Archiv für den Tag 27. Dezember 2011
URGENT: Execution of Sakineh Ashtiani Believed to be Imminent: 5 Things You Should Do NOW
According to recent media reports, the Islamic Republic is once again preparing to execute Sakineh Ashtiani.
We ask all concerned individuals to take the following urgent actions:
1) Contact your State Department or Foreign Ministry (addresses below) with the following message:
I demand that this government exert the utmost diplomatic pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran to:
a) prevent the execution of Sakineh Ashtiani, and
b) secure the immediate and unconditional freedom of Sakineh Ashtiani and her lawyer, Houtan Kian.
I specifically request direct economic sanctions against the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran regime. They are are all – from the executives, lawmakers, judiciary, to the IRGC and beyond – criminals and murderers. They should be dealt with as such.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Contact information for Foreign Ministries and the US State Department:
kab.bz@diplobel.fed.be;info@mvp.gov.ba;iprd@mfa.government.bg;
imprensa@itamaraty.gov.br;ministar@mvpei.hr;minforeign1@mfa.gov.cy;
michael.spindelegger@bmeia.gv.at;udenrigsministeren@um.dk;vminfo@vm.ee;umi@formin.fi;
bernard.kouchner@diplomatie.gouv.fr;inform@mfa.gov.ge;
guido.westerwelle@auswaertiges-amt.de;gpapandreou@parliament.gr;titkarsag.konz@kum.hu;
external@utn.stjr.is;minister@dfa.ie;gabinetto@cert.esteri.it;podatelna@mzv.cz;
segreteria.frattini@esteri.it;mfa.cha@mfa.gov.lv;tonio.borg@gov.mt;secdep@mfa.md;
post@mfa.no;DNZPC.Sekretariat@msz.gov.pl;ministro@mne.gov.pt;senec@mne.gov.pt;
pm@pm.gov.pt;miguel.moratinos@maec.es;registrator@foreign.ministry.se;info@eda.admin.ch;
msp@mfa.rs
Netherlands Foreign Ministry – web form to contact Uri Rosenthal is currently down; please call or fax: Telephone: +31 70 3486486
Fax: + 31 70 3484848
CONTACT FORM: US Department of State
2) Contact Bernard Kouchner, the Foreign Minister of France(bernard.kouchner@diplomatie.gouv.fr), with the following message asking France to be the first to close the doors to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic in France:
Dear Mr. Kouchner,
It has come to my attention that the Islamic Republic once again is threatening to execute Sakineh Ashtiani. If the Islamic Republic executes Sakineh Ashtiani, I urge the French government to close the doors to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in France. The honorable people of France, and in particular the women of France, have shown their broad and consistent support for Sakineh Ashtiani and her family; Carla Bruni Sarkozy has publicly advocated in Sakineh’s defense, and drawn a slanderous response from the Islamic regime for doing so; and France’s President Sarkozy has taken it as his personal duty to defend Sakineh Ashtiani. France should take the international lead in closing the regime’s embassy in Paris. It is the only appropriate diplomatic response to the Islamic Republic regime’s ongoing perpetration of human rights atrocities.
Sincerely,
[your name]
3) Send this sample letter (available in ENG, DE & FR) to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, and encourage everyone you know to do the same. [ SAMPLE LETTER ] Contact addresses to send to: inquiries@un.org, npillay@ohchr.org, urgent-action@ohchr.org
4) Fill out the contact form for UN Women to
a) demand a UN resolution to criminalize stoning, and
b) to demand immediate expulsion from the UN Commission on the Status of Women of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all other states whose authority is dependent on gender apartheid and violence against women.
If Sakineh is executed, the UN will be held responsible for its refusal to act or even issue a strong statement against the execution of Sakineh Ashtiani.
5) If the Islamic Republic executes Sakineh Ashtiani, regardless of how they implement the murder (stoning or hanging), people living near offices and embassies of the Islamic Republic should immediately deposit a pile of stones (painted red if possible) in front of the door or gate to the regime’s office or embassy. If feasible, tape photos and/or posters of Sakineh to the doors, windows, gates, etc.
We and all humanity thank you for your urgent action in this matter.
ALTERTÜMER – Droht im Iran ein neuer Bildersturm?
Im Iran wurden die kunsthistorisch und religionsgeschichtlich bedeutenden Felsreliefs bei Bischapur beschädigt. Vermutet wird ein politischer Hintergrund.
Foto: dpa/ Hans Winter
Die Beschädigung persischer Altertümer beschäftigt die iranische Presse. Das ist bemerkenswert, weil die staatliche Organisation für kulturelle Relikte und Altertümer, Tourismus und Kunsthandwerk (CHTHO) vor zwei Jahren Archäologen und Ausgräbern alle Presseinterviews verboten und damit Informationen über Kunstraub und Vandalismus faktisch unterbunden hat.
Mitte Dezember berichteten jedoch Teheraner Medien über mutwillige Zerstörungen. In einem als Dastvar bezeichneten Ausgrabungsplatz nahe dem Persischen Golf, der dem alten Reich Elam (um 3500 v. Chr. – 6. Jahrhundert n. Chr.) zugeordnet wird, haben angeblich ganze Gruppen von Plünderern den einzigen Wächter überfallen und Gräber ausgeraubt. Mehr Aufsehen erregt allerdings ein Zerstörungsakt im Gelände der Ruinenstadt Bischapur, im 3. bis 7. Jahrhundert eine Metropole des zweiten, spätantiken persischen Großreichs, des Sassanidenreichs. Lies den Rest dieses Beitrags
Literatur: Mathias Kopetzki – Teheran im Bauch
Der Berliner Schauspieler Mathias Kopetzki, aufgewachsen bei deutschen Adoptiveltern, entschließt sich mit über dreißig Jahren, nach Teheran zu reisen, um den bisher unbekannten leiblichen Vater und seine streng muslimische Großfamilie kennen zu lernen. Durch die leidvolle Vergangenheit seines Vaters auch mit der eigenen konfrontiert, erlebt er den islamischen Gottesstaat als ein faszinierendes Land voller Gegensätze und verliebt sich im Schatten iranischer Moscheen in eine Kusine, die trotz Todesgefahr ein Verhältnis mit ihm beginnt. Kopetzki zeichnet in seiner spannenden und berührenden Adoptivgeschichte das ungewöhnliche Bild einer orientalischen Megametropole, in der Restriktionen Alltag sind, Familie sich stützt, Glauben Halt verspricht – aber auch einer Gesellschaft, in der nichts so ist, wie es scheint. Und begreift, dass diese Reise zu seiner Herkunft eine Reise zu ihm selbst bedeutet …
Youtube: Der Trailer zum Buch
Fernsehen: http://www.rbb-online.de/stilbruch/archiv/stilbruch_vom_14_04/mathias_kopetzki_.html
Radio:http://www.funkhauseuropa.de/themen/studiogaeste/2011_04/gast_110425.phtml
Presse: nwzonline
Interview Diva, Kieler Magazin, Juni 2011: interview.pdf
Eye on Iran: In Skies Over Iran, a Battle for Control of Satellite TV
Top Stories
WSJ: „As uprisings rolled across the Middle East this year, Iran stepped up its jamming of the BBC, Voice of America and other Western networks with Persian-language news channels. The move ‚is intended to prevent Iranian audiences from seeing foreign broadcasts the Iranian government finds objectionable,‘ five networks protested in a joint statement this month. While the use of Western technology for Internet censorship by Middle Eastern and North African regimes has gained attention this year, satellite television has also become a potent force in the region and, in Iran, a target of censorship. Some 45% to 60% of Iranians watch satellite TV, according to estimates from the state media company and an Iranian research center, exceeding the number believed to use the Internet. Iran so far seems to be winning a struggle to filter out unwanted TV content and broadcast its own propaganda: The country jams channels like the BBC on Western satellites even as Iran’s state media company broadcasts pro-government news on some of the same satellites, and at times has aired forced confessions of political detainees.“ http://t.uani.com/vCtGpq Lies den Rest dieses Beitrags
Die letzten Tyrannen
Ayatollah Ali Chamenei – Der theokratische Diktator
Der oberste Führer des Irans, Ajatollah Ali ChameneiThe Latest from Iran (27 December): Election Watch
1758 GMT: Elections Watch. Prominent reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh, serving a six-year prison sentence, has posted an open letter declaring that he will boycott the forthcoming Parliamentary elections.
Tajzadeh, a former Deputy Minister of Interior, cited the need „to counter lies, corruption, and ineptitude“ and „to prevent the establishment of an absolute dictatorship“ as well „to control and eradicate poverty, unemployment, and crime“. Among reasons not to participate, he mentioned the June 2009 „election coup“ putting President Ahmadinejad back in office, the re-appointment of Ayatollah Jannati as head of the Guardian Council supervising the elections, the „illegal involvement of military and security forces“, „the illegal house arrest“ of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the suspension of reformist parties.
1755 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ebrahim Yazdi, the 81-year-old former Foreign Minister, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Yazdi, the head of the Freedom Movement of Iran, was arrested briefly after the disputed June 2009 Presidential election and again in September 2010 for an „illegal prayer meeting“.
1750 GMT: Oil Watch. Iran and Afghan officials have signed an agreement for Tehran to export one million tons of oil products to Afghanistan annually.
The contract is a much-needed boost for Iran, whose oil markets have been shrinking — and could shrink much more — amidst US-led sanctions.
1730 GMT: Insurgency Watch. Iranian officials have said that four members of the Kurdish insurgency PJAK and one Basij militiaman have been killed in a clash near the Kurdish village of Baneh.
1550 GMT: Threat of the Day. First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has guaranteed himself headlines in international media with the declaration, made in State news outlet IRNA, „If they (the West) impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, then even one drop of oil cannot flow from the Strait of Hormuz.“
Rahimi’s statement comes amidst a 10-day exercise by Iranian naval units to show their strength in regional waters.
1530 GMT: Elections Watch. MP Alireza Mahjoub of the Workers House has announced that he has registered as a candidate for the Parliamentary elections in March.
Workers House carries out labour-related activities, and Mahjoub has raised some of those issues in Parliament. Last week, he called for a „responsible“ social insurance organization.
Although Workers House is often seen as being in line with the reformist position, Mahjoub distinguished his stance on the campaign from that of reformists, many of whom have said they will not stand, “I am not the spokesman of reformists. I just see that it is my right to participate in election, so I did it. I believe people participation in the Parliamentary election will be good, like all the elections which were held after the Islamic revolution.”
Mahjoub said stated that another member of Workers House, Soheila Jelodarzadeh, would also file as a candidate.
1420 GMT: Campus Watch. Minister of Science and Higher Education Kamran Daneshjoo has confirmed that the Ministry is cutting off the scholarships of those who study in Britain.
1230 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. Equality, cost-cutting exercise, or both? Mohammad Reza Farzin, the head of Iran’s subsidy cuts organisation, has said the 10 million wealthiest Iranians will be omitted from support payments to cover higher prices from subsidy cuts.
1109 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syria Front). Khabar Online has published the names of seven Iraniansabducted in Syria last week. Almost all are electrica. engineers of the Parsian Power Industrial Technology and Development Company.
1105 GMT: The Battle Within. The pro-Ahmadinejad head of Iran’s Culture, Heritage, and Tourism Organization, Rouhollah Ahmadzadeh, has warned Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, that the President „is ready to reveal secrets“ if he continues to come under attack.
1100 GMT: Book Corner. Rah-e Sabz reports that 100 bookshops have been shut down within the past year in Tehran, with vendors on Karim Khan Street, the famous thoroughfare for book-lovers, appealing to Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf to support the cultural sphere.
1055 GMT: Press Watch. Rah-e Sabz has denied the report that Ayeen-e Goftogou, a monthly publication linked to former President Mohammad Khatami, has been banned.
1030 GMT: Corruption Watch. Key MP Ahmad Tavakoli maintains his now-daily challenge to President Ahmadinejad over „corruption“, with his website Alef publishing his answers to students about the „origins and consequences“ of the $2.6 billion bank fraud.
1025 GMT: Spy Watch. The initial court session of Iranian-American Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, accused of spying for the US, has been held this morning before hard-line Judge Abulfazl Salavati in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. The prosecution reportedly asked for the death penalty.
Hekmati, reportedly detained in September, was presented on State TV earlier this month „confessing“ to an attempt to infiltrate Iran’s intelligence services.
Fars claimed that Hekmati told the court, „I was deceived by the CIA….Although I was appointed to break into Iran’s intelligence systems and act as a new source for the CIA, I had no intention of undermining the country.“
1020 GMT: The Battle Within (Literally). Behrouz Moradi, the manager of the Ahmadinejad Government’s subsidy cuts, has reportedly been thrown out of the Parliament by Speaker Ali Larijani after he allegedly insulted and assaulted MPs.
1010 GMT: War Games Watch. You may have wonder what happened to the 10-day naval exercise, begun Saturday by Iran’s military, which briefly prompted Very Scary Headlines in Western media.
To be honest, the effort has fizzled a bit from the anticipation of the headlines. The highlight on Monday, from a senior Iranian commander, was that the navy had warned off a foreign helicopter that approached the site of the exercise: “When the helicopter saw the resoluteness of our units and [our] determination to take the next measures, it was forced to leave the region promptly and observe the safe distance.”
Commodore Amir Rastegari added that Iran’s navy was prepared to hold joint military drills with regional countries, presumably to scare off more helicopters and „to provide security for the entire region“. Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said it was all „a message of peace and friendship“ for Iran’s neighbours.
1000 GMT: Elections Watch. Monday’s good-news announcement came from Minister of Interior Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, who said 1020 people had registered to be candidates in Parliamentary elections by noon.
Najjar did not identify the blocs of the candidates and, in particular, how many reformists had defied calls for a boycott to put forward their names for election to the 275-member Majlis
0750 GMT: Currency Watch. The Iranian rial has halted its slide overnight vs. the US dollar — having fallen more than 6% on Tuesday, it has settled at 15150:1 this morning.
The rial is still significantly weaker than the 14000:1 level of last week after the Central Bank intervened to halt a sharp drop in the currency’s value.
Meanwhile, the US Government has jumped in on the theory — common among those who watch the currency fluctuation — that elite groups such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps are profiting from the rial’s fall. Lies den Rest dieses Beitrags
Iran Snap Analysis: How Many Reformists Will Participate in the Elections?
Mostafa Kavakebian
We begin this morning with the question of the participation of reformists, the minority group in the Islamic Republic’s political system, in March’s Parliamentary elections.
Even though the reformists are effectively blocked from being more than a minority in Parliament — and of course blocked from the Presidency with the disputed June 2009 vote and its aftermath — their participation has become a vital issue in the Parliamentary vote. Figures such as former President Mohammad Khatami have been setting conditions for their involvement for more than a year; none of those, such as freedom of political prisoners and freedom of political parties, have been met. Lies den Rest dieses Beitrags
Iran Interview: Detained Mehdi Karroubi on „A Rigged and Forced Election Process“
Saham News, the outlet of detained opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi, was able to conduct a short interview with Karroubi’s wife Fatemeh, who has also been under strict house arrest since February. Translation by Banooye Sabz:
Given that the vetting process for parliamentary candidates is about to begin, there has been much discussion regarding whether or not reformist candidates should participate in the upcoming elections. In your meetings, did you have an opportunity to ask Mr. Karroubi, former head of the parliament, about his opinion regarding this matter? What can you tell us about his latest condition and circumstances? Lies den Rest dieses Beitrags
Flüchtlingshilfe Iran e.V. 2010 