Category: Freedom of Expression

Student Activist Hadi Hamidi Shafiq Arrested; His Wedding Not Permitted

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Freedom of Expression, Students
Hadi Hamidi Shafiq

HRANA News Agency – In an unprecedented move, Tabriz Intelligence Agency prevented Hadi Hamidi Shafiq to have a wedding.

According to a report by South Azerbaijan Student Movement (AZOH), Hadi Hamidi Shafiq’s wedding was to take place in Tabriz with political and social activists from all over Azerbaijan attending the event.Yesterday morning, on July 20, 2011, Tabriz Intelligence Agency summoned the wedding banquet hall director and interrogated him about the scheduled event.

Additionally, this morning, Tabriz Intelligence Agency contacted the bride and the groom’s families by phone, summoning them for questioning and threatening to arrest all the guests.The intelligence agents also contacted Hadi Hamidi Shafiq, forbidding him from going ahead with his wedding plans.When faced with his opposition, the agents told him that the wedding ceremony would be held by them and all the guests without any exception would be detained.

The intelligence agents from Tehran and Urmia offices have also phoned some of the activists invited to the wedding in order to warn them not to attend the ceremony or be arrested.

According to the last reliable news, Hadi Hamidi Shafiq has been arrested by Tabriz Intelligence Agency, and his whereabouts is still unknown.

Recently, Hadi Hamidi Shafiq was sentenced to six months in prison and 60 lashes on charges of propaganda against the regime.In May 2006, Hadi Hamidi Shafiq was arrested for attending demonstrations and spent 17 months behind bars.

 

Rappelling Operations to Confiscate Satellite Dishes

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Freedom of Expression
Mohammad Reza Radan

HRANA News Agency – Sardar Mohammad Reza Radan, Deputy Police Commander, has said that if a homeowner isn’t present at the time when agents attempt to confiscate a satellite dish, and it is not possible to enter a house through the door, the police will utilize rappelling and airborne operations to seize the dish.

According to a report by Aftab News Agency, in a television program, the Deputy Police Commander emphasized that the police force couldn’t ignore a crime as it was being committed and added, “It is possible that the police forces attempt to confiscate a satellite dish while the homeowner isn’t there or might be on a trip.Our agents will not enter the house since the homeowner isn’t present but will use airborne and rappelling operations to gain access to the roof to seize all the satellite dishes.”

It is noteworthy that Mohammad Reza Radan’s speech comes at a time that in recent years, even when the police forces are present when a crime is being committed, they fail to prevent it from occurring.Specifically speaking, the police, although present, didn’t prevent an honor killing in Kaj Square from happening.

 

Student Activist Sina Mehdinia Sentenced to Six Months in Prison

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Freedom of Expression, Students
Sina Mehdinia

HRANA News Agency – Sina Mehdinia, a student at Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, has been sentenced by Babol’s Revolutionary Court to six months in prison.

According to a report by Daneshjoo News, local sources have stated that last March, police forces summoned Sina Mehdinia to serve his prison term.However, since his sentence was preliminary and had not been formally communicated to him, his attorney’s appeal was granted.Currently, Sina Mehdinia’s case is pending a decision by the appeals court.

Sina Mehdinia was arrested during Ashura protests organized by Babol’s Green Movement in 2009.After spending eleven days in solitary confinement, he was released on bail approximately equivalent to $30,000.

 

Two Urmia University Student Publications Banned

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Freedom of Expression, Students
Urmia

HRANA News Agency – The Supervising Committee of Student Publications has banned two Kurdish student newspapers in Urmia University after two issues were released by these periodicals.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on Tuesday, June 9, 2011, the officials at Urmia University Student Affairs summoned the editors of two Kurdish newspapers and informed them that their periodicals have been banned by the Supervising Committee of Student Publications.These two student publications, Herewez and Bojan, were the only Urmia University student newspapers published in Kurdish.

Last year, two other student publications named Rwanga and Jino were also banned.These periodicals were published in Kurdish and Farsi.

 

Siamak Sohrabi, Student Activist, Received Five Years Suspended Sentence

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Freedom of Expression, Students
Reza Rosta Azad, Saleh Nikbakht, Siamak Sohrabi, Yosef Molahi

HRANA News Agency – Siamak Sohrabi, a student activist at Sharif Polytechnic University, has been sentenced by the Revolutionary Court, Branch 26, to serve five years in prison on charges of planning gatherings and conspiring to act against national security.  According to this verdict, his five-year prison sentence is suspended.

 

On Wednesday, April 13, 2011, Siamak Sohrabi was released on bail after spending 45 days in prison.  On April 25, 2011, the Revolutionary Court, Branch 26, was convened with the presence of Siamak Sohrabi’s attorneys, Dr. Yosef Molahi and Saleh Nikbakht.  Judge Pierabasi presided over the trial.  Amongst those arrested during the demonstrations on February 14, 2011 in Sharif Polytechnic University, Siamak Sohrabi is the first college student who has been tried and convicted.

 

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Siamak Sohrabi is the chairman of the board for the General Council of Islamic Students’ Association, the representative of the Islamic Association in the university’s Civil Council and a Civil Engineering graduate student.  Siamak Sohrabi was arrested on February 28, 2011 while attempting to leave the university and then transferred to Evin prison.

 

Siamak Sohrabi has also served as a member of the University Guild Council and the Civil Engineering Guild Council.  Prior to his arrest, he had written a letter to the Interim President of the Sharif University, Reza Rosta Azad, criticizing his policies and pressures placed on students and demanded the release of all arrested students.

 

On February 14, 2011, eighteen students were arrested during a gathering held in the Sharif University.  Ali Akbar Mohammad Zade, the Secretary of Islamic Students Council, is the only student who is still in prison after being in custody for over three months.  In the last few weeks, after spending nearly two months in the solitary confinement, Ali Akbar Mohammad Zade was transferred to ward 209 and then to the high-security ward 350 in Evin prison.

 

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Sahel Ghanbari’s Letter to Her Father

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Freedom of Expression
Abdolreza Ghanbari, Sahel Ghanbari

HRANA News Agency – Abdolreza Ghanbari is a 42 year old high school teacher from the poverty stricken regions of Ghiamdasht in Varamin County and holds a PhD degree in Literature and Persian Language.He was arrested on December 27, 2009 during Ashura protests for participating in and videotaping the demonstrations and subsequently tried on charges of Enmity Against God (Moharebeh).Presiding over the Revolutionary Court, Branch 15, Judge Salavati sentenced him to death, and this verdict was upheld by Judge Zargar during the proceedings in the Provincial Appeals Court, Branch 36.

On Friday, August 12, 2011, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that the Amnesty and Clemency Commission has rejected Abdolreza Ghanbari’s plea for reprieve, and the death penalty verdict has been referred to the Revolutionary Court’s Enforcement Unit to be carried out.

The following letter was written by Sahel Ghanbari on Father’s Day in February 2011:

Dear Daddy:
I hope you’re doing fine.Today is one of those days that you’re not with me.Whenever I miss you, I write a letter or stare at the blue clock that you gave me for my birthday.I want to see high quickly time passes while you’re not beside me.I grow day after day and become taller.

Today is Father’s Day.We celebrated it in your absence and bought you some gifts.It has been six months since you haven’t been here with us.In your place, I put a picture of yours on the table, said congratulations and talked to it.I am hopeful that loving angels will carry my Father’s Day greetings to you.

Dear Daddy, today’s celebration was marred with Mom’s tears.There were lots of television programs for Father’s Day, but I couldn’t watch them because they kept showing kids giving flowers to their fathers and congratulating them.They were all so happy together.No one thought of children like us whose fathers were not with them.For this reason, I became very sad and turned off the television.

My dear Daddy, I have only one wish; that wish is for you to come back and stay with me forever.I am waiting for you so that you come back as soon as possible.

 

Copyright © 2011 All Rights Reserved

Pegah Ahangarani in Custody of Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Agency

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Freedom of Expression
Pegah Ahangarani

HRANA News Agency – On Sunday, July 10, 2011, four men and one woman entered Pegah Ahangarani’s house at 8:00pm, taking her and some of her personal belongings into custody.At the time of her arrest, the actress was home alone.Pegah Ahangarani was initially detained and held by Iran’s law enforcement intelligence apparatus until last night when she was released into the custody of the Intelligence and Security Organization of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Quoting an informed source, Deutsche Welle reported that Pegah Ahangarani contacted her mother briefly and was only able to say that she neither knew where she was nor what her crime was.

Pegah Ahangarani was scheduled to travel to Germany from July 4-12 to observe the events at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in order to write an editorial for Deutsche Welle.

One day before her trip to Germany, Iran’s Intelligence Agency contacted Pegah Ahangarani and warned her not to go to the airport.Otherwise, she would be arrested there.Consequently, Pegah Ahangarani cancelled her plans to travel to Germany.

Pegah Ahangarani’s last contact with her family was on Sunday, July 10, 2011 at about noon.Since then because there was no news from the actress, her family reported her disappearance.

Events Being Repeated

Similar to Pegah Ahangarani’s disappearance, Maryam Majd, an Iranian sports photo-journalist, was arrested in her house the night before her trip to Germany.Maryam Majd was expected to photograph the events at the FIFA Women’s World Cup as well.

In 2009, Deutsche Welle published an article authored by Pegah Ahangarani reporting on the events at Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).At the time before she traveled to Germany to report on Berlinale, threats were made against her in the state sponsored Keyhan newspaper, warning her not to sell out her country when she was abroad.

In addition to being an actress, Pegah Ahangarani is a documentary filmmaker.Her last documentary named “Dehnamakiha” is an unauthorized biography of Masoud Dehnamaki, a conservative Iranian activist and Hezbollah leader turned filmmaker.Dehnamakiha was shown by BBC Persian TV a few weeks ago.At the time of its release, Pegah Ahangarani was quoted to tell her friends that she was interrogated by the Iranian Intelligence Agency because of this documentary.

Manijeh Hekmat, an Iranian film director, is Pegah Ahangarani’s mother who has been silent so far about her daughter’s disappearance and has not granted any interviews.HRANA’s attempts to reach Manijeh Hekmat have been unsuccessful.

 

The Editor of Andisheh Arrested

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Freedom of Expression
Rahman Boozari

HRANA News Agency – Rahman Boozari, a journalist and translator, was arrested Sunday morning on May 29, 2011, after being summoned to the court in Evin Prison.Since he was detained, Rahman Boozari has not contacted his family.

According to a report by Saham News, on Saturday, May 28, 2011, security forces raided Rahman Boozari’s house and after searching the house, confiscated his laptop.

Rahman Boozari is a journalist who has worked for Hammihan, Kargozaran and a few other reformist newspapers.Recently, he has been the editor of Andisheh at Shargh Newspaper and has been translating philosophy books.

Ten-Year Imprisonment for Students Objecting to University Attacks

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Freedom of Expression, Students
Habib Farhzadi

 

HRANA News Agency – Following the investigations and trials to determine what happened during a state-sponsored attack on the dormitories of Tehran University on June 14, 2009, various verdicts ranging from prison term to fines have been issued.  However, these verdicts are all against students objecting to these attacks.  So far, several students of Tehran University have been sentenced to a total of ten years in prison in relation to the on-going trails.

 

According to a report by Daneshjoo News Agency, Judge Farati presided over a military court held by Armed Forces Judicial Organization in order to try and punish the perpetrators of attacks on the dormitories of Tehran University.  During these proceedings, four students have been sentenced to serve time in prison and also pay a fine.  On May 9, 2011, Iran’s Attorney General also announced that verdicts against 40 individuals in relation to these trials have been issued.  So far, only student activists and victims of these attacks have faced punishment and were arrested by Armed Forces Judicial Organization.

 

Daneshjoo News Agency has reported that Avat Rezenia, a Kurdish PhD student in Communications Studies, has been charged with disturbing the peace and public order and sentenced to three months suspended prison term and also 74 lashes which may be substituted by $3,000 fine.  Additionally, Habib Farhzadi has been sentenced to ten months in prison with five months suspended term for a period of four years and 74 lashes which may be substituted by $500 fine. These rulings are preliminary and may be appealed and overturned within 21 days.

 

Meanwhile, there has been no report of verdicts against the perpetrators of dormitory attacks, and only students who objected to these raids have been punished.

 

On June 14, 2009, after the presidential elections in Iran, plainclothes agents together with the riot police and the Special Units of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked the dormitories of Tehran University and arrested more than 100 students.  Additionally, during the last two years while a military court of Armed Forces Judicial Organization has been conducting formal investigations into these attacks, students have been summoned and arrested numerous times.

 

Political Prisoner of 80’s, Mehdi Abedi Bakhoda, Arrested

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Freedom of Expression
Mehdi Abedi Bakhoda

HRANA News Agency – On Sunday, July 3, 2011, Iranian intelligence agents raided Mehdi Abedi Bakhoda’s house, took him out of his sickbed and placed him under arrest.The current whereabouts of this political prisoner from 80’s are unknown.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists for Democracy in Iran, on Sunday night, at about 11:00pm, Iranian intelligence agents climbed over the wall and entered Mehdi Abedi Bakhoda’s residence in the city of Rasht.At the time of the raid, he was ill with an IV attached to his arm.During the break-in, intelligence agents were violent and used force to make the arrest.

While Mehdi Abedi Bakhoda’s family members were objecting to the raid by chanting slogans, their neighbors joined the protest to prevent the arrest.However, fearing the growing number of protesters, the intelligence agents left the premises quickly.

During this raid, the intelligent agents confiscated a computer, a personal phone and address book, a mobile phone and a few other personal items.

Since the arrest, Mehdi Abedi Bakhoda’s family members visit Rasht’s court house and Revolutionary Court every day for information regarding his whereabouts and current condition.Thus far, the authorities have refused to give the family any answers.