Blame your own actions for tarnishing your image, not us: Journalists' open letter to Islamic regime's judiciary

cartoon by Nik Kowsar

In an open letter to the Islamic Republic's judiciary chief Sadegh Larijani on March 10, 2010, more than one hundred Iranian journalists and lawyers denounced the widespread imprisonment of journalists and argued that the regime, not honest reporting, is responsible for its own tarnished image. (translation of letter at the end of this report)

The Islamic regime, is particularly sensitive about its image and often accuses its critiques of 'tarnishing' its reputation, honor, or image. 'Makhdoush kardan' -- to tarnish, disfigure, or alter -- has become a hackneyed term in the Islamic regime's lexicon and has been bandied as frequently as that other meaningless charge, 'endangering national security.'

Seyed Mohammad Hosseini

In October of last year, when international watchdog Reporters Without Borders released its annual press freedom report in which the Islamic Republic was ranked 172nd out of 175 countries, Islamic Guidance and Culture Minister Seyed Mohammad Hosseini announced, 'The goal of ranking Iran 176th [sic] was to present an inappropriate image of the regime.' The problem was obviously the ranking system not the Islamic Republic's record.

'Evin accepting students', Mashhad protest

Two months ago, the Political Division of the state radio-television broadcaster (yes, such a division officially exists) related the comments of Nourollah Heidari Dastyabi, member of the Majlis education committee, rejecting the existence of students deprived of studying in Mashhad's Ferdowsi University because of their activism. 'Counter-revolutionary sites have been spreading these rumors to tarnish the image of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic as we approach the anniversary celebrations of the revolution (NB February 11),' Heidari Dastyabi said. Not only are students routinely expelled from universities for a set number of terms for transgressions such as participating in demonstrations, but some student leaders have been sentenced to heavy prison terms. Student leader Majid Tavakoli, for example, was sentenced to 8 and a half years behind bars in January. Other students who have been arrested and mistreated in prison: Soroush Sabet, Soroush Dastsetani, Bita Samimizad, Anahita Hosseini, Mohammad Pourabdollah, Bijan Sabagh, Behzad Bagheri, Morteza Khedmatlou, Amin Ghazai, Mohammad Zeraati, Farzad Hassanzadeh... The last two in this list were arrested at Mashhad's Ferdowsi University, by the way.

A visit to the web site of the 'Mashhad students seeking freedom and equality' takes us to a page bearing the message posted on the right. 'This blog has been shut down for one of the following reasons: The order of legal authorities to close down the blog, Infringement of the terms of use, The publication of obscene content or content which is illegal according to the laws of the country.'

Or consider this remark made by the chief of the General Inspection Organization of the Islamic Republic, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, on the state body's official web site: 'The enemy wanted to tarnish the image of the regime after the 10th presidential election (NB June 12, 2009).' Pourmohammadi, loyal servant of the regime, former Deputy Intelligence Minister, former Interior Minister, and, according to the late Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, representative of the Intelligence Ministry in charge of interrogating prisoners during the mass execution of over 3,000 political prisoners in Evin Prison in the late 1980s knows a thing or two about tarnishing the face of the regime.

This short list of quotes would be even more incomplete if I did not include one by the exalted founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. On May 26, 1979, a short while after the victory of the revolution, Khomeini remarked on the risk of tarnishing the image of Islam (if the words seem at times to be rambling and syntactically-challenged, please remember that they were uttered and not written down): 'The thing which I consider very important is that today we have an Islamic Republic. [...] All the various portions of the nation, especially those who are working at the top, especially the clerics who are working at the top, these people must pay attention that, God forbid, the image of the Republic of Islam does not appear ugly among the people. This is at the peak of important issues. Assets are not things which are taken away, embezzled, or confiscated. Or they can work for the deprived. Of course, these things can be done. But the most important thing is the reputation of Islam and efforts must be made to preserve this reputation.'

Speaking of the tarnished face of the regime, here are the faces of just some of the dozens of journalists who are currently in jail and have made the Islamic Republic the biggest prison for reporters in the world. The translation of the open letter to judiciary chief Sadegh Larijani follows the photos...

Ahmad Zeidabadi, arrested June 2009. Sentenced to 6 years in prison in December 2009. Journalist, secretary general of the national alumni association, member of the Association of Iranian Journalists, winner of the World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award:

Happier times with dissident Grand Ayatollah Montazeri

...and at the show trials of the 15th Branch of Tehran's Revolutionary Court

Massoud Bastani, arrested July 5, 2009, sentenced to 6 years in October 2009 (per Norooz). Journalist for Jomhouriyat, arrested when he went to the Revolutionary Court to seek information about his arrested wife, journalist Mahsa Amrabadi.

Bastani and his wife, Amrabadi

Bastani at the show trial

Emadeddine Baghi, arrested December 8, 2009. Journalist, prominent human rights activist and the founder of the Committee for the Defense of Prisoners' Rights. Baghi was jailed in Evin prison last year. When Baghi was arrested this year, he told his children that he would 'stand strong in prison' as he was taken away. At that point, one of the intelligence agents turned to the family and said, 'He won't live long enough to stand strong.' Winner of the Martin Ennals Award, one of the most prestigious human rights prizes in the world, in 2009. He was also awarded the 2008 prize for International Journalist of the Year by the British press.

Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, arrested December 28, 2009, spent 70 days in solitary confinement. Editor of Kalameh and senior adviser of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Mohammad Javadi Hessar, arrested in December 2009. Journalist and former legislator in Mashhad. Senior member of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi's Etemad Melli Party. Editor of Tous Magazine, fined and banned from journalism for 10 years in 1998 for an article criticizing higher education policies.

Javadi Hessar with dissident Grand Ayatollah Montazeri

Mohammad Davari, arrested September 8, 2009. Editor of Saham News, opposition leader Karroubi's news site. Went on a hunger strike in march to protest his transfer to solitary confinement. In April, it was reported that he was being tortured to force him to publicly reject Karroubi's claims that the regime's security officers had raped political prisoners.

Davari standing behind Karroubi

Issa Saharkhiz, arrested July 3, 2009. Editor of banned publications Akhbar Eghtesad and Aftab. Columnist for Rooz and Norooz web sites.

Hengameh Shahidi, arrested June 30, 2009, released on bail in November 2009, arrested again in February 2010. She went on a hunger strike in October 2009. She has been threatened with a 6-year sentence. Observer for Human Rights Watch, activist for Campaign Against Stoning. Adviser to opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi. Winner of Press Fair award for her coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hengameh Shahidi before...

...and after hunger strike. She was subsequently jailed again.

Abolfazl Abedini, arrested and badly beaten by security officers March 2, 2010. Sentenced to 11 years in prison. Transferred to Evin Prison's infirmary after severe torture on April 11, 2010. Member of the Pan-Iranist Party. Journalist who most recently covered labor unrest in Ahvaz.

Abedini in shackles, next to his lawyer Mohammad Oliayifard

Massoud Lavasani, arrested October 1, 2009. Sentence reduced from 8 and a half years to 4 and a half years upon appeal. He was forbidden to see his two-year-old son for several months. Journalist and blogger. His blog has been shut down.

Javad Mahzadeh, arrested October 2009. Sentenced to 4 years in prison on February 3, 2010. Novelist and journalist. Author of the critically-acclaimed novel 'Take Laughter Away From Me,' about a young man's life in the first decade after the revolution.

Cover of Mahzadeh's latest novel

Mehdi Mahmoudian, arrested September 18, 2009. Not allowed to see his young daughter for six months. Has severe health problems, particularly a lung ailment that developed in prison. Journalist and member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front. Was the first journalist to make revelations about the notorious Kahrizak detention center.

Yasser Masoumi, arrested March 14, 2010. Technology specialist and journalist for reformist publications.

Badrolsadat Mofidi, secretary general of the Association of Iranian Journalists. The organization's offices were sealed by security forces on the night of August 5, 2009, to prevent reporters who had been convened from the around the country to participate in a general assembly. On December 22, 2009, she gave an interview to Deutsch Welle in which she described the regime's crackdown on the press. A week later, security forces stormed her house and arrested her, along with her husband Massoud Aghai. 

Ali Malihi, arrested February 9, 2010. Journalist at Etemad daily and a senior member of the national alumni association (Advareh Tahkim).

Ehsan Mehrabi, arrested February 7, 2010. Journalist at Hambastegi and Etemad Melli newspapers.

Shiva Nazarahari, arrested June 14, 2009, released on bail on September 23, 2009, and arrested again on December 21, 2009, as she was driving to Ghom to attend the funeral of dissident Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. Human rights activist and journalist.

Hossein Nouraninejad, arrested September 17, 2009. Journalist and head of communications for the Islamic Iran Participation Front.

Mohammad Nourizad, arrested December 20, 2009. A conservative journalist and documentary filmmaker who became a staunch critic of the regime. He issued an open letter to Leader Ali Khamenei after Khamenei's intransigent Friday Prayer sermon on June 19, strongly criticizing the regime's stance.

Open letter to judiciary chief Sadegh Larijani:


In the name of God.

To the Honorable chief of the judiciary branch, Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani:

As you know, unexpected and at times painful events took place following the 10th presidential election in the summer of last year. These events began with the peaceful and widespread objections of large portions of the Iranian people, objections which continue to this day and were confronted by the government. The government's actions, which have not ceased, include widespread arrests, trials, and imprisonments, conducted under the supervision of the judiciary or ostensibly by officers of the courts.

In this context, our concerns and anguish have been deepened by the treatment of newspapers and journalists critical of the ruling faction. Numerous newspapers and publications have been suspended, many web sites have been blocked, and dozens of reporters who have voiced criticism have been arrested. Some journalists have been tried and convicted in revolutionary courts without a jury and sometimes without the presence of a defense attorney. Many have been held in a state of uncertainty in preventive detention for months. And some have been released temporarily after paying heavy bails.

The office of the Association of Iranian Journalists was sealed months ago and a short while later, Mrs. Badrolsadat Mofidi, the secretary general of this, the only professional organization which is trusted by journalists, was arrested. She is still in jail without any steps being taken to try her in an appropriate court or to release her on suitable bail. You are aware that preventive detention is prescribed on special occasions and that the common practice is to set bail after arraignment. This process is rarely applied in the case of journalists.

Honorable chief of the judiciary branch,

When the offices of the only professional organization trusted by journalists is sealed, its secretary general is imprisoned, and dozens of journalists and bloggers are sent to jail, does this not mean that the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot tolerate journalists and their open criticisms? And is this interpretation by public opinion not the worst kind of publicity for the regime? Does it not paint the regime as violent and irrational?

When some bodies, whose only duty is to carry out the laws approved by the Majlis, begin to define crime and expand the notion of criminality, does this not constitute interference in the duties of the relevant branches (legislative and judiciary), and ultimately an infringement on the judiciary's independence? And does this not tarnish the image of the regime?

If, as is claimed, writing an article in a publication or web site, or giving an interview to a foreign media outlet tarnishes the image of the regime, then is the regime not sullied by months of confrontation with newspapers and jailed journalists and bloggers to whom fair judicial procedure has not been applied?

Honorable chief of the judiciary branch,

We are increasingly worried about the well-being of the secretary general of the Association of Iranian Journalists given the news that has surfaced almost four months after her arrest. Along with Mrs. Mofidi, many of our colleagues and friends are currently in prison and this adds to our concerns.

We are journalists. Our duty is to disseminate news and analyze the political, economic, social, and cultural situation in the country. Our duty is to draw a true picture of whatever is occurring. And, of course, criticism is our most obvious right.

Free our friends and colleagues so that they may carry out their duties.

April 10, 2010

Signed:

Journalists
Shiva Aba, Farzaneh Ebrahimzadeh, fatemeh Astiri, Saeedeh Eslamiyeh, Amir Houshang Eftekharirad, Zohreh Aghayani, Sanaz Allahbedashti, Parvin Emami, Amir hadi Anvari, Lida Ayaz, Masoumeh Imani, Sergeh Barseghian, Parvin Bakhtiarnejad, Setareh Bakhtiari, Mohammad Bastehnegar, Sadra Baktash, Jila Baniyaghoub, Negin Behkam, Fatemeh Beikpour, Iman Paknahad, Mahmoud Pourrezai, Abdolreza Tajik, Mehdi Tajik, Reza Tehrani, Zahra Jafarzadeh, Hamid Jafari, Mohammad Jafari, Noushin Jafari, Hamidreza Jalaipour, Reza Javalchi, Nargess Jodaki, Fereshteh Haghi, Ali Hekmat, Mohammad Heidari, Hadi Heidari, Alireza Khamsian, Reza Khojasteh Rahimi, Elaheh Khosravi, Ali Dehghan, Nima Rad, Alireza Rajai, Taghi Rahmani, Shabnam Rahmati, Alireza Rahiminejad, Sami Rastegari, Marzieh Rasouli, Nargess Rasouli, Nasrin Rezai, Massoud Rafii Taleghani, Ali Ranjipour, Farzaneh Roustai, Mohammad Reza Zahdi, Masoumeh Sotoudeh, Ezatollah Sohabi, Sonita Sorabpour, Pouria Souri, Ali Asghar Seidabadi, Mariam Shabani, Reza Shojaian, Saba Sherdoust, Hamed Shafii, Mashaollah Shamsolvaezin, Ameneh Shirafkan, Hedi saber, Mohammad Sadeghi, Azam Taleghani, Siamak Taheri, Rihaneh Tabatabai, Ehsan Abedi, Eshrat Abdollahi, Mohammad Adli, Amin Alamolhedi, Hadis Elmi, Mohammad Hassan Alipour, Reza Alijani, Reza Gheibi, Ezra Farahani, Mehran Farji, Soroush Farhadian, Soleiman Farhadian, Gisou Foghfori, Mahtab Gholizadeh, Morteza Kazemian, Azam Golbari, Sara Laghai, Marjan Laghai, Seyed Hamid Motaghi, Hassan Mohammadi, Davoud Mohammadi, Soleiman Mohammadi, Nargess Mohammadi, Sam Mahmoudisarai, Saeed Madani, Ali Mazroui, Mohammad Javad Mozafar, Abouzar Motamedi, Sara Masoumi, Behrad Mehrjou, Keyvan Mehregan, Ameneh Mousavi, Minou Momeni, Bijan Momeivand, Maryam Nazari, Sahar Namazikhah, Mehdi Norouzian, Azam Veisameh, Zeinab Hemati, Massoud Youssefi

Lawyers supporting journalists
Nemat Ahmadi
(FaceBook page, lawyer of Fiaz Zahed of the Etemad Melli Party, Feizollah Arabsorkhi of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization, etc. Six-part interview with Nemat Ahmadi on VOA.)
Saghi Bakhtiari 
Houshang Pourbabai
(Lawyer of Mostafa Tajzadeh and Mohsen Mirdamadi of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, etc. Interview with Houshang Pourbabai)
Seyed Mohammad Ali Dadkhah
(One of the founders of the Defenders of Human Rights Center. Lawyer of Zahra Kazemi, Iranian-Canadian photographer killed in custody, Omidreza Mirsayafi, blogger who died under suspicious circusmtances in Evin Prison last year, Ebrahim Yazdi of the Freedom Party, etc.)
Nasrin Sotoudeh
(Member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center and the campaign for One Million Signatures. Defender of women's rights activists and juvenile offenders facing execution. Lawyer of Arash rahmanipour, 20, who was executed for moharebeh, Mohammd Sedigh Kabudvand, human rights activist in Kurdistan province, etc. CNN interview with Nasrin Sotoudeh.)

Abdolfatah Soltani
(Founding member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center. Prominent defender of numerous activists, he has been imprisoned many times, most recently for 72 days after being arrested in June 2009. Awarded the Nuremberg Human Rights prize. ) 
Seyed Mohammad Seifzadeh
(Founding member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center. Has defended members of the Baha'i faith, student activists, journalist Mashaollah Shamsolvaezin, etc.)
Sahar Seifi

Shirin Ebadi
(Founding member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center. Nobel Peace Prize laureate.)
Farideh Gheirat
(Director of the Association for the Defense of Prisoners.)
Mariam Karbassi
Mariam Kianarsi
(Member of the Volunteer Lawyers Network which opposed the Islamic penal Code bill). 
Marzieh Nikara
Saleh Nikbakht
(Member of the Association for the Defense of Prisoners. Lawyer of opposition political leaders Abdollah Ramezanzadeh and Mohammad Ali Abtahi, etc. Interview with Saleh Nikbakht about the second session of the infamous show trials.)

Mother of young man sentenced to death expresses her anguish

The mother of a man sentenced to death by the Islamic regime's Revolutionary Court gave a poignant interview to the Voice of America's Newstalk program on Tuesday night, January 5, 2010. (Video and translation at the end of this report)

Ahmad Karimi, a young carpenter accused of being a ringleader in the post-election unrest in Iran and a member of the Anjomaneh Padeshahi (Monarchist Association), was sentenced to death on December 28, 2009, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Judge Mohammad Mogheiseh, who presides the 28th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, called Karimi a mohareb, an individual who fights against God, and delivered this verdict even though the young man was arrested before the presidential election of June 12. Karimi had been forced to testify against himself in the infamous show trials of the past months.

Judge Mohammad Mogheiseh, also known as Mogheisieh and Nasserian, was one of the tight circle of prosecutors and judges responsible for the mass executions of thousands of political prisoners in the late 1980s. He was prosecutor at Gohardasht and Evin prisons at the time and operated under the name Nasserian, according to sources who wish to remain anonymous.

Khalil Bahramian

The court informed Khalil Bahramian, Karimi's lawyer, of the death sentence. Bahramian is a prominent human rights lawyer and represented Karimi pro bono. Hamed Rouhinehad, another client of Bahramian, was sentenced to death in the same case in October. In an interview published on November 6, Bahramian said the following concerning his clients:

I have submitted papers to the country's high court [to appeal Rouhinejad's death sentence]. In the meetings I had with [Rouhinejad] in prison, I observed that he suffers from multiple sclerosis and both of his hands are almost paralyzed. After writing for a few minutes both his hands become completely useless and he has to wait for a while before resuming his writing. His right eye is blind. This individual is handicapped and is not able to engage in activities against the country or politics. [...] The verdict that was issued does not conform to the law and I believe that it was guided by politics. They brought them before the court alongside those accused of being involved in the post-election unrest. I believe that Mr. [Saeed] Mortazavi, the prosecutor at the time, acted as he usually does and tried to build a weighty scenario and engineer a trial to create an untrue picture in the minds of the Iranian people. These people had nothing to do with the post-election protests and were arrested before [those events]. I can clearly say that neither Mr. Ali Zamani (NB Another defendant in the case who was sentenced to death), nor my two clients were members or supporters of that organization (NB The Monarchist Association), nor did they even know about that organization. They were just three young men, and a small child, Mr. Zamani's child, who went to Iraq and planned to go abroad from there. Because of a lack of funds and other problems, [Rouhinejad] and Ahmad Karimi returned to Iran in coordination with the Intelligence Ministry and honestly told the authorities everything that had happened. [...] I hope that the high court judges, whose attitude in security cases so far has been to blindly confirm verdicts without reading the files, will not veer from their consciences, their God, and their beliefs and that they will not submit to the political climate. [I hope] that they will not issue a verdict to please a few individuals but for which they will have to answer tomorrow to the Iranian people and almighty God. (For an in-depth description in Farsi of the regime's bogus case against these individuals and others accused of fomenting violence in support of the Monarchist Association, please click here)

A translation follows the video:



Note: Without being disdainful in any way, it is worth mentioning that Mrs. Karimi has an accent from Azerbaijan province and employs a working-class syntax. I only point this out as class and politics are often mentioned in the same breath by some Iran experts who still maintain the fallacy that the Islamic regime has been a defender of the oppressed and that the opponents of the regime are middle-class Tehran residents.

Host Jamshid Chalangi: 
Mr. Ahmad Karimi is a young Iranian who is in prison. He has been sentenced to death. He was jailed before the [presidential] election. His mother is on the line with us. Greetings. Mrs. Karimi, why was your son arrested?

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
What was that?

Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Why was your son arrested?

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
Because, dear sir, a man fooled my son. He told him, Let's go abroad for work. Can you hear me?

Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Yes, we can hear you, dear Mrs. Karimi.

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
A man made a proposal, said, Let's go abroad to work. He left with my son. They went there and weren't able to find work. When his daddy died, [my son] came back to Iran. He came back with Intelligence officials. Then he came here and identified himself to Intelligence. Do you have the sound of my voice, Mr. Haji (NB Someone who has gone on the Hajj pilgrimage)?

Host Jamshid Chalangi:
Yes, we do. Don't worry. Please go on.

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
He identified himself and [they] said, You're free. Go and put your head down and live your life. After six or seven months, they raided the house at midnight, it was before the elections. They raided our house and I felt ill and my child felt ill. They ransacked our house and didn't find anything. They didn't find anything and took my child away. For two months, no one gave me any answers wherever I went. Two months. After two months, my child called and said, Mother, I am all right. I asked, Where are you? He said, I can't tell you. He said, I can't tell you. After hat call, I didn't know where to go. They don't give any response. I go to the prison and they don't tell me anything.

Host Jamshid Chalangi:
You mean you didn't see Ahmad?

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
No, they wouldn't give any visits. For five, six months, they didn't give me any answers. After five, six months, Mr. Bahramian... We got Mr. Bahramian as a lawyer. Mr. Bahramian spoke to them and I went with him and I got one visit. They broke our door. He was my breadwinner.

Host Jamshid Chalangi: 
How was your child when you saw him? You may observe things with your maternal instincts...

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
He's not bad. He's a bit better. But we're in bad health. I have heart problems, Mr. Haji. I swear to God, I can't stand this. What has my child done? I don't know what he's done. They should give a reason. He's been on trial for two months. After two months of not giving any answers, they took him twice to the examining magistrate. Now they tell me, Your child will be executed. (begins weeping) What should I do? Where should I go, sir? What must I do, Mr. Haji, please God... Wherever I go, no one gives any answers. The Islamic Republic has taken away my bread. He was my breadwinner. My child is innocent.

Host Jamshid Chalangi: 
So Ahmad was your family's breadwinner?

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
Yes, yes, he's my family's breadwinner. I swear to God, my son-in-law is paying for me now. What should I do? Where can I find money?

Host Jamshid Chalangi: 
Have you seen anyone to save your child from execution?

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
We just got a lawyer. He's human rights. I had no money to get a lawyer. I had no money to get a lawyer. I went to the court twice and they don't respond to me. They give no answers wherever I go. Wher must I go? He's my child. They fooled my child. Mr. Haji, honorable sir, they got a confession from my child. They fooled him. They said, Say these things and we'll give you freedom tomorrow or the day after. We'll free you. He said those things and they gave him a death sentence. I swear to God, I didn't know. The kids are saying, Your child has a death sentence. (starts weeping) What am I to do? My child has been executed (sic). What am I to do? Me and my family's breadwinner... Where should I go, what should I do? Is this the Islamic Republic? Is this law? Is this a government? What am I to do? (weeps) My child has been sentenced to death. What has he done for them to give him a death sentence? His daddy's not here to look into this, he has no older brother to look into this.What can I do?

Host Jamshid Chalangi: 
What do you ask of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Mr. Ali Khamenei, dear mother?

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
Who's going to take me to Khamenei?

Host Jamshid Chalangi: 
He may hear what you're saying here. Or government officials or other officials may hear what you're saying here.

Ahmad Karimi's mother:
I don't know. They won't let me see Mr. Khamanei. The President... the Islamic Republic has taken away my bread, I swear to God. What should I do, where should I go? Why are they executing my child? What has he done? I don't know what he's done. He was arrested before the election. So someone told him, Let's go abroad to work and make money. They left and didn't succeed. His father died and he came back. Intelligence and officials knew he came back. He didn't do anything illegal. He doesn't know about politics. We don't know about politics, I swear to God. He's a carpentry laborer. Is this life? You just destroy someone like this. I swear to God, I have heart problems right now. I have no money to see a doctor. I can't get any money... What should I do, where should I go? He worked as a carpenter and brought money home. What am I to do? Tell me what's going to happen to me, government! The government must release my child. He's innocent.

Activist Salman Sima's arbitrary detention, broken ribs: When students become 'threats to national security'

Salman Sima

Student activist Salman Sima was arrested outside his home in the early hours of November 4, 2009. Security agents had been lying in wait for the Azad University student who had stayed away from the apartment for several days.

The regime has been rounding up student activists and leaders in a desperate attempt to prevent widespread protests planned for December 7, Student Day in Iran. (NB Student Day in Iran is different from International Student Day which is on November 17. Student Day in Iran is December 7 -- 16th of the Iranian month of Azar -- and, while celebrating student activism in general, it is also a commemoration of the slaying of three Tehran University students by the Shah's police in 1953, shortly after the coup that brought the Shah back to power.)

Salman Sima is a member of the Advareh Tahkimeh Vahdat, the national alumni association. The Advar is an associate organization of the Daftareh Tahkimeh Vahdat, the Office to Consolidate Unity, which is Iran's largest student organization.

Sima spent 34 days in solitary confinement last year and was released on $60,000 bail in early August 2008. He had been arrested in early July 2008, prior to demonstrations marking the 9th anniversary of the student uprising and regime crackdown of July 9, 1999.

Sima graduated with a degree in industrial engineering from the Azad University - South Tehran Branch and is currently a graduate student in energy economics at Azad University - Central Tehran Branch. As an undergraduate student, he published Sokhaneh Tazeh (New Comment) newspaper which was subsequently banned. After organizing a December 7 ceremony in 2006, he was deprived of the right to study for two semesters and was forced to relocate to Azad University - Karaj. But in Karaj, he was instrumental in organizing another December 7 event in 2008, the only such ceremony in a university in Tehran province that year.

Sima's sister was interviewed by the Voice of America on December 2. The following is the video and translation of the interview:



VOA anchor Setareh Derkhshesh:
Over 15 students remain in detention in the days leading up to Student Day on Monday. Salman Sima is one of them. He was arrested because of his activities in Azad University. His family, who finally managed to see him 20 days after his arrest, said that he was beaten in prison to such a degree that his ribs were broken. Arash Sigarchi spoke to Saedeh Sima, his sister, by telephone.

Saedeh Sima:
...November, he was arrested in front of the house. Several people came upstairs with Salman and searched his room for an hour. They took a computer and several CDs. Whet we know, what they told us, is that he is in wing 209 of Evin prison.

Arash Sigarchi:
Why was he arrested?

Saedeh Sima:
There's no particular reason. The warrant cited acts against national security. But I think that Salman, like his friends who are in prison, is simply a freedom-seeker who has been active for the cause of liberty. In a country which is a dictatorship and whose government comes to power through a coup d'état, freedom-seekers and political activists who struggle for freedom have no place but prison. I hope that all political prisoners, particularly these students who have been arrested on the eve of December 7 (NB Student Day), are freed.

Arash Sigarchi:
Have you taken any legal steps and have these been effective?

Saedeh Sima:
Yes, we've taken many steps. We went to the Revolutionary Court... But they haven't given us any proper answers.

Student criticizes Khamenei at official gathering

(photos of Wednesday's event courtesy khamenei.ir)

A lone student at a gathering of the country's academic elite took the unprecedented step of criticizing Leader Ali Khamenei in his presence on Wednesday morning, according to the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei and opposition news sites.

The young man, initially called 'a mathematics student at Sharif University and a winner at the International Mathematics Olympiad' by Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi, made his remarks after the official speakers had completed their speeches and before Khamenei was to make his address. The student has since been identified as Mahmoud Vahidnia. The gathering at Khamenei's complex in north Tehran preceded the 3rd National Conference of Young Elites.

Sharif University students news site reported that Vahidnia has been in the custody of the intelligence unit of the Revolutionary Guards since Thursday evening. The conservative Alef web site, run by Principlist lawmaker and head of the Majlis Research Center Ahmad Tavakoli, claimed yesterday that Vahidnia was not arrested and published an interview with the Sharif University student. Whatever the truth of the matter, it is interesting to note that Alef described Vahidnia as 'a young academic elite who courageously voiced some criticisms.'

Vahidnia spoke for close to 20 minutes despite the protests of some of the spectators. As Khamenei looked on, he critiqued the state radio and television networks; the stifling security climate surrounding the press; the inability to voice criticism against the Supreme Leader; and the power structure in the country embodied by the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts, according to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi.

The ambience at the gathering suggests that Khamenei did not expect the unscheduled speaker to voice such concerns, but that once the student had begun his criticism it would have been hard to silence him without loss of face in front of hundreds of the nation's academic elites. Khamenei has also played the part of a self-sacrificing innocent on past occasions, most famously at Tehran Friday Prayers, but his magnanimous calls of 'Well, if a few people want to attack me, let them' were always met with the wailing tears of the attendants.

Once he was at the lectern, the Sharif Univrsity student said that the previous speakers who had read from sheets of paper did not represent all the country's elites and that no one had elected them, said an individual who was present at the gathering. The eyewitness said that this first comment was greeted with applause.

Vahidnia denounced state radio-television's skewed coverage of the post-election events and the character assassination of popular figures. He reminded the participants that the head of the state media is named by the Supreme Leader. 'The radio and television networks operate under you and you name the head of the broadcaster. Either the broadcaster is acting this way according to your orders or you are not overseeing it,' said the student, according to the Voice of America. The Sharif University student also regretted the closure of opposition newspapers.

Vahidnia bluntly declared that the Leader should be open to criticism and that Khamenei's entourage had turned him into an idol, according to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi. An eyewitness at the event reported that the young man said, 'When you, who are a father figure, treat your opponents in a certain manner, lower-level officials display the kind of behavior that everyone knows about and everyone knows about what occurred in the prisons.'

The student added that the current power structure, including the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts, is detrimental to religious democracy.

Though regime and opposition sources diverge on some of the details, the account of the events published by the Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader's personal archives, is extraordinary nonetheless.

student returns to seat'After the last person who was programmed to express his views, the participants awaited the words of the Leader of the Revolution, but he asked the master of ceremonies, "Is there anyone left among the friends who were supposed to speak?"' wrote Khamenei's office. The master of ceremonies responded, 'With your permission, every one of the thousand people here would like to talk,' to great laughter.

At this point, several students stood up and were asked to sit back down by the organizers of the ceremony. 'But the Leader pointed to one of those young people and said, "That gentleman who was standing and was forced to sit down... You go ahead,"' according to Khamenei's office.

'The young student stood up and began speaking. Since the Leader could not hear him, he came to the lectern and, after introducing himself, began his comments. His words had a different tone compared to the previous speeches.'

'Do our radio and television networks present a true picture of the world and our country, or a false and caricature-like picture?' Vahidnia asked. 'Does state radio-television allow different opinions to defend themselves? Opinions which are criticized and even attacked in this same media outlet? Does state radio-television quote individuals and describe events in an honest and fair manner?'

The student then turned to the topic of critiquing the Supreme Leader. 'I have been reading newspapers and magazines in a serious manner for four or five years. In all this time, I cannot remember reading one article which has criticized the Leadership. Critiques of the Leader can be voiced generally or expressed in particular in the Assembly of Experts,' the student said, according to Khamenei's office. 'I feel that if this does not happen, it will lead to discord and spite. For example, a simple critical observation, because it does not find the proper place to express itself, can become malicious and unfair.'

As he had been speaking for a long time, the student asked Khamenei if he could continue, according to the Leader's personal office.

But the eyewitness who was invited to the event said that the Sharif University student had been heckled by a few Basijis throughout his comments and that someone finally handed a piece of paper to Vahidnia. After reading the note, the young man turned to Khamenei and said that he had been told his time had run out and he asked to continue. The Basijis called out a prayer and told the student to 'finish it up.'

Khamenei responded however, 'I would like you to continue. Time had already run out earlier, but you go ahead.'

Vahidnia began speaking about the way security forces had confronted demonstrators after the election. 'If we had more convincing methods and did not employ violence except when necessary, would our regime not endure better? Would our people not be more united? Because I believe that true unity, more than something which is obtained through advice, is the result of the behavior of the people towards the government and the behavior of the government towards the people.'

Once the Sharif University student had finished, several individuals stood up in protest and asked to respond, according to Khamenei's web site. The eyewitness at the event said that the student was applauded enthusiastically.

'His very words show that criticism is possible,' said one participant, according to the ayatollah's office. The Leader said, 'Put this down to the lack of time and show tolerance. God willing, God will give us the capacity to understand properly, see properly, and speak properly.'

'It was now the host's turn, and everyone impatiently awaited the Agha's words or, to better describe it, his reaction,' said Khamenei's office, using the term which means sir or gentleman, and refers to the Leader. According to the eyewitness at the gathering, Khamenei appeared somewhat disconcerted and said that he had not wanted to talk about such issues and that he would have preferred to discuss scientific and academic topics.

'In these student and university events that take place here, when I see some people not express comments that they think I don't like out of regard or respect... I am upset when they are not uttered. I am absolutely not upset when they are uttered,' said Khamenei, according to his office. 'How I wish that the opportunity existed for these things to be said, so that one could bind those pages together and open the book of utterances, so that many truths could come to light.'

The Leader said that he was also dissatisfied with some of the actions of the state radio-television, but that, as ususal, he considered fairness to be the necessary condition for healthy criticism.

But in response to the student's question about the accuracy of the state media's portrayal of the country, Khamenei while agreeing with the criticism, turned it on its head and made the strange observation that, 'The picture is incomplete. There are many noteworthy and great advances that Iranian radio and television do not show. [...] If radio-television could properly reflect the truth in the country, in the same way that the television in this or that western country can portray lies as truth by employing great experience and through artistic exploitation, the young generation would have much greater devotion to its country, its religion, and the regime of the Islamic Republic.'

And Khamenei's response to the coverage of the election was equally equivocal. 'I'm dissatisfied with many of the programs of the [state radio-television.] I was not pleased that, from March and even before, there was television coverage of some of the election campaign trips, comments that were made, demonstrations that took place, and disputes that existed.' Many observers were amazed at the extraordinary openness of the media coverage of the presidential election campaign, which reached a climax with a series of unprecedented and heated debates between the candidates. Khamenei apparently regrets the lack of censorship during those few months.

As for criticism of the Supreme Leader, Khamenei said, 'I didn't say that no one should criticize me. I welcome criticism. And, of course, people do criticize. It is not the place to explain this point. There is criticism, much criticism, not a little criticism. I receive these and understand them.'

A Basiji stood up at this point and cried out that he would like to come up and kiss Khamenei's hand, said the eyewitness at the gathering. Khamenei pulled out his kerchief and left it for him, before disappearing behind the curtain at the rear of the stage. The elite had been told that Khamenei would lead a prayer at the end of the ceremony, but his hasty departure precluded that.

According to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi, Vahidnia was confronted by intelligence agents after the ceremony.

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'Either my corpse will come out of Evin prison, or I'll be freed': Hengameh Shahidi goes on hunger strike

Hengameh Shahidi

A jailed adviser of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi has gone on a hunger strike to obtain her release and protest the abusive conditions of her detention, according to Iranian media reports.

Hengameh Shahidi, a prominent journalist and women's rights activist, went on a hunger strike on Sunday evening, a day before being transferred from wing 209, the security and intelligence section of Evin prison, to the general ward. The authorities had informed her family that she would be freed on 100 million toumans bail (about $100,000) a month ago, but have gone back on their word, according to Mowjeh Sabzeh Azadi.

Shahidi was arrested on June 30. As a senior member of the Etemad Melli Party, she advised Karroubi on women's affairs during the presidential campaign.

Shahidi with Karroubi

Prison authorities have threatened to take Shahidi before Evin's disciplinary committee if she continues her hunger strike, but the Norouz news site reports that the outraged political activist told her family, 'Were the individuals who beat me in the basements of Evin prison brought before the disciplinary committee?'

Displaying the kind of psychological torture they have employed since her arrest, intelligence agents told Shahidi that she would be released on Monday. 'Two nights ago, resorting to ruses and giving promises of my release, they took me to the gates of Evin, but after I had endured severe mental pressure, the Intelligence Ministry handed me over to the normal prison authorities instead of releasing me,' Shahidi said.

Shahidi has also refused any medication since Sunday. She must take 28 pills a day to treat her heart condition and chronic depression, and her family and lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaie, are extremely concerned by this development. But according to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, Shahidi said to relatives, 'This is the only way I can protest the situation I am in. Either my corpse will come out of Evin prison, or I'll be freed.'

Fariba Pajouh

Shahidi went on her first hunger strike in late August after having spent 50 days in solitary confinement. She was moved to a cell which she shared with another political prisoner, journalist Fariba Pajouh, in wing 209 on September 6. She was only allowed to walk in an outdoor yard three times a week for 20 minutes, wrote Iran Human Rights Voice.

Fellow prisoners who have since been released have said that Shahidi was subjected to intense mental and physical abuse to get her to confess to illegitimate relations. Wing 209's interrogators appear to have an abnormal prurient interest in sexual matters. Pajouh, Shahidi's cellmate, has reportedly also suffered at the hands of guards eager to get her to confess to sexual misdeeds.

Shahidi was repeatedly threatened with execution and, at least on one occasion, a noose was placed around her neck and she was told to prepare for death.

After visiting her daughter in late August, Shahidi’s mother stated, 'When I saw her, she was not fully conscious. When I pulled her into my arms and stroked her head and her back, she cried out in pain. I told her to resist and to not confess against herself. She said: "They give us pills that drain your consciousness and incapacitate your thought processes. Every day, they come into my cell repeatedly and say, We want to take you to be executed."'

Shahidi's lawyer Mohammad Mostafaie was prevented from meeting her to get her signature on an attorney-client agreement. He complained to the prosecutor in early October and was finally granted a visit. Mostafaie said on Saturday, 'Criminal charges are being brought against Ms. Shahidi and her case has been transfered to the courts.'

Azadeh Shahidi, her sister, told Norouz today that her family had been unable to have any physical contact with Hengameh for two weeks. 'Yesterday, we finally managed to talk to her through a glass screen,' she said.

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'We'll crush you, we won't let you leave the prison as a hero': prisoner Ahmad Zeidabadi denied basic rights, says wife

Ahmad Zeidabadi, journalist and secretary general of the national alumni association, Advareh Tahkimeh Vahdat, has been in prison for over four months and his family has been unable to see him for over 40 days. Radio Farda's Mania Mansour spoke to Mahdiyeh Mohammadi, Zeidabadi's wife, in an interview broadcast on the morning show of Wednesday, October 28, 2009. A translation of the interview follows.

Listen to the interview. Begins at 19:25 mark. 



Mahdiyeh Mohammadi:
We haven't seen Mr. Zeidabadi or even heard his voice in 43 days. Last week, I met with the prosecutor and he said, We've told the prison not to prevent any visits and that even murderers should be able to see their families. I asked him to write out a visit permit and he acceded to my request. Yesterday, when we went there, we filled out a visitor card and the official did not respond to us from 9 AM to noon. Then we waited for another three hours, from noon until 3 PM, and even got as far as the visiting room and sat behind the glass screen. We sat with the hope that they would bring Mr. Zeidabadi. Then at 3 PM, they told us that his interrogator had not given his permission for the visit. In practice, there is no law. The interrogator had deny the prosecutor's order. The interrogator can trample the law. The interrogator can bring any pressure he wants on the accused to make him illegaly accept the charges against him.

Mania Mansour:
Did they give any reason for denying the visit?

Mahdiyeh Mohammadi:
Not at all. He didn't give any reason. In our last visit, Mr. Zeidabadi told us that they had brought back his initial interrogator who used to beat him. I don't know who this man is. Whoever he is, he is a very violent person and is allowed to do as he pleases. A person who disregards the prosecutor's orders does not submit to any law. In our last visit, Mr. Zeidabadi told us that the interrogator had said, We'll crush you, we won't let you leave the prison as a hero. Mr. Zeidabadi has not committed any illegal act. None of the charges apply to him and that's what he's saying. 'These charges do not apply to me. I've done nothing illegal.'

Mania Mansour:
Have they scheduled another visit?

Mahdiyeh Mohammadi:
Absolutely not. I sat there with three sick children for six hours to obtain this! I told them, I don't want a visit. I waited for six hours there, with all that strees and pressure... All the innocent families endure this. I don't want another visit. I just want to know whether Mr. Zeidabadi is alive or dead. That's all.

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'Who is holding my son? What are the charges?': Blogger Hossein Derakhshan's father sends open letter to judiciary chief

The father of a prominent Iranian blogger has written an open letter to Iran's judiciary chief Sadegh Amoli Larijani almost a year after his son's arrest.

Hassan Derakhshan, father of Hossein Derakhshan, expressed concern that he and his family had yet to be informed of which authorities are holding his son or the charges against him. A translation of his letter can be found at the end of this article.

Hossein Derakhshan was arrested at his family's home in Tehran on November 1, 2008, but news of the detention did not reach foreign media until later that month. He had returned to Iran in October.

The Internet activist's prior trip to his homeland had been in the summer of 2005 to cover the presidential election which brought Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. He was detained for a week during that visit and made to sign a letter of apology for writing about 'taboo subjects.'

Hossein Derakhshan is known as the 'Blogfather' for his key contributions to popularizing blogs in Iran, initially as a digital culture journalist for two reformist newspapers which were shut down and subsequently as a popular blogger also known as Hoder. He published a seminal guide on how to create Farsi weblogs on Blogger after moving to Canada in 2000. Iran has become one of the top ten blogging nations in the world since then.

Derakhshan has advocated the use of blogs as instruments of political and social activism. In 2003, he began a campaign against Internet censorship in Iran. (To view a video of a seminar on the topic of reform, youth, and technology in Iran, presented by Derakhshan at Umea University, Sweden, click here.)

He made a highly publicized trip to Israel in 2006, which may be one of the reasons for his arrest. Of that visit and its goals he wrote:

This might mean that I won’t be able to go back to Iran for a long time, since Iran doesn't recognize Israel, has no diplomatic relations with it, and apparently considers traveling there illegal. Too bad, but I don't care. Fortunately, I'm a citizen of Canada and I have the right to visit any country I want. I'm going to Israel as a citizen journalist and a peace activist. As a citizen journalist, I'm going to show my 20,000 daily Iranian readers what Israel really looks like and how people live there. The Islamic Republic has long portrayed Israel as an evil state, with a consensual political agenda of killing every single man and woman who prays to Allah, including Iranians.I'm going to challenge that image. As a peace activist, I'm going to show the Israelis that the vast majority of Iranians do not identify with Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric, despite what it looks like from the outside. I'm going to tell them how any kind of violent action against Iran would only harm the young people who are gradually reforming the system and how the radicals would benefit from such situation.

An Israeli television report made during that trip includes interviews with Derakhshan in English:


Later that year, Derakhshan posted a number of articles in defense of Iran's nuclear program. He also strongly denounced the U.S.'s bellicose stance towards the Islamic Republic of Iran:

The more the clash between the west and Iran escalates, the more convinced I become that the west's real problem with the Islamic Republic of Iran is not its nuclear activities, its level of democracy, its human rights record, or its support for "terrorist" groups. [...] Increasingly, a lot of secular Iranians, like myself, are figuring that even if Iran is turned into the most democratic, secular, fair and peaceful state on earth, there is no guarantee the US won't find another excuse to try to overthrow its government. It will start bullying Iran for its "devastating role" in climate change, or animal rights, or - who knows? - for obesity. I'm not saying this as a fervent religious man with sexy Ahmadinejad's posters on my wall. In fact, I am an atheist and this can easily get me into serious trouble in any Islamic country. I did not vote for Ahmadinejad and I would do anything to democratically bring him down. [...] I am even a victim of the paranoid state of Iran that censors criticism and punishes dissent for fear of foreign-backed revolt. [...] Of course I do have the dream of an open, free, fair and secular Iran, run by competent and representative officials, and in peace with the whole world, obviously including Israel. However, I believe the Islamic Republic is a valuable cause, worth defending and, at its worst, is way better than anything that the United States or anyone else can bring to Iran. If the US waged a war against Iran, I would absolutely go back and defend Iran.

Derakhshan further lost support among Iranian reformists because of his grudging respect for Ahmadinejad. He ridiculed the New York Sun's call for Ahmadinejad to be kidnapped while attending the UN General Assembly in September of 2008. As reported in The Times, Derakhshan wrote, 'They don't know how big this man's balls are.'

But despite his turbulent and complex worldview, Derakhshan's democratic credentials and dedication to his country are difficult to dismiss.

While he has wasted away in an Iranian prison cell, his orphaned blogs have disappeared from the cyberspace he had championed so passionately. A visitor to HoderInIran is informed that the domain name expired on October 9, 2009, and is pending renewal or deletion. Hoder.com has also expired.

Another free Iranian voice has been silenced, at least for now.

---

The following is a translation of Hassan Derakhshan's open letter to judiciary chief Sadegh Amoli Larijani:

In the name of God.

Ayatollah Amoli Larijani, Honorable President of the Judiciary,

With greetings and respect,

One year has gone by since the arrest of my son, Hossein Derakhshan.

In the months, days, and hours that have passed, my hope and that of my wife and family has been to see my son's case treated accordingly by religious rulings and in the shadow of Islamic justice's benevolence.

This letter is our first publicized reaction in twelve months, which shows the extent of our hope that the legal framework would be respected within the borders of our dear country. It goes without saying that on numerous occasions we rejected the requests of foreign media for news about Hossein's situation, even when the worst rumors about his mistreatment were reported in semi-official media outlets. No authorities would deny these extremely distressing news reports -- not to comfort the turmoil in our hearts, but to protect the independence of justice in this case.

In all this time, we have visited our child on only two short, minutes-long occasions. Imagine, a few minutes every six months! I declare that we have no knowledge of his legal situation. No trial has been set and it is unclear which security authority or body has custody of him. We have tried many times to obtain detailed information about his situation, but have not succeeded.

Is this the result that must be expected from the composed and respectful behavior of a prisoner's family? In his remarks and writings, my son has expressed his desire to serve his country and he returned to Iran of his own free will to respond to the accusations against him. Is this a suitable way to greet a person who has returned to the bosom of his beliefs and homeland?

Our complaint is not against the enforcement of the law, but rather is directed at the state of uncertainty and ignorance we have been kept in and the lack of attention to the law. The accused have rights. The families of the accused have rights. In the same manner that the sovereignty of society is to be respected, and order and rules are precious.

I request that you order that my son Hossein Derakhshan's family be informed of the state of his case. Which authority is holding him? Which judge is overseeing his case and what are the charges against him?

I am sure that Your Excellency would agree that one year of detention is not an appropriate greeting to a person who has voluntarily returned to the bosom of Iran and dear Islam. My wife, my family, and I await your just deportment.

With respect, (handwritten)
Hassan Derakhshan

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