دوشنبه، فروردین ۲۷، ۱۳۸۶
Two of Iran’s most prominent women’s rights activists, Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh and Nahid Keshavarz, were released on Friday evening after posting bails. Meanwhile, four activists in the teachers’ union, Mojtaba Abtahi, Abdolrasul Emadi, Norallah Barkhordar and Hamid Majiri, were arrested in Shahin Shahr town.
Nahid Keshavarz and Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh were arrested earlier this month while collecting signatures for the One-Million Signature Campaign Demanding Changes to Iran’s Discriminatory Laws, along with two other activists, Sarah Imanian and Saeedeh Amin. Link
جمعه، اسفند ۲۵، ۱۳۸۵
Political Activist Hossein Forodieh May be Executed Today !!
Tehran, March 16
The Revolutionary Court in the city of Oroumiey has sentenced Hossein Forohideh, a political activist to death and is planning to execute him today March 16, 2007.
Four months ago Mr. Forohideh was arrested in the Kurdistan of Iran and was subjected to severe torture. For three months his family had no news about his whereabouts. They tried to find out his whereabouts by going to various Security and Judiciary Agencies but were not successful and slowly started losing hope in regards to him still being alive.
Hossein Forohides mother visited him on March 14, 2007 in Prison and spoke regarding her visit:
"After months of not having any news from my son, I received a
call from the Intelligence Services in the Oromiye Prison asking
me to go and visit my son. They wanted me to tell him
that if he did not cooperate with them, he would be executed. I asked
my son to cooperate in order to save his life. As
I was saying goodbye and leaving one of the prison officials told
me to take my sons clothing with me because he had already been
sentenced to death and the execution would be carried out in the next 48 hours."
The Student Committee for the Defence of Political Prisoners is asking the Security and Judiciary Officials to immediately stop the execution of Hossein Forohideh and to give reasons as to why he was sentenced to death.
Any sentence by the Judiciary must be carried out only after due process and the rights of a prisoner have been taken into consideration. Hossein Forohideh was held in solitary confinement for months and subjected to torture. There is no information regarding his trial and sentencing.
The reason for Mr. Forohidehs arrest was communication with Anti-Regime Political Organizations outside of Iran and therefore he is a prisoner of conscience . The Security and Judiciary officials are therefore responsible for his life and well being and must show that due process has been followed before any sentence can be carried out.
Translation of the Statement by The Student Committee for the Defence of Political Prisoners
komitedefa@gmail.com
دوشنبه، اسفند ۱۴، ۱۳۸۵
Women’s Rights Activists Arrested on the Eve of the International Women’s Day
سهشنبه، اسفند ۰۱، ۱۳۸۵
Arrests on the Eve of International Mother Language Day
Following reports that protests are planned for the International Mother Language Day, on February 21, 2007, a number of Iranian political and cultural activists, and journalists across the country have been detained and then released on bail. There are reports that groups plan to hold peaceful rallies on the occasion in various Iranian towns, including those in Azerbaijan. This has prompted the arrest of a number of activists by security and intelligence agents.
According to human rights activists in Tabriz, these arrests and detention have taken place without formal arrest warrants and the victims have reported mistreatment at the hands of interrogators and official agents.
Alireza Javanbakht, the spokesperson for the Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan province, told Rooz, “Since the July demonstrations in the towns of Azerbaijan province, the government has been taking various preventive measures to contain similar protests in the future. This is the reason why many activists have been arrested since then. This policy has been pursued for different events, he added. For example, there have been wide arrests in Azerbaijan on the first day of school in September of last year and now for the International Mother Language Day. According to this human rights activist, “Those arrested are treated as principal figures in such demonstrations, while we see that the demonstrations comprise the public in general and are not orchestrated by any individual.”Link
یکشنبه، بهمن ۲۹، ۱۳۸۵
Jailed Student Leader Batebi Suffers Brain Stroke
From Regime Spokesperson to Demands for Democracy
After the 1979 revolution, every party and political group in the country had a base in every university across the country, and thus supporters. After the cultural revolution, however, when universities were shut and reopened in 1984, only Islamic student associations survived the purges and thus re-activated their presence and work on campuses. But because of the new atmosphere in the universities and student movement peculiarities on one hand, and the general conditions of the country where differences among the ruling factions of the Islamic Republic were on the rise on the other, the nature of the student movement too changed. Link to Article
چهارشنبه، بهمن ۱۸، ۱۳۸۵
Iranian, Georgian, Iraqi Writers Receive Rights Award
February 6, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Seven Iranians, a Georgian, and an Iraqi are among the recipients this year of an international human rights award.
The writers are among a group of 45 people from 22 countries to receive Hellman/Hammett grants, which are administered by Human Rights Watch.
The annual grants go to writers around the world who have been targets of political persecution.
In a statement today, Human Rights Watch's Middle East director, Sarah Leah Whitson, said the past year was particularly difficult for Iranian writers, who had to work in an "ever-more restrictive atmosphere of new publishing rules and policies."
Some of the recipients have asked to remain anonymous because of possible risks to them and their families.
The named recipients from Iran, Georgia, and Iraq are: Irakli Kakabadze (Georgia), Ali Afshari (Iran), Hassan Zarezadeh Ardeshir (Iran), Ali Ashraf Darvishian (Iran), Roozbeh Mir Ebrahimi (Iran), Ensaf Ali Hedayat (Iran), Shahram Rafizadeh (Iran), Arash Sigarchi (Iran), and S.S. Ali (Iraq).
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/2/FE4766B0-3D0D-4F21-99B2-13BADA353EA5.html
سهشنبه، بهمن ۱۷، ۱۳۸۵
Seven Iranian Writers Receive Hellman/Hammett Grants
Seven Iranian Writers Receive Hellman/Hammett Grants
(New York, February 6, 2007) – Human Rights Watch announced today that seven Iranians are among the 45 writers from 22 countries who are receiving the prestigious Hellman/Hammett prize, an award that recognizes writers globally who have been victims of political persecution.
"Hassan Zarezadeh Ardeshir, 29, journalist, has written extensively on the political environment and human rights issues in Iran. He has been arrested several times and spent nearly eight months in Evin prison in 2003. In 2005, he was forced into exile, but continues to report on human rights violations in Iran from abroad. " link to hrw report
یکشنبه، بهمن ۰۸، ۱۳۸۵
3 women’s rights activists arrested
Tala’at Taghinia, Mansooreh Shojaie, Farnaz Saify, journalists, women's rights activists and members of the women’s cultural center were arrested on Saturday, January 27th, as they were leaving the country to take part in a training workshop for journalists in New Delhi, India.
After their arrest, they were accompanied by the regime’s secret service agents to their homes where their houses were thoroughly searched and properties such as computers, files, personal papers, photos, books, discs, etc. were seized. Following the search and confiscation of those objects, the 3 activists were transported to the infamous ward 209 of Evin prison which is under the direct control of the ministry of intelligence and security.
four individuals publicly hanged in Ahvaz
جمعه، بهمن ۰۶، ۱۳۸۵
Arab media focuses on possible war between the U.S. & the Islamic Republic of Iran
It is important to mention that Al-Mustaqbal is a media source close to the March 14th faction (anti-Syrian) in Lebanon; this newspaper has repeatedly published caricatures against the leaders of the Islamic Republic.
چهارشنبه، بهمن ۰۴، ۱۳۸۵
Ganji: No Democracy with the Islamic Republic

Hassan Zarezadeh Ardeshir - 2007.01.25
Last Saturday, Iran’s released journalist political prisoner gave a talk on the structure of the current regime in Tehran at the Center for Iranian Studies of Toronto University, Canada. Regarding the transfer of power in a dictatorial regime he said, “In the Islamic Republic, they do not believe in a peaceful transfer of power. The Velayat-e Faghih (rule by clerics) sits on a high position denying any one below to do anything.” link to main report
چهارشنبه، دی ۲۷، ۱۳۸۵
My interview with BBC
Iranian bloggers have reacted with anger and scorn to a new law requiring them to register their websites and blogsites with the authorities.
It is being seen as the latest attempt by the Iranian government to control the media.
BBC Persian.com asked six Iranian bloggers - inside and outside Iran - if they thought the law could be enforced and what effect it would have... see in BBC
پنجشنبه، دی ۰۷، ۱۳۸۵
"Student movement in the last decade in Iran"
Guest speaker: Mr. Hassan Zarehzadeh Ardeshir ,student leader and human rights activist
Iran watch canada : Student movement will show itself when there is an undemocratic regime. University was established in Iran in 1934 at the time of king "Reza" . The Islamic Republic regime have planned and still is planning to bridge between " Houzeh"( school of theology) and universities.After cultural revolution in Iran which suppressed independent students as well as students with partisan politics, most especially the leftist students, and during the time of prime minister "Musavi" s' cabinet, differences came to existance and these division could be seen as left and right, it was from this time that some of the officials started to support students movement , and we can say this was the start of the student movement with a critical view to the Islamic system. After the war when "Rafsanjani" positioned himself on the top post of government, his government was known as " rebuilding government " , and he tried to strengthen his government economically and in order to make his government strong he helped for the creation of "Islamic Student Association" and " Daftare Tahkime Vahdat " .These student organizations in the 2nd round of Rafsanjani's presidency took distance to his government and when "Tabarzadi" ( one of the student leader ) criticized his government , Rafsanjani's government started to bann their student publications or close their offices and at the end Mr. Tabarzadi was arrested and was imprisoned and by his arrest this problem finally was set aside. After this, Inside " Daftare Tahkim Vahdat" progressive ideas was formed and this student organization stood against the officials , after few other governments came to power and gone , new generation entered in the university and students demands went toward the freedom , in the presidential election of 1997 " Daftare Tahkime Vahdat " supported Khatami and as a result many voted for Khatami , in previous years students were used as a tool , but this time they demanded for freedom, and because of these demand many vote was given to Khatami and he was elected. This was a general picture up to " Dovome Khordad" (the start of reformist government of Khatami ). After " Dovome Khordad" there were two major groups in student movement ,1- " Daftare Tahkime Vahdat " supported by reformists and had office in the universities 2- United Student front .The 2nd organization didn't have offices in universities, Tabarzadi belonged to this front, ministry of information tried to defame him. At that time , passing Khatami was a red line, and because the members of the 2nd organization wanted to pass this red line most of its members were arrested." Daftare Tahkime Vahdat " every year had meeting on " Dovome Khordad" ( when Khatami was elected as president ) and " Shanzdahe Azar" ( Student Day in Iran ) and Khatami was invited to these meetings for speech. Gradually " Daftare Tahkime Vahdat " became stronger and as well the reformist government and since reformist government after taking power wasn't paying attention to " Daftare Tahkime Vahdat" , so "DTV " became critical to the government of Khatami especially in his 2nd term . Because of this the security organizations were advicing them to stop their criticism of Khatami . When the leader like Ali Afshari was arrested, from Khatami's office a call set him free after 2-3 hours of detention.It was right after this that "DTV" became more radical and more arrest came on: "Ahmad Batebi" , "Akbar Mohammadi " , myself and ..... were arrested. At that time we were in "Touhid" prison , our families thought that we may be executed and the government wnted to see the student movement under control. After the release ,some of the student became united and the government could see that the students movement is becoming stronger. When students were demonstrating , teachers also went on demonstration and the Ministry of Information infiltrated inside "DTV" , because of this and other problems " DTV" was divided to two faction, in one side was "DTV- Alameh" and the other "DTV -Shiraz" . At present "DTV " doesn't have any affiliation with government. Today there is demonstration in Amirkabir University . Student movement must go ahead . More than 100 student publication was banned. Ministry of Information has planned for another cultural revolution like before, but unique in its kind. So far We have witnessed arrest, imprisonment, expulsion and we are also witnessing the regime is making students with stars beside their name , they use different tactics, like; they do contact with families of students , specially the mother and they ask her to put pressure on their childeren.They want to bring and continue an atmosphere of intimidation and fear.This is part of the speech and not all.
دوشنبه، آذر ۲۷، ۱۳۸۵
Students Await a Clash
After president Mahmud Ahmadinejad delivered his speech at Amir Kabir University last week, the statements made by officials or aides close to him, including the president’s writings on his personal web blob, have led once again Iran’s student community to raise its protests against what it calls “groundwork for clashing with students”. Link
پنجشنبه، آذر ۲۳، ۱۳۸۵
A Prisoner’s Father: I Am Losing My Son, Can You Do Something?
Hassan Zarezadeh Ardeshir - 2006.12.14
Ahmad Batebi was arrested during the student uprising at Tehran University in the summer of 1999 and subsequently sentenced to death. He was subjected to intense physical and psychological tortures while at the Towhid Prison, which has since been converted to a museum. During former reformist president Khatami, Batebi was given prison leave to go home for short periods. Since president Ahmadinejad assumed the presidency last year, he has not been allowed to go on home leave. In fact, he was returned to jail by agents of Ahmadinejad’s Ministry of Intelligence while on leave... Link
دوشنبه، آذر ۱۳، ۱۳۸۵
Amir Kabir University Student Leader: Students are Bugged
Hassan Zarezadeh Ardeshir - 2006.12.04
Abbas Hakimzadeh is a member of the central council of Amir Kabir University’s Islamic Student Association. In his exclusive interview with Rooz, he talks about the student gathering on Saturday in which students requested that the Minister of Science visit the institution’s classrooms. Hakimzadeh is a student who is banned from entering the campus and he speaks of the pressures that are exerted on students by government officials. Link
سهشنبه، آبان ۳۰، ۱۳۸۵
Nasrin Sotudeh: Stop Sina’s Execution!
Nanaz Oveisi - roozonline, 2006.11.21 - A prominent lawyer, Nasrin Sotudeh, has called on the government of Iran to halt the execution of a teenager.
In an interview with Rooz, Sotudeh said, “Sina was only 16 when he committed his crime. He turned 18 this summer and was scheduled to be executed on September 20, but because of a two-month extension given by the victim’s family, his execution was postponed for two months.”
“The two month extension runs out in a few days and Sina will be in danger of execution once again; so I am asking for the suspension of the verdict,” the lawyer said. link to main article
Political Prisoners Attacked in Evin
Last Saturday, a number of political prisoners, including attorney Dr. Naser Zarafshan, were attacked and severely beaten by violent convicts in Evin prison in Tehran. Dr. Zarafshan’s wife confirmed this report in an interview with Rooz.
At about 4 p.m. Naser Zarafshan called his wife from prison to inform her that the clashes were ongoing. He believed that the clashes were completely preplanned and staged. link to main article

