Monitoring Human Rights in
Iran - December 2004
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DEATH SENTENCES
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PUBLIC HANGING
Iran daily, Dec. 1 - Hossein Hassanvand was hanged in Eslam Abad’s Azadegan Park
on Wednesday.
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BOY DIES FROM BLOW TO THE HEAD WHILE IN CUSTODY
Iran National Television, Dec. 2
A young man named Kaveh Ajeq Habibi Nezhad born in 1985 in Sanandaj has died
from being flogged. The forensics paper states that the youth died because the
back of his skull was broken due to blows with a hard object, which tore the
fibers there and resulted in cerebral hemorrhage.
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EXECUTION IN PUBLIC
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Kayhan daily, Dec. 5
A man by the name of Ababakr Damani was publicly executed in the city of Zobal.
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TEENAGER TO BE EXECUTED
Reuters, Dec. 7, Tehran,
Feature - Instead of celebrating his 18th birthday at home with friends and
family this month, Ali Torabi will be wondering if it will be his last year.
Torabi is one of at least 12 juvenile offenders sentenced to death by Iran's
hard line courts and held in detention centers until they are deemed old enough
to be executed without attracting international criticism, human rights
activists say.
Although it is a signatory of U.N. conventions which forbid the execution of
young offenders, Iran continues to sentence them to death and carry out the
verdict when they reach 18.
"Ali is my only son, my life. I want to see him grow old. He is too young to
die," sobbed his father, Mohammad Torabi.
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DEATH SENTENCE IN SHAHRYAR
Khorassan daily, Dec. 7, Tehran
A man in Shahryar was sentenced to death.
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SEVEN MORE EXECUTED IN PUBLIC
AFP, Dec. 7 -- Seven drug traffickers have been hanged publicly in a park in the
south-eastern Iranian city of Zahedan, the Kayhan evening newspaper reported.
It said the men had been found guilty of involvement in international narcotics
trafficking and attacks on security forces.
They were hanged in Zahedan's Laleh Park.
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AT LEAST 94 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EXECUTED IN IRAN THIS YEAR,
ACCORDING TO REPORTS IN IRAN'S MAIN NEWSPAPER.
Amnesty International has reported that at least 108 executions took place in
2003 and 113 in 2002.
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18-YEAR-OLD SENTENCED TO DEATH
Sharq daily, Dec. 12
An 18-year-old boy named Bahram was sentenced to death by Judge Nurollah Aziz
Mohammadi.
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MAN, 52, HANGED IN PUBLIC
Kayhan daily, Dec. 12
A 52-year-old man, by the name of Hossein, was hanged in public in Islamabad,
Karaj, on the orders of the clerical regime's judiciary.
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MAN, 26, HANGED IN SEMNAN
AFP, Dec. 14
A 26-year-old Iranian man was hanged in prison in the northern city of Semnan,
the daily Jomhuri Eslami reported on Tuesday. Quoting local judiciary officials,
the paper indentified the man, who was hanged on Monday, as Qadir Zamaemi-Fard.
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MAN, 28, SENTENCED TO DEATH
Hamshahri daily, Dec. 18
A young man by the name of Reza F. (28) was sentenced to death by the Judge of
the 71st branch of the Penal Court of Karaj Province.
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IRAN: RIGHTS GROUPS SHINE SPOTLIGHT ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
IN IRAN
RadioFreeEurope, Dec. 21, Prague - "Unfortunately, every year there are some 300
to 400 executions in Iran," said Abdolkarim Lahiji, vice president of the
International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (IFHRL). "When we look at a
number of executions, we have to consider it in proportion with the population
of that country. Considering the population of China and the U.S., I have to say
that Iran is on top of the list."...
The IFHRL's Lahiji notes that Iran condemns young alleged offenders to death and
then executes them when they turn 18.
"According to our figures, 25 teenagers under the age of 18 who have been
sentenced to death are awaiting their unfair sentences to be applied," Lahiji
said.
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IMMINENT EXECUTION OF A 18-YEAR-OLDS
Iran Focus, Dec. 28, Tehran
A teenager [only identified as Mohammad T.] who is currently in one of Iran’s
Centers for Reform and Education (Juvenile Prison) is to be hanged to death
within three weeks for a crime allegedly committed when he was fourteen...
The acting judge at the time, cleric Mohammad Sultan Hematyar, sentenced
Mohammad to spend time in the Center for Reform and Education until he turned
eighteen and then be executed.
Under Iranian law, girls above the age of nine and boys above the age of fifteen
are considered to be adults and can be executed for capital offences.
The sentence was later approved by Iran’s Supreme Court which called for him to
be hanged by the end of the Iranian calendar month. Mohammad now faces imminent
execution.
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DEATH SENTENCE FOR BOY, 18
Hamshahri daily, Dec. 28
An 18-year-old by the name Mehdi has been sentenced to death by the Supreme
Court. His sentence has been upheld.
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21-YEAR-OLD TO BE EXECUTED
Radio Farda, Dec. 28
Hamshahri daily has reported the execution of a 21-year-old man by the name of
Iman. He is to be executed on Friday.
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TWO HANGED IN PUBLIC
Iran Focus, Dec. 28, Tehran - Two young men were hanged in public in the Iranian
city of Mashad (northeastern province of Khorrasan) yesterday and on Sunday
after authorities accused them of rape.
One of the young men identified only by his first name, Mohammad-Reza, was
publicly hanged in Hedayat blvd. in the city-center.
The second individual only identified as Mostafa was hanged in public yesterday
morning in the Doost-Abad region of Mashad in Old Ghoochan street.
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ARRESTS, TORTURES AND INHUMANE PUNISHMENTS
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Student leader arrested
Radio Farda, Dec. 6
The secretary of the Students Committee in Defense of Political Prisoners, Shiva
Nazar Ahari, was arrested outside her residence on the national Students Day.
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TORTURE USED TO FORCE DETAINED INTERNET JOURNALISTS WRITE
CONFESSION LETTERS.
AFP, Dec. 6, New York
Human Rights Watch said Monday that secret squads operating under the Iranian
judiciary have used torture to force detained Internet journalists and activists
to write self-incriminatory "confession letters."
The New York-based group said it had evidence confirming that secret squads of
interrogators -- primarily former intelligence officers purged in the late-1990s
by President Mohammed Khatami forced the detainees to write letters under
extreme pressure as a condition for their release on bail.
"The Iranian government shouldn't think for a minute that anyone will believe in
the authenticity of these letters. They're fooling no one," said Sarah Leah
Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "With stunts like these,
Tehran is rapidly losing its already meager credibility on human rights."
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WOMEN'S ACTIVIST ARRESTED IN IRAN AFTER BEING DEPORTED
FROM CANADA
Vancouver Sun, Dec. 10 -- An Iranian woman deported from Vancouver was arrested
within minutes of her return to Tehran, but was released after spending many
hours in detention.
Haleh Sahba, 30, now faces charges of leaving Iran illegally.
Sahba lived in the Vancouver area for three years after fleeing her home
country, where she had been jailed for defending women's rights.
She told Immigration Canada that she feared for her life if she was forced to
return to Iran, but was refused refugee status and deported on Tuesday.
Sahba's family has now sent letters to every MLA in the province asking for
their support to win her return to Canada on humanitarian and compassionate
grounds.
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KILLED UNDER TORTURE
Fars News Agency, Dec. 12
Eshrat Shayeq, Majlis deputy from Tabriz, said one of the injured of the
Iran-Iraq War has been killed under brutal torture in Karaj Prison. The torture
was so severe that his wife was not able to identify him. His son recognized him
because of a mark on his ear. She added, "They had cut off his medicine in
prison."
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AMPUTATION OF A MAN'S FINGERS
Islamic Republic daily, Dec. 16 - A man by the name of K.K. was sentenced to
have four fingers of his right hand cut off in public.
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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
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FIVE WEB LOGGERS JAILED
Reporters Without Borders, Dec. 1 - Reporters Without Borders has strongly
protested against the Iran's relentless efforts to stifle free expression online
after the arrest of five web loggers in less than two months, the latest on 28
November 2004.
"The government is now attacking blogs, the last bastion of freedom on a network
that is experiencing ever tighter control," said the worldwide press freedom
organization. "At the same time, an Iranian delegate is sitting on an UN-created
working group on Internet governance. The international community should condemn
this masquerade," it added.
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MURDERED CANADIAN PHOTOGRAPHER'S LAWYER BARRED FROM
LEAVING IRAN
AFP, Dec. 1, Tehran - A member of the team of Iranian lawyers representing the
family of murdered photographer Zahra Kazemi has been barred from leaving the
country, local media reported Wednesday.
The student news agency ISNA said Mohammad Seifzadeh... was told he could not
leave Iran when he tried to fly out on personal business...
Last week the European Union lodged a formal protest with Iranian authorities
over the arrest and harassment of journalists, staff of non-governmental
organizations and members of religious minorities.
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TEHRAN REBUKES EU FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES!!
AFP, Dec. 5, Tehran - Iran responded to fresh EU criticism of its human rights
situation by saying it was "seriously concerned" over what it alleged were
ongoing violations in Europe and a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment in the
Netherlands.
"We are seriously concerned about the human rights situation in Europe," foreign
ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.
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IRAN’S JUDICIARY ARRESTS THREE CULTURAL OFFICIALS
Reuters, Dec. 9, Tehran - Iran's judiciary has arrested three cultural officials
for organising a festival containing a brief display of dancing by a male and
female theatre group, the government-run Iran newspaper reported on Thursday.
One hardline newspaper said the festival in the southern city of Ahvaz contained
"obscene and repulsive scenes of lewdness and ethical violations in the guise of
art."...
Festival organiser Alireza Ajang, head of the Culture and Islamic Guidance
Ministry in southern Khuzestan province, and two of his colleagues were arrested
on charges of "encouraging immorality". The three were later released on $19,500
bail.
The hardline Kayhan newspaper, in an editorial, called for the officials to be
sacked.
"The dancing of women in revealing gowns under the light of strong projectors,
the mixed dancing of men and women, and other ugly scenes ... were just some of
the scandalous incidents of that day," the paper said.
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IRANIAN WOMAN JOURNALIST FREED ON BAIL, HOSPITALISED
AFP, Dec. 11, Tehran - An Iranian woman arrested in a judicial crackdown on
reformist journalists was freed on bail but needed hospital treatment due to her
detention, her husband told AFP on Saturday.
According to Ahmad Beigloo, journalist Fereshteh Ghazi was kept in solitary
confinement for 38 days and had to be checked into hospital as she was not in a
good physical or mental shape.
The woman was arrested over her articles on women’s rights published on Internet
sites. She was released on bail of 500 million rials (about 57,000 dollars).
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WOMEN
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4,000 GIRLS SPEND NIGHTS ON TEHRAN STREETS
Radio Farda, Dec. 11
Every night in Tehran, 4,000 girls spend the night on the streets and most of
them become victims of violence. The head of Iran’s Social Charity Society says,
Official sources have announced this figure and yet the actual number of girls
who sleep on the streets is not known. Dr. Mostafa Eqlima said the most
important cause of girls running away from home is poverty.
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TEENAGE SEX SLAVE SENTENCED TO DEATH
Daily Telegraph, Dec. 14
A 19-year-old Iranian girl with a mental age of eight who was forced into
prostitution by her mother has been sentenced to be flogged and executed for
'morality-related' offences, Amnesty International said yesterday.
The human rights pressure group has asked Iran's Supreme Court to stay the
execution. The girl, named only as Leyla M, had suffered a "litany of abuse", it
said.
"Sold into prostitution at the age of eight, she has experienced horrific sexual
violence.
Leyla, who was born in the central Iranian city of Arak, was sold by her family
to an Afghan man to become his "temporary wife", aged 12. The man's mother
became her new pimp, according to an Iranian newspaper report.
Two years later, Leyla became pregnant and received 100 lashes before being sold
on to a 55-year-old man who continued to force her into prostitution.
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MAJLIS DEPUTY THREATENS FEMALE REPORTER
Radio Farda, Dec. 15
Hassan Hossein Tabataba'ii, deputy from Zabol, angrily told a female reporter,
"Fix your veil, this is not the Sixth Majlis, else I will punch you in the
mouth!"
The deputy from Zabol then approached the reporter, intending to hit her, but
Ahmad Nateq Nouri and another reporter held him back.
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RUNAWAY TEENAGE GIRL
Iran Focus, Dec. 23, Tehran - A 15-year-old girl who ran away from home because
of being forcefully married to a man twice her age was arrested and is currently
in a juvenile correctional facility in Tehran.
The girl, who is of Afghan origin, ran away from home after she was sold by her
father to another 30-year-old Afghan man for 50 million rials (the equivalent of
$5,000). She, along with her boyfriend, ran away to the town of Damqan, northern
Iran.
Her father went to the local police station and filed a missing-persons report
and security officials soon discovered that she had escaped to Damqan. The pair
were apprehended and put under arrest within a few days. The girl subsequently
appeared in court yesterday and defended her actions, saying that it was unjust
for her father to be allowed to sell her to a man twice her age with whom she
had never had any contact.
The judge ordered that she be kept in the juvenile correctional facility as it
was more likely that she would be killed by her husband or father if she were
released. He ruled that the older man is the girl’s lawful husband and that that
could not be changed as the $5,000 had already been paid.