Peace Line Monthly / Shahed Alavi – The story of violations of human rights in Kurdistan is full of sorrows. This sorrowful story, this open wound was denied for a very long time, either because it was labeled as a lie and victimization, or because sometimes it was narrated in a way that was too heroic and vague and was hard to believe for the audience. Somewhere on this disastrous land, for many years, people have lived with suppression, prison, torture and executions as part of their daily life; that is for numerous reasons, but foremost because of their inevitable resistance. More heart breaking is that they were used to screaming in silence, even worst, they were used to hearing the cheers coming from the opposition of the center which itself is wounded by the suppressive system.

The suppression of the margin was not by the centre or the opposition of the center. The real tragedy was the silence in favor or the endless doubts by the movements and peoples who were so called human rights activist and human rights organizations, and it was their duty to report human rights violations. For those who had followed their political opinions to lead them to human rights activism, were the real example of the kind of human rights reporters and watches, were the one was considered “human” if it was one of their own. Continue reading “HRAI Repudiated the Kind of Human Rights Reporting of “the Human of Our Own Kind.””

Peace Line Monthly / Ali Kalaei – Out of the ashes of a great incident something new will always be born; something that perhaps is part of the evolution of that incident itself. A phoenix is born from its own ashes; although the new phoenix might be reborn with a different form each time, yet it will be the continuation and evolution of the same story, which has taken a new shape. Continue reading “The Human Right Activists in Iran and 10 Years of Experience and Team Work”

Peace Line Monthly / Keyvan Rafiee – February 2016 marks the 10^th anniversary of the establishment and activism of the “Human Right Activists in Iran, HRAI”; an organization that has been subjected to great vicissitudes and has endured enormous amount of pressures, and yet it has been able to leave a constructive and positive impact behind. Certainly, this organization has also had its share of weaknesses and mistakes that call for criticism. As the founder and director of HRAI during the past decade, by avoiding repetitions, I will share my own experiences and will try to discuss the less mentioned aspects of the history of this organization in order to create more transparency. Continue reading “An Inner View to the Human Rights Activists in Iran”

Peace Line Monthly / Kouhyar Goudarzi – It was May Day, the first of May, the international worker’s day, I was there to report on the rally of the workers of the Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (SWTSBC). It was about noon and the crowd kept growing, citizens, worker’s families and students. A young bearded man with long hair was taking pictures and videos in the middle of the crowd. Continue reading “The Continuation of a Team Effort towards Iran’s Transition to Democracy”

Peace Line Monthly / Simin Rouzgard – The external view of the “Human Right Activists in Iran, HRAI” is visible to all, mostly through its news Agency HRANA and at a different level through its monthly journal of “Peace Line”; however the interpretations and perceptions of it may vary. How is the internal view of this organization, especially from the eyes of “one of its own”?! Perhaps there is the need to dig deeper and farther than what is visible on the surface. Walter Benjamin speaks of this as two different views of the same country road, the view from the eyes of the person walking along the road, and the view from the eyes of a passenger flying over the road by an airplane: “The power of a country road when one is walking along it is different from the power it has when one is flying over it by airplane… The airplane passenger sees only how the road pushes through the landscapes, how it unfolds according to the same laws as the terrain surrounding it. Only he who walks the road on foot learns of the power it commands, and of how, from the very scenery that for the flier is only the unfurled plain, it calls forth distances, belvederes, clearings, prospects at each of is turns like a commander deploying soldiers at a front.” (One-way Street, 1978, P. 27-28) Continue reading “An Innocent Laughing by the Gallows; the Story of my Life at HRAI”

Peace Line Monthly / Behrouz Javid Tehrani – From long years in prison till this day, I have always, at any time and place, tried to use any small opportunity in order to achieve my humanitarian goals. When the security apparatus by imprisoning people like myself was trying to limit our platform for activism, and limit our resources and our communications in order to stop us, I used the smallest available windows of communication and tried to voice the human rights violations that were happening in the prison and my surroundings. Maybe this was the most effective activism I could possibly do from the prison.

Human Right Activists in Iran (HRAI) which later Human Right Activist News Agency (HRANA) was added to it, has been my main partner in human rights activism from the very beginning; especially that I knew Keyvan Rafiee personally and had worked with him outside the prison, I also have kept in contact with Jamal Hosseini and other members during all these years. Continue reading “Twelve essential Qualities to Work for HRANA”

Peace Line Monthly / Ali Ajami – on  May 1, 2006, we – the radical students who became later “Freedom & Equality Seeking Students” and finally dismantled – had decided to join the fired workers who were  protesting in front of  the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company.

We were with placards and slogans which had been selected by voting and we thought that nothing was going to happen. Aggregation was performed and we along with the workers started raising the placards and chanting slogans. The police officers were careful and the IRGC intelligence agents took photos regularly, but there were no particular problems, and we believed that the aggregation was going to end with no problem. Continue reading “HRANA; Anonymous Rapporteur of Darkrooms of Human Rights Violations”

Peace Line Monthly / Kayvan Sadaghzadeh Milani – In  August of 1980, the first national spiritual assembly of the Baha’is of Iran and two colleagues were arrested and taken to a secret location by the undercover agents and then were executed. No news about the arrests, harassment and subsequent execution of the Baha’i community manager was published and credible and verified news was leaked and the details of the event remained veiled and hidden in the security layers of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The author’s father, Doctor Kambiz Sadeghzadeh Millani, who was then 42 years old, was a member of that assembly and I was 13 years old. More than two hundred other Baha’i citizens, plus these citizens were executed in Iran in the first decade after the revolution. Continue reading “Historic Role of Human Rights Activists in Addressing the Violations of Baha’is Rights in Iran”

Peace Line Monthly / Karim Khalaf Dahimi – In the absence of impartial and free news media, human rights activists, by covering violations of human rights against Arab people and other ethnic and religious minorities, corrected the failure of the Persian-language media abroad and we have seen that the news agency was as a source for some human rights organizations and even the media which is admirable.

Communication with human rights activists of different ethnicities and documenting the news and violations of human rights in different regions are not easy tasks and require a lot of personnel and features but the activists and its news agency HRANA have been able to some extent to cover the news.

It is expected that the human rights activists and its news agency HRANA expand their activities so that the discrimination at the informing of ethnic minorities will be reduced and the violations of human rights in different areas will be cleared by not considering the red lines for their activities and regardless of their political believes, especially about the prisoners by defending them and publishing their news.

Huffingtonpost / Hamid Panah – As the world applauds the release of prisoners by Iran, political dissidents within the country continue to suffer unjust persecution, repression and death. The truth surrounding their charges, arrests and the breadth of their continued struggle continues to be lost in the mainstream narrative on Iran.

This past week, Iranian blogger and activist Hossein Ronaghi Maleki was forced to return to Tehran’s Evin Prison to resume serving his 13-year sentence. Maleki, who was out on medical leave, provides a compelling example of Iran’s defiant dissidents who remain forgotten in the discourse surrounding Iran.

Maleki, 29, became known to many Iranians during the 2009 uprising and protests that followed. Maleki was an active blogger and joined others in the movement of underground cyber activism in Iran. He was the founder of Iran Proxy, a group focused on the maintenance of proxies that allow activists and journalists to circumvent internet censorship inside Iran.. He also authored a number of blogs that were critical of the current regime.

Arrested on December 13, 2009, Maleki was reportedly held in solitary confinement for 10 months. The charges against him alleged membership in an illegal organization, posing a threat to national security and other vaguely worded charges about insulting the Supreme Leader and distributing propaganda against the regime.

He received a 15-year sentence for these accusations. In 2012, Maleki was granted a temporary leave from prison, but was again arrested for his involvement in organizing relief for earthquake victims in his home province of East Azerbaijan. He successfully appealed the sentence that would have convicted him for supposedly gathering and colluding to harm national security.

During his term in the notorious Evin Prison, Maleki was subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. As a result of the torture and severe medical negligence, Maleki developed a kidney condition and continues to suffer from related complications. Maleki staged hunger strikes based on the denial of medical leave for his condition and his ongoing mistreatment while in custody.

His arrest and trial not only hardened his resolve, but also earned Maleki respect and support among Iranians. For the younger generation, he serves as a symbol for today’s activists — one who utilizes technology and the internet to bolster the struggle for free expression in Iran and throughout the world. For activists abroad, he was a source of inspiration and commitment to those who are seeking forward-thinking political change.

In June of 2015, Maleki was finally granted medical leave after posting bail. However, despite his deteriorating medical condition and his eligibility for parole, Maleki was ordered to return to Evin prison this month. Throughout this ordeal Maleki has refused to remain silent. In a series of defiant posts on Twitter, Maleki has criticized the regime and his mistreatment before turning himself into authorities.

His Tweets included:
“Might be last post but I’m determined to gain my freedom bec I’m innocent. The response to opinions is not prison.”

“My main charge is defending freedom of speech (against censorship) for which I was handed an unjust 10-yr prison term. @proxyiran”

“Mr. Zarif, it is wrong of you to deny the truth and ignore issues. Look at political prisoners and imprisoned journalists with open eyes.”

“Pressured by IRGC Intelligence unit to return me to prison, the Tehran Prosecutor issued an official order to confiscate my bail collateral.”

“I will not bow down to the baseless & groundless charges of the judiciary nor will I accept the unjust verdict.”

Maleki’s words are particularly haunting as he prepares himself to reenter a place he may never leave alive. The conditions in Iran’s prisons, particularly for those charged with political crimes remain horrid – part of a concerted effort under the regime to torture those who have committed crimes against the state while attempting to spread fear among the population. Medical negligence is routinely cited as a means by which the regime has tortured and murdered dissidents while refusing to acknowledge responsibility or improve conditions.

Amnesty International designated Maleki a prisoner of conscience, illustrating that, despite all the talks of moderation and political change in Iran, there remains little room for free expression within the country. In 2012, Iranian blogger Sattar Beheshti was arrested and murdered while in custody for online comments he made against the regime. Maleki’s father has gone on record stating, “They want to turn him into another Sattar Beheshti”. While much of the Western world hails a supposed new era and relationship with Iran, little appears to have changed for Iran’s dissidents.

The threat to Maleki exists not only within the prisons of Iran, but also perpetuates in discourse surrounding the issue. At a time in which our attention is focused on the release of few prisoners and Javad Zarif is allowed to deny imprisonment of dissidents on American television outlets, a larger issue has evolved for Iranian activists. As dissidents are systematically silenced, and exiled from the narrative on Iran, the challenge becomes to remind the world of their fight, and the hope for real change in Iran. The responsibility to be their voice then must shift to us, and we must carry on their spirit of defiance and hope.