Monitoring Human Rights In
Iran - March 2004
###############
DEATH SENTENCES
###############
---
76 YEAR OLD MAN EXECUTED
Entekhab daily, Feb. 26
A 76 year old man was hanged in Qasr prison Thursday morning.
---
YOUNG WOMAN ON DEATH ROW
Iran-e Emrouz website, Feb. 27
Kobra Rahmanpour, 22, will be executed on February 28, 2004. Her last hope for
survival from execution would be the family's acceptance of a blood warrant to
withdraw her death sentence.
---
MAN HANGED IN PUBLIC
Entekhab daily, Mar. 2
A man by the name of Kamal Jabarpour was hanged in public in Marand. He also
received 74 lashes before being hanged.
---
FOUR TIMES EXECUTION, 30 YEARS PRISON FOR THREE YOUNGSTERS
Sharq daily, Mar. 3
The head of the first branch of Baneh's public court, Judge Hosseinpour issued
the preliminary sentence for three youngsters in Baneh which was a total of four
executions and 30 years in prison. The victims were Fou'ad F., 17, Sa'dollah R.,
19, and Dalir M., 24.
---
SENTENCE FOR PUBLIC EXECUTION
Iran daily, Mar. 4
Hojatol Islam Taqwa sentenced a man to execution in public.
---
MAN SENTENCED TO EXECUTION IN PUBLIC
Jomhouri Islami daily, Mar. 10
According to the intelligence and public relations department of Khuzistan
province's judiciary, a man in Ahwaz named S. K. was sentenced to execution
after undergoing the legal procedures. The sentence will be carried out in
public soon.
---
PUBLIC EXECUTION IN AHWAZ
Jomhouri Islami daily, Mar. 14, Ahwaz
After investigation by the 22nd branch of Ahwaz's public court, Habib Z. was
sentenced to death. The sentence will be carried out soon in public.
---
ANOTHER EXECUTION IN AHWAZ
Jomhouri Islami daily, Mar. 16, Ahwaz
According to the intelligence and public relations department of Khuzistan
province, a man named Saeed S. was sentenced to death. The sentence was upheld
by the Supreme Court on March 15th at 7am in the prison yard.
##########################################
ARRESTS, TORTURES AND INHUMANE PUNISHMENTS
##########################################
---
IRAN WON'T SEND BODY OF DEAD FLOGGED MAN
The Canadian Press, Feb. 26, Vancouver - Iran has refused to send to Canada the
body of a man who died after being flogged in prison, despite pleas by his
family now living here, a lawyer representing the man's three sisters said
Thursday.
Mohsen Mofidi, 35, died last weekend, a few days after being released from
prison, where he received 80 lashes for violating the Islamic republic's strict
code of conduct.... According to the human rights group Amnesty International,
Mr. Mofidi was accused of possessing a satellite dish and medicine containing
alcohol...
(Amnesty International's spokesman John Tackaberry from Toronto) said the
organization's secretary general spoke with Iran's ambassador to Canada on
Thursday, asking for clarification of why an apparently ill man was flogged and
calling for an open, impartial investigation.
---
FLOGGING ADDICTS UPON ARREST
Radio Farda, Feb. 28
The commander of the State Security Forces of Greater Tehran told reporters, "In
order to reduce this crime, from now on, every addict will receive 60 whips
after being arrested, according to the law."
---
AFSHIN BA'IMANI ON DEATH ROW
Peik-e Iran website, Mar. 2
Statement by Students' Committee for Defense of Political Prisoners: We have
been informed that Afshin Ba'imani, a political prisoner, is presently being
held in the cellblock of murderers and gangsters in Raja'ii Shahr prison in
Karaj, and that he is in poor psychological condition.
Afshin Ba-imani was transferred about two weeks ago from Evin to Raja'ii Shahr
prison probably for the death sentence to bee carried out on this political
prisoner.
---
FLOGGING, PRISON FOR 4 PEOPLE
Qods, daily, Mar. 4
The criminal court sentenced four persons to two years imprisonment, 194 whips,
exile and 74 million rials bail.
---
YOUNG FILM EDITOR KILLED
Peik-e Iran website, Mar. 4
Ardeshir Afshinzadeh, a 25 year old film editor who had been transferred to
Tajrish hospital by the State Security Forces after being beaten up by the
Ansar-e Hezbollah, passed away at 4am Wednesday.
It was first announced that he had attended a party and jumped form the fifth
story while trying to escape, but signs of torture were visible on his body and
he had no broken bones. Ardeshir Afshizadeh was immediately taken to the surgery
room. According to the doctors, he had severe internal hemorrhage and his liver
had been completely smashed. Five hours after leaving the surgery room and on
the way to the ICU, he died of a brain hemorrhage.
---
POLITICAL PRISONER, 27, ON DEATH ROW
The Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a statement
on March 8 announcing that according to reports from Iran, Mr. Hojjat Zamani,
27, is a political prisoner on the verge of execution because of his support for
the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
The NCRI statement adds that the Zamani family is among the most respected
families in Ilam Province’s Haftchehmeh region. Because of opposition to the
clerical regime, the Zamani family has in the past two decades been constantly
harassed by the clerical regime.
---
JUDICIARY SPOKESMAN DEFENDS "LEGAL" TORTURE
Payk Iran Site, Mar. 9
Answering a question in a press conference on the death of a prisoner named
Mofidi who was sentenced to flogging and died while enduring lashes,
GhollamHossein Elham, spokesman for the Judiciary said, "What is the media
looking for in this story? If something happens to someone in prison, is it due
to actions opposing the law? It may be that someone becomes injured because of
proper and legal punishments. Injuries come from the nature of the punishment
which is legal not the crime and not the torture."
#####################
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
#####################
---
IMPRISONED WRITER HOSPITALIZED FOR BRAIN STROKE
Peik-e Iran website, Feb. 27
Payam Fazli Nejad, writer and journalist who was detained in an unknown location
since February 22, was transferred to ICU in Baqiollah Hospital Thursday morning
because of a brain stroke. An informed source who wished to remain anonymous
told the committee following up on his condition, "Fazli Nejad was probably in
the custody of the intelligence ministry, but that ministry had not confirmed or
denied Payam's detention." The State Security Forces have intense control on
Fazli Nejad's home.
---
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS EXPRESSES CONCERN ON JOURNALISTS
BEING TRIED
Reporters without Borders, Mar. 2 - Reporters without Borders has expressed its
serious concern in response to a court summons against independent journalist
Emadoldin Baghi.
Reporters Without Borders also condemns: Failure to respect legal procedure in
the trial of Iradj Jamshidi, editor in chief of the (suspended) financial daily
Asia, that opened on 24 February in the 26th division of the Teheran
revolutionary tribunal. Even though his lawyer is allowed to attend the trial,
he has had no access to the file of his client, who was arrested on 6 July 2003.
---
IRAN, FOURTH WORST PERSECUTOR OF CHRISTIANS
United Press International, Mar. 5, Seesen, Germany - Three Communist nations
rank as the world's worst persecutors of Christians, an international mission
society based in Germany reports
Offene Grenzen (Open Borders) announced that they are followed by the Islamic
Republic of Iran, which moved up from 10th to fourth place within a year.
In Iran, the number of Christians held without trial increased significantly
during the last 12 months, the society reported.
---
THOUSANDS OF SATELLITE DISHES CONFISCATED IN TEHRAN
AFP, Mar. 13, Tehran - Some 40,000 satellite dishes were recently confiscated by
Islamist militia in four factories secretly manufacturing satellite equipment in
eastern Tehran, Jam-e Jam newspaper reported Saturday...
The factory owners were arrested and their cases turned over to the public
prosecutor's office, the conservative paper added without giving further
details...
---
5 EDITORS SUMMONED
Radio Farda, Mar. 19 - The managing editors of five newspapers-- Sharq, Yass-e
no, Towse'e, Aftab Yazd and Etamad were summoned to three branches of the
Government Employees' Court on the charge of disseminating false reports and
anti-government propaganda.
---
TORTURE VICTIM DENIED MEDICAL TREATMENT IN PRISON
Amnesty International UK, Mar. 25 - Amnesty International is extremely concerned
for the health of an Iranian man who has been imprisoned, tortured and denied
medical treatment after he talked to a Channel 4 'Dispatches' television team
last year. Earlier this week the organization issued an Urgent Action appeal on
his behalf.
Arzhang Davoodi, 46, was arrested between August and October 2003 and severely
beaten after criticizing the Iranian authorities in a secretly filmed television
documentary Iran Undercover. Inside the Hidden Revolution, broadcast on Channel
4 television on 2 December 2003.
#####
WOMEN
#####
---
INCREASE IN SUICIDE RATE
Peik-e Iran website, Mar. 24
The social deputy of the Islamic Republic's Welfare Organization said there was
an increase in suicides in the past year.
Of all the suicides, the highest number belonged to women and girls. In Golestan
province, which ranks third in the number of suicides, 1,041 women attempted
suicide in last year alone. Most of them were between 15 to 19 years old.
The social deputy of the Welfare Organization says suicide among women was twice
that of men. An authority in the Ministry of Health said the reason for the
increase in suicides among women is the restrictions imposed on them and issues
such as mandatory marriages. Researchers in Tehran University registered 90
self-immolations in the remote Darreh Shahr region in Ilam, alone.
According to a university research in Mazandaran province, 83% of the
self-immolations were women most of whom were between 20 to 29 years old. As
stated by the World Health Organization in 1997, the number of suicides was 16
men and 4 women in every 1 million people, while in Iran that rate is 200 people
out of every 100,000.
##################################
OTHER NEWS (ABOUT STREET CHILDREN)
##################################
---
MORE THAN 35% OF STREET CHILDREN ADDICTED TO DRUGS
Khorassan daily, Feb. 29
Some 37% of the children who work on the streets are addicted to drugs. 41% of
these children make their living off of buying and selling drugs.
---
TRAFFICKING GANGS RENT STREET CHILDREN FOR 125 USD PER
YEAR
Etemad daily, Mar. 7
Research shows that a significant number of children who work on the street are
leased to mafia-like child labor gangs for less than 100,000 tumans(125 USD) per
year because of their families' dire financial need
These gangs make large profits from children's labor. 64% of street children
suffer from heart diseases.
---
23,000 STREET CHILDREN GATHERED IN TEHRAN
Hamshahri daily, Mar. 17
The head of Tehran Province's Welfare Organization said 23,575 street children
under 18 years old have been rounded up in the past 11 months.