Death of Amnesty International founder - news.amnesty - Amnesty International

Peter Benenson, the founder of the worldwide human rights organisation Amnesty International, died yesterday evening. He was 83.

Mr Benenson founded and inspired Amnesty International in 1961 first as a one-year campaign for the release of six prisoners of conscience. But from there came a worldwide movement for human rights and in its midst an international organisation -- Amnesty International -- which has taken up the cases of many thousands of victims of human rights violations and inspired millions to human rights defence the world round.

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Iran: No more empty promises - no more child executions - Amnesty International

Iran: No more empty promises � no more child executions - Amnesty International

Reporters sans frontires - Iran Another blogger gets jail sentence

Reporters sans fronti�res - Iran

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Ebadi defies Iranian court order

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Ebadi defies Iranian court order

humana Rights Watch: Blogger Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison (Human Rights Watch, 24-2-2005)

(New York, February 24, 2005)--The Iranian government sentenced the prominent blogger Arash Cigarchi to 14 years in prison for expressing his opinions on the Internet and in the international press, marking a new low for freedom of expression in Iran, Human Rights Watch said today.

“The Iranian government is sending a message to its critics: keep silent or face years in prison,” said Widney Brown, deputy program director of Human Rights Watch.

In the northern province of Gilan, the revolutionary court issued the sentence on February 2. However, the court made its ruling public only on February 22. Charges brought against Cigarchi include espionage, “aiding and abating hostile governments and opposition groups,” endangering national security and insulting Iran’s leaders. The court based its decision on a report by the intelligence ministry agents who arrested Cigarchi on January 17.

Cigarchi’s trial violated international standards for fair trials. It was held behind closed doors and in absence of his lawyer; it is not known if Cigarchi himself was even present. Since his arrest over a month ago, he has not been allowed to meet with his lawyer.

Cigarchi’s lawyer, Mohammad Saifzadeh, told Human Rights Watch that his client’s summons, arrest and the search and seizure of his personal documents were marked by numerous irregularities and illegal actions. Saifzadeh is planning to file a formal protest against the court’s ruling.

“This outrageous sentence follows the sham trial of a person who should never have been arrested in the first place,” said Brown.

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Reporters sans frontires - Iran

Reporters Without Borders expressed outrage after journalist and weblogger Arash Sigarchi was sentenced to 14 years in prison on 22 February by a revolutionary tribunal in Gilan, northern Iran.

The worldwide press freedom organisation called on President Mohammad Khatami to intervene on behalf of 28-year-old Sigarchi, who has been in custody since his arrest on 17 January.

The organisation also called on the delegations of countries attending a preparatory meeting in Geneva ahead of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to contact their Iranian counterparts to demand Sigarchi's release.

"The authorities are trying to make an example of him. By handing down this harsh sentence against a weblogger, their aim is to dissuade journalists and Internet-users from expressing themselves online or contacting foreign media," it said.


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Bloggers rally for jailed Iranians | Tech News on ZDNet

Bloggers rally for jailed Iranians | Tech News on ZDNet

QandO Blog - Blogger Solidarity: Arash Sigarchi, was sentenced to 14 years in prison today:

QandO Blog - Blogger Solidarity: Update

ABC News: Iran Jails Editor for 14 Years for Insulting Leaders

ABC News: Iran Jails Editor for 14 Years for Insulting Leaders

BBC NEWS | Technology | The price paid for blogging Iran

BBC NEWS | Technology | The price paid for blogging Iran

BBC NEWS | Technology | Global blogger action day called

The month-old Committee to Protect Bloggers' is asking those with blogs to dedicate their sites on 22 February to the "Free Mojtaba and Arash Day".

Arash Sigarchi and Mojtaba Saminejad are both in prison in Iran.

Blogs are free sites through which people publish thoughts and opinions. Iranian authorities have been clamping down on prominent sites for some time.


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RÉUNION DE PROTESTATION – SEATING 15 MARCH / MARS 2005 - 14:00 PM

RÉUNION DE PROTESTATION – SEATING
15 MARCH / MARS 2005 - 14:00 PM
GENEVA / GENÈVE - PLACE DES NATIONS
À L’OCCASION DE L’OUVERTURE DE LA 61ÈME SESSION DE LA COMMISSION DES DROITS DE L’HOMME DE L’ONU

SOLIDARITY WITH IRANIAN PEOPLE TO DENONCE THE WIDESPREAD, PLANNED AND SYSTEMATIC VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN

SOLIDARITÉ AVEC LE PEUPLE IRANIEN POUR DÉNONCER LA VIOLATION PÉRPETUELLE, À GRANDE ÉCHELLE ET ORGANISÉE DES DROITS DE L'HOMME EN IRAN

Iranian Human Rights Activists Groups in EU and North AmericaTel : 41 - 62 824 8215 http://ihrgint.blogspot.com ihrnena@gmail.com

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

"The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) is an independent and nonpartisan scholarly undertaking to establish a comprehensive and objective historical record of the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 revolution. This evolving historical record includes the collection and analysis of a broad range of documents and testimonies in an archive that is accessible to the public for research and educational purposes. Based on the principle that accounting for past abuses is essential for future social progress and democratic transformation, the IHRDC will encourage an informed dialogue on the human rights situation in Iran. The IHRDC will collaborate with a wide range of scholars and experts in human rights documentation and various other disciplines and projects."
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

Letter of the secretary of student committe for defense of politicle prisoner to UN Secretary-general

FEB/ 12/2005
Secretary-general
United Nations Headquarters
First Avenue at 46th St.
New York, NY 10017
USA

Your Excellency,Kofi Annan:

Regarding the gross violation of human rights and abuse of political prisoners in Iran, I beg to inform you


1.6 political prisoners have been on hunger strike since JAN/24/05.Their only demand is to be separated from murderess and drug smugglers in Rajaee prison in Karj and their return to political prisoners section in Evin prison. They demand their captors define the "political Crime" and respect separation of criminal and political prisoners. The lives of ( Farzad Hamidi...) are in danger, They have asked me to raise their voice for you and the world.


2.Abbas Khorsandi is a political activist who suffers from hart conditions, He has been arrested since JAN/ 28/05 for peaceful and legal activities. He has been blind folded and kept in solitary confinement in 209 prison. He has contacted his family once for only 2 minutes during his arrest and had complained about mid nights interrogations

3.Heshmat Tabarzadi is a journalist and a brave political activist who had raised his voice against the brutality of Islamic Republic and violation of human rights in Iran for years. He has been condemned for his non violent struggle to 14 years in prison by Revolutionary court section 26.


4.I have been a spokesman for United Student Front(Jebhe motahed danesh jooee) and in charge of a student committee to defend political prisoners. I have been arrested and jailed many times and I was in solitary confinement for year and half for my activities. I was also an editor of a weekly magazine "Jame" which has been confined by government because the second page was about human rights and regime could not tolerate that. The infamous Revolutionary court section 26 has sentenced me for 7 years and I have been prohibited from social rights for 5 years.
I demand from you and all the world conusees to pay attention to the human rights violation. Political prisoners violation and illegal arrests and imprisonment in Iran. Right now there are many prisoners like (Akbar Ganji - Naser zarafshan - Heshmat tabarzadi - Ahmad batebbi - Manochehr mohammadi - Mehrdad heydar pour - Bina darab zand - Farzad hamidi - Arjang davoodi - Mehrdad lohrasbi - Abbas deldar - Hojat bakhtiari - Saeed masori - Hojat zamaníµ‚í½ Arash sigarchi - Mojtaba saminejad - Mojtaba lotfi - Majid abdollah zadeh -ahmad reza shiri - Ali afshari - Abdollah momeni - Amir heshmat saran - Behnam aminíµ‚í½ kambiz deljavan - Golam reza amaaníµ‚í½ ...) and some have been released with heavy bails but they might be returned to prison any minute like (Behrooz Javid Tehrani - shiva nazar ahari - haniye nemati - saeed kalanaki - kianosh sanjari ...) . Unfortunately regime intimidates the political prisoners by heavy sentencing, transferring them to prisons that criminals are kept and we are anticipating the increase of unjust pressure on political activists and prisoners. Therefor we demand justice for political prisoners and Iranian people.

hassan zarezadeh ardeshir
The secretary of student committe for defense of politicle prisoner ( iran )

Freedom House Calls for Release of Iranian Christian Convert

Freedom House Calls for Release of Iranian Christian Convert

Iran News - Iran's reformists pushing for civil liberties

Iran News - Iran's reformists pushing for civil liberties

Reporters sans frontires - Iran Appeal court confirms prison for cyber-dissident while blogger is reimprisoned

Reporters sans fronti�res - Iran

CASCFEN.org:Complaints of crumbling respect for workers' rights

CASCFEN.org

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran asked to give counsel choice

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran asked to give counsel choice

Iran News - Iran's Ebadi complains of new court summons

Iran News - Iran's Ebadi complains of new court summons

IFEX :: Continued crackdown on the press tempers optimism in the wake of journalist Hassan Youssefi Echkevari's release

IFEX :: Continued crackdown on the press tempers optimism in the wake of journalist Hassan Youssefi Echkevari's release

National Post:Iranian envoy admits Kazemi was killed

National Post

U.N. Expert Raps Iran on Women's Rights, Executions

Iran: Political Prisoners Held with Violent Criminals (Human Rights Watch, 8-2-2005)

Iranian authorities regularly claim they hold no prisoners for political reasons. This has absolutely no credibility. These prisoners are being held for no reason other than their expression of peaceful political views.

Joe Stork, Washington director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division.

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NYT- Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize: The Human Rights Case Against Attacking Iran

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributors: The Human Rights Case Against Attacking Iran

Reporters sans frontires - Iran:Journalist freed two years early but nine others still in prison

Reporters sans fronti�res - Iran

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Iran: woman sentenced to stoning, man to execution

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Iran: woman sentenced to stoning, man to execution

Reuters.com: UN Sharply Rebukes Iran Over Women's Rights

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The United Nations on Sunday painted a damning portrait of women's rights in Iran, saying they had insufficient right of appeal against violence and were being sentenced to death on flimsy evidence.
Drawing upon her own status as a Muslim woman, Yakin Erturk, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, summed up with a cautionary note from the Koran.

"It will be asked from the girls who were buried alive: 'For what sin were we murdered?"' she said, quoting from the section of Islam's holy book entitled al-Takwir.




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IRVAJ English -: Rajayi-shahr Prison Hunger Strikers in Imminent Danger

IRVAJ English -

Amnesty International Iran: End the double talk - Time to end the death penalty for children

Iran: End the double talk - Time to end the death penalty for children

Helsinki Commission To Focus on Iran - February 1, 2005 - The New York Sun

Helsinki Commission To Focus on Iran - February 1, 2005 - The New York Sun

2005 Annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights is on the way

. We demand:
>>> Condemnation of the widespread, planned and
Systematic violation of Human Rights
>>> Continuous monitoring of Human Rights Situation by the nomination
of a permanent special Rapporteur in Iran

Human Rights activists around the world


We, the “Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America”, are sixteen Iranian non-profit voluntary associations in Europe and North America with the main objective to improve human rights in Iran with a view to building a fair and a free society.
Following the continuous efforts of Human Rights organizations as well as political and social activists (both in Iran and internationally), the 59th U.N. General Assembly of the United Nations, on December 20th 2004, approved a resolution denouncing the Human Rights situation in Iran.
Nevertheless, in 2004 Iranians continued to face the continuation of the widespread, planned and systematic violation of their Human Rights. In our report 2004(October 2003 and October 2004), we have listed 1153 cases of Human Rights violations. According to this information, the majority of the cases listed in this report are: the violation of rights of political and social activists, the violation of the rights of students and freedom of speech of the media.

 448 cases concerning political and social activists;
 291 cases concerning students;
 275 cases concerning the media and freedom of speech;
...........
 Condemn the Iranian regime for the widespread, planned and systematic violation of Human Rights in Iran.
 Establish a continuous monitoring of Human Rights by the nomination of a permanent Special Rapporteur in Iran.
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IHRG: Annual Report 2004 Second edition Januari 2005