Peyvast

I have much to say about a great Iranian man who is victim of Islamic Republic , Ayatollah Boroujerdi. The sad thing is that just because he is a religious man he is not getting the deserved attention by some of Iranian activists. I get to this later but for now this an urgent action call I just received from Amnesty International . I sometimes think that Iranians have (and had) many great leaders but do not have committed and conscious followers. Many nations such as South Africa with only one of them changed their destiny forever.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PUBLIC  AI Index: MDE 13/045/2009   14 May 2009

 

Further Information on 262/06 (MDE 13/114/2006, 29 September 2006) and follow-up (MDE 13/120/2006, 13 October 2006; MDE 134/2006, 11 December 2006; MDE 13/140/2007, 30 March 2007; MDE 074/2007, 15 June 2007;MDE 13/103/2007, 10 August 2007 and MDE 13/135/2008, 11 September 2008) -  Arbitrary arrest/ fear for safety/ possible prisoner of conscience/ medical concern/torture and ill-treatment 

 

IRAN                         Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi (m), aged 50, Shi’a cleric

                              

Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi was subjected to beatings on 5 May 2009 in Yazd Central Prison, central Iran, where he was transferred in the latter part of 2008. He has been held in solitary confinement since 27 January 2009. He may be a prisoner of conscience, held only because of his religious beliefs.

 

On 1 May, Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi wrote a letter to the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, requesting that international observers be sent to Iran in order to pave the way and to assist Iranian people in an open referendum on the system of government (see letter at  http://www.hrairan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=967:456&catid=66:304&Itemid=293). Following this letter, Ayatollah Boroujerdi was beaten in prison on 5 May and in protest he began a hunger strike. The prison authorities reportedly told the Ayatollah’s family that his telephone privileges of calling his family and lawyer were being suspended and that he was being punished for his latest statements about a referendum. There is no information available to Amnesty International as to his present condition with regard to his hunger strike.

 

Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment on 13 August 2007. According to the judgement he will serve one year in a prison in Tehran and the remaining ten years in a prison in another part of the country. He has been repeatedly denied adequate treatment for his medical concerns including Parkinson’s Disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems. Ayatollah Boroujerdi is reported to have been repeatedly tortured and ill-treated since his arrest. His family have appointed lawyers for him but, the Special Court for the Clergy (SCC) has refused to allow them to defend him on the grounds that only clerics appointed by the Judiciary can make representations on his behalf.

 

Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi advocates the removal of religion from the political basis of the |ranian state. He was arrested at his home in Tehran on 8 October 2006 along with more than 300 of his followers. He and 17 followers were initially sentenced to death, but the death sentences were later dropped. In addition to his sentence of 11 years’ imprisonment, Ayatollah Boroujerdi was also banned from practicing his clerical duties and his house and all his belongings were confiscated.

 

Most of the 77 followers of Ayatollah Boroujerdi who also faced trial, have now been released. Five of them are however, serving prison terms ranging between 2 and 5 years.

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The SCC, which operates outside the framework of the judiciary, was established in 1987 by Ayatollah Khomeini to try members of the Shi’a religious establishment in Iran. Its procedures fall far short of international standards for fair trial: among other things, defendants can only be represented by clergymen nominated by the court, who are not required to be legally qualified. In some cases the defendant has been unable to find any nominated cleric willing to undertake the defence and has been tried without any legal representation. The court can hand down sentences including flogging and the death penalty.

 

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:

- calling for a prompt and impartial investigation into allegations that Ayatollah Boroujerdi has been tortured or otherwise ill-treated, and, with its methods and findings made public;

- urging the authorities to end the practice of solitary confinement, in line with the recommendations made by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention;

- seeking assurances that he is not being tortured or otherwise ill-treated in detention;

- urging the authorities to allow Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi to receive adequate medical attention and regular access to family visits;

- expressing concern that Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi and his detained followers may be prisoners of conscience, who should be immediately released if not promptly charged with a recognizably criminal offence and given a fair trial;

- expressing concern that Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi has been denied the right to adequate and regular access to legal representation of his choice.

 

APPEALS TO:

Head of the Judiciary

Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi

c/o Director, Judiciary Public Relations and Information Office

Ardeshir Sadiq

Judiciary Public Relations and Information Office

No. 57, Pasteur St., corner of Khosh Zaban Avenue

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email:            info@dadiran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)

Salutation:      Your Excellency

 

COPIES TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic

Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei

The Office of the Supreme Leader

Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email:            info_leader@leader.ir

via website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter (English)

http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=letter (Persian)

Salutation:      Your Excellency

 

Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran

Mohammad Javad Larijani

Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh / Office of the Head of the Judiciary

Pasteur St, Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhuri

Tehran 1316814737, Iran

Fax:              +98 21 3390 4986 (please keep trying)

Email:            info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Javad Larijani)

Salutation:      Dear Mr Larijani

 

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

 

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 25 June.

AN INTERVEW WORTH WACHING

Iranian.com has published an article by David Maynard (I don´t know who he is) titled: save Nazanin fom Nazanin.

Stop the public stoning of Malak Ghorbany

On or about June 29, 2006, a court in Iran sentenced Malak Ghorbany, an Iranian woman, to death by public stoning after finding her guilty of the crime of ”adultery”. Under Iran’s Penal Code, the term “adultery” is used to describe any intimate or sexual act between a man and a girl or a woman outside of marriage. The crime of adultery is also used in cases where a girl is deemed to have committed “acts incompatible with chastity,” which includes instances of rape. In Iran, the punishment for “adultery” is death. In Ms. Ghorbany’s case, the particular method of execution mandated — death by stoning — is one of the most inhumane and gruesome acts of torture and violence.

HELP SAVE MALAK GHORBANY BY SIGNING THE FOLLOWING PETITION:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Malak/

Kobra Rahmanpour’s Father Issues a Desperate Plea to Save the Life of His Daughter

My name is Abolfazl Rahmanpour, and I am Kobra Rahmanpour’s father.  I am writing to ask you to voice your objection to the unjust death sentence of my daughter. 
My little girl was forced to marry a man who was 43 years her senior.  Kobra was a star student and had dreams of going to college.  However, extreme poverty forced her to forego all of her dreams and goals.Before getting married, Kobra had a difficult life.  After marriage, not only was she unable to find peace or happiness, but she was subjected to a life that was even more brutal.  The extent of problems and abuse that Kobra endured in a household where she was first a maid and then a bride, forced a kind girl such as Kobra to become involved in a physical altercation, during which she had no choice but to defend herself – an act that led to  the death of her abuser. Since then, Kobra has spent the best years of her teenage and young life in jail on death row.  She has suffered greatly and is entirely broken.  She should not face any more torture and cruelty.  She should not feel the executioner’s rope around her neck, and I should not be a witness to her pale, lifeless body, forever asking myself how could I have let this happen or what should I have done differently so that my young child would not have had to face such a brutal life and such a horrifying death? Kobra, herself, has stated that she wishes to live; she is terrified of execution, of public hanging, and of the cranes that will elevate her to her death.  She wants to go to college and get an education.  Kobra is an extremely kind girl – a fact to which even her fellow prisoners attest.  She should be released from prison to start a new and normal life. Our only hope for saving Kobra’s life remains in YOUR objections to her unjust sentence.  The only way to save Kobra’s life is the collective voices of all persons who find her punishment unfair and inhumane, those who believe in the basic rights of all humans, those who oppose the death penalty, and various international human rights organizations.I ask you to put yourself in my position and that of Kobra’s mother for even one moment to understand the horror and the pain with which we deal on a daily basis.  I am willing to be executed in Kobra’s place if that would ensure her freedom.  All my life, I have worked hard, from morning to night, and have lived a respectable and honest life;  I can not help but wonder how or why this fate has befallen upon me and my family.  If Kobra is executed, her mother and I will have nothing left in our lives.  PLEASE HELP US.

Please lend your support to my family, to my handicapped child who constantly asks for her sister, Kobra, and to the rest of Kobra’s relatives and loved ones who are horrified by the prospect of the execution our kind and beautiful child, our beloved Kobra.  We ask that you sign the petition to save Kobra’s life, even though we realize tha

t we do not have much time left.  Yet, during these last hours, we plead with you to lend us a helping hand:  By signing this petition, please voice YOUR objection to Kobra’s unjust punishment and support our efforts to save her life.Sincerely,

 Abolfazl Rahmanpour

CLICK HERE  TO SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE KOBRA’S LIFE          For more information on Kobra, please visit:  www.HerEarth.com                 UN Report

by Siamack Baniameri:

 Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami was slapped with a lawsuit by a group of Iranian Jews in Los Angles and received his court order to appear in Manhattan federal court while attending a dinner party at the Council for American Islamic Relations.

Khatami was unaware that the affair was financed in part by a Jewish organization for the sole purpose of trapping and serving him the court order. According to eyewitnesses, Khatami was quickly removed from the event and ushered back to his hotel.

Khatami, like many other Iranian officials, seems to know more about America than the people who live in it. Khatami speaks as if he has lived all his life in the US and he has mastered all aspects of American social, economics and political landscape. In his speeches, Khatami thoroughly knows what is good for Americans or what chain of events will make America more reputable or unpopular in the world community.

But all deceptions aside, for the first time, Khatami was exposed to real America. On Friday night at Council for American Islamic Relations, Khatami got firsthand education on what America is really all about.

Mr. ex-president learned three important lessons. Firstly: Jews are the most organized, powerful and influential religious minority in the US — don’t fuck with them. Secondly: nobody is above the law in this country and anybody’s mother can be sued. Thirdly: before attending a dinner party, check to see who’s picking up the tab.

Mr. President … welcome to America.

Dear David,

Does America value human rights anymore? I question it. I look at Guantanamo Bay where the U.S. has held many people without charge or trial and treated detainees inhumanely.  I look at the U.S. program of extraordinary rendition, where people not charged or tried with anything are flown to countries that we know use torture. I look at the President asking Congress on national television to codify an illegal secret prison regime.  I look at all of this, and I question whether America respects human rights.

The America I believe in does not use torture. The America I believe in would close Guantanamo Bay. The America I believe in does not ‘disappear’ people into secret prisons. The America I believe in leads the world on human rights. Our first action is to hit newspapers all over the country with letters to the editor written by activists like you. Please write your letter to the editor now.

Why not an easy action, or a quick petition?  Because if ever there was a time to pull out all stops, it would be now.  A published letter to the editor makes a huge impact.  Thousands read the letters page, including Senators, Representatives and other decision makers. 

Here are three easy steps to getting a letter published:

1) Find your newspaper’s contact information by using our media directory.

2) Write a letter using your own words, emphasizing these points (or use our sample letter ):

3) Send us a copy of your letter .  We’ll keep an eye out for your published letter.

Finally, we realize we ask a lot from our activists, and we ask often.  Thank you for staying with us through this fight.  We’re renewed everyday by your actions.  Together, we’re slowly but steadily making a difference.

Respectfully,

Suha Dabbouseh for “The America I Believe In” campaign

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH TODAY: “The death of a second prisoner held for political beliefs in five weeks shows that political prisoners╝ health and safety is in grave danger, Human Rights Watch said today. The death of Valiollah Feyz Mahdavi, which was announced by the Iranian government yesterday, followed the death of Akbar Mohammadi on July 30. Both had been on hunger strike protesting prison conditions and their detention on dubious allegations.  ”

Yet another young prisoner of conscious is killed by the Islamic Regime of Mullahs in the name of their God.

May he rest in peace….

I had this posted in the old blog, but after the recent VOA program and interview, I think it is time to repost this movie called poverty and prostitution (Faghr -o- Fahsha). Although the film was made by a Moslem and a former member of the Islamic army (basijee), but it was not allowed to be screened by the Islamic regime. The movie shows eye opening facts by direct interviews. It also shows and studies the prostitution of Iranian women in Dubai.

I am also looking for the new movie that is mentioned on VOA (few clips were showed there). If any readers know of it on internet, please let me know. Thank you.

PART ONE:

PART TWO:

 

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