Further News on Hunger Strike of Two Political Prisoners in Iran

Sayyah Hassan: Further News on Hunger Strike of Two Political Prisoners in IranAccording to the latest news received from Section 4 of the Gohardasht Prison in Iran Both Mr. Khaled Hardani and Mr. Mansour Radpour are on the 3rd day of their hunger strike. Mr. Hardani and Radpour started their hunger strike on August 5th 2008 in response to the increased physical and psychological torture towards political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison.

Mr. Hardani and Radpour have written a letter to the prison officials setting out their demands, however there has been no response from the prison officials in regards to this hunger strike. It must also be mentioned that Mr. Radpour was taken to an unknown location yesterday (August the 6th) at about 10:30 am, and up until this point there is no news about his whereabouts, safety and well being.

This is a great cause for concern for The Voice of Human Rights in Iran. A copy of the letter in Farsi can be found on the website of Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran.The Demands of Mr. Hardani and Mr. Radpour are as follows:

1. The recognition of political prisoners in Iranian Prison.

2. End to the oppression and inhumane treatment of political prisoners and their families.

3. Separation of political prisoners from non-political and dangerous prisoners.

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Iranian Regime Forces Young Men To Suck on A$$ Washers

Iran Focus has several postings on the recent crackdown HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

HRW: Iran: Detained Students at Risk of Torture

Yahoo News: Iranian dissidents face broad crackdown

Iran continues its most ferocious crackdowns on dissent in years.** Ali Eteraz (Muslim Philosopher) is covering the story

Michelle Malkin has a beatdown roundup.

The New York Times is following up on the crackdown in Iran on women and youth.

** Kamangir has the disgusting video.

links via Gateway pundit

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Dear Friends, Please spread the word as widely as possible!

Stop Stoning Forever CampaignUrgent Press Release [Persian]

Link Via Iranian.com and Sheema

The news about the scheduled stoning of a man and a woman in Takistan, Ghazvin, on Thursday June 21, 2007, was spread through mobile phone messages and the Internet. The office of Showraye Tameen of Ghazvin province has issued the order to stone and man and a woman in public.
The judge of Branch 1 of the Criminal Court of Takistan will be present in person to throw the first stone.
This was scheduled to be done on Sunday, June 17, but the Office of Showraye Tameen of Ghazvin province postponed it to Thursday, June 21.
Mokarrameh Ebrahimi is a 43 year old woman and mother of an 11 year old who has spent the past 11 years in Choubin prison in Ghazvin after being sentenced to stoning. The father of the child has also been in prison for 11 years and is scheduled to be stoned with her.
According to the Meydaan, the official site of the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign, an informed source has verified the news and added that "the pits are dug and prepared in Behesht Zahra cemetery to implement the sentence."
This source also added that the sentence has been issued solely based on the judge's knowledge, and there have been no witnesses to the so called crime of adultery and having a child out of wedlock. It seems that the couple have lived together for a while and shortly after been imprisoned.
There are different rumors about the woman's past. Some say that her husband had thrown her out of the house and she had been living with her mother for two years. Both the man and the woman have children from their previous marriages.
Mokarrameh, who is the mother of three children, is very distressed and in sever disarray in prison. It seems that after the appeal to the Judicial Commission for Amnesty and Clemency had been rejected, it is going to be carried out as the result of the perseverance of one of the judiciary officials in Ghazvin.
The official announcement about the stoning is going to be posted at the site of execution in order to invite the public to participate in the process in Takistan. This is while the Iranian officials continue to deny any stoning sentence.
The Stop Stoning Forever Campaign activists plea to the citizens of the world to take any actions they possibly can in order to stop the stoning of this couple from taking place. Further detailed information will be provided as campaign activists are trying to obtain more knowledge about the case in Takistan.
To contact campaign activists in the US or Iran please email Soheila Vahdati <soheilavahdati@gmail.com> or Shadi Sadr <shadisadr@gmail.com>.

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New Waves of Attacks On Iranian Bahá’ís Continue

THE STORY OF MONA (Part 1)
MONA MAHMUDNIZHAD – 1965 – 1983

Mona Mahmudnizhad, a young high school girl, was one of several score Baha'is, including women and teenage girls who were imprisoned in the fall of 1982 because of their Faith by the Islamic Revolutionary authorities in the Iranian city of Shiraz.

The prisoners, including Mona, endured months of abuse, interrogation and torture as the Islamic judges and their revolutionary guards attempted to force them to deny their religion. All refused, and ten of the women, including Mona, were secretly sentenced to death by hanging on June 18, 1983. In a final effort to break their wills, the authorities hanged the women one by one as the others were forced to watch.

Mona asked to be the final victim executed so that she could pray for the strength of each one who was hanged before her. When her turn came, she kissed the rope and put the noose around her own neck.

She was arrested with her father, Yad'u'llah Mahmudnizhad, who was hanged on March 12, 1983, several months before her.

Following is a brief outline of Mona Mahmudnizhad's life, imprisonment and execution, based on accounts of relatives, friends and fellow prisoners.

Mona and her Father

The True Story
The Play
Photographs
The Bahá'í Faith

Attacks On Iranian Bahá’ís, From The ElderlyTo Primary School Children, Continue Unabated

Saturday, 9 June 2007, 1:54 pm

Reports indicating an intensifying trend of persecution against the Bahá’ís in Iran are causing concern for Bahá’í communities throughout New Zealand. Suzanne Mahon, spokesperson for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of New Zealand, says reports and documents filtering out of Iran over the last six months indicate a widespread and calculated effort by the government to maintain and gradually intensify the persecution of Iranian Baha'is.
In comments reported yesterday by the Bahá’í World News Service (www.news.bahai.org), principal Bahá’í representative to the United Nations, Bani Dugal, expressed dismay regarding recent information received from Iran.
"The cumulative trend is one of an exceedingly ominous nature, and something of grave concern to Baha'is around the world,” said Ms Dugal.

Link via Sheema

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Pulitzer Winner Honored 27 Years Later

WSJ

Twenty-six years ago, a picture of an execution in Iran won the Pulitzer Prize. But the man who took it remained anonymous. Until last year (2006). He was the only anonymous recipient in the 90-year history of the award. Mr. Razmi preserved 27 of the photos on a contact sheet and stowed it away in his home.

On Aug. 27, 1979, two parallel lines of 11 men formed on a field of dry dirt in Sanandaj, Iran. One group wore blindfolds. The other held rifles. The command came in Farsi to fire: "Atesh!" Behind the soldier farthest to the right, a 12th man also shot, his Nikon camera and Kodak film preserving in black and white a mass execution. See the rest of the photos by clicking here.


Today, Associated Press reports that the Iranian photographer who was anonymously awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for capturing a chilling image of men before a firing squad was honored Monday at a ceremony for this year's winners.

The identity of Jahangir Razmi had been kept secret out of concern for his safety but was revealed in December by The Wall Street Journal with the photographer's permission.
"It's a very nice feeling. I've waited for 27 years, and I've always been longing for this day," Razmi said through an interpreter just before the ceremony at Columbia University.
The photo depicted a line of 11 blindfolded men executed by a firing squad in 1979, winning the Pulitzer for Spot News Photography - the only time in Pulitzer history that the board gave an anonymous award.
Razmi was presented with a certificate and $10,000 in award money. The slender, salt and pepper-haired man did not address the gathering.

The mother and sister of two of the men in the photo were present. Joshua Prager, the Journal reporter who revealed Razmi's identity, also attended.

As he was heading back to his table, Monir Nahid, who witnessed the execution of her sons Ahsan, 23 and Shahrivar, 20, tearfully embraced Razmi. Her daughter, Roya Nahid, sitting nearby, also cried openly. Both women are Kurds who now live in Orange County, Calif.

Where are the Washington National Cathedral and St. Andrews University that rewarded president Khatami, the man who directed the violent anti-student clampdown during his rule, with an honorary degree. Don't they think he is worthy of being rewarded? Is it because he is not as rich as Khatami to donate money to the University?

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گوشزد: خاطرات دهه شصت (Anatomy of the IRI's Reign of Terror)

گوشزد: خاطرات دهه شصت

I just stumbled upon this site and this one via sheema, accidentally and I was flabbergasted by the ghastly reign of terror of the mullahs in the 80's.

After reading these heinous and inexcusable carnage, violence and wholesale slaughter carried out on the flesh and psyche of the Iranians and the Iranian nation, I'm left with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I left Iran before the revolution and I'm wondering why was I spared...I applaud and admire every one of you who has contributed to shed some light on the true nature of this regime. It takes a lot of courage to conjure up painful memories and I'm grateful for your brevity.

I think everyone needs to remember every detail and document it and not just for Iranians. You owe it to yourself and your children and the whole of humanity to transmit, communicate, pass on, and spread this injustice to the future generations of this planet. This was the Iranian Holocaust.. and we should never forget it not even for one day because this could happen again and it looks like it's going to very soon. It's time to speak up. Buying into this destructive advice of keeping quite for far too long will only lead to a repeat performance of the IRI and the future generations of Iranians have to once again pay steep price for your silence.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"--Attr. to Edmund Burke



We should not walk in fear, one of another. We should not be driven by fear into an age of unreason once again, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine; and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular. This is no time for men who oppose tyranny and injustice to keep silent.

We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a humanity to abdicate his responsibilities. As a community in diaspora and as ex-pats, we have come into our full inheritance at a critical juncture in our history where all the signs indicate that another round of crimes and atrocities are about to be unleashed on the Iranian nation. We cannot wait for a saviour, We are the ones we've been waiting for. Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no one else. The recent repressive actions taken by the IR should cause alarm and dismay amongst all of us. And this time, the fault, is not in our stars, but in ourselves for not speaking up.


For my English speaking readers: I am going to translate what I've read so far as soon as I can. Thank you for your patience.

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Iran: Psychofascist Mullahs Tightening up the Noose

The misogynistic mullahs have unleashed their moral police (criminal goons) on women who are not dressed in full Islamic garb (the black chador). The hefty fine is up to $50 or they're taken to the Islamic Court for detention.

This is just sickening. As the regime finds itself more and more isolated by the world, they take their frustration on the enslaved women of Iran...

For more pictures click here.

h/t to Winston.

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International Gangsterism yet the Mullahs still Secure and more Emboldened than Ever!!

Yahoo News: Britain demands Iran free seized sailors

Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards captured 15 British sailors and marines at gunpoint Friday in the Persian Gulf — a provocative move coming during heightened tensions between the West and Iran.
Iran's Foreign Ministry insisted the Britons were operating in Iranian waters and would be held "for further investigation," Iranian state television said.
A U.S. Navy official in Bahrain, Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl, said Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces were responsible and had broadcast a brief radio message saying the British party was not harmed...
The incident occurred as the U.N. Security Council debates expanding sanctions against Iran seeking to force Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment. The U.S. and other nations suspect Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons. Iran denies that and insists it won't halt the program.
Iran's leaders also have denied allegations by the U.S., Britain and others that Iranians are arming Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq.
Hours before the seizure of the Royal Navy team, British Lt. Col. Justin Maciejewski told BBC Radio 4's "Today" program from the Iraqi city of Basra that Iranians provided weapons and money to militants who are attacking British troops in southern Iraq.
The U.S. military has leveled similar charges, saying Iranians send arms to Iraqi extremists, including sophisticated roadside bombs.

This week, two commanders of an Iraqi Shiite militia told The Associated Press in Baghdad that hundreds of Iraqi Shiites had crossed into Iran for training by the elite Quds force, a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard thought to have trained Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

Why is Iran apparently less troubled vis-à-vis giving the US/UK Casus belli than the leftists/islamists/communists who accuse those who condemn Iran on egregious violation of human rights basis?

Whenever anyone displays the slightest of objection in regards to, a woman being stoned to death in Iran, a scholar jailed , a teacher or a worker tortured and has his tongue cut out (Ossanlou, the head of the Bus Workers Union) and summarily hanged or executed, people on the left censure those raising objections with the stale response that this is helping Neocons and “the Zionists” by providing them more red herring to go to war with Iran. The dispute is that this type of condemnation helps to "vilify" Iran in laying the groundwork for war.

Doesn't it seem that the "leader" and his errand boy,Ahmadinejad,want a war in order to maintain their increasing volatile and eroding hold on power. Either war or a long stand off with a humiliated US and Britain will strengthen their position and shore up more support at home. After all, the errand boy, Ahmadinejad, was one of the Revolutionary Guards who might have been involved (directly or indirectly) in holding the US Embassy staff hostage. He remembers how that incident was responsible for the jihadist (khomeinists junata) ascendany to grab the power and hijack the revolution.

If objecting the stoning to death of women and other horrendous human rights violations in Iran are "providing an excuse", what the hell is taking British sailors prisoner and training Iraqi militias then?

BREAKING: The Mighty Mouse Is not Coming to the UN after all.

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Iran: Commemorating the Massacre of Political Prisoners of the Bloody Summer of 1987-88

Akhbar-rooz(Persian): Today, is the last Friday of the Persian Calander. On this day,groups of survivors, relatives and friends of the victims of the massacare of political prisoners of 1987-88 gathered in Khavaran (near a Bahai cemetry) to honor their memories and celebrate the coming Perisan New Year (NoRooz). Dr. Zarafshan, novelist,translator, and attorney, only one day after being released from 5 years of imprisoment on trumped up charges also attended this event.

Note that after the massacre of Iranian political prisoners in 1988-87 (a Fatwa issued by Khomeini), the bodies of the victims were dumped in mass graves next to a Bahaii cemetery in Khavaron. The public became alerted of the mass graves only when they noticed large gathering of over enthusiastic stray dogs, scavenging for bones. The exact numbers are unknown. If anyone knows of the exact numbers please let me know. The significance of this lie in the fact that this massive extermination of dissidents were done within a period of one month. (see my previous post)

You can find some of the victims names (the list is still being compiled since the whereabouts of many others are still unknown and their death has not been confirmed). If you did not already know (or somehow forgot), you may learn that firing on bound and blindfolded captives, especially teenagers and pregnant women, is an Islamic pastime and a virtue (if not a turn-on!), in short an integral part of the newfound pride in Iranian
revolutionary identity. Now, isn't that a soothing thought?! ...

You can also visit Omid Cyber Memorial for the names of more victims of the Holy crimes of the Islamic Republic of Terrorists.

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