HOPE for Iran – Konzert Berlin – 07. Juni2013

Committee to Protect Journalists: 2012 prison census

The imprisonment of journalists hit a record high in 2012, driven by the growing use of anti-terrorism charges to silence critical voices. This video, a centerpiece of CPJ’s new Free the Press campaign, details the plight of imprisoned journalists worldwide and describes how international advocacy can make a difference in winning the freedom of jailed reporters, editors, photojournalists, and bloggers. (4:40)

Iran: 45

Adnan Hassanpour, Aso

Imprisoned: January 25, 2007

Security agents seized Hassanpour, editor of the now-defunct Kurdish-Persian weeklyAso, in his hometown of Marivan, Kurdistan province, according to news reports. In July 2007, a Revolutionary Court convicted Hassanpour on anti-state charges and sentenced him to death. After a series of appeals and reversals, he was sentenced in May 2010 to 15 years in prison, defense lawyer Saleh Nikbakht told the Reporters and Human Rights Activists News Agency.

The government’s case against Hassanpour amounted to a series of assertions by security agents, defense attorney Sirvan Hosmandi told CPJ in 2008. Hassanpour’s sister, Lily, told CPJ that she believed his critical writings were behind the charges. Hassanpour, 32, was being held at Sanandaj Central Prison in Kurdistan Province. He has not been allowed furlough, news reports said.

HRW: Why They Left

Why They Left

Stories of Iranian Activists in Exile

Summary

Recommendations

Methodology

I. Background

• The Rise of Civil Society in the Khatami Era
• Targeting of Civil Society Activists During Ahmadinejad’s First Term..
• Crackdown on Protest and Civil Society After the June 2009 Election

II. Attacks on Civil Society

• The “Iran Proxy” Affair and Local Rights Groups
• Minority Rights Activists
• Women’s Rights Activists
• Student Activists
• Journalists and Bloggers
• Human Rights Lawyers

III. Refugees’ Stories

• Protesters
• Minority Rights Activists
• Student Activists
• Journalists and Bloggers
• Others

IV. Their Lives as Refugees

• Turkey
• Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan)
• Acknowledgments

Map of Iran

Summary

Security forces arrested Rebin Rahmani on November 19, 2006, in Kermanshah, the capital of the western Iranian province of the same name. He had been researching the prevalence of drug addiction and HIV infections in Iran’s Kurdish-majority areas. Rahmani spent two months in detention facilities run by the Intelligence Ministry, and was interrogated by intelligence agents in both Kermanshah and Sanandaj, the main city in the adjacent Iranian province of Kurdistan. During his time in detention, he was subjected to several rounds of interrogation accompanied by physical and psychological torture. In January 2007, a revolutionary court sentenced Rahmani to five years in prison on charges of “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the state.” The sentence was handed down after a 15-minute trial during which Rahmani had no access to a lawyer.

Upon his release from prison in the latter part 2008, Rahmani learned that he had been dismissed from university and could no longer continue his education. He became active with a local rights group, but was forced to leave the country in 2011 and apply for refugee status in Iraqi Kurdistan due to mounting pressure against him and his family.

Rahmani is one of scores of journalists, bloggers, human rights activists, and lawyers who have fled Iran since the government embarked on a major campaign of repression following the widespread popular demonstrations against alleged vote-rigging in the June 2009 presidential election, which handed a second term of office to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The government’s repression has involved a range of serious and intensifying human rights violations that include extra-judicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, and widespread infringements of Iranians’ rights to freedom of assembly and expression.

This report gathers evidence of this campaign of repression from some of its principal victims: Iranian civil society activists. Because Human Rights Watch is unable to work in Iran, most of documentation presented in the report is based on interviews with activists like Rahmani who fled the country to seek refugee status in neighboring Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan following the 2009 post-election crackdown. The report focuses on four groups: human rights activists, journalists and bloggers, human rights lawyers, and protesters or persons who volunteered for the presidential campaigns of opposition members Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and were targeted by security and intelligence forces. This report discusses why they left and some of the challenges they face in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan as asylum seekers and refugees.

Although most of the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets to protest the June 2009 presidential election result had not been political or civil society activists, they nonetheless found themselves targets of security and intelligence forces.  After public protests came to an end, the authorities continued their relentless assault on all forms of dissent, targeting civil society groups and activists who had little if any connection to the protests themselves but whom they deemed to be supporters of a “velvet revolution” working to undermine the foundations of the Islamic Republic.

Along with members of the political opposition, human rights activists, journalists and bloggers, and rights lawyers bore the brunt of these attacks. Security forces arrested and detained scores of activists, including those advocating on behalf of ethnic minorities, women, and students, and subjected many to trials that did not meet international fair trial standards. Dozens remain in prison on charges of speech crimes such as “acting against the national security,” “propaganda against the state,” or “membership in illegal groups or organizations.”

In addition to the several show trials that authorities convened before television cameras where civil society activists and members of the opposition were indicted for attempting to bring about a “velvet revolution,” one of several landmark events which cast a chilling shadow over Iranian civil society in the months following the June 2009 election was the so called “Iran Proxy” affair. In March 2010, the public prosecutor announced they had arrested 30 or so persons involved in what the authorities said was a plot by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to destabilize the government. The prosecutor accused those arrested of implementing a plot code-named “Iran Proxy” under the cover of several local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Revolutionary courts tried, convicted, and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences several of those arrested on national security charged based largely on forced confessions.

The post-2009 crackdown has had a profound impact on civil society in Iran. No truly independent rights organizations can openly operate in the country in the current political climate. Many of the most prominent human rights defenders and journalists are in prison or exile, and other activists are subjected to constant harassment and arbitrary arrest. An indication of the lengths to which the government has gone to stifle civil society and dissent is its targeting of lawyers who have chosen to defend activists and dissidents arrested and charged by the authorities. In recent years, the pressure on rights lawyers defending activists has been unprecedented. Several prominent lawyers, like Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, traveled to European countries and stayed there after it became clear they could not go back without facing harassment, arrest or imprisonment on politically motivated charges.

Others, like Mohammad Mostafaei and Mohammad Olyaeifard, sought refuge abroad. Mostafaei fled Iran after authorities repeatedly summoned him for questioning and detained his wife, father-in-law, and brother-in-law. He is currently residing in Norway. More recently, Olyaeifard, another prominent Iranian lawyer who represented many high profile cases before Iran’s civil and revolutionary courts, was forced to leave the country after serving a one year prison sentence for “propaganda against the state,” imposed by the authorities because he spoke out against the execution of one of his clients during interviews with international media.

The targeting of civil society began well before 2009. The election of Ahmadinejad to his first term as president in 2005 signaled the rise of a populist conservative force, headed by Revolutionary Guards and the associated Basij forces (a paramilitary volunteer militia closely linked with the Revolutionary Guards), with the blessing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his allies.

Under Ahmadinejad’s presidency, the attitude of the government shifted from the cautious encouragement of NGOs that had characterized the approach under Ahmadinejad’s predecessor, Mohamed Khatami, to one of suspicion and open hostility. The government increasingly applied a “security framework” in its approach to NGOs, often accusing them of being “tools of foreign agendas.” Authorities also suppressed the work of activists by denying permits to NGOs to operate, often refusing to provide written explanations when rejecting applications, as required by Iranian law.

The increased pressures on civil society activists under Ahmadinejad led some to seek refuge abroad. Since 2009, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of civil society activists who have applied for asylum and resettlement to third countries. According to statistics compiled by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 44 industrialized countries that conduct individual asylum procedures, there were 11, 537 new asylum applications from Iranians to these 44 countries in 2009; 15,185 in 2010; and 18,128 in 2011. The largest number of new asylum applications was lodged in neighboring Turkey, which saw a 72 percent increase in the number of Iranian asylum seekers between 2009 and 2011.

The majority of Iranian activists fleeing persecution or the threat of persecution registered refugee claims with the offices of UNHCR in Turkey or Iraqi Kurdistan. The Turkish government has only been willing to provide temporary asylum to Iranian refugees, contingent on UNHCR’s commitment to try to resettle them in third countries. Some activists, especially members of the Kurdish minority, have sought refuge in neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan. Many Iranian refugees there said they did not feel fully secure and were desperate to resettle to a third country as soon as possible.

Human Rights Watch calls on Iran to end its repression of protesters and civil society activists. Iranian activists, government critics, and dissidents should not face the stark choice of risking imprisonment or abandoning their country because they chose to exercise their rights to free speech, peaceful assembly, or association.

Human Rights Watch calls on the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to protect the safety and welfare of Iranian refugees and refrain from threats or harassment against those who continue to pursue nonviolent political or rights activities during their time as refugees, and the Turkish government to create conditions that will allow registered refugees and asylum seekers to live and work comfortably while they are waiting for resettlement to a third country. Turkey should also allow Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, access to the country in his official capacity so that he may meet with Iranian refugees and document cases of rights abuses per his mandate.

Finally, Human Rights Watch calls on countries outside the region to speedily process claims of Iranian refugees who urgently need to leave the region and to offer generous numbers of resettlement places for refugees with no other options for durable asylum.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

• 
  Why They Left
  Stories of Iranian Activists in Exile
  GET THE REPORT:

  Download the full report

  Download the summary and recommendations in Arabic

  Download the summary and recommendations in Turkish

  Download the summary and recommendations in Kurdish

Festnahmen wegen Verdachts illegaler Iran-Lieferungen

Spezialventile waren offiziell für Abnehmer in der Türkei und Aserbaidschan bestimmt

Karlsruhe – Wegen des Verdachts illegaler Lieferungen für das iranische Atomprogramm haben deutsche Behörden vier Männer festgenommen. Sie sollen in den Jahren 2010 und 2011 an der Lieferung von Spezialventilen für den Bau eines Schwerwasserreaktors im Iran mitgewirkt und dadurch gegen das Iran-Embargo verstoßen haben, teilte die Generalstaatsanwaltschaft am Mittwoch mit.

Offiziell seien die Ventile für Abnehmer in der Türkei und Aserbaidschan bestimmt gewesen. Die vier in Hamburg, Oldenburg und Weimar festgenommenen Deutschen, von denen drei auch die iranische Staatsbürgerschaft besitzen, sollen aber gewusst haben, dass es sich dabei um Tarnfirmen handelte, die die Ventile dann in den Iran weiter lieferten.

weiterlesen

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.

Deprivation of Medical Care Jeopardizes Political Prisoner’s Life

Hossein Ronaghi Maleki in Dire Condition Serving 15-Year Prison Term

Father Says Months-long Torture Caused Kidney Failure

(25 May 2012) The Iranian Judiciary should immediately provide medical care for political prisoner Hossein Ronaghi Maleki and avoid another human tragedy, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. It should also end its systematic policy of denying medical care to prisoners of conscience, thereby causing them permanent physical harm and disability, the Campaign added.

On 19 May 2012, Ronaghi began a hunger strike to protest the denial of his medical furlough. Ronaghi suffers from kidney failure and has been routinely denied medical furlough since his incarceration.

“This is the fifth time he is undergoing surgery and all physicians, including the Medical Examiner, have ordered special medical care for him post-operation,” Ronaghi’s father, Ahmad Ronaghi Maleki, told the Campaign. “But they want Hossein to return to prison after his surgery, a prison that has no medical facilities, suitable nutrition, nor kidney specialists.”

ZAMAN DAILY: Iranian activist Ghaemi: Human rights conditions worst ever since the 1980s

Hadi Ghaemi (Photo: Today’s Zaman, Mühenna Kahveci)

Hadi Ghaemi, director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, founded in 2008 and based in New York, says in Monday Talk that human rights conditions are in the worst condition in Iran since the 1980s, especially since the June 2009 election and the subsequent Green Movement protests.

We’re facing a very repressive environment. All of the social movements are under tremendous persecution – including the student movement, the women’s rights movement and the labor movement – in addition to persecution of political dissidents,” he said.

He also added that ethnic and religious minorities are persecuted too, even the Shiite clergy.

“So anyone who dares to challenge the official narrative of the state is either in prison, forced into exile or subject to continuous intimidation. Trends have been really troubling,” he said.

Answering questions during his visit to Turkey last week, Ghaemi elaborated on the issue.

You had a career in physics and now you are doing human rights work full time. How did you make this transition? Why was it so important for you?

The Latest from Iran (15 May): Shutting Down the Journalists

0450 GMT: We begin today with a summary from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran onthe regime’s attempt to control international media’s coverage:

“Iranian authorities have long been repressing domestic journalists. Now it’s clear that they have turned an eye to neutering international press freedoms also,” said Campaign spokesperson Hadi Ghaemi. “We are increasingly seeing Iranian authorities using intimidation, arrests, censorship, and other methods to restrict foreign media from reporting on Iran.”

A source in the Iranian government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Campaign that Iran’s drive to restrict the ability of foreign media to operate freely in Iran is due to the fears of some officials that international press coverage can undermine their political interests.

“The Intelligence Ministry, the Revolutionary Guards, and the National Security Council are pressuring the Deputy Minister of Culture who oversees the foreign press to give [these security agencies] more control over the way foreign media reports Iran’s politics and economy, as we approach the 2013 presidential election,” the government source said.

The government source also said that the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Unit is more active than other intelligence agencies in curbing press freedom in Iran. “The Guards believe that the Iranian government showed negligence and ineptitude in allowing foreign journalists to cover the 2009 presidential election and post-election unrest. So, they are trying to exert more control over the presence of foreign journalists in Iran,” the government source said.

Since the June 2009 election, authorities have threatened and interrogated several journalists, contributors, and their family members, as well as Iranians appearing in foreign media, including BBC Persian, Reuters, Newsweek magazine, and The New Yorker magazine.

Many of the cases will be familiar to regular EA readers, but ICHRI adds this nugget of information about the “female ninjas” episode, which led to authorities shutting down the Reuters bureau in Tehran, withdrawing the press cards of the staff, and threatening to put some of them on trial.

The Campaign has recently learned that a few days after the ninja video’s release, the Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture (Ministry of Culture) summoned the journalist who was responsible for the report. According to an eyewitness, when the reporter was at the Ministry of Culture’s offices in Tehran, the staff left the offices at one point, and then officers from the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Unit arrived and interrogated the reporter for several hours. The eyewitness said that the reporter was extremely frightened and was shaking after the interrogation session by the Revolutionary Guards.

The aforementioned government source alleged that representatives of the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Unit told the Ministry of Culture that “no word was to be said about the interrogation session.”

The Reuters reporter was also allegedly threatened and told that she should not speak about the interrogation, or else she and her family will face further difficulties. The government source claimed that authorities told the Reuters office in Tehran that if any news about the interrogation was ever published, their offices would never re-open.

Callous Border Security Guns Down 70 Couriers in Iran

Government Should End Pattern of Illegal Use of Lethal Force in Northwest Border Provinces

Iranian Kurds and Unemployed Resort to Dangerous Black-Market Work

Bardehnaz Piranshahr border. Photo by Shirkoo Jahani for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

(27 April 2012) The Iranian government should immediately investigate the numerous cases of border security forces killing couriers in the northwestern provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah, and hold accountable those responsible for such calloususe of unlawful force, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. The government should also review its border security measures and the growing pattern of excessive use of lethal force, and should adopt clear polices to stop unlawful and unnecessary killing, the Campaign added.

“The ongoing cold-blooded killing of cross-border couriers (often called kulbar) by security officials is unacceptable, and the Iranian government must put an end to it,” Campaign spokesperson Hadi Ghaemi said. “The use of lethal force against these people, who are unarmed and are simply avoiding authorities, is unjustifiable, violates international law, and must be investigated.”

NYC SCREENING: New Documentary on Iranian Refugees! 22.April 2012

Will you be in the New York area this Sunday, April 22?

If so, join the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran at Columbia University to watch a new documentary film about Iranian refugees in Turkey!

WHAT: ”KEYS TO MY HOME,” a documentary about Iranian refugees in Turkey by Luna Shad, followed by a Q&A with the director and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

WHEN: Sunday, April 22, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

WHERE: Columbia University, 511 Dodge Hall

RSVP: On Facebook!

“Keys to My Home” is director Luna Shad’s documentary about the lives of Iranian refugees in Turkey on their way to relocation. Since June 2009, at least 150 Iranian journalists have fled Iran. Half of them are under the age of 35. Most of them crossed over the Turkish or Iraqi borders, facing difficult paths to relocation. Dozens have permanently resettled in Western countries, most having been granted political asylum.

The film follows journalist Delbar Tavakoli through her relocation experience to France. Delbar’s fears, worries, and hopes shape the landscape of the film.

 

 

This event is FREE and open to the public!

Revoke Execution Sentence of Web Programmer

Iranian Judiciary Must Overturn Death Sentence for Canadian Resident and End Assault on Internet Freedoms

(1 February 2012) Iran should immediately suspend the death sentence for web programmer and Canadian resident Saeed Malekpour and investigate allegations of his torture, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

On 30 January 2012 Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of 36-year-old Malekpour for “insulting Islamic sanctities” allegedly because he managed a network of pornographic websites. Malekpour’s family has maintained that he simply developed image-sharing software that was used, without his knowledge, to post pornographic photos.

Imprisoned Student Activist Transferred To Psychiatric Ward

A source close to the family of Abolfazl Tabarzadi, 24, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the imprisoned student was transferred from Karoon Prison to the psychiatric ward of a hospital in Ahvaz. According to the source, Tabarzadi suffers from severe paranoia and depression and prison authorities were forced to transfer him to a hospital because they were no longer able to control him inside the prison.

Call to Action to Stop Widespread Censorship and “Halal Internet”

International Body Should End Iran’s Illegal Satellite Jamming

 

Call to Action to Stop Widespread Censorship and “Halal Internet”

Activists Launching Protest at Geneva Gathering of World Radiocommunication Conference

 

(23 January 2012) The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), the UN regulatory gathering opening today in Geneva, should take decisive steps to end the Iranian government’s illegal and widespread jamming of satellite signals, theInternational Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

Iran’s Secret Hangings: Mass Unannounced Executions in Mashhad’s Vakilabad Prison

Download PDF

Since January 2010, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has published dozens of reports of unannounced secret group executions at Vakilabad Prison in the northeast city of Mashhad. These executions were largely in violation of international human rights law and domestic procedures. Judicial authorities have continuously evaded questions about these executions and the names of those executed have never been officially announced.

This briefing paper features the first list of victims of secret executions in Vakilabad and other execution statistics, as well as witness testimony and official accounts of the executions. This briefing paper also details the major characteristics and illegality of these executions.

Snapshot: 6 Months of Human Rights Violations and Political Arrests in Iran’s Azerbaijan Provinces

During the six-month period from 21 March to 21 September 2011 more than 320 cultural, political, women’s rights, and human rights activists were arrested in Iran’s West and East Azerbaijan Provinces, according to local sources.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran confirmed the names of 326 people prosecuted in these provinces. Sources told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that many more detainees were released immediately or within a few days of their arrest.

خانواده امیرحکمتی اعترافات تلویزیونی او را دروغی و تحت فشارخواندند: « تحت فشاربودیم که با رسانه ها صحبت نکنیم چون قول دادند به زودی آزاد می شود»

‎در روز ۶ دی ماه نخستین دادگاه رسیدگی به اتهامات امیر میرزایی حکمتی که درماه اگوست  به اتهام جاسوسی برای آمریکا بازداشت شده بود  در شعبه ۱۵ دادگاه انقلاب و به ریاست قاضی صلواتی برگزار شد. خبرگزاری فارس با انتشارآنچه در دادگاه گذشت آورد که در کیفرخواست صادره برای امیر میرزایی حکمتی که توسط نماینده دادستان قرائت شد با استناد به گزارشات مدیرکل حقوقی قضایی معاونت جاسوسی وزارت اطلاعات آمده است که حکمتی با هدف نفوذ اطلاعاتی به سیستم اطلاعاتی کشور وارد ایران شده و با بررسی دقیق‌تر مشخص شد که هدف وی متهم سازی ایران به دست داشتن در تروریسم است. در این کیفرخواست همچنین آمده است که متهم از ماه می ۲۰۰۹ میلادی توسط سازمان جاسوسی آمریکا CIA استخدام شده و مأموریت‌هایی را برای جاسوسی در ایران داشته است.

‎کمپین بین المللی حقوق بشر در ایران اطلاع حاصل پیدا کرده است که این شهروند آمریکایی ۷ شهریورماه دستگیر شده است درحالی که در تاریخ ۲۴ مرداد ماه برای دیدار با اعضای خانواده و به خصوص مادربزرگش وارد ایران شده بود. یک منبع  آگاه به کمپین گفت که امیرحکمتی پیش از ورود به ایران برای گرفتن ویزا سوابق خود را در آمریکا با مقامات دفتر حفاظت منافع درمیان گذاشته است و به او اطمینان خاطر داده شده است که سابقه کار کردن برای دولت آمریکا مشکلی برای حضور وی در ایران نخواهد داشت. بعد از چندین ماه خانواده امیرحکمتی با شکستن سکوت خود گفته اند که مقامات ایرانی بارها به آنها قول داده اند که سکوت خود را حفظ کنند چرا که فرزندشان به زودی آزاد خواهد شد.

“His New Charge is ‘Assistance in Espionage,’ But It’s Not Clear Whom He Was Assisting”

Saeed Naimi

Saeed Naimi, who was transferred from Karaj Prison to Tabriz Prison, is currently facing new charges of “assistance in espionage.” Naimi’s wife, Saideh Islami, spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about her husband’s new charges and his current conditions in prison.

Please support: Call for the Release of Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh

 

Join the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran in calling for the release of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is in prison simply for defending her clients and insisting that Iranian authorities respect human rights.

Since Sotoudeh’s arrest, her family has been working tirelessly to secure her release and you can help them. Take action by sending the two letters below. Tell Iranian officials you support Sotoudeh and demand her freedom. And urge the foreign ministers of 25 countries, from across the globe, to call for Sotoudeh’s release.

When you’re done, email this action page to six friends, share it on Facebook, and Tweet it far and wide! To learn more about Sotoudeh and ways to support her, watch our video to the right and visit the Free Sotoudeh Project.

Please support : FREE SOTOUDEH NOW! Project

 

the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran launched a project to help build support for the release of imprisoned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and highlight the tragic situation of Iranian prisoners of conscience. The launch coincides with the occasion of Human Rights Day, which is celebrated worldwide on 10 December.

“Prison Authorities Say He Won’t Need Warm Winter Clothes As He Will Be Executed”

Eghbal Moradi, father of Zanyar Moradi, a Kurdish prisoner at Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the Supreme Court upheld his son’s death sentence. “My relatives went to prison this week to bring Zanyar warm clothing, as the cold season has come. But prison officials told them that he would not need the clothes as his death sentence has been upheld. They told my relatives this explicitly, adding that they would be informed of the execution date,” Eghbal Moradi told the Campaign.

Sotoudeh Banned From Visiting Family for Refusing to Wear Chador

Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been banned from having visitations with her family for three weeks. Expressing surprise over the punishment, her husband, Reza Khandan, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, “This week we went to Evin Prison as usual on Sunday. After we wrote our names on the visitation list, a prison officer told us that she is banned from having visitors for three weeks, because she refused to wear a chador inside the prison.”

Secret, Unannounced, Group Executions Continue Inside Iranian Prisons: At Least 14 More Executed Inside Mashad’s Vakilabad Prison

While Iranian authorities remain silent about the executions of drug traffickers inside Mashad’s Vakilabad Prison, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned that seven prisoners were hanged on 11 August, and another seven were hanged on 20 September. According to information received from a source, the executions were carried out in groups. All those executed had been charged with drug-related crimes.

Hikers’ Lawyer Arrested, Interrogated, and Released in Tehran

http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2011/09/trios_lawyer/

 

On the morning of Tuesday, 27 September, security forces entered the home of Massoud Shafiee, the lawyer representing the recently released Americans, and after several hours of searching his home and offices, transferred him to Evin Prison.

Protest at the UN Highlights Iran’s Human Rights Crisis, Septeber 2011

تجمع مردمی در اعتراض به نقض حقوق بشر و آزادی بیان در ایران ، نیویورک ۲۰ سپتامبر: جمعی از ایرانیان مقیم آمریکا و نیز تعدادی از سازمان های مدافع حقوق بشر  از کشورهای سوریه، مصر و دیگر کشورهای منطقه خاورمیانه درزمان حضور محموداحمدی نژاد درنیویورک برای رساندن صدای قربانیان نقض حقوق بشرتجمع کردند. در این ویدیو مروری بر آنچه گذشت را می بینید

People gather to protest violations of human rights and freedom of expression in Iran, New York, 20 September 2011:  A group of Iranian Americans and several human rights organizations from Syria, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries gathered during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presence in New York to get the voices of human rights abuse victims to others.  You can see

End the Executions

A video to draw international attention on death sentences for post-election protesters in Iran.

اعتراض شدید دوآمریکایی آزاد شده به نقض حقوق بشر در ایران:‌ چطور دولتی را ببخشیم که افراد بیگناه ایرانی را بازداشت می کند و احترامی برای حقوق بشر ندارد؟

جاش فتال و شان بائر بعد از بیش از دو سال جلوی دهها دوربین تلویزیونی قرارگرفتند و گفتند که شاهد فریادهای زندانیان در زندان بوده اند که مورد ضرب و شتم قرار گرفته اند. آنها خواستار آزادی زندانیان سیاسی در ایران شدند. عکس: کمپین بین المللی حقوق بشر در ایران

(۴ مهر۱۳۹۰)جاش فتال،  شان باوئر وسارا شورد امروز یکشنبه در اولین کنفرانس مطبوعاتی خود درنیویورک  به خبرنگاران رسانه های آمریکا گفتند که در طول مدتی که در زندان بوده اند مزه بی رحمی دستگاه قضایی ایران را چشیده اند، در مدت بازداشت بارها به آنها دروغ گفته شده است، از دنیای خارج کاملا منزوی بودند و اینکه بارها صدای فریاد زندانیانی که مورد ضرب و شتم قرارگرفته بودند را شنیده بودند اما کاری نمی توانستند بکنند.

به گزارش خبرنگار کمپین بین المللی حقوق بشر در ایران شان بائردربخشی از سخنان خود گفت:‌«شاید شما بپرسید: حالا که آزاد شدید می توانید دولت ایران را برای آنچه با شما کرد ببخشید؟ جواب ما این است:‌چطور می توانیم دولتی را ببخشیم که به زندانی کردن تعداد بسیار زیادی از افراد بیگناه و زندانیان عقیدتی اقدام می کند و به آن ادامه می دهد؟ این مردم ایران هستند که فشار سنگین و سخت دولت بی رحمی که هیچ احترامی برای حقوق بشر ندارد را تحمل می کنند. مردمی در ایران هستند که تنها برای شرکت در یک تظاهرات یا نوشتن یک بلاگ طرفدار دموکراسی یا برای عقاید مذهبی زندانی شده اند.  روزنامه نگاران پشت میله های زندان می مانند و مردم بیگناه اعدام می شوند. اگر دولت ایران می خواهد که تصویر خود را در جهان تغییر دهد و فشار بین المللی را کاهش دهد، باید تمام زندانیان سیاسی  و زندانیان عقیدتی را آزاد کند. آنها شایسته آزادی داشتن هستند همچنان که ما آن را به دست آوردیم.»

نماینده کمپین بین المللی حقوق بشر در ایران در خصوص صدای فریاد زندانیان وضرب وشتم آنها پرسید که وی گفت این صداها تاثیر عمیقی برآنها گذاشته است. سارا شورد همچنین درجواب این سوال کمپین که چه کسی شما را دستگیر کرده بود گفت که ما تا اخر هم نفهمیدیم که چه کسی ما را دستگیر کرد.» آنها تاکید کردند اگر آمریکایی نبودند هیچگاه چنین سرانجامی نداشتند. سارا شورد در بخشی دیگری به سوالات کمپین بین المللی حقوق بشر در ایران به صورت اختصاصی پاسخ داد که به زودی روی وب سایت کمپین قرار خواهد گرفت.  جاش فتال و شان بائر امروز صبح (یکشنبه) از عمان به نیویورک رسیدند. در محل کنفرانس دهها دوربین تلویزویونی و نمایندگان روزنامه های آمریکا حضور داشتند.

جاش فتال در سخنان خود گفت: « بعد از ۷۸۱ روز شان و من دوباره مردانی آزاد هستیم. چهار شنبه گذشته وقتی که ورزش روزانه مان را در زندان اوین تمام کرده بودیم چیزی کاملا غیر منتظره اتفاق افتاد. در هر روز دیگری ما بعد از تمرین روزانه باید چشم بند می زدیم و به به سالن هدایت می شدید دتا به سلول ۴ در ۲/۵ دو متری مان برویم. اما آن روز نگهبانان ما را به طبقه پایین بردند. آنها از ما انگشت نگاری کردند و لباس های معمولی مان را به ما برگرداندند. آنها به ما نگفتند چه قراراست به کجا برویم به جای آن آنها ما را به بخش دیگیری از زندان بردند که ما دکتر سالم الاسلامی که نماینده  سلطان قابوش پادشان عمان بود رفتیم. اولین چیزی که به ما گفت این بود: «بگذارید به خانه برویم»

او همچنین گفت:‌« چیزی که ما دنبال کردیم شگفت انگیزترین تجربه زندگی مان بود. ما در اسارت بودیم بد انزوای تقریبا کامل برای مدت دو سال. اما در چند روز آخر آزادی را تجربه کردیم. » جاش فتال در بخش دیگری ازسخنانش با اینکه بالاخره دولت ایران کاردرست را در مورد این پرونده انجام داد گفت که دولت ایران نمی تواند برای آزادی ما بخواهد اعتبار(کردیت)‌کامل بگیرد. او گفت که از همان ابتدا دستگیر شده اند به خاطراینکه آمریکایی بودند: «سارا ۴۱۰ روز زندانی بود و ما دو نفر ۷۸۱. این زمان بیشتری از مدت زمانی است که گروگان های امریکایی در سفارت آمریکا در تهران زندانی بودند. » جاش فتال همچنین گفت که صدای فریاد زندانیان دیگر را می شیندند اما نمی توانستند برای آنها کاری کنند. او همچنین گفت که به دروغ به آنها گفته شده بود که خانواده آنها ازنامه نوشتن به آنها دست کشیده اند.

جاش فتال افزود: « ما در دنیای دروغها و امیدپوچ زندگی کردیم. بازجوها در مورد سفیر سوییس در تهران دروغ می گفتند که نمی خواهد ما راببیند. آنها به دروغ به ما گفتند که دادرسی عادلانه نصیبمان خواهد شد وبه وکیل دسترسی خواهیم داشت: وکیل شجاع و استوارمان آقای مسعود شفیعی. وحشتناک تر از همه آنها به ما گفتند که خانواده های از فرستادن نامه به ما خودداری کردند.»

جاش فتال همچنین گفت: « در تمام مدتی که در بازداشت بودیم کلا ۱۵ دقیقه با تلفن با خانواده هایمان صحبت کردیم و یک ملاقات کوتاه با مادرانمان داشتیم. برای اینکه بتوانیم نامه هایی که از طرف عزیزانمان فرستاده می شد مجبور بودیم که اعتصاب غذا کنیم. خیلی از اوقات، در مواردبسیار زیادی، صدای فریاد زندانیان دیگر را می شنیدیم که موردضرب و شتم قرار می گرفتند و واقعا کاری برای کمک کردن به آنها نمی توانستیم انجام بدهیم. سلول انفرادی بدترین تجربه زندگی ما بود و کابوسی بود که سارا ۱۴ ماه آن را تحمل کرد. قدرت سارا در آن یک ساعت ملاقات های روزانه به ما اجازه داد که بتوانیم این وضعیت را تحمل کنیم.»

جاش فتال افزود: « ما در دنیای دروغها و امیدپوچ زندگی کردیم. بازجوها در مورد سفیر سوییس در تهران دروغ می گفتند که نمی خواهد ما راببیند. آنها به دروغ به ما گفتند که دادرسی عادلانه نصیبمان خواهد شد وبه وکیل دسترسی خواهیم داشت: وکیل شجاع و استوارمان آقای مسعود شفیعی. وحشتناک تر از همه آنها به ما گفتند که خانواده های از فرستادن نامه به ما خودداری کردند.»

جاش فتال گفت که هرگونه اقدام مثبت باید مورد توجه قرار گیرد. ما تحسین کردیم تصمیم مقامات ایرانی را مبنی براینکه بالاخره تصمیم درست را گرفتند در مورد پرونده ما. اما می خواهیم کاملا روشن باشیم که که آنها شایسته این نیستند که اعتبار کامل را برای این عمل بگیرند چرا که آنها حق نداشتند و توجیهی نداشتند که این کار از از همان ابتدا اصلا آغاز کنند( دستگیری).»

بنابرگزارش کمپین بین المللی حقوق بشر در ایران در این جلسه شان باوئر نیز با تشکر افراد حاضر گفت: « می خواهم خیلی روشن باشم. این ( دستگیری) هیچ وقت به خاطر عبور از مرزهای مشخص نشده نبود.. در واقع پرونده های زیادی از ورود غیرقانونی وجود دارد که افراد در مدت خیلی کمی یا کشور را ترک کردند یا اخراج شدند. ما نمی دانیم که آیا از مرز عبور کردیم. ما شاید هیچ وقت نخواهیم دانست. اما حتی اگر ما داخل ایران شده باشیم هیچ وقت آن دلیل آن نبود که مسوولان ایرانی ما را برای این مدت نگهداری کردند. تنها توضیح برای بازداشت بلندمدت ما دشمنی بین دولت ایران و آمریکا در طی ۳۲ سال گذشته است. نکته جالب این است که جاش و من و سارا مخالف سیاست های آمریکا در مورد ایران هستیم که این دشمنی را ادامه دار می کند. ما به جاسوسی متهم شده بودیم چون آمریکای هستیم. هیچ مدرکی علیه ما هیچ وقت ارائه نشد. این برای این است که که هیچ شاهدی وجود نداشت و ما کاملا بی گناه بودیم. دو دادگاهی که در آن شرکت کردیم کاملا دروغی و ساتگی بود. دادگاه ساخته شده بود از دروغ های مسخره که ما را به عنوان بخشی از توطیه آمریکایی اسراییلی معرفی می کرد.»

او همچنین گفت: « سارا وجاش و من مزه بی رحمی دولت ایران را چشیدیم. ما در ایزوله کامل از دنیای خارج و‌انچه دوست داشتیم نگهداری شدیم و حقوق و آزادی هایمان را از ما گرفتند. » در بخشی دیگری باوئر به شرح آنچه دولت ایران با مردمش می کند و زندانیان ایرانی و خواستار آزادی زندانیان ایرانی شد چنانکه خود آزاد شدند. شان از وکیل خود مسعود شفیعی تمجید کرد که با اینکه نمی توانسته به راحتی از انها دفاع کند اما تا دقیقه آخر از دفاع خود دست برنداشت و تسلیم نشد.

آقای بائر افزود: « در زندان هر گاه که از وضعیت شکایت می کردیم نگهبانان بلافاصله  به ما شرایط مشابه در زندان گوانتانامو بی را یاد آوری می کردند. آنها به ما یاداوری می کردند شرایط زندان های سیا را در دیگر نقاط دنیا و شرایط ایرانی ها و دیگرانی را که در زندان های آمریکا شرایط مشابهی دارند. ما اعتقاد نداریم که چنین نقض حقوق بشری از طرف دولت ما توجیه می کند آنچه با ما انجام شده است. نه حتی برای یک لحظه. اگر چه ما اعتقاد داریم که این اعمال دولت آمریکابرای برخی از دولت ها از جمله دولت ایران بهانه ایجاد می کند که به این طریق عمل کنند.»

سارا شورد پس از سخنان شان وجاش به همراه خانواده به سوالات پاسخ داد. او گفت که طی مدتی که انجا بودند هر وقت صحبت می کردند در مورد زندانی شدنشان ماموران ایرانی دائما به آنها وضعیت زندانیان در زندان های گونتاناموا و ابوغریب را به آنها یادآوری می کردند: « ما می گفتیم که یکی اشتباه کرد که با اشتباه دیگری کار درست نمی شود. این درحالی است که من و شان همواره با سیاست های آمریکا در زمینه زندانیان و جنگ مخالف بوده ایم.» سارا شورد همچینن گفت در مدتی که زندان بوده اند به صورت گسترده تحت فشارهای روانی بوده اند.»

ویدویوی این کنفرانس مطبوعاتی را می توانید تا ساعاتی دیگر روی وب سایت کمپین یا صفحه فیس بوک ما به همراه مصاحبه اختصاصی با سارا شورد ملاحظه کنید.

Iran/New York: Iran Detains Filmmakers While Ahmadinejad is in New York

Documentary Filmmakers, the Latest Targets of the Government’s Crackdown on Free Expression

BBC Persian Director Says Filmmakers Not Associated with Network

(19 September 2011) Iranian authorities should end the ongoing intimidation and arrest of filmmakers and journalists accelerated by the recent detention of six documentary filmmakers, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. Diplomats meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his current visit to New York should challenge him on widespread government attacks on free expression, added the Campaign.

Don’t Let Ahmadinejad off the Hook in New York (Video)

(19 September 2011) As Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in New York, four New Yorkers who closely follow developments in Iran talk about why the Iranian people expect the media and UN dignitaries to focus primarily on holding Ahmadinejad accountable for Iran’s human rights crisis during their meetings with him.

Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran is joined by Professor Hamid Dabashi of Columbia University, Bitta Mostofi, a lawyer and human rights activist, and David Fine. Fine, an undergraduate student at Columbia and managing editor in chief of its newspaper, The Current,argues why Columbia students invited to dine with Ahmadinejad should not be “thrilled” and refuse him the occasion for self-aggrandizement.

EIL: Opposition Leader’s Safety in Danger as Karroubi Spends 42 Days in Complete Isolation (ENG+Farsi)

The Campaign holds Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, directly responsible for the safety and health of Karroubi and Mousavi and calls on him to immediately release them.

“Under the Manipulation of Psychiatrists to Make Televised Confession,” Source Says

(28 August 2011) Iranian Opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi is in grave danger of physical and psychological harm, as news of his complete isolation for the past 42 days emerged today, said the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The Campaign called for his immediate release.

Lacking Independence, Bar Association Remains Silent as Lawyers are Persecuted – Legal Defense Under Siege by the Iranian Judiciary

(24 August 2011) The Iranian Central Bar Association should come to the aid of embattled lawyers subjected to harassment, unfounded criminal charges, or prison sentences for defending prisoners of conscience and advocating for human rights, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.