A review of Annual Human Rights Violations Report in an interview with Ahmad Batebi

In the past few days Human Rights Activists Group in Iran published its annual report examining about five thousand documented reports of human rights abuse cases in Iran in year 1389. This report took special attention from analysts and public opinion critics; therefore we conducted an interview with Ahmad Batebi as group spokesperson which comes below with no further introduction:

HRANA: Thank you Mr. Batebi for giving us your time. Regarding conversations in relation with the annual report as the first question, please clarify why such extensive reports of this sort, with regular timely schedule, like HRANA Newspaper, or monthly report as well as the annual report are being prepared and published by the group?

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An Eight Year Old Girl Severely Tortured by Her Stepfather

 

HRANA News Agency – An eight year old girl is now in the hospital as a result of atrocious abuse and torture at the hands of her stepfather.

 

Dr. Kamran Aghakhani, forensic expert at Rasool Hospital, announced the news and in an interview with Mehr News Agency said, “This eight year old girl was transferred by the emergency division of State Welfare Organization to the burn and reconstruction unit of Motahari Hospital last night.”

 

Mentioning that he is also the expert in Motahari Hospital, Dr. Kamran Aghakhani further explained, “Unfortunately, due to multiple fractures in both head and arms, we were forced to transfer her to Motahari Hospital.”

 

In describing the status of this 8 year old girl, Dr. Kamran Aghakhani said, “We witness child abuse a lot, but her condition is not comparable to others.  The degree with which she has been abused and tortured is beyond words.”

 

Referring to two fractures in her head and forearm, the forensic expert added, “There were visible signs of flogging and cigarette burns all over her body such that there wasn’t a spot left unharmed.  She told us that she lived with her mother who is a drug addict and her stepfather, and she wasn’t feed anything for four days.”

 

Emphasizing the importance of disseminating the news of such tragic and painful abuse, Dr. Kamran Aghakhani said, “I ask the media to react to such child abuse and also request from the authorities to deal with the offenders severely.”

 

Referring to two fractures in her head and forearm, Dr. Kamran Aghakhani explained that in order to heal her burns and fractures, she was examined thoroughly, and x-ray images were taken.  He added, “The situation is so tragic that no one can believe what has happened, and you can’t say the person who has abused her has any human traits.”

 

This girl who lives in the south part of Tehran has been transferred by the emergency division of State Welfare Organization to the hospital.

 

 

A Woman Dies of Self-Immolation

HRANA News Agency – A young woman who had set herself on fire died in the hospital due to burns covering most of her body.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on Sunday, April 24, 2011, in the Ghotour region of Khoy County [West Azarbaijan Province, Iran], a Kurdish woman named Falaknas Fedai set herself on fire because of family problems and pressures.

As a result of bodily injuries caused by critical burns, she succumbed to her wounds and died in the hospital.

Falaknas Fedai was twenty years old and is survived by her only child.

May 9th: A Day to Reject Violence and Defend the Right to Live

HRANA News Agency – Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan has issued a statement on the occasion of Teacher’s Week in Iran.In this statement, Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan recounts the problems facing the union and the weaknesses of our country’s education system and demands the release of its imprisoned members.To commemorate May 9th and the shocking execution of Farzad Kamangar, Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan has named May 9th to be a day to reject violence and defend the right to live.Farzad Kamangar was a union member and also a human rights activist who was executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran on May 9, 2010.  

The union also has requested teachers all over the country to light a candle on May 9th and teach their students lessons to reject violence and defend the right to live.The full text of this statement is as follows:

 

 

In the Name of God, Creator of Life and Wisdom

Blessed Be Teacher’s Day

  

It was exactly this time.We were all energized, bustling around with our hearts full of joy because our day was approaching.With the words “Teacher’s Day” on our lips, we wrote a statement and gathered at Abidar1 to recount many years of pain.Long ago, Samad Behrangi wrote about the same pain while delving and probing into educational issues, and now that more than thirty years has passed after the revolution, we still struggle with the same set of problems.

 

They said that it was Teacher’s Week!?They held meetings and made much ado about nothing while getting on their soapboxes, blowing hot air and complimenting each other for making a difference in these youngsters’ lives.We stared and only watched; they didn’t allow us to say anything, but we thought how long they could keep up with all the prayer and praise.We were all worried about Rasoul’s children who were awaiting his return.What exactly had Rasoul Bodaghi and Hashem Khastar said?

  

At the foot of the mountain, we talked and said all there was to say without endangering senior management’s careers in the education system or threatening their bottom line.Far from the senior managers’ advice on the virtues of silence and away from the prying eyes of Herasat’s2 closed circuit cameras, we talked for hours about our pupils’ pain in the classroom.Without endangering national security, we talked about child labor.

  

We were happy since Farzad’s attorney had informed us that he was to return to us, and the villages of Kamyaran [Kurdistan Province, Iran] could embrace him.Repeatedly we mentioned Teacher’s Day while they proudly rubbed Teacher’s Week in our faces.It was exactly Teacher’s Week, and in front of our bewildered gazes, they took him away from us at dawn, and no one saw him again.Now, at night, he twinkles in Kurdistan’s grief-stricken sky.

  

Esteemed Educators

The year that we have put behind us was a year full of events and changes in Iran and the Middle East.It has been years that neo-conservatives have imposed their policies on people all around the world.The outcome of these policies has been privatization, unemployment, cancellation of subsidies, layoff of workers under the pretence of workforce adjustments, warmongering and militarism, weakening and dissolution of trade unions, reduction of education budgets, decreasing health insurance and social benefits, and in many countries, an increase in retirement age under the excuse of government cost-saving ideas.

  

The blatant attack on people’s basic rights in the Middle East became further apparent through the violence displayed by the police, security forces, and military governments.Threatening political rights became the means by which such countries utilized in order to impose this economic disaster on people.Nonetheless, declaring long periods of time as the state of emergency and the rule of terror didn’t deter the masses from trying to change the situation.As we have witnessed, a hung tsunami of change has washed over the Middle East and North Africa in the name of pursuing happiness and democratic rights.By making numerous sacrifices, those seeking freedom are achieving new victories every day, and dictatorships are vanishing each day.

  

Along with the spirit of twenty-first century human beings in quest of freedom, the members of Education International have not remained silent.The global federation of teachers’ trade unions has jumped into action to fight against new worldwide policies through which education is overshadowed by profit margins, and quality is sacrificed for the sake of quantity.This year, the World Congress of Education International will meet in South Africa in order to address the same issues.Obviously, the representatives of teachers’ unions throughout Iran will attend the World Congress, and with one voice together with all other teachers of the world, we will defend our democratic rights and also the right to education.

  

By placing profit at top of their agenda, recent governments in Iran have also imposed undue burden on the working class.The elimination of subsidies has made this policy apparent.In Iran, the right to form unions is not recognized.In other words, the majority of the society has been denied its legitimate right to negotiate and bargain with the government that plays the role of a major employer.Social insurances don’t have sufficient resources through which effective services can be offered to the community.Unemployment insurance hasn’t been designated for people over eighteen, and the nightmare of white signed contracts3 have become an integral and inseparable part of people’s daily lives.

  

Unfortunately, the implementation of removing subsidies has not accounted for any of these issues.Considering that minimum wage is not significantly different from last year, soaring prices and repeated sanctions imposed by the Security Council have driven a greater percentage of Iranian families below the poverty line.This means that a large number of school age children leave their classrooms behind as they head to the job market in search of work.Meanwhile, deviance and criminal behavior is on the rise.

  

Education in Iran

The atrocious story of education in Iran is a long, tragic tale piled up in the hearts of teachers throughout this land from Balochistan to Gilan, from Azerbaijan to Kurdistan, from Turkmen Sahra to Khuzestan, from Lorestan to Kermanshah, and from Ilam to Hormozgan.In the remotest corners of Iran, the sad story of education and forsaken enlightenment and intellectualism is a tale of deprived children, broken-down school buildings, substandard school books, archaic teaching methods, and under-appreciated, forgotten hardworking teachers, the same teachers who reflect the misery of their deprived pupils, the same teachers who despite poverty still lovingly keep the candle of knowledge burning in stormy nights.

  

Enduring imprisonment, exile, deportation and even flogging has become the reward for safeguarding thoughts and the praise for intellectuals.Governments come and go, and ministers hand over their responsibilities to their successors.Sometimes, they talk about changes and transforming structures, books and creating new positions or eliminating the old ones.However, it has been long since nothing substantial or worth remembering has occurred.After this useless period, we return again to the same old education system while no one is held responsible for wasting so many resources and so much energy.More importantly, no one is held accountable for the game played with a generation trapped in an education system that uses them as laboratory rats.

  

We believe that the problem is not only blocking teacher involvement but also is related to the decision making process which ignores teachers, the most important element in education.It must be acknowledged that creativity and vitality is nurtured in a democratic environment and in an atmosphere of respect for the dignity and basic rights of teachers.

  

When Mr. Haj Babaei was appointed as the education minister, teachers’ trade unions were delighted since after a long time, someone with positive tendencies and inclinations was chosen.During his term in the Parliament, Mr. Haj Babaei was willing to meet with the representatives of trade unions while ignoring government red tape and restrictions.Unfortunately, teachers were disappointed very soon as the process to eliminate critics sped up, and the pressure on trade unions increased.Meanwhile, there remains no place for teachers in the colossal ministry of education, and there are apparently no plans to transform the disappointing environment dominating over our schools into an atmosphere of informed, mutual participation and service.

  

Is it possible to envision a fundamental change in the quality of education without democratizing the education system?School curriculums change, and new school hours are implemented without the input of main players namely teachers.In the twenty-first century, teachers are treated as if they are subjects receiving sacred and holy commands from the above and are given orders that are binding and may not be questioned.As a result of a policy that considers “master’s word to be God’s word,” human energy is wasted, teachers are discouraged, and the education system is stagnant.Additionally, teachers witness the ineffectiveness of the education system every day but have no means by which they can inform the public or concerned parents.However, we feel a sense of responsibility to communicate the ongoing, pending disaster to our students’ parents in any which way possible.

  

Dear Colleagues

Congratulating Teacher’s Day to all of our colleagues throughout Iran and wishing them success in their work, Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan declares the following items to be their main demands:

  

1. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of our jailed colleagues, Rasoul Bodaghi, Hashem Khastar and Nabiollah Bastan and call for the dismissal of all pending cases against union activists in different courts.

  

2. We demand removing the ban on the publication Qalam Moalem [Teacher’s Pen] which is Iran’s only independent journal of educators.

  

3. As you are aware, May 9th is the anniversary on which Farzad Kamangar, a board member of Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan, lost his life.While honoring the humanitarian efforts of this noble and revered educator and with the slogan of “rejecting organized violence and defending the right to live,” Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan asks all educators to light a candle in their classrooms to commemorate this day.We request all teachers to designate their lectures on May 9th to be a lesson on rejecting violence in any shape or form.We shall teach the children that human beings regardless of their ethnicity, religion, language and social class are equal.We shall rise up to fight materialism and warmongering and consider seeking peace to be the highest human virtue.We shall replace animosity and hostility amongst nations with love and alliance.

  

At the end, Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan congratulates the International Workers’ Day, May 1st, to all workers and declares the union’s support for their demands.

  

Teachers’ Union of Kurdistan

Ordibehesht 1390 [April – May 2011]

 

Footnotes for the English Translation:

1.Abidar, a mountain east of Sanandaj, is a major recreational area in Iran’s Kurdistan Province.

2. Herasat is Iran’s semi-secret police tasked to monitor all educational institutes throughout the country.

3. “White signed contracts” are in effect white papers that workers in Iran sign allowing employers to determine all the terms of employment.

Firing of Awat Rezania, one of Sanandaj University’s Professors

HRANA – By request of Ministry of intelligence “Awat Rezania”, a professor in Azad University in Sanandaj was expelled from the University.

Students of Islamic Azad University of Sanandaj have told HRANA reporters that Awat Rezania, doctoral student in communication sciences at Tehran University, who also taught sociology in Islamic Azad University of Sanandaj, had been fired.

This professor who had been summoned to office of Ministry of Intelligence several times before and his court hearing was held on 10 Esfand 1389, due to disapproval of Ministry of Intelligence and via a formal letter by Azad University, has been fired.

In addition it is been told that his unpaid salary of several months he has been suspended.

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Five Engineers of Jam Petrochemical Complex in Assaluyeh Arrested

HRANA News Agency – Five engineers who were working for Jam Petrochemical Complex in Assaluyeh [Southern Iran, Bushehr Province] have been arrested by Iranian security officers.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the arrests took place at the beginning of the current Persian month of Farvardin [March 21- April 20, 2011].  The reason for the arrest and the whereabouts of five engineers are unknown.

Jam Petrochemical Complex is located at the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone and produces 1,321,000 tons of ethylene annually.  This petrochemical company also manufactures olefin, high density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene glycol / ethylene oxide, and butadiene.

[Following Ahmadinejad’s victory in 2005 presidential election, the 9th government of Iran after the revolution was established.]  Since the designation of Assaluyeh as a free trade zone by Mohammad Jahromi, Iran’s labor minister in the ninth government, workers and laborers in this region have been denied minimum protection under labor laws and social security benefits.  Instead, the entire workforce in the free trade zone is only subject to employers’ rules and regulations.

Earlier, the closure of manufacturing units and industrial crisis in Assaluyeh resulted in the dismissal of 52,000 workers in this region. 

 

Annual Statistical Report of Human Rights Violations in Iran

Iranian government doesn’t permit the defenders of human rights to be active in Iran and particularly prevents them from reporting human rights violations throughout the country. The flow of information is restricted, and the government doesn’t recognize the civil society as an independent social sphere. As a result, the task of gathering information and reporting has become complex and treacherous in Iran.

Under such difficult circumstances, it is self evident that human rights activists can witness only a small number of widespread and systematic violations of human rights in Iran. Similarly, researching, authenticating and reporting of such violations are also limited in number.

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Summoning of an Art Student to the Ministry of Intelligence

HRANA – Vahid Akbari Sharghi, Student of Sound Engineering & Cinema in India was summoned by intelligence ministry agents after returning to Iran.

According to The HRANA reporters, News organizations for Human Rights Activists in Iran, on April 15 intelligence Service agents went to house of this artist’s father in order to arrest him and after searching his home and seizing computer and some sound mix equipment summoned him to the Office of the Ministry of Intelligence.

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Staff Rally in Front of Governor’s Office in Mahshahr

HRANA News Agency – This morning, one hundred employees of a special project to safeguard construction plans in the region staged a sit in and demonstration in front of the governor’s office in Mahshahr [Khuzestan Province, Iran].

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), during this gathering, the employees carried various placards and signs some of which read, “Don’t Lay Us Off.”

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Milad Asadi, Student Activist, Transferred to Solitary Confinement

HRANA News Agency – Milad Asadi, student activist and a member of the Office for Strengthening Unity, has been locked up in solitary confinement after returning to prison from Nowruz furlough.

 

 According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Milad Asadi was summoned to prison after completing his furlough and has been transferred to a solitary confinement in cell block 209.The reason for this transfer is unknown.

 

 

Milad Asadi was arrested in November 2009 and subsequently tried and convicted on May 9, 2010. In Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, Branch 28, Judge Moqayaseh sentenced him to seven and a half years in prison.The Appeals Court has upheld this ruling.

 

It is also worth mentioning that this political prisoner has been denied his right to request furlough for months.

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