Iran: Akrobatik ohne Sportförderung

Die folgenden Aufnahmen von akrobatischen Jugendlichen entstanden inSari, Nordiran.

Iran:Taxifahrerstreik in iranisch-Kurdistan

90 Taxifahrer in iranisch-Kurdistan, die regelmäßig auf der Strecke zwischenSanandadsch und Mariwanfahren, haben ihre Arbeit niedergelegt. Es ist für sie kein wirtschaftliches Überleben mehr möglich, seit die Benzin, Öl und andere Kostenfaktoren stark im Preis gestiegen sind, ohne dass die staatlich regulierten Fahrpreise ebenfalls angehoben wurden.

Auf einer Kundgebung vor dem Gouverneursgebäude von Sanandasch forderten sie die Erhöhung der Fahrpreise in einer Größenordnung, die den gestiegenen Kosten entspricht. Falls dieses Problem in den nächsten Tagen nicht gelöst würde, würden sich auch die etwa 60 Minibusfahrer der Strecke an dem Streik beteiligen.

Source: Ali Schirasi

Iran: Sakines Anwalt muss weiter leiden

Rechtsanwalt Dschawid Hutan-Kian

Dschawid Hutan-Kian (Jawid Houtan-Kian), der Rechtsanwalt von Sakine Mohammadi Aschtiani, die zur Steinigung verurteilt worden war und deren Fall viel Aufsehen erregte, weil er auch zur Inhaftierung der zwei Reporter der „Bild am Sonntag“, Marcus Hellwig und Jens Koch, führte, ist weiter in Haft. Während Marcus Hellwig und Jens Koch, die am 10. Oktober 2010 verhaftet wurden, als sie mit Dschawid Hutan-Kian und dem Sohn von Sakine Mohammadi Aschtiani sprechen wollten, nach vielen Protesten am 19.02.2011 freigelassen wurden, ist Dschawid Hutan-Kian wegen seines Interviews mit den beiden Reportern weiter im Gefängnis. Er wurde jetzt in eine Abteilung von Drogensüchtigen verlegt, wo die Zustände besonders schrecklich sind, da die iranischen Gefängnisse so etwas wie Drogentherapie nicht kennen und die Süchtigen in ihrem Elend belassen.

Source: Ali Schirasi

Iran: zwei Gesichter der Staatsgewalt

Der Taleqani-Park in Teheran ist besonders unter Familien beliebt, die in der warmen Sommerzeit oft bis in die späten Stunden dort bleiben. Dies ist den Machthabern besonders an Freitagen ein Dorn im Auge – denn der Freitag ist der Tag, an die die gläubigen Moslems in die Moschee gehen sollen. Die Menschen haben besseres zu tun als sich die ewige Regierungspropaganda der Freitagsprediger anzuhören und gehen lieber spazieren.
Im Taleqani-Park gibt es deshalb immer wieder Polizeikontrollen, ob die Frauen auch richtig verschleiert sind etc. Offensichtlich genügt das nicht, um die Bevölkerung einzuschüchtern. Deshalb haben die Machthaber wieder sogenannte „Rowdys“ herangezogen, um für Ordnung in ihrem Sinn zu sorgen. Sie schickten eine Bande von etwa zwanzig jungen Männern in „Zivil“, die die Scheiben zahlreicher beim Park stehenden Autos zerschlugen und Menschen verprügelten, ehe sie wieder unerkannt verschwanden. Die Polizei, die in der Nähe stationiert war, fühlte sich nicht bemüßigt, einzugreifen. Wahrscheinlich wussten sie, dass sie ihre Helfer ungestört arbeiten lassen sollten.

 

Source: Ali Schirasi

A Different Before and After Prison Picture

Prison in Islamic Republic is tough, very tough. Political prisoners who have been in prison during the  Shah’s reign and in the last three decades since the Islamic revolution in 1979 have often said, “one day in Islamic Republic prisons was like a whole year in the Shah’s prisons”. Regime officials and judges always rebuff the complaints about the conditions in Islamic Republic prisons by saying, “prison is not supposed to be a hotel”.

To demonstrate this point, I wrote this post back in July 2010. It is a pictorial confirmation that the “prisons in Islamic Republic are not hotels”

Former Khatami Deputy, Abtahi, Before Prison and After

 

Journalist Emadedin Baghi, Before and After

Coordination Council calls for ‘silent’ commemoration of 2009 protest anniversary

Marking the 3-year anniversary of 25 Khordad rallies

GVF — The Coordination Council of the Green Path of Hope has called for commemorations to be held on the third anniversary of the electoral coup that sparked the largest demonstrations in Iran since the 1979 revolution.

In a statement on Friday, the Coordination Council, the pro-democracy Green Movement’s highest decision-making authority, called on Iranians to hold “silent” protests in “public spaces, especially in the city’s main parks” on Thursday 25 Khordad (14 June) to mark the three-year anniversary of the country’s 2009 presidential election.

A day after millions of Iranians went to the polls to vote for their president on 12 June 2009, Ahmadinejad’s Interior Ministry claimed he had one a landslide reelection “victory.” The results triggered large-scale protests across the country and opposition candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi refused to acknowledge authenticity of the outcome.

Armenian orchestra performs in Tehran

The National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, conducted by Iranian-Armenian composer Loris Tjeknavorian, gave a concert at Tehran Vahdat Hall on Saturday night.

Khaju Bridge in Isfahan

ISFAHAN, June 10 (MNA) — The Khaju Bridge is one of the most famous historical structures built over the Zayanderud River in Isfahan. The bridge was built in Safavid era (around 1650) on the foundation of an earlier bridge. Comprised of 23 arches, the bridge is 105 meters in length and 14 meters in width.

Traditional carpet weaving workshops in Kerman

KERMAN. June 10 (MNA) — Carpet-weaving is one of the main industries of Kerman province in the southeastern Iran. It is historically a major traditional profession for the majority of families in the city and the carpets produced there are renowned internationally.

Iran’s Political Elite

Mehrzad Boroujerdi and Kourosh Rahimkhani

• Abdi, Abbas (1956– ) A leading journalist and political analyst. He was one of the students who took over the American embassy on November 4, 1979, and in 1999, he took part in a debate with one of the former hostages at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. An engineer by training, he served after the revolution in the intelligence agencies, the judiciary and the Center for Strategic Studies, which is affiliated with the Office of the President. He was imprisoned for eight months in 1993 for writing critical columns in the Salamnewspaper and later served a three-year jail term (2002–2005) for conducting a poll on behalf of Gallup that showed more than 74 percent of Iranians were interested in rapprochement with the United States.

• Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud (1956– ) A conservative populist politician who won 61 percent of the votes in a runoff presidential election against former president Rafsanjani in 2005. He was reelected in a disputed vote in 2009 that gave birth to the opposition Green Movement. Son of a blacksmith, he earned a doctorate in transport engineering and served with both the Basij and Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) during the Iran-Iraq War. In his website profile, he claims that during the war he worked as a Basiji volunteer in the engineering group in Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan. He reportedly became a member of the IRGC in 1986 when he joined the Special Forces division of IRGC. Afterwards, he served as governor general of Khoi and Mako, governor of Ardabil, mayor of Tehran (2003-2005), and then president. His acerbic comments about Israel and the United States and his messianic discourse, have made him a controversial figure in international politics.

• Asgaroladi, Habibollah (1932– ) A heavyweight in the conservative political camp. There are rumors that his family was originally of Jewish descent and converted to Islam during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi. He served for many years as the secretary-general of the Islamic Coalition Party (Hezb-e Mo’talefeh-ye Eslami), the supreme leader’s representative on the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee (the biggest governmental charity serving 10 million poor people), a member of Parliament, the commerce minister (1981–1983), and a member of the Expediency Council. He also twice (1981 and 1985) ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the presidency.

Khamenei Consolidates Control Amid Other Power Shifts

Mehrzad Boroujerdi

Since Iran’s presidential election in 2009, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has evolved into a micromanager of Iranian politics. He curtailed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his allies. He turned the lights off on Iran’s reformists. He emasculated all other major institutions, including parliament, the judiciary, the Experts Assembly and the 12-man Guardian Council. And he subdued the religious seminaries as the citadel of clerical power.

Today, neither the press nor other governmental bodies can effectively investigate any of the organs under the Supreme Leader. Nor can any institution overrule him. Iran is technically a semi-presidential system in which executive power is bifurcated between the president and the Supreme Leader. But during 23 years in office, Khamenei has amassed disproportionate power by manipulating institutions so he can bypass the democratic rules (based on French and Belgian law) enshrined in the Iranian constitution.

dOCUMENTA(13): VERBOTENES UND POPULÄRES KINO Iran – Populär: Do Zan (Two Women)

20:30 28 JUN 2012 / Gloria Kino

KARTEN ERHÄLTLICH IM GLORIA KINO

Verboten: Dayereh (Der Kreis), Jafar Panahi, Iran / Italien / Schweiz 2000, 90 Min., Persisch mit deutschen Untertiteln

Populär: Do Zan (Two Women), Tahmineh Milani, Iran 1999, 2000, 96 Min., Persisch mit englischen Untertiteln

Solmaz, Pari, Nargess, Arezou, Elham und Nayareh sind die Protagonistinnen von Dayereh, einem Film, der ihren Kampf als Prostituierte (einem der wenigen möglichen, wenn auch verbotenen Berufe für Frauen) in
den Straßen Teherans schildert – sie verstecken sich in Seitengassen, kauern hinter Autos, fliehen vor der Verfolgung durch patriarchalische Restriktionen und der Polizei. Indem Jafar Panahi die Erzählung von einer Frau zur nächsten wandern lässt, deutet er auf ein Potenzial, das aus dem gemeinsamen Zustand der Verzweiflung entwickelt werden kann. Der Film, der bei den Filmfestspielen von Venedig 2000 den Goldenen Löwen erhielt, wurde wie die meisten von Panahis Filmen verboten. Im Jahr 2011 wurde Panahi wegen »Propaganda gegen den Staat« zu sechs Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt, darüber hinaus wurde ihm für zwanzig Jahre jegliche künstlerische Tätigkeit untersagt – das Filmemachen, Drehbuchschreiben, Ins-Ausland-reisen und Mit-den-Medien-sprechen.

Eine andere Sichtweise auf das Leben iranischer Frauen bietet Tahmineh Milanis populärer Film Do Zan, der die Geschichte von Fereshteh und Roya erzählt, die während der turbulenten ersten Jahre der Islamischen Republik Architektur studieren. Der Film schildert, wie die beiden Frauen infolge verschiedener gesellschaftlicher Zwänge unterschiedliche Lebenswege einschlagen. Regisseurin Tahmineh Milani, die nicht vor unverhohlenen Darstellungen häuslicher Gewalt zurückschreckt, äußert damit ihre Kritik an den Traditionen, die Frauen in die Enge treibt. Nach monatelangen Auseinandersetzungen mit der Zensurbehörde war Do zan bei der iranischen Premiere 1999 ein großer Erfolg. Im selben Jahr erhielt Milani beim Fajr Film Festival im Iran den Preis für das beste Drehbuch.

© Tahmineh Milani

Photo Essay | Paris: Iran’s Political Hub

by THE EDITORS

Seeking a New HomeRefugees whose asylum applications have been accepted start lining up outside the Préfecture de Police in the 19th arrondissement at three in the morning. They repeat the process until they get a turn inside. The prefecture issues a residence permit that allows refugees to work, if they can get someone to give them a job. This photo was taken on December 11, 2009, during the first winter after Iran’s disputed presidential election and the massive protests that followed.

The Long WaitAn Iranian-Kurdish couple, both journalists, queue along with other refugees outside the prefecture.

Wearing of the GreenThe idea to adopt the color green for the presidential campaign of Mir Hossein Mousavi is often credited to Roohollah Shahsavar, a journalist and former head of a youth branch of Mousavi’s headquarters in the northeast city of Mashhad. After being locked up for a few months, Shahsavar was released and fled to Paris, where he enrolled as a university student.

Hezbollah: Explaining the Past and Promising the Future

by GARETH SMYTH

Does Hassan Nasrallah really want a “strong state” in Lebanon?

Gareth Smyth, a frequent Tehran Bureau contributor, started reporting from Lebanon in 1996. He was formerly based in Tehran as bureau chief for the Financial Times. He filed this report from Beirut. IDÉ is where ideas are discussed in the magazine.

Hassan Nasrallah chose June 1 and the commemoration of the 23rd anniversary of the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, organized by the Iranian embassy, to drop a surprise.Out of the blue, Hezbollah’s general secretary called for a “constituent assembly” to create a “strong state” in Lebanon.

Making a revolution was one thing, said Nasrallah, but to build a strong state, as Ayatollah Khomeini had done in Iran, was a far greater challenge. A new, presumably elected, constituent assembly would give Lebanon fresh national purpose, suggested Nasrallah, and overcome its sectarian divisions.

For many Lebanese, the idea of a strong state is attractive, given the chaos and frustration resulting from the country’s lack of social and political cohesion. “What we need is a benevolent dictator,” one friend in Ras Beirut told me. “Otherwise it’s more chaos, more electricity cuts, worse political tension, and even higher prices.”

Regional tensions between Shiites and Sunnis, now linked into the conflict in neighboring Syria, have added fear to insecurity. With clashes between Sunnis and Allawis in Tripoli, with the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese Shia pilgrims in Syria, older Lebanese feel parallels to the run-up to the outbreak of civil war in 1975.

Tehran’s Views on U.S. Politics and Nuclear Talks

by MEHDI KHALAJI

11 Jun 2012 02:211 Comment

Iran will probably stall on nuclear talks until after the U.S. Presidential election in November.

Mehdi Khaliji, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, studied Shiite theology in the Qom seminary of Iran.

Iran’s ruling regime pays close attention to American politics in its own calculations about how to negotiate with Washington–and how to game the new diplomatic effort. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his inner circle, for example, believe that President Barack Obama needs to talk to Iran, but they also sense that the U.S. president will be unable to make any concessions because it might endanger his reelection bid.

So Tehran has concluded that Obama needs to prolong the talks and achieve minor goals to demonstrate that talks are making progress.

The regime also believes that reaching an agreement with Washington before the presidential election will be futile, since a new administration could change U.S. discourse and any agreement that is reached before the election.

As a result, the regime has concluded that both sides will benefit in delaying any substantive agreement until after the U.S. elections in November.

Iranian judiciary keeps journalist’s bail money

Source: Radio Zamaneh

The Iranian judiciary confiscated Abdolreza Tajik’s bail money of 500,000 toumans after the persecuted journalist left the country. Tajik had been arrested on the charge of membership in illegal groups and propaganda against the regime.

Abdolreza Tajik after his release in December 2010

His sister, who faced similar charges, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison because of her efforts to release her brother by talking with foreign media. She was charged with propaganda activities against the regime and disturbing public minds.

Abdolreza Tajik was arrested in December of 2009 and released on bail in June of 2010. He left the country following his release.

Tajik was sentenced to six years in jail in the preliminary court but he claims that the verdict of the appeals court has not been officially communicated to him. He adds that he actually heard through the media that the appeals court had confirmed his sentence.

Abdolreza Tajik, who has collaborated with several reformist newspapers in Iran, is currently residing in France.

In 2010, Reporters Without Borders named Abdolreza Tajik the best journalist of the year.

Rising number of CCHF infections in Iranian provinces

Source: Radio Zamaneh

Iranian media report that seven people in the country have died after contracting theCrimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF). Most victims of the viral disease have been identified in the eastern provinces, but reports indicate that the virus has been detected in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces.

Hyalomma marginatum specimen in alcohol (photo by Adam Cuerden)

The Mehr News Agency reports on Sunday that the head of the Pasteur Institute labs in Tehran announced that since the beginning of the Iranian year in March, 29 people have contracted the Crimean Congo fever and seven of them have died from it. He confirmed that the virus has been identified in 27 provinces.

The Mehr report adds that top Health Ministry officials have so far confirmed that two deaths can be attributed to this disease. The Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a severe viral disease communicated to human through animals, especially ticks.

The first signs are flu-like symptoms such as fever, aching muscles, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, headaches and soreness of eyes. It may also result in mood swings, depression, confusion and aggression.

Later symptoms are severe bleeding through the skin from a rash or internal bleeding that may lead to death.

Iranian health officials say last year there were 87 cases of CCHF infection, 15 of which were fatal, and in the previous year, 154 cases were reported and 26 deaths.

In recent weeks, after the presence of CCHF was confirmed in Iran’s eastern provinces, some cases were also reported in Tehran, with two of them turning critical.

Despite the reports, health officials stressed that Tehran was not facing an outbreak of CCHF, and the cases reported in the capital had been transferred from other cities for treatment.

Infected livestock entering the country through eastern borders is said to be the main cause of the CCHF outbreak, and spraying them has been suggested as an effective way of halting the spread.

Suggested ways to stop the contagion include using gloves when handling meat and keeping meat in a freezer for 48 hours before consumption.

CCHF has no cure, but treatment of the symptoms usually leads to the patients’ recovery. The World Health Organization puts the disease’s mortality rate at 30 percent.

Iran: Eye-Catching Object In The Sky Explained

Source: Radio Zamaneh

Iran says the bright object seen in Iranian skies on Thursday night originated in Afghanistan. An informed source in the Iranian military told the Fars News Agency that the luminescent object seen on Thursday night around 10:30 PM came from Eastern Afghanistan, and its path reached to Israel.

That luminescent object was seen not just in Iranian skies but also from a number of other countries in the region, including the Republic of Azerbaijan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Many citizens recorded images of the object on their mobiles.

A German official news agency reported that Russia made an announcement about the bright object, calling it the result of a Russian ballistic missile test in Astrakhan. The Mehr News Agency confirmed this news, saying a Russian Defence Ministry official had informed it that Russia had run a successful test of the Topol Ballistic Missile.

Iranians Face Sharp Rise In Price Of Bread

Source: Radio Zamaneh

A steep increase in the price of wheat has resulted in a similar rise in bread prices in some Iranian provinces.

Related Story: The fresh scent of Sangak bread

ISNA reports that a 29-percent increase in the price of wheat has pushed up the price of bread in several Iranian provinces, such as Yazd and Gilan.

Last week, the Tehran provincial government failed to approve a price increase for bread, announcing that Tehran bread stores are not allowed to raise the price arbitrarily.

Some Tehran bread-makers have apparently followed the example of their peers in other provinces and increased the price of their products on their own.

In most cases, consumers are facing a price increase of up to 30 percent.

The Central Bank has also announced that the prices of food and grocery products will rise by 19 percent to 78 percent this year. This is the third time in the past year and a half that the price of bread has gone up significantly.

The price of food staples has been rising steeply ever since the government scrapped subsidies for these items about two years ago.

The Sahand Mountainside

The mountainsides of Sahand provide a refreshing retreat for the people who want to escape citiy life. Sahand is a massive, heavily eroded stratovolcano in northwestern Iran. At 3,707 m (12,162 ft), it is the highest mountain in the Iranian province of East Azarbaijan. It is one of the highest mountains in Iranian Azerbaijan, in addition to being an important dormant volcano in the country.

Sahand Mountain, Iran (View Larger Map)

 

Iran Feature: Lost Files — Families of 55 Post-Election Victims Still Seek Justice (Alinejad)

Amir Javadifar, killed in Kahrizak Prison, July 2009Masih Alinejad writes this article for BBC Persian, with an English translation on CNN’s iReport:

On the eve of the third anniversary of the 2009 [Presidential] elections, families of the victims of post-election protests, who have filed claims against authorities demanding accountability and are disappointed at the futility of their struggle, speak to us of their plight.

During the demonstrations that broke out in the aftermath of June 2009 presidential elections in Iran, many protesters lost their lives as they were shot point-blank, severely beaten, as they inhaled tear gas, pushed off bridges or buildings, or run over by security forces’ trucks. Many others were arrested and killed in detention as a result of fatal beatings and lack of medical attention, according to their families and even official records released by the judiciary and armed forces. The coroner’s reports released to the victims’ families confirm the victims’ deaths by firearms.

To date 55 families have reported the death of a close relative during the post-election riots, in various media interviews. 

Iranian authorities seek religious monopolism + interview

Martyred Pastor Dibaj: “Christianity is like a ball, the harder it hits the ground, the higher it goes into the air. Similarly, the more intense the pressures on the church are in these years, the more it grows”.

Mohabat News)  – After the news on the arrest of Mehrdad Sajadi and his wife Forough Dashtiani, presbyters and teachers at Immanuel Evangelical Church in Tehran, was published on Mohabat News and reflected on other Farsi language media, Radio Farda interviewed Mansour Borji, the leader of the Iranian church in London, regarding the arrest of this Christian couple and the suffocating atmosphere created by the Iranian regime to oppress churches. Below is the transcription of the interview:

Radio Farda: The Mohabat News website which publishes the news on Iranian Christians reported, ”No information is available on their health condition or their whereabouts since their arrest.” According to published reports, the Christian couple was arrested on May 24, 2012. However, the news of the arrest was published ten days after it occurred. Why wasn’t it published earlier?

Protestant Church Shutdown Sparks Fears of Coming Closure Spree

Revolutionary Guard Takes Over Iranian Church Oversight

 

- Iranian authorities should allow the Assembly of God church in western Tehran to reopen immediately, and should stop persecuting Persian-language churches, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“The ability to join a church or mosque or temple is one of the most fundamental religious freedoms,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign. “This drive to close churches is an assault on free religious practice, in violation of Iran’s international commitments, and a sign of growing religious intolerance within the Iranian government.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Intelligence Organization has recently and abruptly taken over the oversight of Christian churches in Iran, which were previously overseen by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, according to information received by the Campaign.

At the end of May 2012, Iranian authorities forced the Assembly of God church in the western Tehran neighborhood of Jannat Abad to close its doors and discontinue services, a local source with knowledge of the Iranian Protestant community told the Campaign.

According to the local source, the authorities told the church leaders, “You must close the church, and if you don’t do this and we have to formally close the church then there is no hope of you even keeping the building afterwards, to sell.”

The local source told the Campaign, “Because if [the authorities] shut down the church themselves then the government will confiscate the building.”

The Jannat Abad church held its last services on 28 May 2012, after having operated in the same building for over 15 years; the church gained ownership of the building five years ago. The church, which provided two services per week for 80 to 100 attendees, as well as prayer sessions and bible studies, is part of an international Protestant evangelical network called Assemblies of God. The Jannat Abad church operated with the full knowledge of Iranian authorities as a branch of the officially recognized Central Assembly of God Church in Tehran but was an independent ministry, sources told the Campaign.

Mousavi’s Statements for Twittstorm Commemorating 3rd Anniversary of Rigged Elections (Farsi)

AFP: Iran to crack down on web censor-beating software

Iran to crack down on web censor-beating software
By Marc Burleigh (AFP)

TEHRAN — Iran’s cyber police force is poised to launch a new crackdown on software that lets many Iranians circumvent the regime’s Internet censorship, media reported on Sunday.

The operation will target VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, which use a secure protocol to encrypt users’ data, foiling online blocks put in place by Iran’s authorities, according to the head of the specialised police unit, Kamal Hadianfar.

“It has been agreed that a commission (within the cyber police) be formed to block illegal VPNs,” he was quoted as saying in a report originally published by the Mehr news agency.

“About 20 to 30 percent of (Iranian internet) users use VPN,” or more than seven million people out of the country’s 36 million web users, he added.

Legal VPNs would only be used by “the likes of airlines, ministries, (state) organisations and banks,” he said — and even they would be monitored by the commission.