HRANA- Security forces raided the homes of residents in the town of Bistoon this afternoon.
HRANA reporters have learned that the security forces entered homes using equipment that detects satellite signals. They would then continue to confiscate any satellite dishes on the premises.
Continue reading “Security Forces Raid Homes in Bistoon Confiscating Satellite Dishes”
April 29, 2010
HRA News Agency – Three members of the Teachers’ Guild Association were detained in the aftermath of the increasing pressures on Teachers’ Guild activists at the threshold of the “Teachers’ Week.” According to HRANA, On Wednesday morning April 28, officials of the Ministry of Information arrested Ali Akbar Baghani, director general of Teachers’ Guild Association, and Mohammad Beheshti Langroodi, the speaker of this association, at their place of residence. An hour later in city of Tabriz, security forces raided the personal residence of Toufigh Morteza Poor, one of the members of the Teachers’ Guild Association of Tabriz and detained him.
Continue reading “Rise in Detainment and Pressures on Teachers During Teachers’ Week”
HRANA News Agency – Pardon request for death sentence of Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani from his family was rejected by Intelligence Ministry.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), after his family requested pardon for the death sentence of Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani, his case was referred to the Pardon and Forgiveness Committee, but Intelligence Ministry announced he is not illegible for the pardon and he will be executed.
Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani was arrested in 2008 in Rafsanjan, Kerman Province, in connection with his alleged support of the pro-PMOI TV station Sima-ye Azadi (Voice of Freedom). In 2008 he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, three years of which were suspended. Following an appeal by the Ministry of Intelligence, the three-year suspended sentence was implemented, bringing his total sentence to 6 years actual imprisonment. Following further legal proceedings, including two retrials, he was sentenced to death after conviction of a fresh charge of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) for his alleged ties to the PMOI, which the Supreme Court confirmed on 21 April 2012.
HRANA News Agency – Political prisoner Majid Dori’s health is fast deteriorating while officials in Behbahan Prison continue to deny him the necessary medical care.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), although Majid Dori suffers from migraines and anemia and needs to be treated by a specialist, prison officials refuse to transfer him to a hospital outside the prison.
In an interview with HRANA, one of Majid Dori’s family members reported that the officials have turned down the family’s request to transfer Majid to one of the prisons in Tehran.
In one of his letters written from prison, Majid Dori described his situation and wrote, “I have not only been behind bars since July 9, 2009, they have also given me the court’s verdict sentencing and exiling me to 6 years in prison so that I forego my youth and make myself ready to face an unfair and unjust imprisonment as far from the smallest amount of fairness as possible.The judges condemned me to spend this prison term behind bars in the city of Izeh.It was as if Intelligence Agency’s interrogators had forgotten to tell the judges that Izeh had no prisons.Inevitably, I had to be exiled to another prison with the lowest and smallest amount of standards possible, a prison situated in the worst climate under primitive conditions similar to that of the Dark Ages.”
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HRANA News Agency – Farshid Fathi Malayer, a Christian convert, still remains in prison despite posting the designated bail.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), after 183 days of temporary incarceration, Farshid Fathi Malayer is still locked up in Ward 209 in Evin Prison, and uncertainty surrounds his future.
Mr. Nasseri who is one of the interrogators working for branch 6 of the prosecutor’s office in Evin Prison has refused to release Farshid Fathi Malayer and has denied him the right to retain an attorney.
The Revolutionary Court has set bail in the amount approximately equivalent to $190,000.00 but hasn’t clearly charged Farshid Fathi Malayer with any crime.
Farshid Fathi Malayer is a 32 year old man who has a seven year old daughter and two sons aged two and five.He was arrested last Christmas together with a large number of other Christians in Tehran.
HRANA- Although three weeks have passed sine their detention, there is still no news regarding the fate of two Kurdish youths
HRANA has learned that the two youths from the town of Loon Sadat by the names of Hassan Rahmani and Menat Rahmani were summoned by the information offices of the Intelligence Ministry in Kamyaran where they were arrested by security forces.
Continue reading “No News on Fate of Two Kurdish Youths”
HRANA- Writer and translator Hojatollah Nikooi was detained and taken to an undisclosed location on Sunday by plain clothed agents.
HRANA reporters have learned that Hojatollah Nikooi had been recently forced out of work due to his debates with religious scholars. A friend of the writer has stated that he believes that Nikooi’s detention is unlawful and a result of his recent writings published online criticising certain religious concepts.
Continue reading “Writer Hojatollah Nikooi Has Been Detained”
April 30, 2010
HRA News Agency – In the city of Birjand Mr. Siavash Deimi lost his business permit on Monday 26 April when the government agents closed his appliance repair shop.
Mr. Deimi had run his business for several years but this year the authorities did not renew his permit for several months. He made several trips to the government offices to renew his permit with no success. The government agents openly identified his belief in the Baha’i faith as the reason for their inaction.
HRANA News Agency – At least 14 men were executed in Evin and Ghezelhesar prisons within two days. And, 18 prisoners are waiting for execution in the coming days.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Wednesday, at least eight prisoners (Mehrdad Salimi, Hussin Moradi, Reza Ruzbahani, Jahanshad Geravand, Jafar Haghi, Ali hedayat, Manouchehr Zangane, Asghar Sarlak) from Ghezelhesar prison scheduled to be executed in Evin prison, but were executed in Ghezelhesar prison because the reporters were waiting at the Evin prison’s gate. There is no information about their charges.
The next day, at least six prisoners with charge of drug trafficking were transferred from Ghezelhesar prison and were executed in Evin prison.
There has been also reported, 18 prisoners are waiting for execution in the coming days. Within these days, the number of executions is rising up in Iran and domestic media do not cover them.
HRANA News Agency – Ali Ajami is an imprisoned student activist who is spending the last days of his two year sentence in Rajai-Shahr Prison.During his incarceration, Ali Ajami has been denied basic rights including access to telephone and furlough granted to political prisoners.Incapable of traveling the long distance between their residence and Rajai-Shahr Prison in Karaj every week, Ali Ajami’s elderly parents see their child every four months.Ali Ajami’s family lives in Sabzevar County in the north eastern province of Razavi Khorasan.
In an interview with Jaras News, Javad Ajami explained his brother’s condition in prison and said, “I saw my brother 20 days ago.Since then, I don’t have any news from him.We live in Sabzevar County and must travel the long distance from home to the city of Karaj for 20 minutes of visit with him.For this reason, we can’t make the trip every week.My parents are old and can’t bear the physical hardship.They came to see Ali three months ago.The officials must understand how difficult it is for my parents and how much they suffer from not being able to see Ali.”
Ali Ajami is a law student at Tehran University, a leftist activist and the editor of a student publication called “A Better World.”Ali Ajami was amongst the students who sustained some injuries when Basij Militia attacked the dormitories in Tehran University on June 14, 2009.
Ali Ajami was arrested on February 10, 2010 at home in Sabzevar County and taken to a detention center in the city of Sabzevar.He was then transferred to a solitary confinement in Ward 209 in Evin Prison where he spent 100 days in a legal state of limbo.On January 26, 2011, Ali Ajami was taken to Rajai-Shahr Prison where he has been forced to tolerate very difficult conditions during the last few months of his sentence.Ali Ajami has less than 3 months left of his prison term.
Judge Abolqasem Salvati presiding over the Revolutionary Court, Branch 15, sentenced Ali Ajami to 4 years in prison on charges of “Propaganda and Conspiracy Against the Regime,” but this verdict was later reduced to 2 years by the Appeals Court of Tehran Province.
Expressing concerns about his brother’s condition, Javad Ajami said, “Ali was studying law, and he had only 3 months left to graduate when they arrested him in Sabzevar.He was transferred to Mashhad Prison first and then taken to Evin when he was convicted.He was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but the Appeals Court overturned this verdict and reduced his sentence to 2 years in prison on charges of Propaganda Against the Regime.He has been in prison one year and 8 months.He has served 8 months in Rajai-Shahr Prison.I swore to God; our predicament is so painful and unbearable that I really don’t know what to say or which pain to describe.”
Yesterday, the families of political prisoners reported that new restrictions had been imposed on the inmates.The families say that prisoners are beaten and battered regularly these days in Rajai-Shahr Prison, and political prisoners are harassed by prison officials and guards for any excuses.Lately, it was reported that Masoud Bastani, an imprisoned journalist, was beaten by the prison guards in Rajai-Shahr Prison in front of his mother and wife.Last week, while Ali Ajami and Jafar Eghdami were being taken to the prison hospital, they were beaten by prison guards, and when the prisoners objected to the beating, both of them were sent to solitary confinement.
Pointing out the horrific conditions in Rajai-Shahr Prison, Javad Ajami added, “The situation in Rajai-Shahr Prison is extremely poor.Since Ali was transferred there, he has been very upset and is under pressure because political prisoners are mixed with ordinary inmates convicted of a variety of crimes.Since then, his physical health has suffered; medical problems aren’t handled in prison, and there is no recourse available.When he was in Evin, conditions were a bit better there.In our last visit, I noticed Ali was ill, had a swelling and wasn’t emotionally well either.Ali didn’t have any physical problems before his imprisonment and was totally healthy.”
Emphasizing that his brother has been denied any rights granted to political prisoners, Java Ajami continued, “During his incarceration, Ali hasn’t been given furlough.No matter how hard he and we have tried, there has been no answer.We wrote letters to the prosecutor’s office but received no reply.We really don’t know what to do and appeal to which government office to ask for our loved one’s basic rights.Ali has been denied the right to have access to a phone, to have in-person visits with his family or go on furlough.During all this time, we have been given the permission to see him in-person only once.”
Addressing government officials, Java Ajami at the end said, “If anyone hears the voices of Ali’s elderly parents and understands their pain, give him a furlough or at least grant us the permission to see him in person once more so that my parents suffer less and experience the joy of embracing Ali in their arms.”
In a letter written to the Head of the Judiciary Branch, a group of political prisoners in Rajai-Shahr Prison have revealed accounts of being insulted, belittled and physically punished by prison officials and have requested a special committee to be appointed to interview the prisoners and investigate all the allegations.
In this letter, political prisoners of Rajai-Shahr Prison wrote, “Only in the last six months, eight political prisoners in Hall 12 have been insulted, belittled and beaten in various ways.Unfortunately, every time one of these prisoners decided to seek justice by protesting against these acts, he was set up by the guards and accused of some sort of crime.Consequently, the prisoners were forced to withdraw their objections fearing new charges that would have increased their prison terms.”
