Video – Letters from Iran
While winds of change have been blowing through the Arab world, Iranians have been forced to wait for political reform.
In 2009, in the aftermath of elections that saw Ahmadinejad’s return to power as president, millions of Iranians took to the streets to protest the result. But the demonstrations were brutally repressed and the hopes of the “green revolutionaries” dashed.
Since then Iran has closed itself off to international media, making it difficult to determine what happened to the many thousands of dissidents arrested and imprisoned during the protests, or the current scale of political opposition to the regime.
Yet this film reveals that opposition is still alive and kicking and just as eager for change as before. Letters from Iran paints a fascinating portrait of the aftermath of the Green Revolution and a country holding its breath.
Letters from Iran – YouTube.
Who Are Iran’s Political Prisoners? – Roxana Saberi
Roxana Saberi
Oct. 6, 2011
She was happy I was released but wondered how her case differed from mine and why she had to remain in prison. “What kind of justice system condemned [Roxana] to such punishment,” Ms. Rouhi asked, “and which justice freed her at such speed?”
I asked myself the same question. Why was I released after 100 days, having appealed an eight-year prison sentence for a trumped-up charge of espionage? What is clear is that as a foreign citizen, I was fortunate to receive international support, while the plights of other innocent prisoners were less known outside Iran.
Last month, two American men incarcerated in Iran on accusations of espionage and crossing the border illegally—charges they contested—were freed after being sentenced to eight years in prison. Their release is welcome news and cause for relief.
At least 28 of Iran’s prisoners of conscience are journalists, according to the media rights group Reporters Without Borders, which ranks Iran the third largest jail for journalists in the world after Eritrea and China. In addition, six Iranian filmmakers were recently arrested for allegedly cooperating with BBC Persian. (The station insists no one in Iran works for it.)
Well-known attorneys such as Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been sentenced to six years in prison, also are locked up in Iran. Last month, Abdolfattah Soltani, who like Ms. Sotoudeh defended many political prisoners, was arrested for the third time. I first heard of his courage from my cellmates in Tehran’s Evin Prison. I requested that he represent me, but the prosecutor threatened me against retaining “a human rights lawyer.”
Mr. Soltani was arrested while he prepared to defend several Baha’is detained for providing higher education to other Baha’is barred from university in Iran because of their religion. He was also an attorney for my two Baha’i cellmates, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, who are each serving 20-year prison sentences for various unsubstantiated charges including espionage.
Most recently, the headlines have focused on Youcef Naderkhani, a Christian convert from Islam who faces possible execution after refusing to renounce his faith.
Many of Iran’s prisoners of conscience have suffered torture—both physical and psychological. It is common for them to be held in solitary confinement for months, even years. They often lack adequate access to their families and attorneys and go through sham trials. Some are coerced to give false confessions and inform on their friends.
If detainees are lucky, their captors offer them release on bail, but the amount is typically exorbitant, and prisoners who can post it tend to live in fear that they could be sent back to jail any day. At the same time, a rising number of executions has made Iran the world’s largest executioner on a per capita basis. According to Amnesty International, in 2010, at least 23 Iranian prisoners convicted of politically motivated offenses were executed.
The Iranian regime needs to address human rights violations instead of denying their existence. If Tehran has nothing to hide, it would permit the recently appointed United Nations special rapporteur on human rights to enter the country. Tehran should also grant access to several other U.N. special experts who have been blocked from visiting since 2005.
U.N. officials—particularly Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay—plus member states and other individuals must place constant pressure on Tehran just as they have in cases such as mine. This will bring attention and justice to the real heroes, the everyday Iranians in prison for pursuing universal human rights and demanding respect for human dignity.
Ms. Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist detained in Iran’s Evin Prison in 2009, is the author of “Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran” (HarperCollins, 2010).
Iran denies UN report on increasing human rights violations
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Iran’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Eshagh al-Habib, on Thursday denied allegations in a recent UN report that human rights violations in Iran are on the rise. Al-Habib criticized the report for being poorly sourced, non-neutral and simply untrue. The report cited an increase in persecutions among political activists and journalists, detention conditions for opposition leaders and their wives, the torture and mistreatment of detainees, the significant administration of the death penalty to people under 18 years of age and “exorbitant bail requirements” for human rights defenders and religious practitioners. However, UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Ahmed Shaheed, the author of the report, stated that he was encouraged by Iran’s willingness to cooperate with him and that Iran “needs to be seen in a better light.” He further focused on the need to maintain dialogue with Iran’s political leaders in order to improve conditions in the country. The US issued a statement on Tuesday denouncing Iran’s “‘intensified’ campaign of abuse” : “Under international law and its own constitution, Iran has committed to protect and defend the rights of its people, but officials continue to stifle all forms of dissent, persecute religious and ethnic minorities, harass and intimidate human rights defenders, and engage in the torture of detainees.”
Iran has been heavily criticized for its alleged human rights abuses. Jailed Iranian journalist Isa Saharkhiz in July urged Shaheed to investigate prison conditions in Iran. In May, rights groups decried [JURIST report] Iran’s persecution of lawyers. In January, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran [official website] claimed that Iran is on an “execution binge” , killing one prisoner every eight hours. In January, prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Sotoudeh was found guilty of “acting against national security” and “making propaganda against the system” for which she will serve five and one years, respectively. She was the lawyer for Arash Rahmanipour, who was arrested for his role in the post-election protests on charges of moharebeh, or being an enemy of God. Rahmanipour was executed in January 2010. Also in January, Iranian chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi delivered a speech at Tehran University indicating that he would prosecute opposition leaders for political unrest that took place after the country’s 2009 presidential election.
via JURIST – Paper Chase: Iran denies UN report on increasing human rights violations.
Iran’s Most Wanted
These are the individuals in the Iranian regime that have been named by the United States and the European Union as responsible for human rights abuses against citizens of Iran. This is therefore the list of individuals this campaign wishes to see answer to charges of serious human rights abuse against citizens of Iran in an international court of law.
One Million Voices campaign believes these individual also should be added to the list
Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi – Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran until 26 July 2009
Yahya Rahim Safavi, the former commander of the Passdaran Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and current advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei
EU Parliament List from 26th February 2011
(Note: * indicates also subject to sanctions by US State Department):
Hassan Firuzabadi – Chief of Staff or Iran’s Joint Armed Forces
Seyyed Masoud Jazayeri – Deputy Chief of Staff or Iran’s Joint Armed Forces
*Mohammad Ali Jafari – General Commander of the IRGC
Ali Saeedi – Official representative of the Supreme Leader to the IRGC
Yadollah Javani – IRGC Political Bureau Chief
Hossein Motlagh – Head of the IRGC’s Seyyed al-Shodada Corps of Tehran Province
Abdollah Araghi – Deputy Head of the IRGC’s Ground Forces, Former Head of the IRGC’s Rassoulollah Corps in charge of Greater Tehran
Hossein Hamedani – Head of the IRGC’s Rassoulollah Corps in charge of Greater Tehran
Mohammad Hejazi – Head of the IRGC’s Sarollah Corps in Tehran
Ali Khalili – IRGC General, Deputy Head of the Medical Unit of Sarollah Base
Hossein Allahkaram – Ansar-e Hezbollah Chief
Nabiollah Heydari – Head of the Iranian Airport Police Authority
Mohammad Kazem Bahrami – Head of the judicial branch of the Armed Forces
*Mohammad Reza Naqdi – Commander of the Basij
*Hossein Taeb – Former Commander of the Basij (until October 2009)
Ali Fazli – Deputy Commander of the Basij, former Head of the Seyyed al-Shodada Corps of Tehran Province (until February 10)
Abbas Kargar Javid – Basij militiaman, alleged murderer of Nead Agha-Soltan on June 20, 2009
Esmail Ahmadi Moqaddam – Chief of Iran’s National Police
*Ahmad Reza Radan – Deputy Chief of Iran’s National Police
Azizollah Rajabzadeh – Former Head of Tehran Police (until January 2010)
Hossein Sajedi-Nia – Head of Tehran Police, former Deputy Chief of Iran’s National Police responsible for Police Operations
Ali-Reza Akbarshahi – Tehran’s Chief of Police
Morteza Tamaddon – IRGC Governor General of Tehran Province
*Mostafa Mohammad Najjar – Interior Minister
Seyyed Solat Mortazavi – Deputy Interior Minister for Political Affairs
Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini – Interior Ministry’s political director
*Heydar Moslehi – Minister of Intelligence
*Sadeq Mahsouli – Minister of Welfare and Social Security, former Interior Minister until August 09
Morteza Bakhtiari – Minister of Justice
Kamran Daneshjou – Minister of Science, Research and Technology, former Head of Election Headquarters during the 2009 Presidential Election
Safar-Ali Baratlou – Deputy Governor general of Tehran Province for Political and Social affairs, head of Tehran’s Provincial Election Headquarters in June, 2009
Hossein Tala – Head of the Iranian Tobacco Company, former Governor General of Tehran Province until September 2010
*Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi – Prosecutor general of Tehran (since September 2009)
Mohsen Nayebi – Governor General of Tehran Province since September 2010
Sadeq Larijani – Head of the Iranian Judiciary
Ebrahim Raissi – First Deputy to the Head of the Judiciary
Seyyed Ali-Reza Avai – Head of the Tehran Judiciary
*Saeed Mortazavi – Head of Iran’s Anti-Smuggling Task Force, former Prosecutor General of Tehran (until August 09)
*Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei – Prosecutor General of Iran and spokesman for the Iranian Judiciary, former Minister of Intelligence until July 09
Ghorbanali Dorri-Nafajabadi – former Prosecutor general of Iran until September 2009, former Minister of Intelligence
Mahmoud Salarkia – Deputy Prosecutor general of Tehran for Prison Affairs
Hossein Zebhi – Deputy to the Prosecutor general of Iran
Seyyed Hassan Shariati – Chief Prosecutor of Mashhad
Mousa Khalil Elahi – Prosecutor of Tabriz
Amir Mortazavi – Deputy Prosecutor of Mashhad
Mohammad-Ali Ramin – Deputy Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister in charge of the Press
Mehrdad Omidi – Head of the Computer Crimes Unit of the Iranian Police
Behrouz Kamalian – Head of the IRGC-related Ashiyaneh cyber-group
Judge Abolghasem Salavati – Tehran Revolutionary Court, Branch 15
Judge Mohammad Moghisseh – Tehran Revolutionary Court, Branch 28
Judge Pir Abbasi – Tehran Revolutionary Court, Branches 26 and 28
Judge Hassan Haddad – Tehran Revolutionary Court, Branch 26
Judge Ali Akbar Heydarifar – Tehran Revolutionary Court
Judge Ahmad Zargar – Tehran Appeals Court, Branch 36
Judge Hajmohammadi – Evin Magistrate Court, Branch 1
Judge Kavousi – Mashhad Revolutionary Court, Branch 5
Judge Kaboli – Mashhad Revolutionary Court
Judge Soltani – Mashhad Revolutionary Court
Judge Yasaghi – Mashhad Revolutionary Court
Judge Hashemzadeh – Tabriz Revolutionary Court, Branch 4
Gholam Hossein Esmaili – Head of Iran’s Prisons Organization
Mohammad-ali Zanjirei – Deputy Head of Iran’s Prisons Organization
Farajollah Sedaghat – Former Head of Evin Prison, Tehran (until October 2010)
Hojatollah Souri – Head of Evin Prison, Tehran (since October 2010)
Mostafa Bozorgnia – Head of Ward 350 of Evin Prison, Tehran
Hassan Akharian – Head of Ward 1 of Rajai Shahr prison, Karaj
Mr Mirzaghayi – Keeper of Ward 1 of Rajai Shahr prison, Karaj
Mr Zeynali – Keeper of Ward 1 of Rajai Shahr prison, Karaj
Mr Youssefi – Keeper of Ward 1 of Rajai Shahr prison, Karaj
Mr Moradi – Keeper of Ward 1 of Rajai Shahr prison, Karaj
Hossein Shariatmadari – Managing editor of Kayhan daily newspaper
Qassem Ravanbakhsh – managing editor of Parto-ye Sokhan weekly newspaper
Ahmad Jannati – Secretary of the Guardian Council
Mohammad Yazdi – Member of the Assembly of Experts
Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah Yazdi – Member of the Assembly of Experts
Ahmad Khatami – Member of the Assembly of Experts, substitute Friday Prayer leader of Tehran
Mohammad Hosseini – Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance
Reza Taghipour – Minister of Information and Communications
Abdolmajid Riyazi – Deputy Minister of Information and Communications
How and where to prosecute the Iranian Regime?
This has been written after the [US State Department's] named 8 individuals involved in criminal activity of the last year and a half in Iran in their initial list of human rights abusers. Looking the list of names against whom the US is imposing financial sanctions, and regardless of questions about why names such as Mr. Ali Khamenei’s and his allies are missing, or why only financial sanctions are being applied, many people raise the question of how, and under which authority, these individuals and their allies could be prosecuted?
An abstract and simplified answer, sparing the technical details of the process, follows. First, we need to mention those international authorities who, contrary to common assumption, are not authorized to try these individuals for their crimes:
1) International Court of Justice, also known as the Hague (Den Haag) Court is only authorized to settle international legal disputes between States and is not authorized in criminal cases of individuals even if they happen to be the head of State.
2) International Criminal Court, which is also located in the Hague (Den Haag) in the Netherlands, is also not authorized to investigate the crimes of the above mentioned listed names and their allies. This court, based on the Rome Statute which was signed by many members of the United Nations on 17 July 1998, and entered into force on 1 July 2002, is only authorized to exercise jurisdiction over criminal acts which took place after 2002, the year of its establishment (as a result, investigation of the Islamic Republic regime’s crimes of its fist two decades cannot be pursued by this court).
Furthermore, this court is only authorized to exercise jurisdiction over the countries who have finalized ratification of the Rome Statute. Therefore, since Iran has not ratified the Rome Statute in its Parliament yet, and until it happens in Iran, crimes which take place in this country cannot be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court (except for the case issued in the article 4 below). Ultimately, the court’s authority is of a “complementary authority” which, under certain circumstances, can exercise its jurisdiction against the consignatary countries. Due to the limitation on scope of this article these circumstances are not mentioned here.
3) There is another court in the Hague called the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). This is the first criminal court that, after ratification by the Security Council of the United Nations in 1993, was established to exclusively investigate the war crimes, genocides and crimes against humanity that took place in the 1990s in the Balkan countries. Following the establishment of ICTY, other similar courts were established by the U.N. Security Council regarding some other countries such as Rwanda and Sierra Leone, whose authority was uniquely specific to the particular circumstances of these countries. As a result, none of these specific international tribunals which are known as “third generation courts” or “specific criminal courts” (Ad hoc) have the authorities to investigate the crimes of the heads of the Islamic Republic.
4) Currently only two methods are available to address the crimes of the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran:
A) via the approval of the United Nations Security Council for the formation of special criminal court, or
B) granting special authority to the International Criminal Court under the authority contained in paragraph b, Article 13, of the Rome Statute. This requires the scheme to be proposed by member states of the Security Council.
It requires action from liberal organizations, political parties & groups, and human rights advocates, to demand world governments to take action.
Everyone must tirelessly pursue this matter.
Charges can be brought by victims (whether Iranian nationals or citizens of other countries) or their representatives in the case of criminal damages or abuse of their rights and also cases of crimes against humanity can be brought to trial in countries where international law is upheld. Most European countries and North America are members of this group, which defends International Law.
In such a case, sentences issued by these Courts can be enforced in these countries in the first place and in other countries under certain circumstances.
The important point to note is that both these paths can be pursued simultaneously by whomever is able to do so.
Moreover, it should be mentioned that criminials condemned for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes cannot escape the responsibilities associated with these crimes in relying on rights of a governing regime and/or the national law of their country. This has been established by various treaties (including the Geneva treaties, documentations of the preliminary negotiations regarding these treaties, the international judiciary procedures including stipulations of the trials of Nuremberg, Tokyo and higher international criminal courts mentioned above). It is backed by statements and resolutions of an individual or group of countries together with other sources and authorities of international law. Justice has closed the escape door for these perpetrators.
On our part, we try to prepare documentation and evidence to present to the international audience. In some cases we try to provide help to our compatriots to present their complaints in other countries. In order to succed in this task and have a real and genuine impact, we need continuous and extensive efforts by a broad group of people, as well as by political, social and human rights institutions. We should all call loudly for the trial of these criminals, such that our voices are heard everywhere. We do not doubt that these criminals will be tried in a court of justice either abroad or in the country after the fall of this dictatorial regime. The progress of this work relies on the hard efforts of every freedom-loving and justice-seeking individual. Let us include this task in our individual and social agenda until we reach a fully successful result.
Signed
Green Lawyers Movement
October 2010
Source : [Farsi] http://bit.ly/9tz7iL
