Neda's mother thanks people of the world for their support.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Poet Simin Behbahani
Stop Throwing My Country To The Wind
If the flames of anger rise any higher in this land Your name on your tombstone will be covered with dirt.
You have become a babbling loudmouth. Your insolent ranting, something to joke about.
The lies you have found, you have woven together. The rope you have crafted, you will find around your neck.
Pride has swollen your head, your faith has grown blind. The elephant that falls will not rise.
Stop this extravagance, this reckless throwing of my country to the wind. The grim-faced rising cloud, will grovel at the swamp's feet.
Stop this screaming, mayhem, and blood shed. Stop doing what makes God's creatures mourn with tears.
My curses will not be upon you, as in their fulfillment. My enemies' afflictions also cause me pain.
You may wish to have me burned , or decide to stone me. But in your hand match or stone will lose their power to harm me.
Simin Behbahani
June 2009
Translated by Kaveh Safa and Farzaneh Milani
If the flames of anger rise any higher in this land Your name on your tombstone will be covered with dirt.
You have become a babbling loudmouth. Your insolent ranting, something to joke about.
The lies you have found, you have woven together. The rope you have crafted, you will find around your neck.
Pride has swollen your head, your faith has grown blind. The elephant that falls will not rise.
Stop this extravagance, this reckless throwing of my country to the wind. The grim-faced rising cloud, will grovel at the swamp's feet.
Stop this screaming, mayhem, and blood shed. Stop doing what makes God's creatures mourn with tears.
My curses will not be upon you, as in their fulfillment. My enemies' afflictions also cause me pain.
You may wish to have me burned , or decide to stone me. But in your hand match or stone will lose their power to harm me.
Simin Behbahani
June 2009
Translated by Kaveh Safa and Farzaneh Milani
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION JULY 25, 2009 SAN FRANCSICO
For more see:
Thousands march in SF against Iranian leadership
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/25/BAES18V69H.DTL
John Coté, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Terror in Buenos Aires
Terror in Buenos Aires : The Islamic Republic’s Forgotten Crime Against Humanity
Farid Hekmat, Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation
July 18, 2009
On July 18, 1994, a van carrying 275 kilograms of explosives rammed into and detonated at the headquarters of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina ("AMIA") in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The blast demolished the building and surrounding areas, killing 85 people who were inside the building or walking nearby. 151 others were injured. AMIA, a Jewish mutual aid society, was at the heart of Jewish life in Buenos Aires, and the bombing marked the single largest attack on Jewish civilians since 1945. The bombing was not just a terrible act of murder or terrorism; it was a crime against humanity under international law. First utilized against German and Japanese military and political officials at the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials that followed World War II, crimes against humanity has become an essential element of the global fight against human rights atrocities. The concept is particularly valuable in a case which does not rise to the level of genocide or is not conducted in wartime, but whose systematic nature distinguishes it from a random or isolated act of brutality. The AMIA bombing was exactly such a case, with the resources and security apparatus of a powerful state engaged in the methodical killing of dozens of innocent civilians.
The bombing was orchestrated at the highest levels of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The events that led up to the bombing were set in motion at a secret meeting held in August of 1993 in the Iranian city of Mashhad. Present at the gathering were some of the highest officials of the Iranian government, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, Foreign Minister Ali Velayati, and Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian. Motivation for the bombing likely stemmed primarily out of a desire to punish Argentina for curtailing its nuclear cooperation with Iran. Additional factors were Argentina's foreign policy turn towards the United States and the sense of impunity that resulted from the Argentine government's muted response to the 1992 Israeli embassy bombing.
Operational responsibility for the attack was divided between the Intelligence Ministry and a special unit of the Revolutionary Guards. Mohsen Rabbani was the Islamic Republic's point man in Argentina. Rabbani first came to Argentina in the early 1980s, using cover as a businessman, and then headed the Iranian-controlled al-Tawhid Mosque. The actual operation was carried out by members of Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia that was partly created and is funded by Iran. On July 1, 1994, three members of Hezbollah arrived at Buenos Aires's Ezeiza International Airport using forged European passports. The team was led by Imad Mugnieh, who before his death in 2006 was considered one of the world's most capable and wanted terrorists. A trail of phone calls traced the team to Foz de Iguazu, a Brazilian city in the Tri-Border Area that has a large population of Middle Eastern immigrants. Situated between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, it is a generally lawless region with rampant smuggling and significant ties to terrorist groups. Rabbani acquired a Renault Trafic, with the assistance of two local Argentineans, a captain in the Federal Police who was in charge of the vehicle theft section and a car thief. The Trafic was then loaded with explosives and driven by Ibrahim Berro, a member of Hezbollah who perished in the attack.
The Argentine government's response to the bombing was tepid from the start. A range of political pressures, infighting within the investigative agencies, and a shortage of resources hampered the investigation. Further, the judge assigned to the case had no expertise on terrorism. Rather, he was simply on duty that day. Additionally, evidence was removed from the rubble without forensic analysis, key evidence was mishandled and lost, and key witnesses were ignored for years. The investigation picked up momentum in 1999 after Memoria Activa, a group representing relatives of the victims, pursued a case with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights accusing the Argentine government of denying justice to the victims' families. The initial investigation finally collapsed in the fall of 2004, with the release of all suspects and the removal of Galleano himself, who was charged with corruption and misconduct. At the heart of the charges were allegations that Galleano had paid off witnesses, including Telledin. Though Iranian officials used this to discredit the entire investigation and proclaim the Islamic Republic innocent, a closer look clearly shows that the payoffs were designed to protect Argentina's intelligence services from scrutiny over its mishandling of the case and other unrelated misdeeds. A new investigation then commenced under the direction of prosecutor Alberto Nisman. Benefiting from greater official support, Nisman's investigation was persuasive enough to convince INTERPOL in 2007 to issue international arrest warrants for six individuals, including Ali Fallahian and Mohsen Rezai, former commander of the Revolutionary Guards. (Nisman also indicted former Iranian president Rafsanjani but was unable to get INTERPOL to issue an arrest warrant for him.)
Often identified as an act of terrorism, the AMIA bombing should also be viewed as a crime against humanity. Though crimes against humanity are usually associated with armed conflicts, they are an essential component of evolving standards of behavior, as recognized by international law. Having originated in the aftermath of World War II, crimes against humanity played an important role in recent ad hoc tribunals for the conflicts in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Additionally, the treaty governing the International Criminal Court has added substance and form to the doctrine. Under current law, a crime against humanity occurs when there are acts (1) such as murders, rapes, forcible transfers of population, or torture; (2) committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack; (3) directed against a civilian population; and (4) committed with knowledge of the attack. Given the Islamic Republic's record of politically-directed violence against anyone who either challenges or stands in the way of the clerical regime, the AMIA bombing was clearly a crime against humanity. In targeting innocent civilians abroad with mass violence, the leadership of the Islamic Republic has shown that its consistent and utter disregard for international human rights law is not limited to Iran and knows no borders.[1]
For Full Report
http://www.iranrights.org/english/document-636.php
Farid Hekmat, Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation
July 18, 2009
On July 18, 1994, a van carrying 275 kilograms of explosives rammed into and detonated at the headquarters of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina ("AMIA") in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The blast demolished the building and surrounding areas, killing 85 people who were inside the building or walking nearby. 151 others were injured. AMIA, a Jewish mutual aid society, was at the heart of Jewish life in Buenos Aires, and the bombing marked the single largest attack on Jewish civilians since 1945. The bombing was not just a terrible act of murder or terrorism; it was a crime against humanity under international law. First utilized against German and Japanese military and political officials at the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials that followed World War II, crimes against humanity has become an essential element of the global fight against human rights atrocities. The concept is particularly valuable in a case which does not rise to the level of genocide or is not conducted in wartime, but whose systematic nature distinguishes it from a random or isolated act of brutality. The AMIA bombing was exactly such a case, with the resources and security apparatus of a powerful state engaged in the methodical killing of dozens of innocent civilians.
The bombing was orchestrated at the highest levels of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The events that led up to the bombing were set in motion at a secret meeting held in August of 1993 in the Iranian city of Mashhad. Present at the gathering were some of the highest officials of the Iranian government, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, Foreign Minister Ali Velayati, and Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian. Motivation for the bombing likely stemmed primarily out of a desire to punish Argentina for curtailing its nuclear cooperation with Iran. Additional factors were Argentina's foreign policy turn towards the United States and the sense of impunity that resulted from the Argentine government's muted response to the 1992 Israeli embassy bombing.
Operational responsibility for the attack was divided between the Intelligence Ministry and a special unit of the Revolutionary Guards. Mohsen Rabbani was the Islamic Republic's point man in Argentina. Rabbani first came to Argentina in the early 1980s, using cover as a businessman, and then headed the Iranian-controlled al-Tawhid Mosque. The actual operation was carried out by members of Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia that was partly created and is funded by Iran. On July 1, 1994, three members of Hezbollah arrived at Buenos Aires's Ezeiza International Airport using forged European passports. The team was led by Imad Mugnieh, who before his death in 2006 was considered one of the world's most capable and wanted terrorists. A trail of phone calls traced the team to Foz de Iguazu, a Brazilian city in the Tri-Border Area that has a large population of Middle Eastern immigrants. Situated between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, it is a generally lawless region with rampant smuggling and significant ties to terrorist groups. Rabbani acquired a Renault Trafic, with the assistance of two local Argentineans, a captain in the Federal Police who was in charge of the vehicle theft section and a car thief. The Trafic was then loaded with explosives and driven by Ibrahim Berro, a member of Hezbollah who perished in the attack.
The Argentine government's response to the bombing was tepid from the start. A range of political pressures, infighting within the investigative agencies, and a shortage of resources hampered the investigation. Further, the judge assigned to the case had no expertise on terrorism. Rather, he was simply on duty that day. Additionally, evidence was removed from the rubble without forensic analysis, key evidence was mishandled and lost, and key witnesses were ignored for years. The investigation picked up momentum in 1999 after Memoria Activa, a group representing relatives of the victims, pursued a case with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights accusing the Argentine government of denying justice to the victims' families. The initial investigation finally collapsed in the fall of 2004, with the release of all suspects and the removal of Galleano himself, who was charged with corruption and misconduct. At the heart of the charges were allegations that Galleano had paid off witnesses, including Telledin. Though Iranian officials used this to discredit the entire investigation and proclaim the Islamic Republic innocent, a closer look clearly shows that the payoffs were designed to protect Argentina's intelligence services from scrutiny over its mishandling of the case and other unrelated misdeeds. A new investigation then commenced under the direction of prosecutor Alberto Nisman. Benefiting from greater official support, Nisman's investigation was persuasive enough to convince INTERPOL in 2007 to issue international arrest warrants for six individuals, including Ali Fallahian and Mohsen Rezai, former commander of the Revolutionary Guards. (Nisman also indicted former Iranian president Rafsanjani but was unable to get INTERPOL to issue an arrest warrant for him.)
Often identified as an act of terrorism, the AMIA bombing should also be viewed as a crime against humanity. Though crimes against humanity are usually associated with armed conflicts, they are an essential component of evolving standards of behavior, as recognized by international law. Having originated in the aftermath of World War II, crimes against humanity played an important role in recent ad hoc tribunals for the conflicts in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Additionally, the treaty governing the International Criminal Court has added substance and form to the doctrine. Under current law, a crime against humanity occurs when there are acts (1) such as murders, rapes, forcible transfers of population, or torture; (2) committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack; (3) directed against a civilian population; and (4) committed with knowledge of the attack. Given the Islamic Republic's record of politically-directed violence against anyone who either challenges or stands in the way of the clerical regime, the AMIA bombing was clearly a crime against humanity. In targeting innocent civilians abroad with mass violence, the leadership of the Islamic Republic has shown that its consistent and utter disregard for international human rights law is not limited to Iran and knows no borders.[1]
For Full Report
http://www.iranrights.org/english/document-636.php
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Siemens MTA Contract / Urgent Action Required
One of the world's largest engineering firms, Siemens, could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) because it sold Iran equipment used to spy on its people and used in the brutal suppression of dissidents. Let’s make sure that happens. At the board meeting this week on Thursday 7/23/2009, the Los Angeles MTA board will vote on a contract to make 100 rail cars for the Los Angeles subway worth about $300 million. Siemens is a strong contender for this contract. According to one of the directors, Los Angeles County plans to expand its rail grid in the next few years and to buy $700 million in rail cars, part of a proposed 30-year, $4 billion project to expand the county's public transit system.
Preventing Siemens from getting this contract would accomplish two objectives. First it would punish them for their collaboration with the brutal regime in Iran. Secondly, it would send a strong and impactful message to large corporations that there is a cost to helping shady governments oppress their people.
Please contact the MTA Board of Directors (contact info below) before their meeting this Thursday July 23, 2009 and respectfully ask them not to do business with Siemens.
Talking points for emails, phone calls or letters:
• Siemens did a total of $619 million in business with Iran last year (according to the German advocacy group "Stop the Bomb”)
• The technology to monitor voice calls on fixed and mobile telephone networks is known to be used by the government to track and persecute dissidents. Given Iran’s abysmal human rights record, any reasonable person would know that these technologies would be used against the people. Many of whom risk their lives daily for freedom and democracy.
• Iran is one of the worst violators of human rights in the world, only second to China in executions.
• Iran has the status of being the world's last official executioner of child offenders according to Amnesty International.
• We ask that you stand behind those brave souls in Iran fighting for their freedom in the face of great adversity and demand that the companies we do business with have moral and ethical standards.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
Board of Directors
Chair
Ara Najarian - City of Glendale
500 N Central Ave #940, Glendale, CA 91203
Phone Number (818) 549-0808
Fax Number (818) 549-0888
anajarian@ci.glendale.ca.us
First Vice Chair
Don Knabe - Los Angeles County Supervisor
Fourth Supervisorial District
822 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel: 213-974-4444
Fax: 213-626-6941
don@lacbos.org
Second Vice Chair
Antonio R. Villaraigosa - LACMTA Mayor
City of Los Angeles
200 N Spring St # 303
Los Angeles, CA
Phone (213) 978-0600
Mayor@lacity.org
Twitter: villaraigosa
Michael D. Antonovich - Los Angeles County Supervisor
Fifth Supervisorial District
500 West Temple Street, Room 869
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 974-5555
Fax (213) 974-1010
fifth@lacbos.org
Diane DuBois - City Council Member, Lakewood
5050 Clark Ave
Lakewood, CA 90712-2697
Phone (562) 866-9771 ext. 2140
service1@lakewoodcity.org
John Fasana - City Council Member, Duarte
1600 Huntington Dr.
Duarte, CA 91010
Phone (626) 357-7931
Fax (626) 358-0018
fasanaj@accessduarte.com
José Huizar - City Council Member, Los Angeles
200 N. Spring Street, Room 465
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 473-7014
Fax (213) 847-0680
Councilmember.Huizar@lacity.org
Richard Katz - City of Los Angeles, Mayor Appointee
Phone (213) 922-4605 (leave message with board secretary)
Boardoffice@metro.net
Gloria Molina - Los Angeles County Supervisor
First Supervisorial District
856 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 974-4111
Fax (213) 613-1739
molina@bos.lacounty.gov
Pam O’Connor - City Council Member, Santa Monica
1685 Main Street, Room 209
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone (310)458-8201
Fax (310)458-1621
pam.oconnor@smgov.net
Mark Ridley-Thomas - Los Angeles County Supervisor
Second Supervisorial District
866 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 W. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 974-2222
Fax (213) 680-3283
markridley-thomas@bos.lacounty.gov
Rita Robinson - City of Los Angeles, Mayor Appointee
Department of Transportation
100 S. Main St., 10th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 972-8470
Fax (213) 972-8410
ladot@lacity.org
Zev Yaroslavsky - Los Angeles County Supervisor
Third Supervisorial District
821 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 974-3333
Fax (213) 625-7360 fax
zev@bos.lacounty.gov
Preventing Siemens from getting this contract would accomplish two objectives. First it would punish them for their collaboration with the brutal regime in Iran. Secondly, it would send a strong and impactful message to large corporations that there is a cost to helping shady governments oppress their people.
Please contact the MTA Board of Directors (contact info below) before their meeting this Thursday July 23, 2009 and respectfully ask them not to do business with Siemens.
Talking points for emails, phone calls or letters:
• Siemens did a total of $619 million in business with Iran last year (according to the German advocacy group "Stop the Bomb”)
• The technology to monitor voice calls on fixed and mobile telephone networks is known to be used by the government to track and persecute dissidents. Given Iran’s abysmal human rights record, any reasonable person would know that these technologies would be used against the people. Many of whom risk their lives daily for freedom and democracy.
• Iran is one of the worst violators of human rights in the world, only second to China in executions.
• Iran has the status of being the world's last official executioner of child offenders according to Amnesty International.
• We ask that you stand behind those brave souls in Iran fighting for their freedom in the face of great adversity and demand that the companies we do business with have moral and ethical standards.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
Board of Directors
Chair
Ara Najarian - City of Glendale
500 N Central Ave #940, Glendale, CA 91203
Phone Number (818) 549-0808
Fax Number (818) 549-0888
anajarian@ci.glendale.ca.us
First Vice Chair
Don Knabe - Los Angeles County Supervisor
Fourth Supervisorial District
822 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel: 213-974-4444
Fax: 213-626-6941
don@lacbos.org
Second Vice Chair
Antonio R. Villaraigosa - LACMTA Mayor
City of Los Angeles
200 N Spring St # 303
Los Angeles, CA
Phone (213) 978-0600
Mayor@lacity.org
Twitter: villaraigosa
Michael D. Antonovich - Los Angeles County Supervisor
Fifth Supervisorial District
500 West Temple Street, Room 869
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 974-5555
Fax (213) 974-1010
fifth@lacbos.org
Diane DuBois - City Council Member, Lakewood
5050 Clark Ave
Lakewood, CA 90712-2697
Phone (562) 866-9771 ext. 2140
service1@lakewoodcity.org
John Fasana - City Council Member, Duarte
1600 Huntington Dr.
Duarte, CA 91010
Phone (626) 357-7931
Fax (626) 358-0018
fasanaj@accessduarte.com
José Huizar - City Council Member, Los Angeles
200 N. Spring Street, Room 465
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 473-7014
Fax (213) 847-0680
Councilmember.Huizar@lacity.org
Richard Katz - City of Los Angeles, Mayor Appointee
Phone (213) 922-4605 (leave message with board secretary)
Boardoffice@metro.net
Gloria Molina - Los Angeles County Supervisor
First Supervisorial District
856 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 974-4111
Fax (213) 613-1739
molina@bos.lacounty.gov
Pam O’Connor - City Council Member, Santa Monica
1685 Main Street, Room 209
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone (310)458-8201
Fax (310)458-1621
pam.oconnor@smgov.net
Mark Ridley-Thomas - Los Angeles County Supervisor
Second Supervisorial District
866 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 W. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 974-2222
Fax (213) 680-3283
markridley-thomas@bos.lacounty.gov
Rita Robinson - City of Los Angeles, Mayor Appointee
Department of Transportation
100 S. Main St., 10th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 972-8470
Fax (213) 972-8410
ladot@lacity.org
Zev Yaroslavsky - Los Angeles County Supervisor
Third Supervisorial District
821 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone (213) 974-3333
Fax (213) 625-7360 fax
zev@bos.lacounty.gov
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Iran: Detainees Describe Beatings, Pressure to Confess
Re-print of Report Issued July 8, 2009 by Human Rights Watch
New Accounts of Mistreatment in Crackdown
(New York) - The Iranian authorities are using prolonged harsh interrogations, beatings, sleep deprivation, and threats of torture to extract false confessions from detainees arrested since the disputed June 12 presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. The confessions appear designed to support unsubstantiated allegations by senior government officials that Iran's post-election protests, in which at least 20 people were killed, were supported by foreign powers and aimed at overthrowing the government.
"The Iranian government is desperate to justify its vicious attacks on peaceful protesters," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "What better excuse does it need than confessions of foreign plots, beaten out of detainees?"
Human Rights Watch has collected accounts from detainees after their release illustrating how the authorities are mistreating and threatening prisoners in a deliberate effort to obtain false confessions.
A 17-year-old boy who was arrested on June 27 and released on July 1 told Human Rights Watch how his prison interrogator forced him and others to sign a blank statement of confession:
"On the first day, while blindfolded, the interrogator took me to a parking garage. They kept everyone standing for 48 hours with no permission to sleep. On the first night, they tied up our hands and repeatedly beat us and other prisoners with a baton. They kept cursing at the prisoners. The atmosphere was very frightening. Everyone had wet themselves from fear and stress. There were children as young as 15 and men as old as 70; they'd be begging and crying for mercy, but the guards didn't care.
"After two days of interrogation while blindfolded, we were asked about everything: where we had studied, what our parents do, who we voted for, who is educated in the family, if anyone in our family is part of the military. We were forced to give the names of everyone. It was a scary situation because they were threatening us and were very harsh. All we could hear were other people crying and screaming.
"They provided us with a big piece of bread once, but no water. On the last day, they took away the blindfold to force us sign a paper that was blank on top but said at the bottom: ‘I agree with all of the above statements.'"
Senior Iranian officials have said that detainees have confessed to their involvement in a foreign-backed plot to overthrow the government with a "velvet" revolution. Mojtaba Zolnour, the representative of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on July 2 that all the prominent detainees except one had now confessed. During his July 3 Friday prayer sermon, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, a high-ranking member of the Guardian Council, said that the government would make public some of the confessions obtained from detainees.
State-backed media already have broadcast the confessions of some detainees. Amir Hossein Mahdavi, editor of reformist newspaper Andishe No, confessed on Iranian TV on June 27 that reformist groups had laid plans to create unrest before the June 12 elections. Friends of Mahdavi who saw his confession told Human Rights Watch that it was clear from his demeanor that he confessed under duress.
Among the detainees who were recently forced to appear on Iranian television is Newsweek's correspondent in Iran, Maziar Bahari. He was detained on June 21 and is believed to be held in Tehran's Evin prison, where Human Rights Watch has documented cases of torture and detainee abuse in previous years. He has not been allowed to see a lawyer or his elderly mother, with whom he lives. No charges have been filed against Bahari, who holds dual Iranian and Canadian citizenship.
On June 30, the semi-official Fars news agency reported that Bahari had given a press conference where he denounced efforts of Western media to stage an uprising in Iran similar to the 1989 Czechoslovak "Velvet Revolution," and confessed to a role in covering these "illegal demonstrations." Newsweek has strongly defended Bahari's innocence and called for him to be released immediately.
Vajiheh Marsousi, the wife of dissident intellectual Saeed Hajjarian, whom authorities arrested on June 15, believes that he is under intense pressure to sign a false confession. After visiting him in Evin prison, she believes that his life is in danger due to his poor health and lack of medical care in prison.
Information about the abuse of Iranian detainees in custody continues to filter in. An eyewitness who visited the Revolutionary Court on July 1 told Human Rights Watch:
"Hundreds of the prisoners' families were gathered in front of the entrance of the court. On the court's wall, a piece of paper listed the names of 1,349 prisoners. This was a list of people that the court would be soon releasing. There was also a separate sheet with another 223 names. It said that the authorities were still investigating the people on this list and that their families should come back in a couple of weeks. In the few hours that I spent before outside the court, I witnessed a number of people being released. Almost all of them had bruised faces and hands. Some of the families, after seeing their sons/daughters in such bad condition, started to cry, while other families claimed their sons or daughters were missing and their names were not listed."
The authorities have arrested thousands of people in a nationwide crackdown aimed at ending mass street protests that started in Tehran and other cities on June 13 after the official results of the June 12 elections gave incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a landslide victory. Although authorities subsequently released many of those detained, they have continued to make new arrests. Human Rights Watch has collected the names of 450 persons whom security forces have arrested since June 13, including more than a hundred political figures, journalists, human rights defenders, academics, and lawyers.
Most of the best-known detainees have now been held incommunicado for up to three weeks without access to lawyers or family members, raising serious concerns about the probability of mistreatment and pressure to make false confessions.
In the past, the Iranian government has frequently subjected political prisoners to various forms of pressure, including beatings, sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, torture, and threats of torture in an effort to force them to make confessions that they have then publicized in order to criminalize and discredit government critics.
Because of this past record of abuse, relatives, friends, and professional associates of several prominent detainees contacted by Human Rights Watch raised concerns about their probable mistreatment in detention and the likelihood that they would be forced to make false confessions.
International human rights law clearly protects detainees from mistreatment, including forced "confessions." Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party, states that every person charged with a criminal offense has the right "to communicate with counsel of his own choosing," and "not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess guilt." Principle 21 of the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment states that, "No detained person while being interrogated shall be subject to violence, threats or methods of interrogation which impair his capacity of decision or judgment." A fundamental rule of international human rights law is that all evidence, including confessions, obtained by torture or other ill-treatment must be excluded.
New Accounts of Mistreatment in Crackdown
(New York) - The Iranian authorities are using prolonged harsh interrogations, beatings, sleep deprivation, and threats of torture to extract false confessions from detainees arrested since the disputed June 12 presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. The confessions appear designed to support unsubstantiated allegations by senior government officials that Iran's post-election protests, in which at least 20 people were killed, were supported by foreign powers and aimed at overthrowing the government.
"The Iranian government is desperate to justify its vicious attacks on peaceful protesters," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "What better excuse does it need than confessions of foreign plots, beaten out of detainees?"
Human Rights Watch has collected accounts from detainees after their release illustrating how the authorities are mistreating and threatening prisoners in a deliberate effort to obtain false confessions.
A 17-year-old boy who was arrested on June 27 and released on July 1 told Human Rights Watch how his prison interrogator forced him and others to sign a blank statement of confession:
"On the first day, while blindfolded, the interrogator took me to a parking garage. They kept everyone standing for 48 hours with no permission to sleep. On the first night, they tied up our hands and repeatedly beat us and other prisoners with a baton. They kept cursing at the prisoners. The atmosphere was very frightening. Everyone had wet themselves from fear and stress. There were children as young as 15 and men as old as 70; they'd be begging and crying for mercy, but the guards didn't care.
"After two days of interrogation while blindfolded, we were asked about everything: where we had studied, what our parents do, who we voted for, who is educated in the family, if anyone in our family is part of the military. We were forced to give the names of everyone. It was a scary situation because they were threatening us and were very harsh. All we could hear were other people crying and screaming.
"They provided us with a big piece of bread once, but no water. On the last day, they took away the blindfold to force us sign a paper that was blank on top but said at the bottom: ‘I agree with all of the above statements.'"
Senior Iranian officials have said that detainees have confessed to their involvement in a foreign-backed plot to overthrow the government with a "velvet" revolution. Mojtaba Zolnour, the representative of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on July 2 that all the prominent detainees except one had now confessed. During his July 3 Friday prayer sermon, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, a high-ranking member of the Guardian Council, said that the government would make public some of the confessions obtained from detainees.
State-backed media already have broadcast the confessions of some detainees. Amir Hossein Mahdavi, editor of reformist newspaper Andishe No, confessed on Iranian TV on June 27 that reformist groups had laid plans to create unrest before the June 12 elections. Friends of Mahdavi who saw his confession told Human Rights Watch that it was clear from his demeanor that he confessed under duress.
Among the detainees who were recently forced to appear on Iranian television is Newsweek's correspondent in Iran, Maziar Bahari. He was detained on June 21 and is believed to be held in Tehran's Evin prison, where Human Rights Watch has documented cases of torture and detainee abuse in previous years. He has not been allowed to see a lawyer or his elderly mother, with whom he lives. No charges have been filed against Bahari, who holds dual Iranian and Canadian citizenship.
On June 30, the semi-official Fars news agency reported that Bahari had given a press conference where he denounced efforts of Western media to stage an uprising in Iran similar to the 1989 Czechoslovak "Velvet Revolution," and confessed to a role in covering these "illegal demonstrations." Newsweek has strongly defended Bahari's innocence and called for him to be released immediately.
Vajiheh Marsousi, the wife of dissident intellectual Saeed Hajjarian, whom authorities arrested on June 15, believes that he is under intense pressure to sign a false confession. After visiting him in Evin prison, she believes that his life is in danger due to his poor health and lack of medical care in prison.
Information about the abuse of Iranian detainees in custody continues to filter in. An eyewitness who visited the Revolutionary Court on July 1 told Human Rights Watch:
"Hundreds of the prisoners' families were gathered in front of the entrance of the court. On the court's wall, a piece of paper listed the names of 1,349 prisoners. This was a list of people that the court would be soon releasing. There was also a separate sheet with another 223 names. It said that the authorities were still investigating the people on this list and that their families should come back in a couple of weeks. In the few hours that I spent before outside the court, I witnessed a number of people being released. Almost all of them had bruised faces and hands. Some of the families, after seeing their sons/daughters in such bad condition, started to cry, while other families claimed their sons or daughters were missing and their names were not listed."
The authorities have arrested thousands of people in a nationwide crackdown aimed at ending mass street protests that started in Tehran and other cities on June 13 after the official results of the June 12 elections gave incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a landslide victory. Although authorities subsequently released many of those detained, they have continued to make new arrests. Human Rights Watch has collected the names of 450 persons whom security forces have arrested since June 13, including more than a hundred political figures, journalists, human rights defenders, academics, and lawyers.
Most of the best-known detainees have now been held incommunicado for up to three weeks without access to lawyers or family members, raising serious concerns about the probability of mistreatment and pressure to make false confessions.
In the past, the Iranian government has frequently subjected political prisoners to various forms of pressure, including beatings, sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, torture, and threats of torture in an effort to force them to make confessions that they have then publicized in order to criminalize and discredit government critics.
Because of this past record of abuse, relatives, friends, and professional associates of several prominent detainees contacted by Human Rights Watch raised concerns about their probable mistreatment in detention and the likelihood that they would be forced to make false confessions.
International human rights law clearly protects detainees from mistreatment, including forced "confessions." Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party, states that every person charged with a criminal offense has the right "to communicate with counsel of his own choosing," and "not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess guilt." Principle 21 of the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment states that, "No detained person while being interrogated shall be subject to violence, threats or methods of interrogation which impair his capacity of decision or judgment." A fundamental rule of international human rights law is that all evidence, including confessions, obtained by torture or other ill-treatment must be excluded.
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