Sunday, July 29, 2012
Database of Political Prisoners in Iran
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| Evin Prison |
A database of political prisoners in Iran has been compiled by online activists using the social media tool, Hyper Activist. The database names the prisoners, information including charges and their activity/occupation, along with their ethnicity. Verification for each prisoner is provided by a source inputted by online activists to the site. The database is currently incomplete and is constantly being updated by online activists with new names. Also adding to its incompleteness is the fact that many political prisoners in Iran are reportedly regularly charged with other crimes in show trials, and thus, are not counted as political prisoners. Through, Hyper Activist, anyone may provide information on political prisoners that are not currently in the database.
In the database provided through Hyper Activist, a very large number of political prisoners listed are of Kurdish descent. In the past couple of years, the number of arrests against activists inside Iran, and in particular Kurdish activists, has increased dramatically. Several Kurdish political prisoners have also been executed after being charged with “moharebeh” or “waging war against God”.
Among those executed in recent years are Kurdish political prisoners, Mr. Farzad Kamangar, Ms. Shirin Alam Hooli, Mr. Ali Heydarian, Mr. Ehsan Fattahian, Mr. Farhad, Tarom, Mr. Hossein Khezri, and Mr. Farhad Vakili. The lives of many more Kurdish and non-Kurdish political prisoners remain at risk. Among those at risk is the well-known former head of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan and an editor and writer, Mr. Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand. Mr. Kaboudvand is reportedly in bad health and may have suffered a stroke while in prison. Iranian authorities have denied him proper medical care and his current health status is unknown as his family has also been denied regular visits with him. Like many others, Mr. Kaboudvand has suffered torture at the hands of Iranian authorities.
You can view the database of political prisoners in Iran through Hyper Activist at http://hyperactivist.info/ipr.html
source: AKR
History of Iran's opposition
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Opposition groups in Iran since 1979
Successful opposition movements the world over face opposition after taking power. Iran's Islamic rulers have been no exception to the rule.
Having toppled the autocratic Shah in 1979, the former revolutionaries themselves are now being challenged by groups thirsting for change.
Opposition to them began shortly after the revolution that ended the Shah's reign.
As the nation fought a costly war with Iraq, splits emerged among the once united revolutionary front and the government began a crackdown on dissent in an attempt to consolidate power and bring stability to the nascent Islamic Republic.
Perhaps the most well-known among the early opposition groups was the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK). Despite being closely allied to Ayatollah Khomeini and his supporters throughout the 1970s, the group split from the Supreme Leader soon after the revolution.
In 1981, the conflict between the government and MEK fighters descended into street battles. After the MEK was outlawed, Iraq's Saddam Hussein exploited the group, giving it a base in Iraq and support to wage attacks inside Iran and provide intelligence.
Also among the opposition groups was the Tudeh party, or the "party of the masses". Many Tudeh members were arrested and executed during the 1980s.
In 1981, the Islamic Republic banned all political parties save the Islamic Republic Party. Khomeini later broke up the party in 1985 over internal conflicts; however, only parties that adhered to the Islamic character of the state could operate legally.
Those who held different views paid a heavy price, like Abulhassan Babnisdar, the Islamic Republic's first president. He went into exile after being impeached a year after taking office.
In 1989, another high-profile figure fell foul of the Supreme Leader. Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri, Khomeini's heir apparent, was fired after he had called for more openness and crticised the crackdown on dissent.
Montazeri was replaced by the more conservative Ayatollah Ali Khameinei, who succeeded Khomeini upon his death in June 1989, and remains Iran’s the Supreme Leader until today.
Aborted reforms
In 1989, soon after the death of Khomeini, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was elected as president for the first of two terms. Rafsanjani, whose critics accuse of widespread corruption, oversaw the period of reconstruction after nearly a decade of the devastating war with Iran.
Then, in 1997, came the election of the reformist Mohammad Khatami in a surprising landslide victory indicating the country was ready for change.
However, while Khatami encouraged more openness in Iran, his reformist agenda was limited by the judiciary, which remained controlled by conservatives.
Khatami had tried to increase the president’s powers and limit the power of the Guardian Council, a 12-member council half appointed by the Supreme Leader and half selected by parliament, but was blocked by the powerful body that is able to veto parliament and interpret the constitution.
In 1999, after the nationwide student paper Salam was shut down, students took to the streets. For six days students protested. At least five people were killed and thousands more were injured and arrested. Sporadic protests continued in the following decade among mostly students and workers demanding reforms
But it wasn’t until 2009 that Iranians would, for the first time since the 1979 revolution, witness massive street protests against the government.
The “Green Movement”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a conservative who, ironically, doesn't come from a clerical background like most of his predecessors, was elected to his first term as president in 2005. Ahmadinejad’s first term was characterised by defiance to western-imposed sanctions and threats against Iran.
In 2009, Ahmadinejad stood for re-election against his main challenger, Mir-Hussein Mousavi. Mousavi, who served as the Islamic Republic’s first and only prime minister from 1979 until the office was abolished in 1989, was a close ally of former president Khatami and ran as the main reform candidate.
In the lead up to the elections Mousavi held a number of energetic rallies. Mousavi’s supporters dressed themselves in green scarves, wristbands and other items as they paraded in the streets of Iranian cities to show support for the reform candidate.
Despite the visible display of support for Mosuavi, Ahmadinejad emerged from the June elections as the nationwide winner with over 64 per cent of the vote; Mousavi finished second with just under 34 per cent.
On June 13, one day after the elections, protesters turned out in the hundreds of thousands across the country, many chanting and carrying signs around the theme, “where is my vote?” Mousavi’s supporters went from being known as the “Green Wave” to the “Green Movement” and the government responded by ordering a crackdown. More than 100 people were killed and thousands of people were arrested during the protests that lasted for weeks.
Over the next few months, a number of arrested protesters faced trial and many were hanged. Many pro-reform and independent papers were shut down as protests continued. When Ayatollah Montazeri died in December, his funeral became a rallying point with tens of thousands of mourners chanting against the governement. However, by February 11, 2010, the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, the months of uprising seemed effectively crushed.
One year later, in February 2011, the opposition called for protests in solidarity with the uprisings that were then happening in a number of Arab countries. Just before the planned protests, Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, another leading pro-reform politician and a candidate in the 2009 elections, were placed under house arrest. Protests happened in a number of cities for a little over a week, and again hundreds were injured and arrested during the crackdown.
When Iranians go to the polls to elect fresh members of parliament on March 2, they will do so without the major reform candidates on the ballots. Most pro-reform groups are calling for boycott, but some individuals will run as independents. The battle in this election is seen as largely between the conservative camps.
The final Battle
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We are approaching the days when there will be no more talk.
We are approaching the days where the final battle will take place.
Trust and faith.
Courage and strength.
Sadness and joy.
It all comes together,
Azadi
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Freedom comes with the shadows
Fteedom
Freedom always comes with the shadows.
Of the martyrs who have fallen.
Those martyrs are the heroes of the revolution.
They will never be forgotten
Only honored,
Azadi
Prince Reza Pahlavi and Mr. Amir Hossein Jahanchahi
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| Prince Reza Pahlavi |
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| Amir Hossein Jahanchahi, Green Wave, Londen |
Highly respected Prince Reza Pahlavi and Mr, Amir Hossein Jahanchahi.
Now that we are about to be witnesses of the fall of Syria. Now that we are witnessing the courage and the power of ordinary citizens.
Those who show perseverance and strong will lead to the downfall of an evil government.
Then it's time to bring out a joint statement.
A statement that can bring the trust and confidence back to those who need it.
The Iranian people.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Evin Prison, Tehran. Prisoners are under harsh conditions
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| Intrance Evin Prison, Tehran |
Most of the political prisoners in Evin are incarcerated in Wards 209, 350 and Ward 2-A which is under the control of IRGC.
Because these prisoners already were kept under more restrictive conditions, they now have to bear even harsher conditions.
Ward 350 in Evin is located in the basement and these days, it has been divided into two sections for men and women.
This ward that is located in the basement of an isolated building lacking proper facilities and is in much worse condition than the other sections in Evin prison.
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| Evin Prison |
This ward has only four bathroom facilities, that even under the regular circumstances are sub-standard. It does not meet the needs of the 180 inmates, most of whom are political prisoners that were arrested during the post-presidential election events.
Currently, large numbers prisoners of conscience-political prisoners, including many journalists and student activist supporters of the Green Movement, are incarcerated in this ward
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At the far end of this ward there is a hall, without any facilities or fresh air, that houses the female political prisoners.
There are more than thirty female political prisoners incarcerated in this section that barely has the proper facilities for holding ten inmates.
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| Visitors Evin Prison |
The female political prisoners that were already deprived of fresh air or any proper amenities, and with sub-standard sanitation.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, Bahareh Hedayat, Zhilla Karamzadeh, Mahdiyeh Golro, Atefeh Nabavi and many more are incarcerated in this section
Wards 209 and 2-A prisoners are in even harsher and in a more difficult situation:
Conditions are even much worse in Evin Wards 209 and 2-A. These Wards are essentially illegal and are not under jurisdiction of the Judiciary. They keep the prisoners in these wards under whatever condition they want and Judicial officials are not allowed to visit these sections
Ward 209 cells are equipped with solid doors and the cells are very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer.
The cells in Ward 209 do not have beds, and even in the cold winter season, the prisoners have to sleep on the floor which is covered only by a thin carpet.
The cells in this ward are normally very cold in the winter and with no heating, the prisoners are suffering much harsher conditions.
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| Ward 209 |
Officials even deny the prisoners in Wards 209 and 2-A any extra blankets. They even refuse to give the prisoners the warmer clothing that their families provide for them.
The families of inmates in Evin prison provide seasonal clothing for the prisoners which are given to the inmates by the officials.
The prisoners in these two wards have to spend the night on the floor of their cells.
Incarcerated in these 2 Wards are people such as, Behzad Nabavi, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, Abdolfatah Soltani, Kohyar Goudarzi and large numbers of political and student activists.
Also, newly arrested prisoners, Parasto Dookouhaki, Marziyeh Rasouli, Arash Sadeghi and Saham Bourghani are now incarcerated in these wards.
At times, the arrested activists are kept in these illegal wards for months in a limbo status
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| Ward 209 |
Most of the officials and authorities except for the very high rank Judiciary officials are barred from visiting these wards. Even numerous requests from the Parliament members to inspect these wards have been denied by the Intelligence officials.
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| Small intern room |
Source: Kalameh, Persianobanoo
Iranian women's eyes
Iranian women have such powerful eyes!
I hope one day they can also have a powerful voice.
Freedom from all the dusty old mullahs and it's repressive chauvintistic male driven regime.
The mother's, sisters and wives deserve so much more than what the currently get!
Azadi Irani!
Azadi to all their women!
Azadi!
Iranian women and girls - Victims of exploitation and violence,
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| Persian Lioness
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Despite its defiance, the male-dominated regime is retreating step by step. Yet at the same time, a reactionary, violent and suppressive force called fundamentalism is emerging. Misogynous in character, fundamentalism or religious fanaticism, best represented by Khomeini and his successors in Iran, is threatening all the achievements of the civilized world, particularly those of women. Under the banner of Islam, the fundamentalists are denying the equality of women and men.
Islamic fundamentalism establishes its thesis on the differences between the sexes and the conclusion that the male is superior, and hence, the female is a slave at his service. A parliamentarian in Iran is on record as saying, "Women must accept the reality of men dominating them, and the world must recognize the fact that men are superior." Ultimately, the fundamentalists do not believe women are human. One of the Iranian regime’s key ideologues says: "Women and men are equal in their humane essence, but they are two different forms of humans, with two different sets of attributes and two different psyches..."
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| Morality Police, Tehran |
From the fundamentalist mullahs’ perspective, sexual vice and virtue are the principal criteria for evaluation of women. The most ignoble and unforgivable of all sins is sexual wrongdoing. Piety, chastity and decency are measured by sex-related yardsticks, and seldom applied to political and social realms. Fundamentalism conceives of woman as sinister and satanic; she is the embodiment of sin and seduction. She must not step beyond her house, lest her presence in society breed sin. She must stay at home, serving her husband’s carnal desires; if she fails to comply, she is compelling her man to commit sin outside the home.
The top officials of the fundamentalist regime in Iran emphasize that it is the "sacred" responsibility of a woman to serve her husband and take care of the household. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the mullahs’ "supreme leader," has declared that "women’s first job is to be a wife and mother." Khamenei dismissed the notion of women’s equal participation in social life in July 1997 as "negative, primitive and childish."
When Mohammad Khatami became president in May 1997, there were optimistic predictions that changes were on the way. Despite all the propaganda, Mullah Khatami and his administration’s deeds point to the fact that mullahs’ "moderation" is nothing but a mirage. Khatami is just as committed to the medieval system of Velayat-Faqih that Khomeini founded. His administration is no different than previous governments, and rests on the same basis of fanatic fundamentalism. In that context, his views on women come as no surprise. Speaking to Salaam newspaper on May 11, 1997, just days before his election, Khatami declared: "One of the West’s biggest mistakes was the emancipation of women, which destroyed the family... Staying at home does not mean being pushed to the sidelines... We must not think that social activity means working outside the home. Housekeeping is among the most important of tasks."
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| Tehran women |
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Khatami’s predecessor, who currently heads the powerful Council to Determine State Exigencies, is on record as declaring unequivocally that women are inferior and must be treated differently under the law: "Justice does not mean that all laws must be the same for men and women... The difference in the stature, vitality, voice, development, muscular quality, and physical strength of men and women shows that men are stronger and more capable in all fields... Men’s brains are larger... Men incline toward reasoning and rationalism while women basically tend to be emotional. These differences affect the delegation of responsibilities, duties and rights."
Mullah Mohammad Yazdi, the Head of the Judiciary, also emphasizes the subservience of women: "If kneeling before God were not obligatory, wives should have knelt before their husbands." He also said: "A woman is wholly the possession of her husband, and her public life is conditional upon her husband’s consent."
These blatantly prejudiced views shed light on how discriminatory legislation against women has been proposed, adopted, and enforced in Iran since 1979. All the existing laws in Iran, which deal with the rights of women, arise from the stereotyped presumption that men are endowed with the right to dominate women. A man can divorce his wife freely and has the right to retain custody of their children. Article 105 of the Civil Code stipulates: "In the relationship between husband and wife, heading the family is characteristic of the husband." The Islamic Council of Guardians decreed that "a woman does not have the right to leave her home without her husband’s permission, even to attend her father’s funeral."
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| Morality Police, Tehran |
There are inequalities in punishments for similar crimes. While in most cases harsher punishments are issued for women, their credibility as witnesses and inheritance rights are half those of men. Article 115 of the Constitution specifically excludes women from the presidency. The law also excludes them from appointment to judgeships. Yazdi, the Head of the Judiciary, commented on December 15, 1986: "No matter at what stage of knowledge, virtue, perfection, and prudence a woman is, she does not have the right to rule... Even if a righteous accredited woman possesses all qualifications, she cannot assume a leadership position nor can she pass judgment, because she is a woman." In the words of another Iranian official, women are "immature" and need "guardians."
The fundamentalists look at the world and the hereafter through sex-tinted glasses. Throughout history, they have fabricated their own fantasies and moral lessons and attributed them to the Prophet Mohammad. I wish to emphasize that I address these issues as a Muslim woman. In my view, fundamentalism clearly runs counter to Islamic thinking. There is no Quranic justification whatsoever for denying women the right to lead, to rule or to judge. On the contrary, Islam and the Quran hold men and women equally responsible before God. Thus, their equality in leadership and social responsibility is also stressed on various occasions.
Contrary to all of Khatami’s attempts to put a positive spin on the mullahs’ misogynist treatment of women for international consumption, his cabinet does not include even one woman. The appointment of a woman, Massoumeh Ebtekar, as deputy for environmental protection, was supposed to reflect "moderation" and Khatami’s attention to women’s rights. But this woman vice president is no "moderate," and is notorious as a staunch advocate of suppressing women’s rights. As a Spokesperson for the hostage-takers who captured the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, she once told an ABC Television correspondent that she was personally willing to take a gun and kill the hostages. (The New York Times, January 28, 1998). In an interview with Die Tageszeitung on October 18, Ebtekar defended discrimination against women and medieval punishments, like stoning. In response to a question on stoning to death, Ebtekar said: "One should take the psychological and legal affairs of the society into consideration as well. If family rules and regulations are broken, it would result in many complex, grave consequences for all of the society."
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| Roxana Saberi and Hilary Clinton |
In response to a question about revoking laws such as the one stipulating that women need their husbands’ written permission to travel, she replied: "Man is responsible for the financial affairs of the family and for seeing that members of the family are not harmed. Thus, a woman needs her husband’s permission to make a trip. Otherwise, due to problems that would arise, a rift would come between them."
Actually, it is this distorted, misogynous interpretation of Islam that provides the Iranian law and government with the basis for its sermonizing on the inferiority and subservience of women, encouraging more violence against them. As head of the Revolutionary Cultural Council, Khatami officially refused to commit the regime to the international convention banning discrimination against women – the United Nations Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Not surprisingly, the plight of women has not improved since he took office, despite the barrage of propaganda purporting otherwise. Official statistics released on July 4 indicate that the dropout rate for girls in rural districts is 90 percent. During the 1995-96 school year, 54,829 girls left school before graduating, 65 percent of whom were from the country.
Abrar newspaper reported that women living in urban areas make up just 9.5 percent of the workforce; in rural areas this pitiful figure drops to 8.8 percent. In an international study comparing the workforce conditions for women around the world, Iran was rated 108th out of a field of 110. Khatami’s advisor on women’s affairs, Zahra Shoja’i, acknowledged in remarks reported by Islamic Republic News Agency on May 8 that even highly qualified women are discriminated against in employment in government offices: "Some officials are of the opinion that men have more of a role in running the family, so they favor the men." In the same conversation, Shoja’i referred to the chador as "the superior national dress of the women of Iran."
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| Iranian woman dressed according to dress code. Buy Western Barbie dolls. |
New legislation to segregate health care, currently under consideration in the parliament, underscores the misogynist outlook of the mullahs. The plan, which Iranian medical professionals are doing their best to fight, will limit Iran’s women even further from health care facilities. On April 11, 1998 prior to this latest controversy, Revolutionary Guards and agents from the Intelligence Ministry attacked a gathering of 1,800 protesting physicians in Tehran. A group of the professionals, including a number of women doctors, were beaten and dragged off to unknown locations.
Reports from inside Iran reveal that the mullahs’ regime has also intensified its attacks on the population, particularly against women and youths, and harassment in the streets by the so-called "Hezbollahi" (Party of God) mercenaries is on the rise. Agence France Presse reported on November 30, 1997 that "Iranian security forces arrested a large number of women for improper veiling or attire that was not compatible with Islamic regulations." The AFP correspondent witnessed police
forcing many young women into patrol cars in northern Tehran. About ten young women, some of whom were wearing colorful head scarves and light make-up, were witnessed in a police vehicle in Vanak’s shopping mall.
Such incidents shed light on the circumstances of girls and women in Iran. Even a brief glance reveals the catastrophic consequences of their abuse and exploitation at the hands of the fundamentalists.
Sale of Girl Children
Girl children suffer the worst conditions in Iran today. According to the clerical regime’s rules and regulations, a girl child can virtually be bought and sold with the consent of her male guardian. Article 1041 of the Civil Code provides that ‘Marriage before puberty (nine full lunar years for girls) is prohibited. Marriage contracted before reaching puberty with the permission of the guardian is valid provided that the interests of the ward are duly observed."
It has become common practice to sell or force very young girls to marry much older husbands, giving rise to all sorts of social ills. Adineh magazine wrote in summer 1991: "An 11-year-old girl was married off to a 27-year-old man. The father, who had seven daughters, received $300 for his consent. The morning after the marriage ceremonies, the girl was taken to hospital suffering from severe lacerations to her genitals."
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| Making money for a living |
The state-controlled daily, Ressalat, reported on December 15, 1991, that due to extreme poverty and the absence of the most basic facilities, the deprived people of northern Khorassan sell their young girls for as little as $33. The buyers, mostly from Gonabad, take the girls away and put them to work on farms and in workshops. In the impoverished province of Sistan-Baluchistan (southeastern Iran), girls eight - ten years old are sold by their drug-addicted parents for $4. Children are routinely abused in the labor force, and girls as young as four are used in the brick manufacturing, carpet weaving, textile and clothing industries.
According to the penal code, a nine-year-old girl can be punished as an adult by flogging, execution and even stoning. Given the arbitrary punishments and the virtual lack of due process of law, large numbers of children have been executed, in many cases without being officially charged or even having their identities established.
Rape of Female Prisoners
In a report on November 22, 1994, the United Nations Special Rapportuer on violence against women said "the public stoning and lashing of women serves to institutionalize violence against women. The Special Rapportuer has received many allegations of such violent punishments being inflicted on women in the Islamic Republic of Iran."
According to a special "religious decree" issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, virgin women prisoners must be raped before execution to prevent their going to heaven. A Guard conducts the rape the night before their murder. The next day, the religious judge at the prison issues a marriage certificate and sends it to the victim’s family, along with a box of sweets.
Tens of thousands of women have been subjected to cruel torture and execution. One method is particularly revealing: the Revolutionary Guards fire a single bullet into the womb of women political prisoners, leaving them to bleed to death in a slow process of excruciating pain. Even pregnant women are not spared, and hundreds have been executed with their unborn children. Many defenseless women prisoners are held in what are euphemistically referred to as "residential quarters" in prisons, where the Guards systematically rape them in order to totally destroy them.
In an eyewitness report, Amnesty International revealed how the small children of many young women in Evin Prison are viciously abused. Witness Helmut Szimkus, a German engineer, told Amnesty International they are kept "because they are an asset to the prison authorities for gaining confessions." Szimkus, who was released after serving a lengthy sentence in an Iranian prison, said he witnessed several cases where Iranian children were tortured in the presence of their parents. "One time these guys [torturers] raped a nine-year-old girl. The parents had to watch. The father shook and rattled so badly that he could no longer sign the espionage confession they put before him."
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| Hila Sedighi |
Rampant Prostitution
The social environment imbedded in the misogynous views, laws and policies of the fundamentalist regime naturally spawns corruption, making it increasingly difficult for women to survive. Women bear the brunt of the economic difficulties and social barriers and restrictions. Large numbers of deprived women have been forced into prostitution or become addicted to drugs. Meanwhile, the clerical regime, touting Islam, claims to accord "divine respect" to women.
"It is appalling. Never has prostitution been so rampant. But everything is done behind the veil," Mahin, a 47-year old female Iranian jurist purged by the mullahs, told Helen Kami, the French journalist for Elle magazine who visited Iran in January 1997. Kami writes: "Prostitutes regularly roam Gandhi Street in north Tehran. At 5 p.m., we go to Istanbuli Street, also in north Tehran. The cab drivers, looking for wealthy or foreign patrons, are driving slowly. In exchange for only $1 (500 Tomans), they can provide you with girls, alcoholic beverages, heroin and hashish."
Many more of the social consequences of the mullahs’ rule date back to the destructive, meaningless Iran-Iraq war, dragged on by Khomeini’s regime for eight years. In this case, too, women and children suffered most. Since it was very difficult for a widow to provide for herself and raise a family in Iran’s highly patriarchal society, multitudes turned to prostitution as the only means of survival. According to the Associated Press of July 21, 1989, the arrest of a war widow for prostitution touched off a national scandal, because the woman had prostituted herself as a last resort to feed her family.
Ressalat, a state-controlled newspaper, reported on July 3, 1991: "Three large brothels were discovered and shut down in Tehran in the past month alone. Thirty-eight women were arrested. Most of the arrested women said during interrogation that they had turned to prostitution as a result of poverty."
Unemployment and skyrocketing prices make it impossible for millions of Iranians to get married and raise a family. At a seminar on the difficulties of getting married, Ayatollah Haeri Shirazi proposed in January 1997 that authorities promote an unofficial, temporary marriage called sigheh, that can last less than 24 hours and be repeated as many times as desired. This form of exploitation of women has become very widespread, and legitimizes sexual relations with very young girls. Quoting Mahin, the Iranian jurist, the Elle magazine reporter wrote in January 1997 about the life of a 9-year-old girl whose destitute parents arranged for her to be a sigheh. The man visits his temporary "wife" every weekend at her father’s house, for which privilege he pays her father about $12 per visit.
Not surprisingly, AIDS is spreading in Iran at an alarming rate. Despite the serious health and social problems this poses, little is being done to address the crisis.
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| Drugs and prostetution in Iran |
Stoning in Iran: A Medieval Atrocity Conducted In Modern Times
The desperate women forced into prostitution, as a direct result of the regime’s policies, have to endure very harsh punishments, including public flogging and death by stoning. In one case, a religious judge convicted 17 members of an alleged prostitution ring. Among them were 14 brothers and sisters from a single family. Ten women and one man were stoned to death, two women and another man were hanged.
At least seven individuals have been stoned to death in public since Khatami’s election. On August 12, Agence France Presse reported that a 20-year-old woman who had been stoned "came to life" in the hospital morgue. The unidentified woman had been condemned to stoning by Boukan’s Islamic court. After the verdict of stoning to death was carried out, the coroner confirmed her death, but she began to breathe at the morgue.
The penalty for fornication, under articles 100 and 102 of the penal code, is only flogging for the unmarried male offender, but stoning to death for the unmarried female offender. Adulterers may be stoned to death, irrespective of their gender, but a man is buried up to his waist, and a woman up to her neck. Article 119 stipulates that the stones should not be so large as to kill the victim quickly, nor too small to cause severe injury.
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| Stoning women Iran |
Surging Suicide
Caught in a vicious cycle of social humiliation and coercion, economic dependence, family insecurity, fear for their children’s lives as well as their own, shame, lack of confidence, daily harassment for "improper veiling," insults, and sexual abuse, Iranian women lead a bleak life. Feelings of despair and helplessness cast dark shadows over the lives of many, giving rise to a growing trend of suicide. A study in 1992 showed that twice as many women commit suicide as men.
Another study in 1993 stated, "lower class women complain that the major problem is feeding their family... The problem is somewhat different for middle-class women. Psychologists say the reason for suicides of most women in this class is deprivation of individual freedoms. Lack of jobs or financial support for widows is the next reason for suicide. Iranian widows or divorcees have no source of income. When society doesn’t provide employment opportunities, such women must remarry, turn to prostitution or commit suicide."
A confidential report to the regime’s parliament on September 2, 1992, said the sudden surge in the rate of suicide among women across Iran was due in part to the pressures exerted on the wives of Revolutionary Guards and soldiers who had served in the Iran-Iraq war, who suffer from psychological disorders. The report pointed out that the most severely affected men were those who spent time at the front when they were teenagers, where they had killed or captured scores of people or witnessed sexual intercourse with animals. Many women suicides pointed to the psychological imbalance of their husbands as the sole reason for their decision to kill themselves.
The report added that girl children as young as ten, instead of spending their days playing with other children, were being forced to marry men three to four times their age. Meanwhile as "married women," they are banned from attending school. Zan-e-Rouz, a woman’s magazine, wrote on Feb. 26, 1994, that a 14-year-old high school girl died after setting herself on fire to avoid marrying a 42-year-old man. Reuters reported on July 12, 1994, that "A 14-year-old Iranian girl, set to wed a man of 50 in an arranged marriage, burned herself to death."
Women in Leadership: Key to Change
What can be done to change this cycle of misery, humiliation and suffering for women in Iran and elsewhere? What is the greatest problem for women, the great deprivation, which overshadows the rest?
The systems based on gender discrimination strip women of their dignity and most elementary rights; therefore, women should direct their energies at eradicating such values and consequent systems. If the phenomenon of fundamentalism is to be uprooted, women must be involved. Today, the grave responsibility of forming a united international front against fundamentalism must be bestowed upon women. This is their historic mandate, because they have the most at stake.
This is a lesson learned through the blood, sweat and tears of the women of the Iranian Resistance. Just as misogyny is the driving force of Khomeini-style fundamentalism, Iranian women have become the driving force of the Resistance against the religious, terrorist dictatorship of the mullahs. Today, after more than a decade and a half of resistance, Iran’s women have taken on the responsibilities of leadership at the highest levels, thanks to the efforts of Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance’s President-elect.
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| Iran poor woman talks of suicide |
As Mrs. Rajavi emphasizes, before all else, women must prepare the ground for uprooting gender oppression by engaging in political and social activism. Along the same lines, women must take on the responsibilities of political and social leadership. In the movement for equality, at least 50 percent of the positions of responsibility must be occupied by women. Fifty percent of the members of the Iranian Resistance’s parliament are women. The general command of the National Liberation Army of Iran, the Resistance’s military arm, an all-volunteer, modern armored army, is essentially made up of women. The leadership council of the People’s Mojahedin, the pivotal organization in the movement, consists entirely of women.
Some might think that such leadership is the last stage of equality. I contend, however, that it is a cornerstone to equality. But the leadership of women can only be achieved by intertwining the movement for equality with a pervasive progressive political movement. Nothing can be achieved by a women versus men confrontation.
It should be also underscored that "women’s rights are human rights." These rights encompass all the individual and social freedoms cited in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according to which women are the masters of their own bodies and feelings.
In a word, women’s activism is the most effective means of fighting fundamentalism. Women must be included in decision-making and political power so that they can implement their will and play their role as leaders of society.
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| Iranian Lioness |
AuthorsSarvnaz Chitsaz is currently the chairwoman of the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s Committe on Women. Prior to her appointment, she was the NCR’s U.S. Representative.
The only thing opposition is waiting for!
Opposition is waiting for the moment that the Syrian government be overthrown. It means that the Iranian government has been unable to save his ally. It means that ordinary citizens have won the battle. Starting with peacefull demonstrations. Culminating in an armed conflict. Boundaries, to reach the goal must be specify. Freedom and democracy.
It is waiting for the Iranian opposition to this situation will occur. Then it will motivate many to believe that it is possible.
The ultimate price for freedom is high. But it will give new generations a change to grow up in freedom.
And that is what its all about.
Freedom will prevail.
Azadi
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Tribute to all Iranian Lioness
This is a tribute to all Iranian women which are fighting and leading Iran to be free from oppression of Khamenei dictatorship.
A lioness is strong and gentle, as are these Iranian women: strong, brave, ferocious yet gentle.
A special note has to be made for the brave women protesters in Iran, who are even more oppressed under the Islamic theocracy. A Iranian commentator on CNN used the word shirzan, meaning"lioness," to describe them.
Invited to witness an public execution
Since I saw this picture, I have been in a state of shock and cannot help but wonder about the reasons behind such an act. It’s not possible to imagine such blatant disregard for all the protests against so many executions in the country. The Judiciary, besides not changing its attitude in the face of all these protests over death sentences and executions, has also made the enactment of these inhuman verdicts public and is inviting the people to witness it.
The death sentence is a violent and inhuman verdict, and carrying out the execution is also an inhuman act, but inviting people to watch the execution is tantamount to spreading violence and institutionalizing it in the minds of the members of the society. Through such an act, the Judiciary has clearly indulged in spreading violence.
No ticket is issued for the violent act and it is not even carried out indoors. Some children and or young people, with their parents or alone, may go to witness the scene. What an impact it would leave on their minds! Witnessing the death of a person at the hand of another person cannot be justified by any moral, human, or legal norms. And what positive outcome could it possibly have for the viewers? The purpose is nothing but to create intimidation and fear and to further violence and oppression in society. What they want to say openly is that they will deal in this way with criminals, and even with their opponents.
Who is the one to decide whether someone has fought against God, on the basis of which death sentences are awarded? Who says that you are God's representative on Earth and can act on His behalf and take someone's life, which God has given to him? In which countries is carrying out executions publicized on billboards? It only happens in Iran.
If we look at Iranian cities, we won’t find a single billboard publicizing a book. IRIB [Iran’s state broadcaster] doesn't advertize any books. The national media doesn’t advertize even a single book shop from all across Iran, but there are advertizing posters on the walls across the city inviting people to come and watch the execution of those who have fought against God. But, in the same country and in the very same province of Khuzestan, you have to pay a lot of money to the municipality if you want to publicize your book on a billboard.
In a country where books are either censored or are denied permission to be published; in a country where newspapers are banned and journalists are put in prison; and where radio and television have never advertized one single book; in a country where there are only three or four standard theater; where some of the cities are not even equipped with a single bookshop or cinema; in a country where libraries are destroyed and prayer halls are constructed instead (one of the acts of Ahmadinejad during his time as the mayor of Tehran); in a country where bookstore-cafes are shut down because they are a meeting place; in a country where books can be banned even after publication and films are denied screening permissions even after their production, people are invited to come and watch executions in the open.
Source: Madyar
An Iranian mystery: Just who are the MEK?
How do you get a group described by
the US government as a cult and an officially designated foreign terrorist
organisation to be viewed by many congressmen and parliamentarians as champions
of human rights and secular democracy?
It would challenge even the most talented PR executive.
The starkly differing perceptions of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) or People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) could be a case study in the power of image management - of what can be achieved not with guns but by the way information is disseminated.
The organisation has a history of ideological and tactical flexibility.
Since the 1970s, its rhetoric has changed from Islamist to secular; from socialist to capitalist; from pro-Iranian-revolution to anti-Iranian-revolution; from pro-Saddam to pro-American; from violent to peaceful.
And there is another dichotomy - it has admiring supporters and ardent critics.
Take, for example, the US military officers who had to
deal with the MEK after they invaded Iraq in 2003.
Not only was the MEK heavily armed and designated as terrorist by the US government, it also had some very striking internal social policies.
For example, it required its members in Iraq to divorce. Why? Because love was distracting them from their struggle against the mullahs in Iran.
And the trouble is that people love their children too.
So the MEK leadership asked its members to send their children away to foster families in Europe. Europe would be safer, the group explained.
Some parents have not seen their children for 20 years and more.
And just to add to the mix, former members consistently describe participating in regular public confessions of their sexual fantasies.
You might think that would set alarm bells ringing - and
for some US officers it did.
One colonel I spoke to, who had daily contact with the MEK leadership for six months in 2004, said that the organisation was a cult, and that some of the members who wanted to get out had to run away.
And yet another officer, who was there at precisely the same time and is now a retired general, has become an active lobbyist on the MEK's behalf.
With his open smile and earnest friendly manner, he is a good advocate. "Cult? How about admirably focused group?" he says. "And I never heard of anyone being held against their will."
We later emailed him about a former member who claimed to have told the general to his face that people were held against their will. "He's lying," the general replied.
Ex-MEK member Eduard Termado is now living in Germany.
And yet a significant number of politicians in the US and UK would say I was
tricked because the former MEK members who spread these kind of stories are, in
fact, Iranian agents
Again, who to believe?
It is so difficult to pin down you can see your own reflection in it.
Source: BBC 4 Radio, Owen Bennett Jones
Basij in Iran
It has several functions all aimed at helping the nation prosper and develop. Its members are volunteers, who help the government with wide scale projects like vaccinations and the reconstruction of homes in village all in the name of community spirit.
The Basij is principally a youth club that works to give members an active and positive role in their society. Active Basij members can get training in numerous fields free of charge. From athletics, plumbing and construction work, to archery and firearms training.
In some villages you can even take beekeeping courses. But what we've just described is not the image many people have of the Basij. The reason for that is the sacred defense aspect of Basij activities, which goes back to Iran's 8 year war with Iraq.
Some say that without the Basij, Iran would have lost the war. Back then members of the Basij became a force to be reckoned with; an army of volunteers spurred on by nothing but patriotism.
And today still, the Basij has an active role in sacred defense, and upholding the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution. In this edition of the show we will be learning more about the Basij and its millions strong members.
The Green Movement
The Green Movement refers to a series of actions after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office. Green was initially used as the symbol of Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign, but after the election it became the symbol of unity and hope for those asking for annulment of what they regarded as a fraudulent election Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi are recognized as political leaders of the Green Movement Hossein-Ali Montazeri was also mentioned as spiritual leader of the movement Witnesses to Green Movement protests often claim that protests of this size have not been seen in Iran since the 1979 revolution
In the aftermath of the election, protests were widened and several massive protests were held around the country by the people. The government arrested a large number of the protesters and several were killed by the police and governmental militia forces
We will not surender!!!! 2012
Torture at Evin Prison
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Saeed Pourheydan
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This is the story by Saeed Pourheydar, journalist. His own experiences and his interviews with 19 Political Prisoners.
Saeed Pourheydar is a journalist who formerly worked for several reformist newspapers. He told the Campaign that after the 2009 presidential election, he was arrested twice: once on 6 February 2010 at his home when he was arrested by Intelligence Ministry and served one month inside Ward 240 of Evin Prison, and another time on 10 October 2010, when he was detained after being summoned to Evin Prison Court and spent 52 days in prison until his appeals court issued a ruling. When the appeals court upheld his conviction, Pourheydar left Iran and currently resides abroad.
“The investigative judge raised five charges against me” ‘propagating against the regime,’ ‘assembly and collusion with the intent to overthrow,’ ‘disrupting public order,’ ‘insulting the president,’ and ‘insulting the sanctities and questioning Islamic orders.’ Judge Pirabbasi, the presiding judge of Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, sentenced me to five years in prison, a ten-year ban on journalistic activities and a payment of $3,000 in fines … In my case file, other than my personal blogs and my interviews with media outside the country, there were no reasons or logical evidence for arresting or sentencing me,” said Pourheydar.
“Even if a prisoner is not to suffer any compounded physical torture or abuse, solitary confinement is in itself a manifestation of psychological and mental torture. The most significant abuse I suffered in prison was my psychological and mental torture (white torture). Sometimes I was physically tortured, which included beatings during interrogations, sleep deprivation, once throwing me inside a cold water barrel, or keeping me naked outside in the cold weather. Some of the mental and psychological torture included giving me false news and information, threatening me with flogging, forcing me to accept immoral charges, threatening me with arrests of my family members or giving me false news about the arrests of my wife and my father, playing my daughter’s voice during an interrogation session and telling me that my wife and my daughter were also arrested, threatening me with a long prison sentence, and banning my visitations and contacts with my family,” he continued.
“Before prison, I used to take one pill a day for my heart condition. The ‘gift’ of my one-month solitary cell was that after I was released, I had to take three pills daily for my heart and use sedatives. Also, after four days of hunger strike, which normally lead to a prisoner’s weight loss, I lost nine kilograms in one month and once, after my interrogation session ended, I suffered a heart attack,” added Pourheydar
“The conditions of wards containing solitary cells are different from the conditions inside the General Ward. Inside the solitary cells, the prisoner has no access to the store, sports equipment, books, etc. Some cells have a john, and some don’t, so the prisoner must go to the bathroom blindfolded and with the help of a prison guard every time… Inside General Ward 350, where political prisoners are kept, the conditions are slightly better. Ward 350 has a store, fresh air courtyard, a library, limited sports equipment, heating systems, etc., and the prisoners also has access to other amenities which they can pay for personally.”
“There were awake and sleeping hours inside Ward 350, but inside solitary cells, the prisoners were not even aware of what time of day or night it was. Inside Ward 350, wake-up time was at 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. was bedtime. Twice daily there was a roll call. Twice daily, prisoners inside the General Ward went to the courtyard where they were counted. They did the morning headcount at 7:00 a.m. and the nightly headcount at 6:00 p.m. But it wasn’t like the prisoners were forced to sleep during sleeping hours or be awake during the waking hours. Except for two times during the day when they performed the headcount and everyone had to be present, we could decide whether we wanted to be awake or asleep during other parts of the day,” said Pourheydar.
“The books in Ward 350′s library were all books that entered the prison after approval by prison authorities, and it is natural that most of these books would not be appreciated or used by the prisoners. Many of the books were old and as my friends called them “low- or no-risk” books. Though the Kayhan newspaper was delivered to ordinary wards, it was not distributed to Ward 350. After I was released, I learned from my friends that prisoners no longer have access to even those useless newspapers. There are no books or newspapers available to the prisoner inside solitary cells.”
“Many of my prisoner friends inside Evin’s Ward 350, who had prior experience in solitary cells inside Wards 209, 240, and IRGC’s Ward 2-A, had been exposed to some type of psychological, mental, or physical torture. During my time in Ward 350, I was able to talk to 19 friends who had been tortured. Most of the torture took place inside the ward affiliated with the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), and depending on what the security forces decided for the prisoner, the type and intensity of the torture differed. For example, if they were set on extracting confessions out of someone, they would force him to confess and accept his charges in whatever way they could. During the talks I had with my friends, they gave me a complete description of what they went through in solitary cells.
The stories I heard about the horrible psychological and physical torture provided me with new insight about how brutally the regime treats its political prisoners,” he added.
“Beatings, urinating on the prisoner’s head and face, hanging the prisoner by his feet, flogging, using electric shockers, hitting sensitive spots on one’s body, and one case of horrible rape using glue, were parts of the physical torture my friends told me about. Fake executions, insults and degradation, arrests of family members, threats of arresting and raping the prisoner’s wife or daughter, threatening the prisoner with the death sentence, forcing the prisoner to take psychedelics, etc., were only a small part of the psychological and mental tortures used inside the Islamic Republic prisons that these 19 prisoners experienced. Though the number of prisoners who were tortured was far more than this number, when I was inside Ward 250, I was only able to talk to 19 individuals, some of whom were unfortunately executed later and some others who continue to serve their time there.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Remembering the "Arashes" of the 1988 Massacre of Iranian Political Prisoners
"We were in the fourth or fifth grade in the primary school in Iran at the time. It was the Persian literature class. Not a subject that I particularly looked forward to as a child, however that day when the teacher started reading out the poem on the Iranian mythical hero, Arash, by Siavash Kasraii, suddenly I was mesmerized. Contrary to my usual quest for mischief and laughter, this time I was all-ears. A painting of a heroic type figure stretching his bow and arrow to the full, accompanied the text of the poem.
Iran had been at war with our mythical enemy, the Turanians. The war had gone on for years and although Turan had the upper hand we were not completely defeated yet. The poem started by describing how beautiful life during peace is; the daily toil, the dining together, the celebrations, the growing up of children.
“Life is like the eternal flames of an ancient fire temple
If we light it up, the dancing of the flames will be seen in distances afar
If we don’t, then the flames will go out
And that will be our sin…”
Then the poem described the sadness of those days we were at war with Turan.
“The dark nights were cold and seemed endless
The stars no longer shined in the sky
Fear was everywhere and the wings of death above everyone
People were motionless without hope
Silence reigned behind our barricades
Yet the encampments of the enemies were buzzing with hilarity
No one smiled at each other
Tears instead of rain poured from the sky “
Then the Turanians decided to finish us off in a final act of humiliation. They decided that we should choose one archer from our midst. He should climb up the Alborz mountain and throw his arrow. Wherever the arrow landed would be the border between the two countries. The Turanians were certain that even the best Iranian archer would not reach very far. Their intention was to humiliate our people.
Iranians were in a state of despair; they imagined the outcome to be a small land contained within tight borders. The people had resigned to a terrible destiny ahead.
Suddenly amongst an uproar, a hero emerged who volunteered for the task.
“I am Arash
A freedom loving warrior
An archer of reputation
Fire burns from the feathers of my Arrow
And the wind obeys my orders
I am the son of toil
And I carry the hopes of my people
On my shoulders…”
People watched Arash anxiously. Mothers prayed for him, the children called out his name on roof tops, the girls threw their necklaces in his path and the men silently admired their hero walk past them.
Arash then said his last goodbye to his people.
“Farewell to you my last dawn
for this will be the last Arash will see of you”
Arash climbed up the Alborz and put all his strength and might into the arrow. His arrow went on and on for miles and miles and the riders who followed his arrow finally saw it land on a huge walnut tree, and that became the new frontier with Turan
h“Years passed by,
Amongst the silent snow ridden valleys of Alborz,Climbers who are struggling to ascend the peaks,
Call out for Arash,
They seek his strength and they seek his guidance,
And the rocks and cliffs reply with Arash’s voice,
Arash guides them and heartens them
Gives them hope and shows them the way…”
When reading the poem stopped, the class fell unusually silent. We looked at each other, and I sensed that everyone wanted to ask the same question. We weren’t actually sure if Arash died, we hoped that he were still alive. I stood up and anxiously asked the teacher,
“Miss! did Arash die?”
The teacher looked at me and smiled, walked towards me and put her hand on my shoulder, “Arash died Potkin, but his spirit lives on, one day you could all be an Arash for your country in different ways.”
I probably didn’t understand the full extent of what the teacher said at the time, all I know is that I read the poem over and over again and how to the delight of everyone at home, I used to recite it from memory:
If we light it up, the dancing of the flames will be seen in distances afar
If we don’t, then the flames will go out
And that will be our sin…”
Of course Arash was part of our mythology, but in later years as we studied the history of Iran, we learned how Arash manifested himself into so many real life characters in our history whose sacrifices ensured the identity of our people lived on.
There is Babak, who resisted the Arab invasion from his mountain stronghold of Baz for 22 years. He was betrayed by another Iranian commander, Afshin, who had believed in the false promises of the Arab Khalif. So enraged was the Arab Khalif with Babak that he ordered the executioner to cut off Babak’s right arm first followed by his left leg and then his left arm followed by his right leg before slowly putting him to death. As soon as the executioner cut Babak’s arm off, Babak dabbed his other hand in his blood and wiped the blood on his face. The Khalif baffled by this act, halted the execution for a moment and asked Babak,
“Cursed unbeliever, what was all that about?”
Babak replied, “I thought by losing all that blood, I may have looked pale in front of the people and give the impression that I was fearful. I wanted to make sure that no one thought Babak feared you.”
The account of Babak’s heroic death is not an exaggeration by biased Iranian historians, it is in fact written by the Arab historians at the time, who loathed Babak, and his resistance to their occupation.
During the constitutional revolution of hundred years ago, after the new Qajar king nullified his father’s approval of having a parliament and used his Russian Cossack allies to bomb the parliament building with cannons, all of Iran seemed resigned to the nullification of the constitutional decree. Only one district in one city in the whole of Iran led by Sattar resisted the new dictatorship. All other houses were forced to put up white flags. The Russian consulate invited Sattar to a meeting. He tried to buy off Sattar by promising him the lucrative control of the taxes on the Iran-Russia trade route, if Sattar also displayed the white flag on his house. This was Sattar’s reply before he stormed out of the room:
“My wish is to see seven nations under the sun and lion flag of Iran, how dare you ask me to display an un-Iranian banner?”
Sattar, having left the meeting abruptly, mounted his horse and the brilliant marksman that he was, started shooting down all the white flags. As the flags fell and Sattar and his men rode over them with their horses, the people of Tabriz rejoiced and came out of their houses and once again put up the Iranian flags. The resistance which was restricted to one district in one city spread across the whole town. Tabriz became the sole defender of the constitutional revolution and the rest of Iran joined too and the despot Qajar king was finally overthrown.
Before the invasion of Iran by Saddam Hossein, some of Iran's finest, most patriotic and most capable members of its armed forces, planned an uprising against the mullahs from the Shahrokhi airbase. Their plans were betrayed by agents of Iran's Communist Party, who at the time following their mentors in the Soviet politbureau, were desperately trying to endear themselevs to the "anti-imperialist" mullahs. All those involved in planning the uprising were arrested. Some were paraded on state TV before their execution, but at the time the mullahs were too inexperienced to realise such programs should not be shown on live TV. Watching the physical appearance of the men on TV, it was obvious the harrowing experience they had suffered at the hands of the Islamic henchmen. Yet they showed no fear, they showed no remorse. One by the name of Lt. Captain Farokhzad Jahangiri even snapped at his cleric interrogator:
"Mr. Akhoond - derogatory term for a mullah - we did not take part in this for money or position, we did it to save our country.." and the program suddenly went off air.
More than two hundred who were involved in the uprising were executed. Iran lost some of its finest military personnel who would have been invaluable in defence of the country against the coming invasion by Saddam. For time and time before these very men who were executed by the mullahs, had firmly pushed back Saddam's invading troops in the past.
Some years later, leaders of Iran's Communist Party also suffered a similar fate to that of Afshin at the hands of the Khalif.
During the war with Iraq, again Iran produced many more manifestations of Arash who defended the motherland even with their bare hands despite the overwhelming firepower of the enemy; but the war which was unnecessarily dragged on for too long, to line up the pockets of the likes of Rafsanjani and Co. also produced much dissent amongst the population.
Ayatollah Khomeini sensed the growing dissent amongst the masses. He feared that when the political prisoners are released they will organise the mass dissent into a revolt. Between the end of August until the end of September,1988, thousands of political prisoners were summarily executed.
Prisoners were brought before an Islamic panel of clerics and were asked two questions:
“Do you believe in Allah?
Are you prepared to publicly denounce your activities and your political organization?”
If they replied “NO” to any of the two questions, they were sent for execution there and then. Thousands were executed and dumped in unknown graves. Many had even finished the sentences passed by the very Islamic courts and many who were already freed were brought back and executed.
The massacre of Iran’s political prisoners did not even spare children, the old and even the pregnant women. Some whole families, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers were put to death and wiped out forever. Iran lost many of its best sons and daughters. Yet the whole event went almost unnoticed around the world. No Left, Right, Liberal , Human Rights groups, feminists, intellectuals etc. around the world went on a protest march and no Western mass media fully reported the genocide
The mullahs were basking in the comfortable thoughts of “We got away with it again”. What they did not realize was that these brave men and women were the Arashes of our time, they stood tall and said NO to Islamic fascism and the new occupiers of our country.
Our motherland will produce more and more Arashes, and they will live in our hearts from generation to generation, so that once again we can light up our fires and the dancing of our flames will be seen in distances afar."
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