. The Press TV television show is a document against the scandalous regime in Iran which will be used, ever so widely, to strengthen our efforts to save Sakineh and all other detainees, and to abolish the brutal penalties of flogging, stoning to death, and executions. We call on the people of the world to join in solidarity with the Iranian people in their struggle against this medieval regime.
International Committee against Executions
International Committee against Stoning
Spokesperson: Mina Ahadi minaahadi@aol.com 0049-177-569-2413
(1) “Minute courts” refer to perfunctory judiciary proceedings that are meant to serve as a “trial,” but in fact make a mockery of a legitimate court hearing, most obviously evidence by the fact that the proceedings last no more than a minute or two.
(2) Issa Taheri, who was convicted for the murder of Sakineh’s husband, is living free because Sakineh’s children forgave him for the crime of murdering their father.
10 October 2010
Press TV, an English-language television station sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran, broadcast a show about Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani on December 10, 2010. This broadcast is a document that, for any fair and decent human being, and any organization or institution that respects the human right and dignity,serves as the basis for a clear condemnation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is a document that demonstrates how morally bankrupt and desperate this regime’s propagandas have become as it attempts to defend its crimes in front of the rest of the world.
It was a show against a woman who is in prison and who was supposed to be stoned to death – a stoning execution that was stopped by international outrage and support – and who still is facing death by hanging execution. She is a woman who is deprived of any contact or communication with the world outside of prison, whose son and attorney are being held in prison, who does not have any support close at hand, and who, under these circumstances has been forced to appear in front of television cameras to make self-incriminating false confessions. Who can possibly watch this show and not see the Islamic Republic regime’s mocking and duplicitous intent, not feel disgusted and angry?
Judicial experts, the Department of Intelligence, and regime diplomats, along with the managers and producers of Press TV, have worked for months on this project. They have worked to “prove” that Sakineh is an accomplice to a murder, a prostitute who cheated on her husband; to introduce Mina Ahadi and her late husband as traitors and terrorists; to discredit Sakineh’s attorneys and question the validity of their arguments – all in an attempt to buy prestige and justify their own disgraced and deeply discredited judicial system. In fact, with this program, the Islamic Republic of Iran has bluntly confessed to its fabrication of files against defenseless prisoners, on which basis it executes and stones them. It showed how it denies basic rights for women, and how its repulsive and rotten laws work against them. It displayed its inhumane treatment of prisoners. This document was an indictment against this regime.
There was another 90-minute program that was broadcast in the Islamic Republic's Persian-language television the night before it was broadcast on Press TV – another desperate effort by the regime.
There are several important aspects of Press TV show:
1 – The show was a confession to a horrifying crime committed by the regime in 1980s. The Islamic Republic admitted that it executed Esmail Yegane-doost, Mina Ahadi’s husband. During those years, the Islamic Republic not only arrested Esmail, but also arrested hundreds of thousands of its opponents. Tens of thousands of them were tortured in medieval fashion or “tried” in minute courts.(1) From pregnant women to teenagers of ages 14 or 15, they were executed by the death squads, which even had the audacity to ask the [bereaved] families for the money the government spent on the bullets that killed their loved ones. They had neither lawyers nor did they commit a crime. The Islamic Republic charged them as terrorists and enemies of God and handed them to the death squads. As a result, Mina Ahadi and hundreds of thousands of others fled the country or took refuge in free zones in Kurdistan to continue their fight against this regime.
2 – The Islamic government has admitted that Sakineh does not have a lawyer. One of her lawyers fled the country and her other lawyer is now in prison. And while she is denied any contact with the outside world, her only great supporter, her son, is now in prison too. It demonstrated how the regime stole her file to manipulate and fabricate it to their liking, and under such circumstances forced her to confess against her will. This show tries to portray Sakineh as a cheater, a prostitute, and an accomplice to the murder of her husband, without allowing her to have any legal defense. Her son Sajjad, her lawyer Houtan Kian, and the two German reporters from das Bild newspaper also lack a lawyer to legally represent or defend them.
3 – The re-creation of the murder scene is so lame it would make an even a 10-year-old laugh. [In the show], a man named Issa Taheri calls Sakineh at home and says that he wants to come by today to kill her husband. He explains the whole murder plan over the phone and then, with Sakineh’s help, the plan is executed. The show makes no reference to the fate of the main killer, Issa Taheri.(2)
4 – As part of recreating the murder scene, Sajjad [Sakineh’s son] is forced to play the role of his deceased father; [thus, in recreating the scene, his own mother] is made to inject her son with anesthetics which, according to [the lines Sakineh is forced to mouth], is what Issa Taheri provided her. Only the regime’s criminals are capable of devising a scene so inhumane and disgusting. These scenes have been developed and produced to appeal to a European audience. We can only imagine that what this government is doing with other prisoners!
5 – The following are what constitute crimes according to the Islamic judicial system:
Sakineh’s crime: Being a woman, having an extramarital affair or relationship with another man and betraying her husband, which, in and of itself is considered prostitution, for which she was sentenced to 99 lashes and ten years in prison and then sentenced to the most heinous torture: death by stoning and being buried alive. Later, due to global pressures, when the regime could not carry out the stoning sentence [for the non-crime of adultery], they decided to steal her file from her lawyer’s office in order to fabricate evidence so they could press charges against her as an accomplice to her husband’s murder, [thus opening the door to] sentencing her to death by hanging. Their act constitutes clear evidence on how defenseless women are [before the judiciary], and how retrogressive and anti-human the rule of law is [under the Islamic Republic].
Sajjad’s crime: Contacting and communicating with Mina Ahadi, getting a lawyer to help his mother, and trying to save his mother from being stoned to death or executed by hanging.
Houtan’s crime: Making Sakineh’s file available to the media to save her from being stoned to death. His crime has made it very difficult for Islamic Republic to alter Sakineh’s file any further.
The visages of both Sajjad and Houtan convey evidence that both have been subjected to extreme mental pressure and physical torture in prison.
The two German journalists’ crimes: As tourists, traveling to Iran and talking with Sajjad and Houtan to help free Sakineh. Some officials from the regime accused them of spying but were forced to redact. Since their “crime” is contacting Mina Ahadi, Sajjad and Houtan, these two reporters are no longer allowed to contact anybody, not even their family members. They have been denied visitation rights and, for having committed their “crime,” they have been forced to make false televised confessions, have been humiliated, and have been held in prison without any official charges brought against them.
6 – Finally, this show is a confession of the fact that Press TV is not independent media but an advertising agency and mouthpiece for the regime’s propaganda, specifically its judiciary system and its intelligence service. Press TV is partner in crime with all of these agencies and is complicit in all of the crimes committed by them. This state sponsored television station’s reporters are in fact interrogators for the [judiciary] system, much like all of the Islamic Republic’s other television channels.
Considering the aforementioned facts:
1 – The International Committees Against Stoning and Execution strongly condemn this program and encourages everyone to condemn it.
2 – The Press TV show was intended to work against Sakineh, Sajjad, Sakineh’s lawyer, Mina Ahadi, the Campaign to Save Sakineh, and the media that has covered this campaign. However, not only did this show fail to achieve its goal, but it revealed the true inhumane face of the Islamic Republic of Iran to people around the globe, in even greater detail than before. The Islamic Republic of Iran did not accomplish anything [to its benefit] by this show irrespective of all of the efforts it made.
3 – The Press TV show provides a clear indication of the complete innocence of Sajjad, Houtan, and the two German journalists, and the baseless case against Sakineh. Even by relying on the evidence presented in this show, and all the allegations against them, all five of them are innocent and must be released immediately and unconditionally.
4 – According to this program, those who killed Esmail Yeganeh-Doost and thousands of other political prisoners are the same ones responsible for Sakineh’s imprisonment, flogging, and the nightmare of death by stoning. They are also responsible for the imprisonment and torture of Sajjad and Houtan, and for the abuse and imprisonment of the two German journalists. These killers must be tried and held accountable.
5 – Once again, this show reveals the inhumane nature of the Islamic Republic’s judicial system to everyone. The Islamic Republic, over its 31-year-long rule, and based on such a system, has imprisoned and/or executed tens of thousands of people, and brutally tortured hundreds of thousands others. It is based on this system that a large number of opposition activists, labor and student activists, women's rights advocates, lawyers, and believers of different religions, are put in jail, tortured, and deprived of any rights. The Press TV program is an absolute proof of the necessity of overthrowing the Islamic Republic as a terrorist and criminal government.
The International Committees against Stoning and Execution and the Campaign to Save Sakineh will continue the fight with strength and full force. The Press TV television show is a document against the scandalous regime in Iran which will be used, ever so widely, to strengthen our efforts to save Sakineh and all other detainees, and to abolish the brutal penalties of flogging, stoning to death, and executions. We call on the people of the world to join in solidarity with the Iranian people in their struggle against this medieval regime.
International Committee against Executions
International Committee against Stoning
Spokesperson: Mina Ahadi minaahadi@aol.com 0049-177-569-2413
(1) “Minute courts” refer to perfunctory judiciary proceedings that are meant to serve as a “trial,” but in fact make a mockery of a legitimate court hearing, most obviously evidence by the fact that the proceedings last no more than a minute or two.
(2) Issa Taheri, who was convicted for the murder of Sakineh’s husband, is living free because Sakineh’s children forgave him for the crime of murdering their father.
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Regarding the Stockholm bombing
English/Swedish
First of all, we wish to express our relief that the catastrophe that could have happened in Stockholm this Saturday, didn't happen.
We know that this event might be used by far-right nationalists to stir up hatred against immigrants. This is clearly unacceptable and should not be tolerated.
However, there is another far-right movement that should be at the focus of our attention here - namely the one to which the bomber himself belonged.
Some people now seem more concerned about the risk of improper reactions, than with actually trying to react properly themselves.
The proper reaction is to state the fact that the bomber was part of a violent, misogynistic, authoritarian and most definitely far-right movement that wants to bring us all back to the 7th century by means of force. The proper reaction is to be very worried about this. The proper reaction is also to contemplate what we can do about it.
The far-right movement of Islamism is responsible for more than horrific bomb attacks in Europe. It is responsible for acid being thrown on women's faces in Afghanistan, for limbs being cut off in Somalia, for prison torture in Iran and for the everyday humiliation and fear of millions of people forced to live under their rule.
Our ideal is an inclusive society based on progressive social values. Two far-right movements are currently threatening this ideal. We believe that the best way to defeat them is to build global movements of solidarity and co-operation on the popular level.
We now voice our solidarity with the people in Sweden and express our hope that their reaction will be a proper one. We hope that you can extend your solidarity in turn to the people in Iran and elsewhere in the world who fight everyday against the tyranny and terror of Islamist rule.
We also wish to state our support for Lars Vilks and for the principle of unconditional freedom of speech. If we bow to the pressure to "not provoke", then the bomber has won. We will not silence ourselves because of threats of violence.
Iran Solidarity
13 December 2010
Först av allt så vill vi uttrycka vår lättnad över att den katastrof som kunde ha inträffat i lördags, aldrig inträffade.
Vi vet att denna händelse kan komma att användas av högerextrema nationalister för att skapa hat mot invandrare. Detta är klart oacceptabelt och skall ej tolereras.
Det finns dock en annan högerextrem rörelse som vårt fokus bör ligga på här - nämligen den som bombaren själv tillhörde.
Vissa verkar nu mest oroade över risken för felaktiga reaktioner – snarare än att faktiskt själva försöka reagera på ett adekvat sätt.
Den adekvata reaktionen är att fastställa det faktum att bombaren var del av en våldsam, kvinnofientlig, auktoritär och definitivt högerextrem rörelse som vill föra oss alla tillbaka till 600-talet med hjälp av våld. Den adekvata reaktionen är att vara mycket bekymrad över detta. Den adekvata reaktionen är också att fråga vad vi kan göra åt detta.
Den högerextrema islamiströrelsen är ansvarig för mer än fruktansvärda bombdåd i Europa. Den är ansvarig för att syra kastas i ansiktet på kvinnor i Afghanistan, för att kroppsdelar blir avhuggna i Somalia, för tortyr i fängelserna i Iran och för den ständiga förudmjukelsen och rädslan som miljoner människor under deras styre tvingas leva med varje dag.
Vårt ideal är ett inklusivt samhälle baserat på progressiva sociala värderingar. Två högerextrema rörelser hotar nu detta ideal. Vi tror att det bästa sättet att besegra dem är att bygga globala folkliga rörelser baserade på solidaritet och samarbete.
Vi uttrycker nu vår solidaritet med folket i Sverige och vårt hopp om att deras reaktion blir adekvat. Vi hoppas att ni i er tur kan utsträcka er solidaritet till folket i Iran och andra länder runtom i världen som kämpar varje dag mot tyranniet och terrorn under islamistiskt styre.
Vi vill också uttrycka vårt stöd för Lars Vilks och för principen om oinskränkt yttrandefrihet. Om vi böjer oss för trycket att ”inte provocera”, då har bombaren vunnit. Vi kommer inte att tysta oss själva på grund av hot om våld.
Iran Solidarity
First of all, we wish to express our relief that the catastrophe that could have happened in Stockholm this Saturday, didn't happen.
We know that this event might be used by far-right nationalists to stir up hatred against immigrants. This is clearly unacceptable and should not be tolerated.
However, there is another far-right movement that should be at the focus of our attention here - namely the one to which the bomber himself belonged.
Some people now seem more concerned about the risk of improper reactions, than with actually trying to react properly themselves.
The proper reaction is to state the fact that the bomber was part of a violent, misogynistic, authoritarian and most definitely far-right movement that wants to bring us all back to the 7th century by means of force. The proper reaction is to be very worried about this. The proper reaction is also to contemplate what we can do about it.
The far-right movement of Islamism is responsible for more than horrific bomb attacks in Europe. It is responsible for acid being thrown on women's faces in Afghanistan, for limbs being cut off in Somalia, for prison torture in Iran and for the everyday humiliation and fear of millions of people forced to live under their rule.
Our ideal is an inclusive society based on progressive social values. Two far-right movements are currently threatening this ideal. We believe that the best way to defeat them is to build global movements of solidarity and co-operation on the popular level.
We now voice our solidarity with the people in Sweden and express our hope that their reaction will be a proper one. We hope that you can extend your solidarity in turn to the people in Iran and elsewhere in the world who fight everyday against the tyranny and terror of Islamist rule.
We also wish to state our support for Lars Vilks and for the principle of unconditional freedom of speech. If we bow to the pressure to "not provoke", then the bomber has won. We will not silence ourselves because of threats of violence.
Iran Solidarity
13 December 2010
Först av allt så vill vi uttrycka vår lättnad över att den katastrof som kunde ha inträffat i lördags, aldrig inträffade.
Vi vet att denna händelse kan komma att användas av högerextrema nationalister för att skapa hat mot invandrare. Detta är klart oacceptabelt och skall ej tolereras.
Det finns dock en annan högerextrem rörelse som vårt fokus bör ligga på här - nämligen den som bombaren själv tillhörde.
Vissa verkar nu mest oroade över risken för felaktiga reaktioner – snarare än att faktiskt själva försöka reagera på ett adekvat sätt.
Den adekvata reaktionen är att fastställa det faktum att bombaren var del av en våldsam, kvinnofientlig, auktoritär och definitivt högerextrem rörelse som vill föra oss alla tillbaka till 600-talet med hjälp av våld. Den adekvata reaktionen är att vara mycket bekymrad över detta. Den adekvata reaktionen är också att fråga vad vi kan göra åt detta.
Den högerextrema islamiströrelsen är ansvarig för mer än fruktansvärda bombdåd i Europa. Den är ansvarig för att syra kastas i ansiktet på kvinnor i Afghanistan, för att kroppsdelar blir avhuggna i Somalia, för tortyr i fängelserna i Iran och för den ständiga förudmjukelsen och rädslan som miljoner människor under deras styre tvingas leva med varje dag.
Vårt ideal är ett inklusivt samhälle baserat på progressiva sociala värderingar. Två högerextrema rörelser hotar nu detta ideal. Vi tror att det bästa sättet att besegra dem är att bygga globala folkliga rörelser baserade på solidaritet och samarbete.
Vi uttrycker nu vår solidaritet med folket i Sverige och vårt hopp om att deras reaktion blir adekvat. Vi hoppas att ni i er tur kan utsträcka er solidaritet till folket i Iran och andra länder runtom i världen som kämpar varje dag mot tyranniet och terrorn under islamistiskt styre.
Vi vill också uttrycka vårt stöd för Lars Vilks och för principen om oinskränkt yttrandefrihet. Om vi böjer oss för trycket att ”inte provocera”, då har bombaren vunnit. Vi kommer inte att tysta oss själva på grund av hot om våld.
Iran Solidarity
Friday, 10 December 2010
Happy Human Rights Day!?!
For millions of people there is no Happy Human Rights Day, for them it is still a distant reality, simply because they live under regimes that won’t let them have the most basic human rights.
Human rights are inalienable rights; they are universal and fundamentally belong to each and every one of us. That’s why we are supporting the people of
For the last 18 months, ever since the June 09 ‘elections’, Iran Solidarity has been working on mobilising support for the people of Iran. We have been doing this through protests, events, solidarity actions and above all by calling on concerned people across the world to show their solidarity with the people in
The case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the 43 year-old Iranian woman who has been sentenced to death by stoning is a good example of the injustice, misogyny and abuse that is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran Solidarity has been campaigning for Sakineh’s release since the summer and we are continuing our work. We are also calling for the closure of the Islamic Republic’s embassies across the world as a step towards its diplomatic isolation.
The fight of the people against the Islamic regime of
We are supporting the struggles and efforts of Iranians, believing that they can rid themselves of the oppression they have to endure.
We now have branches across Europe, North America and
We are counting on your support and solidarity to help the more than 70 million people in
Thank YOU!
Please get in touch with us for more information on our activities and how you can help.
Email: iransolidarityuk@gmail.com
For contact info for our other branches, please go to our website
The television charade of the Islamic Republic of Iran against Sakineh and Sajjad is condemned
Press Release 109
10 December 2010
Sakineh, Sajjad, Houtan and the two German journalists must be immediately and unconditionally released
The Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that it will again broadcast ‘interviews’ with Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and her son, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, via its English language station, Press TV, today, on 10 December, International Human Rights Day. Press TV wants to supposedly broadcast Sakineh and Sajjad’s confessions under torture. Press TV hopes to respond to the wave of protests of millions of people worldwide against the Islamic regime by playing the role of interrogator.
The false news of the release of Sakineh and Sajjad was quickly broadcast worldwide on 9 December and brought with it a wave of international solidarity and euphoria. Clearly, people everywhere – the millions who protested and came to the fore - are anxiously awaiting the moment of their release and that of the two German Journalists and Sakineh’s lawyer.
By torturing its captives and dragging them on to such televised charades, the regime strives to reduce its crimes and diminish the pressure against it. However, this case has so highlighted the criminal character of this regime and its judicial system that any move by the regime and its mouthpieces only ends in exposing it even further. Today the televised charades that have taken place countless times since the establishment of the regime against political prisoners is taking place against Sakineh and Sajjad. It must be unequivocally condemned.
The International Committees against Stoning and Execution will resolutely continue the campaign to free Sakineh, Sajjad, Houtan and the two German journalists and call on people everywhere to continue their efforts. The inhuman punishments of stoning and execution must end; a regime that has been founded on such heinous crimes must be overthrown. This is the demand of the people of Iran and millions of humanitarian people across the globe.
International Committee against Stoning
International Committee against Execution
For more information, contact:
Mina Ahadi
minaahadi@aol.com
Tel: +49 (0) 1775692413
http://stopstonningnow.com
http://notonemoreexecution.org
10 December 2010
Sakineh, Sajjad, Houtan and the two German journalists must be immediately and unconditionally released
The Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that it will again broadcast ‘interviews’ with Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and her son, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, via its English language station, Press TV, today, on 10 December, International Human Rights Day. Press TV wants to supposedly broadcast Sakineh and Sajjad’s confessions under torture. Press TV hopes to respond to the wave of protests of millions of people worldwide against the Islamic regime by playing the role of interrogator.
The false news of the release of Sakineh and Sajjad was quickly broadcast worldwide on 9 December and brought with it a wave of international solidarity and euphoria. Clearly, people everywhere – the millions who protested and came to the fore - are anxiously awaiting the moment of their release and that of the two German Journalists and Sakineh’s lawyer.
By torturing its captives and dragging them on to such televised charades, the regime strives to reduce its crimes and diminish the pressure against it. However, this case has so highlighted the criminal character of this regime and its judicial system that any move by the regime and its mouthpieces only ends in exposing it even further. Today the televised charades that have taken place countless times since the establishment of the regime against political prisoners is taking place against Sakineh and Sajjad. It must be unequivocally condemned.
The International Committees against Stoning and Execution will resolutely continue the campaign to free Sakineh, Sajjad, Houtan and the two German journalists and call on people everywhere to continue their efforts. The inhuman punishments of stoning and execution must end; a regime that has been founded on such heinous crimes must be overthrown. This is the demand of the people of Iran and millions of humanitarian people across the globe.
International Committee against Stoning
International Committee against Execution
For more information, contact:
Mina Ahadi
minaahadi@aol.com
Tel: +49 (0) 1775692413
http://stopstonningnow.com
http://notonemoreexecution.org
A call for an independent board of jurists to visit Iran to examine Ashtiani case
PR No. 110
10 December 2010
On 8 December 2010 a delegation from the International Committees against Stoning and Execution met with European parliament and commission officials to empower an independent board of jurists to examine the court documents pertaining to the Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case and interview Ms Ashtiani, her son, lawyer and others.
The delegation consisted of Mina Ahadi, Spokesperson of the International Committees against Stoning and Execution; Taher Djafarzadeh, Neda Day Italy Representative; Bruno Malattia, pro bono legal counsel of Ms Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani; and Maryam Namazie, Spokesperson of Iran Solidarity. The four met with Mr. Alexandre Stutzmann, the European Parliament President's Chief Diplomatic Adviser, Mr. Levente Csaszi, the President’s Adviser responsible for Human Rights, and Alexandra Knapton, responsible inter alia for human rights in the cabinet of European Commission Vice President Catherine Ashton amongst others.
The next day, Mina Ahadi spoke at a GUE/NGL day-long conference entitled “Women's rights in Europe and the World: The strategies needed to move the women' rights agenda forward” in the European Parliament on the Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case and the situation of women in Iran.
The ICAS and ICAE will continue to do all it can to secure the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, her son, Lawyer and the two journalists.
International Committee against Stoning
International Committee against Execution
For more information, contact:
Mina Ahadi
minaahadi@aol.com
Tel: +49 (0) 1775692413
http://stopstonningnow.com
http://notonemoreexecution.org
10 December 2010
On 8 December 2010 a delegation from the International Committees against Stoning and Execution met with European parliament and commission officials to empower an independent board of jurists to examine the court documents pertaining to the Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case and interview Ms Ashtiani, her son, lawyer and others.
The delegation consisted of Mina Ahadi, Spokesperson of the International Committees against Stoning and Execution; Taher Djafarzadeh, Neda Day Italy Representative; Bruno Malattia, pro bono legal counsel of Ms Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani; and Maryam Namazie, Spokesperson of Iran Solidarity. The four met with Mr. Alexandre Stutzmann, the European Parliament President's Chief Diplomatic Adviser, Mr. Levente Csaszi, the President’s Adviser responsible for Human Rights, and Alexandra Knapton, responsible inter alia for human rights in the cabinet of European Commission Vice President Catherine Ashton amongst others.
The next day, Mina Ahadi spoke at a GUE/NGL day-long conference entitled “Women's rights in Europe and the World: The strategies needed to move the women' rights agenda forward” in the European Parliament on the Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case and the situation of women in Iran.
The ICAS and ICAE will continue to do all it can to secure the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, her son, Lawyer and the two journalists.
International Committee against Stoning
International Committee against Execution
For more information, contact:
Mina Ahadi
minaahadi@aol.com
Tel: +49 (0) 1775692413
http://stopstonningnow.com
http://notonemoreexecution.org
Press Release 108: On the report related to the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Sajjad Ghaderzadeh
On 9 December photographs of Sakineh and her son Sajjad were released by Press TV (one of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s media outlets) and was picked up by a number of international agencies. These have all made it seem as if they have been released.
The report of their release, however, has not been confirmed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
It is important to note that there has been conflicting information on this issue in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s news agencies.
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Reports received that Sakineh and Sajad have been released! ICAS awaiting confirmation from the Islamic regime of Iran
ICAS has received reports of the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and her son Sajjad Ghaderzadeh. If the news is accurate, Mina Ahadi sends the following greetings. However, ICAS is still awaiting confirmation of the report from the Islamic Republic of Iran:
The news of the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, her son Sajad Ghaderzadeh and the two German journalists is heartwarming for the International Committees against Stoning and Execution and for all those who fought for Sakineh’s freedom.
There are no words to express our joy. The thought that she can embrace her children in the safety of her own home and sleep soundly tonight is wonderful. This is a historical success for humanity. It shows, when millions stand together they can save precious lives and stop the unthinkable.
On behalf of the International Committee against Stoning and Execution I thank each and everyone of you.
Sakineh’s freedom must be the beginning of the end of stoning in Iran and everywhere.
Mina Ahadi
Spokesperson
International Committee against Stoning
International Committee against Execution
9 December 2010
The news of the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, her son Sajad Ghaderzadeh and the two German journalists is heartwarming for the International Committees against Stoning and Execution and for all those who fought for Sakineh’s freedom.
There are no words to express our joy. The thought that she can embrace her children in the safety of her own home and sleep soundly tonight is wonderful. This is a historical success for humanity. It shows, when millions stand together they can save precious lives and stop the unthinkable.
On behalf of the International Committee against Stoning and Execution I thank each and everyone of you.
Sakineh’s freedom must be the beginning of the end of stoning in Iran and everywhere.
Mina Ahadi
Spokesperson
International Committee against Stoning
International Committee against Execution
9 December 2010
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Iran Solidarity on CNN
Watch CNN's report on today's student protest and online networking featuring Iran Solidarity
(for link click also here)
(for link click also here)
London protest in support of 16 Azar Student Day in Iran
We had a good protest tonight in front of the Islamic regime's embassy in London, in solidarity with the brave students who today protested in universities throughout Iran.
In support of Students in Iran
Students have always been a vital part of protesting against the brutal regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran and today on Student Day (16 Azar, 7 December) they are protesting in their thousands at universities across
Student organisations at various universities throughout Iran have called for strikes and protests and they are firm in their message to the regime that 16 Azar is a day of resistance and that they will fight ‘until the last breath to destroy religious tyranny.’
Today, the regime’s forces are controlling the universities, barring students from entering the campus and blocking others inside from gathering, all under the threat of violence. The streets around
‘Death to dictator’ shouts have been heard over the last couple of days and they are continuing today in front of universities, at meetings and protests. The students demand the release of their imprisoned fellow students and the release of all political prisoners. No doubt they will be met with brutal force, intimidation and arrests by the Islamic regime’s forces. No doubt the students will continue their protest.
We are protesting today to show our solidarity with the students in
Conference on Apostasy, Sharia Law and Human Rights
To mark International Human Rights Day, Iran Solidarity is co-sponsoring an all day conference on Apostasy, Sharia Law and Human Rights at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London on Saturday 11 December 2010. Conference registration begins at 10.00am for 11.00am start and ends at 19.00 hours, after which there will be a social gathering.
The conference will highlight urgent cases including Pakistani Asia Bibi who has received a death sentence for blasphemy, Palestinian Waleed Al-Husseini who has been arrested for criticising Islam and campaigners in Iran charged with ‘enmity against God’ and demand their unconditional and immediate release.
Panel discussions include ‘International Apostasy and Religion,’ ‘Ex-Muslims in Britain and Europe’ and ‘Multiculturalism and Multifaithism versus Universal Human Rights.’
There will also be a play ‘Masculine Laws’ by Ghazi Rabihavi and a comedy act by Nick Doody.
Confirmed speakers are:
John Adams (Emeritus Professor at the University of Hertfordshire)
Mina Ahadi (Spokesperson of the International Committee against Stoning and Council of Ex-Muslims of Germany)
Roy Brown (International Representative of International Humanist and Ethical Union)
Goranka Gudelj (Outreach Coordinator of One Law for All)
Rumy Hassan (Senior Lecturer at the Science Policy Research Unit of the University of Sussex and Author of Multiculturalism: Some Inconvenient Truths)
Marieme Helie Lucas (Algerian Sociologist and Founder of Women Living Under Muslims Laws and Secularism is a Women’s Issue)
Maryam Namazie (Spokesperson of One Law for All, Iran Solidarity and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain)
Hassan Radwan (Teacher at an Islamia school for 15 years and presently Management Committee Member of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain)
Gita Sahgal (Women’s Rights Campaigner; former head of Amnesty International’s Gender Unit suspended for questioning AI’s relations with an Islamist organisation)
Hamed Abdol Samad (German-Egyptian Political Scientist and Author of Farwell to Heaven and The Collapse of the Islamic World)
Terry Sanderson (President of the National Secular Society)
Muriel Seltman (Campaigner of One Law for All)
Alom Shaha (Science Teacher, Writer and Film Maker)
Joan Smith (Writer, Columnist and Women’s Rights Campaigner)
Bahram Soroush (Human Rights Campaigner)
Peter Tatchell (Human Rights Campaigner)
Anne Marie Waters (Spokesperson of One Law for All).
Tickets are £10 for individuals; £25 for organisations and statutory bodies. The conference is free for CEMB members and asylum seekers. Donations are welcome.
The conference is sponsored by Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Iran Solidarity, National Secular Society, One Law for All and South Place Ethical Society.
The event will be dedicated to the Iran stoning case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.
For more info and booking form go OLFA website
Monday, 6 December 2010
Protest on Student's Day in Iran
In solidarity and support of the students on 'Student's Day' in Iran , Iran Solidarity will be protesting in front of the Islamic regime's embassy in London, tomorrow Tuesday 7 December.
Come and join us.
Here are just two examples of why students in Iran need our support:
Mohammad Pourabdollah,a chemical engineering student at the University of Tehran, was arrested on February 12, 2009 at his home. He was detained for over one month in solitary confinement and was sentenced to six years which was subsequently reduced to three years for ‘propaganda against the state and society’ and ‘conspiracy to disturb national security.’
Behzad Bagheri Kahkesh, 24, a left-wing student of Archaeology at Tehran University was arrested on 29 May 2010 and since then has been detained without charge in Dastgerd Prison, Esfahan.
Where: Islamic Republic of Iran embassy
16 Prince's Gate London SW7 1PT
When: from 6pm
for more info call: 079507978745
or email: iransolidarityuk@gmail.com
Come and join us.
Here are just two examples of why students in Iran need our support:
Mohammad Pourabdollah,a chemical engineering student at the University of Tehran, was arrested on February 12, 2009 at his home. He was detained for over one month in solitary confinement and was sentenced to six years which was subsequently reduced to three years for ‘propaganda against the state and society’ and ‘conspiracy to disturb national security.’
Behzad Bagheri Kahkesh, 24, a left-wing student of Archaeology at Tehran University was arrested on 29 May 2010 and since then has been detained without charge in Dastgerd Prison, Esfahan.
Where: Islamic Republic of Iran embassy
16 Prince's Gate London SW7 1PT
When: from 6pm
for more info call: 079507978745
or email: iransolidarityuk@gmail.com
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Mohammad Ashrafi and other asylum seekers must be released immediately
The International Federation of Iranian Refugees calls upon the Greek Ministry of the Interior to immediately release Mohammad Ashrafi and other detained asylum seekers.
Mohammad Ashrafi, a renowned labour activist and a member of the Committee to Establish Free Labour Organizations, has been detained by Greek police for over 3 months, along with a number of other asylum seekers.
The Islamic Republic's security apparatus and the Information Ministry arrested Mohammad Ashrafi and a number of other labour activists in Laleh Park on May 1st, 2009. He was then sentenced to a year of suspended imprisonment.
On February 9, 2010 the security forces raided his home, arrested and detained him for a while.On June 10, 2010 , the 3 rd branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court summoned Mohammad Ashrafi. They demanded he present himself at this court on Tuesday, June 22.
By then, Mohammad Ashrafi was well aware of the intimidation and bogus charges awaiting him, with which the judiciary apparatus had planned to silence him. In order to avoid the heavy punishments that the judiciary apparatus had planned to use to retaliate against him and other labour activists, he decided to leave the country and find a safe haven to continue his activities. He left Iran, but was arrested by the Greek border police. He has been detained for over 3 month in one of the most notorious and irregular Greek detention centres!
The Greek government is well aware of inhumane practices of the Islamic regime against its opponents. The powerful sit-in of the Iranian asylum seekers in the centre of Athens and their relentless disclosures during the action revealed the despicable covert intelligence relations and diplomacy between the Greek government and the Islamic Republic.
The International Federation of Iranian Refugees supports Mohammad Ashrafi’s fundamental right to security and asylum and demands the immediate release of this labour activist from detention by the Greek police. Asylum seekers are not criminals and should not be detained in detention camps for seeking refuge.
The Federation calls upon all human and refugee rights advocacy organizations to pressure the Greek government for its inhumane practices against asylum seekers and to immediate release Mohammad Ashrafi and other detained asylum seekers from Greek prisons.
International Federation of Iranian Refugees
December 2, 2010
Mohammad Ashrafi, a renowned labour activist and a member of the Committee to Establish Free Labour Organizations, has been detained by Greek police for over 3 months, along with a number of other asylum seekers.
The Islamic Republic's security apparatus and the Information Ministry arrested Mohammad Ashrafi and a number of other labour activists in Laleh Park on May 1st, 2009. He was then sentenced to a year of suspended imprisonment.
On February 9, 2010 the security forces raided his home, arrested and detained him for a while.On June 10, 2010 , the 3 rd branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court summoned Mohammad Ashrafi. They demanded he present himself at this court on Tuesday, June 22.
By then, Mohammad Ashrafi was well aware of the intimidation and bogus charges awaiting him, with which the judiciary apparatus had planned to silence him. In order to avoid the heavy punishments that the judiciary apparatus had planned to use to retaliate against him and other labour activists, he decided to leave the country and find a safe haven to continue his activities. He left Iran, but was arrested by the Greek border police. He has been detained for over 3 month in one of the most notorious and irregular Greek detention centres!
The Greek government is well aware of inhumane practices of the Islamic regime against its opponents. The powerful sit-in of the Iranian asylum seekers in the centre of Athens and their relentless disclosures during the action revealed the despicable covert intelligence relations and diplomacy between the Greek government and the Islamic Republic.
The International Federation of Iranian Refugees supports Mohammad Ashrafi’s fundamental right to security and asylum and demands the immediate release of this labour activist from detention by the Greek police. Asylum seekers are not criminals and should not be detained in detention camps for seeking refuge.
The Federation calls upon all human and refugee rights advocacy organizations to pressure the Greek government for its inhumane practices against asylum seekers and to immediate release Mohammad Ashrafi and other detained asylum seekers from Greek prisons.
International Federation of Iranian Refugees
December 2, 2010
Friday, 3 December 2010
Protest at the callous execution of Shahla Jahed by the regime in Iran
Germany
Köln
Time: 4 December 2010, 12-1pm
Place: Domplatte
UK
London
Time: 4 December 2010, 2-4pm
Place: Trafalgar Square
USA
Washington DC
Time: 5 December 2010, 12 noon
Place: in front of islamic interest section, 2209 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington DC
Background
Shahla Jahed was a 39-year old woman sentenced to death for the alleged murder of her former lover’s wife. She was hanged on Wednesday 1 December after a seriously flawed conviction even by the Islamic Republic’s medieval judicial standards. She had already spent nine years in prison under the nightmare of execution.
Shahla had retracted a confession, which she said had been extracted from her under physical and mental duress. However, the Islamic Republic’s judges decided to ignore the retraction and sentenced her to death. Due to major inconsistencies in her case, she once received a stay of execution. However, the original conviction was suddenly upheld by the High Court last month.
Shahla’s high-profile case had been the object of years of world-wide campaigning by the International Committee Against Execution and other human rights organisations and campaigners. So the timing of her execution is significant, and the link to the stoning case woman Sakineh Ashtiani obvious: unable so far under international pressure to stone or otherwise kill Sakineh, the regime in Iran decided to murder Shahla Jahed to demonstrate its barbaric violence. It may have been hoping to put a damper on the Sakineh campaign. However, it has only added to the worldwide indignation, making the criminal case against it even graver. Shahla’s killing will no doubt figure prominently in any future investigation by international human rights courts into that regime’s crimes against humanity.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Call for action this Saturday in memory of Shahla Jahed
Call for action on Saturday December 4 against the execution and stoning regime, in Iran and abroad
ICAE calls upon people in Iran to widely participate in Shahla Jehad’s memorial. And while staying in solidarity with Shahla’s family, express your despise towards the barbaric act of execution.
ICAE calls upon all people and organizations around the world who are against execution to gather in front of the embassies of Islamic Republic of Iran and city centers to strongly condemn IRI’s barbaric act of execution and to demand an end to it.
Go here for details and locations which will be added shortly.
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Shahla Jahed was murdered today
 |
| They killed Shahla Jahed today |
Shahla was murdered for the crime of being a woman at the mercy of the Islamic regime at a time that they needed to murder a woman, at a time that they specially needed to murder a woman with a high profile. She otherwise had stated on the record that she had confessed under threat of a relative’s chilled being raped. She was innocent according to her case’s first examiner who was removed from the case for his assessment. She was innocent according to her lawyer who had pointed this out through filing the controversies and legal discrepancies. But none of these mattered for a “judiciary” system based on constitutional savagery and barbarism at the service of a political entity which is preserved through terror and atmosphere of fear of social proportions.
Shahla was murdered for the same reason as Delara and Atefeh and thousands other women were murdered. We will carry their memories and their stories with us to the day we together burn all gallows, and bring down the regime of terror, stoning and execution.
Our sadness gives way to rage, our grief to hatred and resolution. We promise that this gang of murderous criminals pay for killing Shahla, and each and every atrocity committed against our people. We promise that every battle to save another victim of these savages will brings our ranks closer and the glorious day of “Islamic Republic is no more” nearer.They killed Shahla this morning Wednesday December 1, 2010, in Evin. Our hearts go out to Shahla’s family and friends. Our condolences to all of you all across the world who have spent hours and days working to stop the Islamic regime from committing yet another crime.
International Committee Against Execution
1 December 2010
Spokesperson: Mina Ahadi minaahadi@aol.com 0049-177-569-2413
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