A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 11, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 11th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists NewsAgency a(HRANA).

(1) Esmail Bakhshi Faced New Accusations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office

(2) The Defenders of Human Rights Center Awarded the Human Rights Prize to the Teachers Association of Iran

(3) All Rock Concerts Set to be Performed in the Azadi Tower Were Canceled

(4) Reza Shahabi and Few Other Members of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Were Arrested; the Self-immolation of a Worker

(5) Arash Keykhosravi Was Released

(6) Mohammad Habibi, An Imprisoned Teacher is Suffering from not Receiving Proper Medical Care

(7) Asghar Firouzi, a Former Political Activist, Was Arrested in Mashhad

(8) Abbas Lesani’s Family are Experiencing Financial Hardship

(9) Meysam Al-e Mehdi Was Arrested On the 32nd Day of the Protest of the Workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group

(10) Two Azerbaijani Turkic Minority Rights Activists Were arrested in Urmia

(11) Five Workers Were Injured in Their Workplace in Last Two Days in Asaluyeh and Urmia

(12) A Classroom’s Ceiling Collapse at a Ramhormoz School Injured Two Students

(13) 38 Child Marriages in Eslamabad-e Gharb in Eight Months

(14) More from Iran

        

(1) Esmail Bakhshi Faced New Accusations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office

Farzaneh Zilabi, the defender lawyer of Esmail Bakhshi, the detained worker of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Business, said that he has a new accusation and it will be investigated in branch 12 at the Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz. Zilabi added: my other case, Ali Nejati, Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Agro-Business union member who was arrested recently, has new accusations too.

(2) The Defenders of Human Rights Center Awarded the Human Rights Prize to the Teachers Association of Iran

The Defenders of Human Rights Center awarded the “Human Rights Activist” prize to the “Teachers Association of Iran”. The Defenders of Human Rights Center awards a symbolic statue of Cyrus’ Cylinder
every year on Human Rights Day.

(3) All Rock Concerts Set to be Performed in the Azadi Tower Were Canceled.

Farshad Ramezani the lead singer of Degardis group, confirmed the cancelation of all the planned rock concerts in Azadi tower. Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that Ramezani confirmed the cancelation of his concert and added that Hooman Ajdari, Badzang, and Kanal’s groups concerts were also canceled. He believed this situation is caused by deviant behavior of the other rock groups who had performed earlier in Azadi tower and their fans actions.

(4) Reza Shahabi and Few Other Members of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Were Arrested; the Self-immolation of a Worker

Reza Shahabi and Hassan Saeedi, members of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company and three other people were arrested. They were arrested on December 10 and  have been transferred to the Evin prison but were released on December 11.  In addition, In the last few days, a worker from this company committed suicide by self-immolation because of financial issues.

(5) Arash Keykhosravi Was Released

Arash Keykhosravi, the attorney at law was released on bail of 300 million Tomans [$25000]on December 11, 2018. Ghasem Sholesadi another lawyer was also released on bail on December 4th. These lawyers were sentenced to six years jail time on December 10 and their lawyers appealed to this verdict.

(6) Mohammad Habibi, An Imprisoned Teacher is Suffering from not Receiving Proper Medical Care

Mohammad Habibi did not receive proper medical care although the doctor diagnosed his kidney disease and requested his transfer to a hospital. Prison officers refused and deprived him from getting medical care.

(7) Asghar Firouzi, a Former Political Activist, Was Arrested in Mashhad

Asghar Firouzi,a political activist who spent his jail time before and after Islamic Revolution, was arrested on December 4th in his library in Mashhad suburbs by security forces and was transferred to an unknown place. The reasons behind his arrest were undisclosed.

(8) Abbas Lesani’s Family are Experiencing Financial Hardship

Abbads Lesani, a former political prisoner and an Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist who resides in Ardabil with his family is experiencing financial hardship. Security forces have shut down his son’s business repeatedly and his son-in-law, who was a contractor at Mohammad Bagher University in Tehran was expelled from his work. They have been notified that his contract was canceled.

(9) Meysam Al-e Mehdi Was Arrested On the 32nd Day of the Protest of the Workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group

On the 32nd day of the protest of the workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group, Meysam Al-e Mehdi was arrested. Moreover, the protest of the workers of the Iran National Steel Industrial Group is still ongoing and more than 10 workers were summoned and threatened.

(10) Two Azerbaijani Turkic Minority Rights Activists Were arrested in Urmia

On December 10, Reza Jafarzadeh and Akbar Gholizadeh, Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activists, were arrested and they have been transferred to an unknown place.

(11) Five Workers Were Injured in Their Workplace in Last Two Days in Asaluyeh and Urmia

According to Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), the gas cylinder explosion in the Ethan production line in Asaluyeh injured four workers. Moreover, a construction worker in Urmia was severely injured in his workplace.

(12) A Classroom’s Ceiling Collapse at a Ramhormoz School Injured Two Students

Omid Hosseinzadeh, the head of Education department of Ramhormoz confirmed that on December 9, 2018 A classroom’s ceiling collapsed at a Ramhormoz school and two students were injured in this incident.

(13) 38 Child Marriages in Eslamabad-e Gharb in Eight Months

The governor of Eslamabad-e Gharb confirmed that there has been more than 1000 marriages registered in the last eight months of the current year. He said that in this city 38 child marriages were submitted. He encouraged families to go to counselling consulting the right age of marriage for their children which would significantly affect their future.

(14) More from Iran

A video was published on social media of a bear cub crying in Shiraz zoo to catch a piece of bread because of hunger attracts attention one more time to the poor animal care in Iran’s zoo.

Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) reported that Two park rangers were injured in an incident with poachers in Taleqan, a county in Alborz province.

Abdolmajid Bahramzehi, the Baluch political prisoner who was detained for the last seven months, has not made any contact with his family in last 53 days. In their last visit 53 days ago, he confirmed that he had been beaten by intelligence officers. His family are concerned about his situation.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 9, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 9th,2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Executions in Urmia, Qazvin and Karaj

(2) Two Sunni Prisoners Were Released on Bail

(3) More Arrests Related to Chabahar Attack

(4) Highest Poverty Rate of the Rural Areas is in Three Provinces

 (5) Jail Time and Lashes for Worker Protesters

(6) Shirin Ebadi Wrote an Open Letter to the “Defender of Human Rights Center”

(7) A Baluch Prisoner Was Transferred to Rajaie Shahr Prison in Karaj

(8) 64 Workplace-related Deaths Were Reported in the Last Eight Months

(9) Delayed Paychecks and Layoffs in Three Businesses

(10) Setting the Court Session Date for Aryasb Bavand and Mahizadeh Poshtpanah

    

(1) Executions in Urmia, Qazvin and Karaj

In the morning of December 9, 2018, a prisoner in Urmia prison was transferred to a solitary confinement until his execution. He was accused with drug crimes. Moreover, Qazvin prosecutor confirmed the execution of two prisoners in Karaj and Qazvin. He added that the person who was executed on December 9 was accused of rape and the other person who was accused of murder was executed on December 4th.

(2) Two Sunni Prisoners Were Released on Bail

Two Sunni prisoners were released on bail from Urmia prison on Sunday December 9, 2018. Rasoul Shaier and Abdolvahed Salamat, were released on bail after two-years imprisonment. They were sentenced to five years in prison by the branch 10 appeal court in West Azerbaijan. In addition, two citizens were released on bail in Kermanshah and Salas-e Babajani cities. The other four are still in prison. 30 years old Salar Ahmadi was released on a 300-million-Tomans[$25000] bail. He was arrested in late November. Ali Sohrabilak, a 29 years old physic student, was released on a 280-million-Tomans [$24000] bail. He was arrested by the intelligence department in October 14th and was accused of, “cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group”. Moreover, Fahimeh Zandi and Sahar Kazemi who were arrested earlier this month are still in prison.

(3) More Arrests Related to Chabahar Attack

The chief of police announced that 10 more people were arrested in Zahedan, in relation to the Chabahar attack. Baluch’s activists campaign reported that security officers attacked Adham Narani’s house in Kaffe Baluchi village in Sarbaz city and had beaten and arrested him and his guests. In addition, the intelligence officers arrested two citizens separately in their workplace in Sanandaj and transferred them to an unknown place. According to Kurdistan democracy and human right center on December 8th, Vahid Azimi and Habib Ahmadi were beaten and arrested for “cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group”.

(4) Highest Poverty Rate of the Rural Areas is in Three Provinces

The highest poverty rate in rural areas is in Kohkiluie and Boyerahmad, Ilam, and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces. The parliament research center reported that the caloric intake for 65 percent of the people who live in these provinces is less than 2100. In Kohkiluie and Boyerahmad, nutrition-based poverty is significant. The poverty rate for Kohkiluie and Boyerahmad’s urban area is 2.8 and for rural area is 2.1. The poverty rate in this province is 2.49. Moreover, the lowest poverty rates are in Tehran and Alborz provinces.

 (5) Jail Time and Lashes for Worker Protesters

15 workers of Ilam Petrochemical company were sentenced to imprisonment and lashes. Judiciary Office has sentenced 15 workers of Ilam Petrochemical company to imprisonment and lashes. They were charged with disturbing public order because of their participation in a protest which was organized in April.In addition, a financial criminal, Hamid Bagheri Darmani, was sentenced to death.10 more financially-related criminals were also sentenced to imprisonment and fines. The convicted names are reported as the following: Mohsen Ranjbar for bribery and corruption to seven year and half of imprisonment and 74 lashes, Manuchehr Pourfar and Esmaeil Nasrollahi to 10 years imprisonment, Mehdi Rezaie to three years imprisonment, Naser Habibinasab to one year imprisonment, AsgarBarati to five years imprisonment, Hossein Mansouri Ghiri and Mahmoud Pourmand to eight years imprisonment, Amir Kamali Sarvestani  and Mir Mohammad Akhoundzadeh, an Afghan citizen, to 20 years imprisonment and deportation. All the above were faced to criminal fines. The chairman of Samenolhojaj Financial institute was sentencedto 15 years in prison.

(6) Shirin Ebadi Wrote an Open Letter to the “Defender of Human Rights Center”

Shirin Ebadi who received the Nobel Prize for Peace, wrote an open letter to the “defender of human rights center” on Wednesday, December 5th. She requested Javid Rehman, United Nations special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, to acquire all possible means to help releasing the workers in Iran.

(7) A Baluch Prisoner Was Transferred to Rajaie Shahr Prison in Karaj

MohammadSaleh Shahdadzehi, a Baluch prisoner, was transferred to Rajaie Shahr prison in Karaj. He was arrested by the intelligence officers in in Iranshahr city earlier in June 2017.  A person close to Shahdadzehi told that he was detained in the Intelligence Office’s detention center for 7 months and had been tortured to confess that he had killed a Basij member.

(8) 64 Workplace-related Deaths Were Reported in the Last Eight Months

In the last eight months, 64 workers have died in their workplaces in Mazandaran province. Ali Abbasi, the director of forensic medicine department of Mazandaran province confirmed that Sari with 10 deaths, Amol with 9 and Tonekabon with 8 deaths had the highest number of workplace-related deaths while Savadkuh county, Neka, and Jooybar and Galoogah counties had the lowest with one death. Moreover, a middle-aged worker in Mahabad city was killed because of falling from an elevator while two other workers were injured in a mine in Khorasan Razavi province.

(9) Delayed Paychecks and Layoffs in Three Businesses

55 workers of the social emergency unit of Golestan province Welfare Organization have not received their salaries from June.Also, the workers of Sanandaj municipality announced that their salaries payments are delayed and expressed their concerns. In addition, 30 workers of Sadid factory in Tehran were laid off.

(10) Setting the Court Session Date for Aryasb Bavand and Mahizadeh Poshtpanah

The second hearing session of the accusations of Aryasb Bavand, a political prisoner in ward 4 of Evin prison, and Mahizadeh Poshtpanah was held in the Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Salavati. Bavand’s accusations are “Forming a group to act against the national security, propaganda against the regime and dissemination of falsehood”. He and Poshtpanah were arrestedwhen returning to Iran