Eye on Iran – 27.Juni 2011

Top Stories

NYT: „Iran unveiled underground silos on Monday that would make its missiles less vulnerable to attack, marking the country’s latest show of force in the long standoff with the West over its nuclear program. State television broadcast images of an unspecified number of silos deep underground, saying they held medium- and long-range missiles ready to hit distant targets. Subterranean silos are considered harder to destroy than surface installations, and Iran hailed them as a defensive asset meant to thwart attackers. Col. Asghar Qelichkhani said the silos ‚function as a swift-reaction unit.‘ State TV quoted him as saying that the missiles were permanently in the vertical position and ‚ready to hit the predetermined targets.‘ The silos were presented as Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards began 10 days of military exercises.“ http://t.uani.com/juCvgF

Die Grünen: Maryam Majd und Mahnaz Mohammadi müssen umgehend freigelassen werden

Zur Verhaftung der iranischen Fotografin Maryam Majd vor der Ausreise
zur Frauenfußball-WM und zur Verhaftung der Dokumentarfilmerin Mahnaz
Mohammadi erklärt Claudia Roth, Bundesvorsitzende von
BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN und Mitglied des Kuratoriums der Frauenfußball-WM:

Griechenland: Zustände wie bei Zeus…..die Leiden der Flüchtlinge (ARD/Fakt)

Beitrag des ARD-Magazins ‚FAKT‘ vom 27. Juni 2011:

 

www.ardmediathek.de/ard/servlet/content/3517136?documentId=7524258

Flucht mit Hindernissen

Griechenland ist für viele Flüchtlinge aus Afrika oder Asien erste Anlaufstelle in Europa. Doch wegen der schlechten Lebensbedingungen wollen viele weiter Richtung Westen.

Dauer des Videos: 8:06 min.

 

 

Iran News Round Up – 27. Juni 2011

Lawmakers debate whether to summon Ahmadinejad to parliament for questioning; Judiciary hints arrest of more Ahmadinejad supporters; Iran purchases 78 AN-148 planes from Ukraine; Iran boosts oil and gas exploration operations

Politics Presidential crisis: About 100 parliamentarians had called for questioning Ahmadinejad in a parliamentary session, which could result in impeaching the president. But the parliamentary board stresses that the move is not „expedient“. Judiciary Spokesman Hojjat al-Eslam Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ezhehi says „arrest of other government officials [from the Ahmadinejad camp] may occur.“

ICRIR: Update on the Campaign to Stop the Swedish Government’s Illegal Deportation of Sanan Ashrafi to Execution in Iran

The date of deportation for Sanan Ashrafi is fast approaching: Friday 1 July 2011. Due to popular pressure and excellent legal work by Sanan’s lawyer, Bo Johannsson at the Swedish Refugee Advice Center, a bit of optimism has developed with regard to Sanan’s case. However, the battle is not yet won. It remains critical for all of us to continue to exert as much pressure as possible on the Swedish government to ensure that Sanan will not be deported to Iran.

 

To that end, the following:

1) The Borderless Refugee Organization has called for demonstration in Stockholm in defense of Sanan Ashrafi. The demonstration will be held on Tuesday 28 June, at 12:00pm Sergel Square, followed by a march to the Swedish Parliament.

Notably, Mehdi Maleki, whose own deportation to Iran was only recently halted, is helping to organize this action in defense of Sanan Ashrafi.

2) Sanan’s lawyer, Bo Johannsson, reports that if the Swedish Migration office does not reverse its decision to deport in the next 2 days, he will file suit at the European Court of Human Rights to halt the illegal deportation of Sanan Ashrafi to Iran by the Swedish government.

3) We urge all supporters to continue to take action to pressure the Swedish government to stop the illegal deportation of Sanan Ashrafi; it is critical that the pressure continues until Sanan is safe from deportation. Email and call/fax actions include the following:

ENGLISH – Call/fax action: ICRIR: URGENT: Contact Swedish Migration Office and Swedish Embassies & Consulates to Stop Deportation of Sanan Ashrafi to Execution in Iran

ENGLISH – Letter-writing action: ICRIR: Open Letter to Tobias Billström, Swedish Minister for Migration & Asylum Policy, Regarding the Illegal Refoulement of Iranian Opposition Activist SANAN ASHRAFI (case #11220571)

FRENCH – Letter-writing action: Non à l’expulsion de notre camarade Sanan Ashrafi!

4) We urge all those who will be in Stockholm on Tuesday 28 June (today) to join the demonstration at noon in Sergel Square.

5) If the situation requires it, ICRIR will call for demonstrations outside of Sweden; we will know more about the necessity of taking such action on Wednesday.