IranMania - Gay blackmailer hanged in Iran

Iran News - Gay blackmailer hanged in Iran

EP calls on Iran to end its increasing human rights violations.

Brussels, Apr. 29 – The European Parliament adopted a resolution yesterday, calling on Iran to end its increasing human rights violations.

The EP resolution said that it was “very concerned that the human rights situation has deteriorated in the last two years and calls on the Iranian authorities to make a serious commitment to reversing this trend”.

It condemned “the serious increase in human rights violations, particularly the increasing number of reports of public executions, and floggings”.

The EP called “on the Council (of Europe) and the Commission to closely monitor the implementation of commitments made by Iran to moratoriums in the three key areas of stoning, execution of minors and amputations”.

It added that is was “concerned at the large number of arrests, particularly of women and young people, on the basis of unclear or minor charges” and expressed “its deepest concern, that a minor was recently executed for sexual misconduct”.

The European Parliament condemned “Iran’s abject policy of arrests and imprisonment of journalists and cyber-dissidents and the stifling of press and media freedom”, and called on the Iranian regime “to cease support for terrorist organisations”.

The EP also expressed alarm at “the high number of executions in Iran, in particular of minors, and Iran's refusal to release official statistics on the death penalty”.

In February the EP passed a similar resolution condemning Iran's human rights violations, calling on the European Union to sponsor a separate resolution, censuring Iran in the United Nations and demanding that a special representative be re-appointed to monitor the human rights situation in Iran.

The EP condemned "the serious increase in human rights violations, notably the growing number of reports about executions, including executions of juvenile offenders, amputations, flogging in public, a generalised crackdown on the press and media, widespread arrests – especially of women and young people – on unclear or minor charges".

Demands for Ahwaz journalist's release

news : BRITISH AHWAZI FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY: "The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) has added its voice to the growing demands for the release of Ahwazi Arab writer Yosef Azizi Banitrouf, who was arrested on Monday after he denounced the killings of Ahwazis in Khuzestan"

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Winner to Speak May 17 at UC Davis - Persian Journal Latest Iran news & Iranian Newspaper

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Winner to Speak May 17 at UC Davis - Persian Journal Latest Iran news & Iranian Newspaper

Torture Worldwide (Human Rights Watch, 27-4-2005)

Torture Worldwide (Human Rights Watch, 27-4-2005): "IRAN
Torture and ill-treatment in detention, including indefinite solitary confinement, are routinely used to punish dissidents in Iran. Torture is often carried out in illegal and secret prisons and interrogation centers run by intelligence services, and has been used particularly against those imprisoned for peaceful expression of their political views.

The use of prolonged solitary confinement, often in small basement cells, has been designed to break the will of those detained in order to coerce confessions and provide information regarding associates. Combined with denial of access to counsel and videotaped confessions, prolonged solitary confinement creates an environment in which prisoners have nowhere to turn in order to seek redress for their treatment in detention. Severe physical torture is also used, especially against student activists and others who do not enjoy the high public profile of older dissident intellectuals and writers. "

Reporters sans frontires - Call for release of two imprisoned journalists

Reporters sans frontires - Iran: "Reporters Without Borders called today for the immediate release of reformist Iranian Arab journalist Yosef Azizi Banitrouf, who was arrested in a raid on his home on 25 April. It also demanded the release of dissident journalist Reza Alijani, expressing 'great concern' about his deteriorating health after two years in prison.
'We strongly deplore the arrest of Banitrouf, who was simply expressing his personal opinion in articles and in interviews given to other newspapers,' it said. 'As soon as a journalist speaks out in Iran, the authorities crack down, either by closing the paper concerned or throwing the journalist in prison.
'There are now 12 journalists and cyber-dissidents in jail in Iran, which remains the Middle East's biggest prison for journalists.' "

Iran Focus-News - Human Rights - Iran: Political prisoner facing imminent execution

Iran Focus-News - Human Rights - Iran: Political prisoner facing imminent execution: "Iran Focus

Paris, Apr. 21 � Iran�s Supreme Court upheld an execution sentence for a 38-year-old political prisoner from the western Iranian town of Boukan.

Esmaeil Mohammadi was informed of the decision through a letter from the authorities, which indicated that his execution would be carried out within the next few days.

Mohammadi, a father of five, has been imprisoned for the past two years in the city of Urumiya (northwest Iran), accused of being a supporter of the Kurdish Komala organisation.

Mohammadi was reported tortured while in prison."

Iran Focus-News - Human Rights - Iran executes teenage demonstrators in Ahwaz � reports

Iran Focus-News - Human Rights - Iran executes teenage demonstrators in Ahwaz � reports

Iran Focus-News - Human Rights - Iranian parliament suspends reformist press law

Iran Focus-News - Human Rights - Iranian parliament suspends reformist press law

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Ebadi anger at women election ban

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Ebadi anger at women election ban: "Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi's human rights group has criticised the fact that women will not be allowed to run in Iran's June presidential elections. "

Iranian female MP rejects claims on women�s rights -

Iranian female MP rejects claims on women�s rights -

IFEX :: Several journalists summoned and charged; journalist Akbar Ganji gravely ill after five years in prison

IFEX :: Several journalists summoned and charged; journalist Akbar Ganji gravely ill after five years in prison

Iran News - Iranian hanged for murder: Jam-e-Jam daily

Iran News - Iranian hanged for murder: Jam-e-Jam daily

Ahwazi: Human rights groups voice concern over Ahwaz

Ahwazi: Human rights groups voice concern over Ahwaz: "Ahwazi: Human rights groups voice concern over Ahwaz "

U.N. Rights Body Ignores Major Abuses (Human Rights Watch, April 22, 2005)

U.N. Rights Body Ignores Major Abuses (Human Rights Watch, April 22, 2005)(Geneva, April 22, 2005) — This year’s session of the Commission on Human Rights ended today without addressing a number of the most disturbing human rights situations which afflict the world, Human Rights Watch said. This confirms the recent assessment by the Secretary-General that the U.N. Commission on Human Rights needs to be replaced with a new and more effective body.

Within the first week of the commission’s six-week meeting, several governments, including the European Union, United States, and Canada, announced their intention to not introduce resolutions critical of some of the world’s key human rights violators, such as China, Iran, the Russian Federation in Chechnya, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.

“This year’s commission was hugely disappointing from its outset,” said Joanna Weschler, U.N. advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. “This session has been a powerful demonstration of the need to scrap the commission and replace it with something new and better.”

On a more positive note, the international community overwhelmingly approved the appointment of a special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, with nearly 80 countries signing on, including the United States and Russia. The special rapporteur’s mandate, to monitor states’ compliance with human rights in the way they battle terrorism, was pushed forward thanks to the tireless efforts of Mexico.

“This is one of the most important steps the Commission on Human Rights has taken this year,” Weschler said.

"Solidarity with hunger strike of Naser Zarafshan



Nasser Zarafshan begins his hunger strike in a few hours in Iran ( 21 april 2005 - 12:00 AM).
His demands are :
-To be seperated from the common prisoners;
- To have the possibility to have visits
- To have acces to medical care.The distinguished attorney is currently in prison. Following a secret trial, a military court sentenced Zarafshan in March 2002 to five years� imprisonment and seventy lashes. Zarafshan, was serving as legal representative for the relatives of two of the families of Iranian writers and journalists who were assassinated in November 1998 in what came to be known in Iran as the �serial murders� case.
Iranian Human Rights Activists Groups in EU and North America (IHRAG)"

Reporters sans frontires - Iran:Akbar Ganji is seriously ill after five years in prison

Reporters sans fronti�res - Iran: "Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji, who completes his fifth year in Tehran's Evin prison tomorrow, is seriously ill and should be granted an immediate and unconditional release, Reporters Without Borders said today. "

Iran Frees 155 Arrested in Ethnic Protests -

Iran Frees 155 Arrested in Ethnic Protests - Persian Journal Latest Iran news & Iranian Newspaper, tehran farsi woman zan news: "By VOA News
Apr 21, 2005

Iranian officials say they have released 155 of some 350 people arrested during recent protests by Arab-Iranians in southwest Iran. "

Foreign Policy Association - Azar Nafisi: Women, Culture, Human Rights: The Case of Iran

Foreign Policy Association - Resource Library: "Azar Nafisi: Women, Culture, Human Rights: The Case of Iran
Author: Azar Nafisi

Azar Nafisi, Visiting Fellow, John's Hopkins University's Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and author of the critically-acclaimed best-seller, 'Reading Lolita in Teheran' spoke to FPA at the New York Democracy Forum on the subject of 'Women, Culture, Human Rights: The Case of Iran.'"

IFEX :: Iranian New Year starts as badly as ever for the press

IFEX :: Iranian New Year starts as badly as ever for the press: "(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has condemned the latest negative developments for press freedom that accompanied the arrival of the Iranian New Year in March 2005.
On returning from their New Year's holiday, 80 conservative parliamentarians called for reformist journalist Massih Alinejad to be banned from entering Parliament. In addition, the president of the Association of Iranian Journalists, Ali Mazroi, was banned from leaving the country, and officials also closed two magazines. "

IFEX :: RSF declares support for Canadian proposal for Kazemi autopsy

IFEX :: RSF declares support for Canadian proposal for Kazemi autopsy: "(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has expressed its support for a Canadian proposal to Iranian authorities that would see three forensic experts - a Canadian, an Iranian and one chosen jointly by both parties - carry out an autopsy on the body of journalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in custody in Iran in July 2003. Kazemi held both Canadian and Iranian nationalities. "

Reporters sans frontires - Reporters Without Borders protests at closure of al-Jazeera's Tehran bureau

Reporters sans fronti�res - Iran: "Reporters Without Borders has protested against the unfair closure of satellite TV al-Jazeera's Tehran bureau for 'incitement to disorder' after it reported on clashes in Khuzistan in southern Iran. It urged the authorities to review its 18 April decision.
'We condemn the decision of the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry to suspend al-Jazeera's operations in Iran,' it said. 'The authorities cannot shut down a channel just because it gives airtime to the opposition.' "

Nearly 4,000 people executed in the year 2004: Amnesty International

: "China carried out more executions than all other countries combined, making up for 3,400 out of the total of 3,797, followed by Iran with at least 159 and Vietnam with 64, it said."

Aljazeera.Net - Concerns raised over Iran town unrest

Aljazeera.Net - Concerns raised over Iran town unrest: "A joint statement by the Arab Commission for Human Rights in Paris and International Justice Organisation in The Hague has expressed concerns about the unrest in al-Ahwaz town in southwestern Iran. "

Reuters.com: Over 140 still detained after unrest in Iran

International News Article | Reuters.com: "TEHRAN (Reuters) - More than 140 people out of 344 arrested in southwest Iran remain in jail following weekend ethnic unrest in which at least five people died, a judiciary official was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
The protests, Iran's bloodiest for several years, have been noted in Washington where the State Department said on Tuesday it was 'very concerned' and urged the government to exercise restraint. "

Khuzestan, Iran: Amnesty International calls for an end to the cycle of violence in Khuzestan and an investigation into the root causes of recent unrest

Khuzestan, Iran: Amnesty International calls for an end to the cycle of violence in Khuzestan and an investigation into the root causes of recent unrest: "AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index: MDE 13/017/2005 (Public)
News Service No: 100
20 April 2005

Khuzestan, Iran: Amnesty International calls for an end to the cycle of violence in Khuzestan and an investigation into the root causes of recent unrest"

noticias - Commission continues general debate on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

noticias - Commission continues general debate on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: "CATHERINE LEGNA, of France Libertes � Fondation Danielle Mitterrand, said a member of the delegation of France Libert�s had been refused entry into the premises of the United Nations to participate in the work of the Commission. Mr. Hamid Reza Eshaghi had participated in the Commission's sessions for the last 15 years, and he had enjoyed a political refugee status in France for 25 years. No official reason was invoked for this refusal. The rejection of Mr. Eshaghi, a human rights defender, was considered a scandal. Mr. Eshaghi and other individuals had been kept on a 'red list' by the Iranian authorities, because of his condemnation of the human rights violations in that country. She asked for further clarification for his ban from participating in the Commission."

noticias - Commission continues general debate on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

noticias - Commission continues general debate on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: "PATRIZIA SCANNELLA, of Amnesty International, said five countries had abolished the death penalty in 2004; the steady progress towards universal abolition was undeniable. Yet, executions persisted. In 2004, at least 3,797 people were executed in 25 countries and at least 7,395 were sentenced to death in 64 countries. The true totals were certainly higher. Most of the persons executed did not receive fair trials. With capital punishment's evident cruelty, its arbitrariness, and the inherent risk of executing the innocent, the application of the death penalty should be suspended immediately pending its abolition in law. Governments had a special duty to protect the most vulnerable members of society. Despite the new universal acceptance that the death penalty should not be imposed on offenders under age 18, child offenders were reportedly executed last year in China and Iran, and remained under sentence of death in several other countries. A valuable step to secure the abolition of the death penalty was to enshrine abolition in the Constitution. "

Unprecedented protest action at Esfahan's Court Building

"Unprecedented protest action at Esfahan's Court Building

SMCCDI (Information Service)
April 18, 2005

An unprecedented protest action took place, today, at
Esfahan's Court building. Tens of employees of the
Department of Justice occupied the corridors and protested
against their conditions and the Gender Apartheid Policy
existing in Iran.

The action took place as suddenly some female employees got
out of their offices and asked for equal rights. Soon most
of their male colleagues rallied in their support.

Slogans were shouted by the demonstrators who were
including several judges appointed by the Islamic
leadership.

Security forces and the usually feared members of Herrassat
(Department's Intelligence) intervened by threatening the
protesters and filming their actions. Tens of patrol cars
were rushed to the area and militiamen closed the accesses
to the building. Doors were closed and the public was
thrown out of the facility.

Esfahanis are known for their bravery and opposition to the
Islamic regime. Their city has been scene of some of the
most violent clashes in the last years."

noticias - Commission hears from Independent Experts on Human Rights

noticias - Commission hears from Independent Experts on Human Rights in : "JEAN-DANIEL VIGNY (Switzerland) said there was no way to justify the death penalty, which inevitably led to the execution of innocent victims. Those countries that had adopted moratoriums on capital punishment should keep them, and those that had broken them should reinstate them. Switzerland welcomed the decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court to ban the execution of minors, and called upon China and Iran to give up the practice without delay. "

Washington Post:What the West Owes the Iranian People

By Elahé Sharifpour-Hicks

Saturday, April 16, 2005;


Think back seven years to 1998, when the main hope for political reform in
the broader Middle East was in Iran. A reform-minded cleric had swept aside
the establishment's candidate in presidential elections, and his allies were
about to make a similarly impressive showing in parliamentary elections.
Independent newspapers and magazines were springing up, and the rigidities
of authoritarian clerical rule were under attack by those espousing a
liberal form of Islamic democracy.

Elsewhere in the region, prospects for reform seemed distinctly less
promising. Turkey's military appeared to be intent on ensuring that a
democratic Islamic party would never hold power in that secular republic,
and the former mayor of Istanbul, said to be the most popular politician in
the country, was in jail, his chances of high office apparently ended.
Throughout the Arab world the rogues' gallery of dictatorial and
authoritarian kings and presidents seemed secure.

Things have changed. Prospects for reform throughout the broader Middle East
seem much brighter virtually everywhere except in Iran. Not only have we
seen impressive elections in Palestine and Iraq, but political reform is
inching forward from Morocco to Saudi Arabia. In Turkey, that once-jailed
politician, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is now prime minister and is presiding
over wide-ranging constitutional reforms designed to ease that country's
accession to the European Union.

Meanwhile, in Iran, President Mohammad Khatami's second and final term is
petering out in failure and disillusionment. The reformist parliament
elected with such hope in 1999 was voted out in 2004 on a wave of apathy.
Stagnation, repression and government by lawless, unaccountable elites
remain entrenched.

The reasons for the failure of Iran's reform movement will be debated by
historians, but what is remarkable is the extent to which the West, the
rhetoric of the Bush administration notwithstanding, appears prepared to
acquiesce in Iran's slide into immovable authoritarianism, precisely the
form of governance that Western leaders, led by the Bush administration,
have identified as being conducive to the growth of terrorism elsewhere in
the region.

Western leaders are not alone in having made this amoral choice. Leaders
associated with the reform movement are on record as opposing U.S. criticism
of the Iranian government's human rights practices, even as their own
movement has perished from sustained repression.

More surprising is the stance of Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, who wrote in
the New York Times in February opposing U.S. pressure and speaking of the
"framework of civil society" as the route to change in Iran. The problem
with this approach is twofold. First, civil society in a vacuum cannot bring
about political change. Without freely contested elections, a free press or
an independent judiciary, the civil society movement, however strong its
backers claim it to be, can have only marginal impact on political
conditions. Second, civil society is simply not strong. It has no legal
protection, and activists can be imprisoned at the whim of the authorities.
Those who cross red lines by addressing taboo subjects are still treated
arbitrarily and brutally by the authorities.

A call for an end to U.S. pressure means acquiescing to the status quo. The
broader Middle East is showing ample evidence of the power of clear U.S.
rhetoric in favor of freedom and democracy to bring about change. Even
long-term strategic partners of the United States, such as Egypt, have felt
the pressure and deemed it politic to respond. It seems odd that anyone in
Iran who desires change would want this kind of pressure to stop. Apologists
for the status quo are not representative of Iranians, who may have become
disillusioned with powerless elected leaders, but who still yearn for
democratic government.

The United States should make clear that it is ready to resume dialogue with
the Iranian government on the full range of concerns between the two
countries as soon as a government that is representative of the wishes of
the Iranian people, freely expressed, is in power in Tehran. That does not
include a retread version of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani,
or any of his bloodstained acolytes, who seem likely to come to power after
the presidential elections next month.

In the meantime the United States would do well to maintain its efforts to
reach out to the Iranian people over the heads of their government. These
efforts should include firm statements from President Bush and Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice, when appropriate, and a sustained commitment to
broadcasting in Farsi about the obstacles to reform in the Islamic Republic
and the progress being made by Iran's neighbors. Such a message will find an
audience in Iran, and this time the hope for reform will not be stillborn.

The writer, who has worked with a number of human rights organizations, was
a member of a 2004 Council on Foreign Relations task force on U.S.-Iran
relations.



© 2005 The Washington Post Company

Iran Schedules Father and Son Execution

Iran Schedules Father and Son Execution: "A father and his son are scheduled to be executed in the rebellious City of Esfahan. These two executions are scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, at the same time.
Moosa Mohamadi, in his mid 40s, will be publicly hanged in the Bist- o-Tchahr-Metri street, and his son, Rasool aged 17, will be hanged at the very same time, in the Central Prison. "

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Azar Nafisi to Speak on 'Women, Culture..."

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Azar Nafisi to Speak on 'Women, Culture...": "WASHINGTON, April 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -� Azar Nafisi, best-selling author of 'Reading Lolita in Teheran,' will address the topic, 'Women, Culture, Human Rights: The Case of Iran,' at the second lecture of the New York Democracy Forum (NYDF) to be held at the Kaye Playhouse of Hunter College on Wednesday, April 20, at 6 p.m"

2005 UN Commission on Human Rights: Oral statement on item 17: Promotion and protection of human rights

2005 UN Commission on Human Rights: Oral statement on item 17: Promotion and protection of human rights: "Governments have a special duty to protect the most vulnerable members of society. Despite the now universal acceptance that the death penalty shall not be imposed on offenders under age 18, child offenders were reportedly executed last year in China and Iran, and remain under sentence of death in several other countries. The Commission should insist that retentionist states take all necessary measures to ensure that child offenders are not executed. Amnesty International urges this Commission to confirm that the use of the death penalty against child offenders is contrary to customary international law."

Rapist hanged in public

Rapist hanged in public

Iran News - Iran publicly hangs serial bank robber

Iran News - Iran publicly hangs serial bank robber

IRAN WATCH CANADA: The court ordered for the execution of " Hojat Zamani " accused of sympathizing with " Mojahedin Khalgh".

IRAN WATCH CANADA

Iran News - 2 murderers hanged in Iran: Hambastegi daily

Iran News - 2 murderers hanged in Iran: Hambastegi daily

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Iran: 17-year-old boy and father to be hanged

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Iran: 17-year-old boy and father to be hanged

Baha'i International Community : Dismay at lack of human rights resolution on Iran as persecution worsens

BWNS: Dismay at lack of human rights resolution on Iran as persecution worsens

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Iran to amputate prisoner's arm and leg for theft

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Iran to amputate prisoner�s arm and leg for theft

ABC News: Iran Won't Allow Canada to Examine Body

ABC News: Iran Won't Allow Canada to Examine Body

The Globe and Mail: Ottawa won't recall Iran ambassador!!??

The Globe and Mail: Ottawa won't recall Iran ambassador

The Globe and Mail: Separate Kazemi probe rejected

The Globe and Mail: Separate Kazemi probe rejected

noticias - Commission holds informal session to discuss human rights sections of report of Secretary-General on reform

noticias - Commission holds informal session to discuss human rights sections of report of Secretary-General on reform: "MOSTAFA ALAEI (Iran) said Iran believed that the international community should further intensify its efforts to allow the United Nations human rights machinery to rise to the challenges ahead to fulfil its daunting task. The delegation of Iran concurred with the Secretary-General's view that the human rights machinery suffered from a credible deficiency and lacked of professionalism in enforcing the universally agreed standards throughout the globe. However, Iran firmly believed that that state of affairs had little correlation with the existing structure of the machinery per se, nor the membership of the Commission and the final shape of the relevant human rights bodies. Rather, based on past experiences, the failure of the Commission to live up to the promises undertaken under the Charter was more characterized by the political manipulation of the human rights agenda by some major powers, the lack of objectivity and the exercise of double standards in the Commission and other relevant bodies than its current status in the existing hierarchy within the world organization or the insufficient frequency of its sessions.

The Secretary-General's proposed reforms in the human rights arena, namely the establishment of an Human Rights Council might not necessarily lead to an increase in the credibility and professionalism of the system. Instead, it might further marginalize the developing countries, leaving the ground wide open for further polarization and even more politicization in the proceedings of the Commission. Furthermore, the proposed reforms were clearly a departure from the principle of the indivisibility and interrelatedness of human rights and the longstanding consensus that the civil and political rights as well as the right "

Crosswalk.com - Iranian Pastor Called Before Islamic Court

Iranian Christian Hamid Pourmand
Crosswalk.com - Iranian Pastor Called Before Islamic Court

The Globe and Mail: Documents bolster Kazemi claims

The Globe and Mail: Documents bolster Kazemi claims

Zahra Kazemi's Mother calls for fresh probe into death of journalist

Zahra Kazemi's Mother calls for fresh probe into death of journalist

U.N. Human Rights Commission�s Credibility Under Attack

U.N. Human Rights Commission�s Credibility Under Attack: "Iran"

Reuters | Iran's Ebadi Criticizes Slow Progress on Kazemi Case

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage

Ex-lawmaker renews call for Iranian investigation

BY KHOSRO SHEMIRANIE, MONTREAL
Globe And Mail - April 07 2005
A former Iranian parliamentarian who led an internal government inquiry into the death of Zahra Kazemi in 2003 says he saw evidence that partially corroborates recent testimony by former Iranian military doctor Sharam Azam.
In an interview from Iran this week, Iranian cleric Hossein Ansari Rad - who lost his parliamentary seat last year after reformers were barred from running by the ruling theocracy - said "some details by him match our findings, for instance the detail about the broken nose and the broken toe."
Dr. Azam, a former emergency-room physician in a Tehran military hospital, has said he examined Ms. Kazemi early on the morning of June 27, 2003 several days before she died, and found her to have been brutally beaten and raped.
Iranian officials have rejected Dr. Azam's story, saying there is no record of him having worked in the hospital where Ms. Kazemi was treated. There have also been reports that Iranian reformists involved in the case were not aware of Dr. Azam or his story.
But Mr. Ansari Rad, who led the parliamentary 'principle 90 commission' that looked into Ms. Kazemi's death, said the fact that Dr. Azam's story had not emerged sooner is no indication of whether it is true, because investigators were did not interview all hospital staff.
"It was the right thing to ask all the hospital staff, who were somehow involved in this case or could have any information, but we did not do this," he said.
Asked whether he'd seen evidence of rape, Mr. Ansrai Rad said that in the reports he saw, rape was not mentioned. He added, however, that "our investigation was limited by the information which we could receive from the officials at that time."
He added that the inquiry based its findings on medical reports provided by Iran's health minister at the time, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian.
Mr. Ansari Rad renewed his call, first made in the aftermath of Ms. Kazemi's death, for a "substantial and complete" investigation. "From the outset I was of the opinion that we have to search for the truth," he said. "Because of this I faced the protests of some of my colleagues."
Different Iranian government officials have at various times acknowledged that Ms. Kazemi was murdered while in the custody of the country's security forces. But Iran's official view is that she died after fainting and hitting her head.
Yesterday, an Iranian-Canadian journalist who played a key role in putting Dr. Azam in contact with Ms. Kazemi's family in Canada, said he personally verified last year that Dr. Azam worked at Tehran's Bagghiattulah military hospital.
After hearing from the doctor by e-mail on Nov. 5, said Montreal journalist Ali Sharifian, he telephoned the hospital. "I tried for three or four hours," he said. "The operator talked to me. I said I'd like to talk to Dr. Azam. The lady said he'd left for Europe for some medical treatment."
In fact, Dr. Azam was in Sweden at the time, where he'd gone after receiving permission to seek treatment in Finland for an old injury sustained in the Iran-Iraq war.
Since Dr. Azam's testimony has emerged, Ms. Kazemi's son, Stephan Hachemi, has redoubled his efforts to pressure the Canadian government into taking a more active role in the case. Yesterday lawyers for Mr. Hachemi met with senior officials from the Prime Minister's Office and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Although the government has made no promises or commitments as yet, said Hachemi lawyer John Terry, he said he was "very impressed" with the tone of the meeting.
"They looked with us at a broad range of measures," he said. "I think the government does agree with us that they want to pursue measures that will have the most effect on the Iranian government."
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs minister Pierre Pettigrew said the meeting was positive, and that there will be another soon.
Khosro Shemiranie is a freelance journalist living in Montreal, with a report from Michael Den Tandt

Request by the Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America (IHRAG) to the Canadian people
5 April 2005

Freedom loving people
Human Rights advocates
People in mass media
Members of the Canadian Parliament


It has been a year since the murder of Zahra Kazemi, the Canadian -Iranian Photojournalist, in the prison of Evin. According to the report made by the “commission on article 90” of Iran's parliament, based on a scenario, it was planned that Zahra would confess to spying under torture.
Revelations from Dr. Shahram Azam that describes in details the atrocities suffered by Zahra Kazemi are an additional confirmation that Zahra Kazemi was murdered under torture in jail. This statement refutes the official argument of the Iranian authorities.
This crime, based on the power structure in the "Islamic Republic of Iran ", has the seal of approval of its leader. As such, we cannot expect the Iranian government, which acts as an instrument of repression of power, to shed light on Zahra Kazemi’s case.

We, the “Human Right's Activist Groups in Europe and North America (IHRAG)”, believe that fulfillment of the following demands is the first step to demonstrate the necessary will for fact finding:

1- Repatriation of the body of Zahra Kazemi to Canada

2- Formation of impartial international inquiry commission

Please note that the Canadian government failed to bring forward a resolution denouncing the human rights situation in Iran at the 61st U.N. General Assembly of the United Nations. Keeping in mind that this commission is still ongoing, we are asking you request that the Canadian government shed light on Zahra Kazemi’s case by putting in place a resolution denouncing the human rights situation in Iran.



Human Right's Activist Groups in Europe and North America (IHRAG)

Reuters AlertNet - U.N. urges countries to shed light on death penalty

China topped executions worldwide with 3,400 last year, followed by Iran with 159. Both states had executed under 18 year-olds in violation of international law
Reuters AlertNet - U.N. urges countries to shed light on death penalty: "U.N. urges countries to shed light on death penalty"

Commission on Human Rights

Date: 07 Apr 2005
The Commission on Human Rights :
General Debate on Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence against Women

MARYAM TEHRANI, of National Federation of International Immigrant Women Associations, said that Iran was a country where one of the highest numbers of political executions in the world took place, and of the 120,000 political executions since 1979, a third had been women. In the past year, at least four women had been hanged in public. Eight stood on death row, and six more awaited stoning to death. Government figures released in January showed that more than 12 million Iranians lived in absolute poverty, with women making up 70 per cent of that population. Fifty-four honour killings had been reported in one province last year. By law, women did not have the right to become judges or presidents; no woman had been appointed cabinet minister or provincial governor, nor occupied a seat on the Guardian Council, Assembly of Experts or in the judiciary. A woman could not travel without her husband's written permission, nor work without his permission. Discrimination against women had been institutionalized under the rule of Islamic fundamentalists. Such violence had nothing to do with Iranian culture, tradition, nor with Islam. It was time to help the millions of women being suppressed in Iran. The Commission should restore international monitoring of the human rights situation in that country without delay.

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Political prisoner facing imminent execution in Iran

Iran Focus-News - Special Wire - Political prisoner facing imminent execution in Iran

Reporters sans frontires - Iran: Iranian New Year starts as badly as ever for the press

Reporters sans fronti�res - Iran

Yahoo! News - Canada quits Iran trade meet over journalist death

Yahoo! News - Canada quits Iran trade meet over journalist death

Harvard Gazette: Mehrangiz Kar speaks truth to power

Harvard Gazette: Mehrangiz Kar speaks truth to power

noticias - Commission hears from Special Rapporteurs on Violence against Women

The Commission on Human Rights this morning continued its consideration of the integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective, hearing presentations by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children; and the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women.

Yakin Erturk, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, said the number of women living with HIV had increased in every region of the world, and women's vulnerability to the pandemic remained largely rooted in pervasive gender inequality and discrimination, which was often manifested in multiple forms of violence. Her report included recommendations in five key areas: ending violence against women; addressing the gender dimensions of HIV/AIDS and associated stigma; ensuring women's equal access to healthcare; empowering women for full enjoyment of all human rights; and promoting a global coalition against HIV/AIDS. She also spoke about her missions to El Salvador, Guatemala, the occupied Palestinian territories and Sudan.

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CHANTAL WALKER (Canada) said she looked forward to the release of the Special Rapporteur's report on her visit to Iran. Noting that the Special Rapporteur had reported on discriminatory laws and malfunction in the administration of justice, which had resulted in impunity for perpetrators and perpetual discrimination against women, she asked how the Government of Iran intended to address these grave concerns to ensure that judicial institutions protected the rights of women, including from violence. Also noting that the Special Rapporteur had focused on the intersection of violence against women and HIV/AIDS and had mentioned the Special Rapporteur on health's emphasis on women's rights to sexual and reproductive health, she asked whether the Special Rapporteur forsaw working jointly with the Special Rapporteur on health to advocate for women's rights to sexual and reproductive health.
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NEWS WATCH: Detained Iran Pastor Faces Death Sentence As Islamic Trial Begins

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Iran: Judiciary Should Admit Blogger Abuse (Human Rights Watch, 4-4-2005)

Iran: Judiciary Should Admit Blogger Abuse (Human Rights Watch, 4-4-2005)

AI: Death Penalty: 3,797 executed in 2004

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Iran executed at least 159, and Viet Nam at least 64. There were 59 executions in the USA, down from 65 in 2003.
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Iran executed at least three child offenders in 2004, violating its obligations as party to international treaties which preclude the practice.
...Another child offender was executed in Iran in January this year.

Gathering of "Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America ( IHRAG)"

Gathering of "Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America ( IHRAG)" - 15 mars 2005 at 14:00 - with presence of family of victims of violation of Himan Right's in Iran in front of the UN headquarter in Geneva.
This action was supported with political prisoners in Iran and “Student committee for defense of political prisoner

Murder of Zahra Kazemi,
Iranian Human Rights Activist Groups in EU and North America ( IHRAG) demands in the first step is :

1- Repatriate the body of Zahra Kazemi to Canada, and
2- Formation of impartial international inquiry commission

National Post:Martin says Iran must be held to account for Kazemi's torture and death

Steve Mertl
Canadian Press
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Prime Minister Paul Martin in Kamloops. (CP PHOTO/Jeff Bassett)
KAMLOOPS, B.C. (CP) - Iran must be held to account by the international community based on the strength of a doctor's account of the injuries he found on Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Friday.

"I think there's no doubt whether you are talking about international courts or whether you are talking about the UN Commission on Human Rights," he said, "I would certainly think the details of what happened to her now in the testimony that has been brought has got to make the world aware of just what Iran is all about and that they have got to be held to account."

Kazemi, 54, an Iranian-born dual citizen, was arrested after taking pictures outside a prison in Tehran in June 2003.

Iranian officials first claimed she died accidentally as the result of a fall while weakened by a hunger strike. Later they charged a low-level secret police officer in her death but he was acquitted in a closed-door trial.

But on Thursday refugee doctor Shahram Azam, formerly with the Iranian military, spoke with clinical coolness at a news conference as he listed the bruises, broken bones and other injuries he found on Kazemi. These could only have been the result of the deliberate torture and rape, he said.

Speaking through an interpreter, Azam recounted in a matter-of-fact way how Kazemi was brought into his Tehran hospital unconscious and on a stretcher on June 27, 2003, four days after her arrest.

Azam, a former major in the Iranian security force, arrived in Canada on Monday. He fled Iran last summer with his wife and daughter under the guise of seeking medical treatment.

On Friday, Martin defended Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew's handling of the Kazemi case.

And he backed the Foreign Affairs Department's decision to keep the allegations under wraps until after Azam had come to Canada. Foreign Affairs was apparently aware of the allegations last November when he applied to come to Canada after fleeing Iran for Sweden.

"I think that's what's very important is to have the testimony of the doctor," Martin said at the end of a two-day trip to B.C. "That was more striking and obviously brought the matter home in the way that a simple statement wouldn't."

Martin said he hoped the new information would have an impact on Canada's attempts to enlist international support in pressuring Iran to answer for Kazemi's death.

Pettigrew said Thursday the doctor's "gruesome" account of her injuries only reinforces Canada's belief she was murdered but that didn't change the "dossier."

Pettigrew's response drew opposition criticism from both the NDP and Conservatives, who demanded Canada recall its recently appointed ambassador to Iran and impose economic sanctions.

Pettigrew rejected demands to recall Canada's ambassador or impose sanctions unilaterally.

CBC News: Canada willing to help Iran, despite Kazemi row

CBC News: Canada willing to help Iran, despite Kazemi row: "While publicly denouncing the killing of Zahra Kazemi in July 2003, Canadian officials were also quietly allowing an Iranian government official to visit Canada, according to documents obtained by CBC Radio."

CAJ renews call for independent inquiry into Kazemi murder

Canada NewsWire Group

PEN Canada disturbed about new revelations of torture in Zahra Kazemi case

IFEX ::: "PEN Canada disturbed about new revelations of torture in Zahra Kazemi case"

Canadian tortured for days, says Iranian doctor

Dr. Shahram Azam examined Zahra Kazemi at Tehran's Baghiattulah hospital .
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"I am a physician who is sworn to save peoples' lives," said Dr. Shahram Azam, through an interpreter at a news conference in Ottawa Thursday. "When I saw with my own eyes someone who has been tortured, without any doubt it affected my mental state."

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