Iran- Human Rights (Women, Minorities, Ethnics)
EUROPE should keep its principles when dealing with IRAN
ARC Humankind Policy Brief
The deafening silence of Western powers regarding gross violations of human rights, international law and territorial integrity of its neighbors by the theocracy, all sacrificed for the signing of the nuclear deal, reverberated across the whole region. It sent a clear message to all political actors that the West has lost credibility, that human rights and territorial integrity were no longer major issues to be taken into consideration, and that sheer power is the only important criterion.
http://www.archumankind.com/publications/policy-brief/
IRAN: JUVENILE OFFENDER AGAIN FACES DEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International
Hamid Ahmadi, an Iranian juvenile offender now aged 24, has been sentenced to death again. He had been convicted of the fatal stabbing of a young man during a fight between five boys when he was 17.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/3122/2015/en/
Eight Prisoners Hanged On Christmas Eve in Northern Iran
Iran HR
Iran Human Rights, December 25, 2015: Eight prisoners were hanged in the prison of Qazvin, northwest of Tehran, reported the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in Qazvin.
The prisoners were all convicted of drug offences and hanged on 24. December. Seven of the prisoners were identified as “Sajjad H.”, “Ali B.”, “Maher B.”, “Habib M.”, “Hossein A.”, “Vahid A.” and “Rahim K.M.”.
Eight other prisoners were hanged in the same prison two days earlier on December 22. In 2015, several hudred prisoners have been executed in Iran for drug-related charges.
Despite this, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) recently signed a new cooperation agreement on fighting the
http://iranhr.net/en/articles/2405/
Popular Iranian Poet Arrested for Third Time amidst Hardline Crackdown against Artistic Community
Iran Human Rights
The well-known Iranian poet Mohamadreza Haj Rostambegloo was released on bail from Karaj’s Central Prison last week, following his third arrest by the authorities in Iran in the last six years.
His mother, Maryam Soltani, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that he was freed on December 20, 2015, after posting 700 million rials (about $23,240) bail, four days after he was arrested by agents of the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization.
His passport, national ID card, mobile phone, and computer tablet were confiscated, she added.
http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2015/12/mohamadreza-haj-rostambeglou-arrested-for-poems/
No Bail Set or Appeals Court Date as Child Rights Activist Waits in Prison
Iran Human Rights
Imprisoned children’s rights activist Omid Alishenas has been refused bail while waiting for the Appeals Court to hear his case.
“Seven months have passed since Omid was sentenced in the preliminary court but the Appeals Court has not yet convened,” Omid Alishenas’s mother said. We have made several requests to release him on bail until the final verdict but they have not agreed. On one occasion I was told that I must provide [a property deed as collateral, valued at] 10 billion rials (about $335,000) to bail him out and I said we don’t have any property worth that much. In any case the offer was later rescinded.”
http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2015/12/omid-alishenas-2/
Young Death Row Prisoner Commits Suicide in Northern Iran
Iran HR
Iran Human Rights (DEC 22 2015): A prisoner by the name of Moslem Shojah Heydari, who was jailed and on death row for several years, reportedly committed suicide at Ghezel Hesar Prison on Sunday December 20.
According to close sources, Heydari was 26 years old and sentenced to death for drug charges. The close source says Iran’s Supreme Court had recently confirmed Heydari’s death sentence.
A prison mate of Heydari tells IHR: “Overcrowding at the prison, the stress of living in the shadow of death, and very tough prison conditions are some of the reasons why there has been an increase in the number of prisoners committing suicide at Ghezel Hesar Prison. In our ward alone, at least three or four people commit suicide each month by drinking a mixture of methamphetamine and water.
http://iranhr.net/en/articles/2401/
Iran court annuls ‘spiritual healers’ death sentence
Tribune
Iran’s Supreme Court annulled Monday the death penalty for spiritual leader Mohammad Ali Taheri and referred his case back to the court that handed down the sentence, his lawyer said.
“I went to court today and was told that the verdict has been cancelled,” Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabayi said, quoted by Fars news agency.
The Revolutionary Court “has to examine the case again and issue a new verdict.”
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1013903/iran-court-annuls-spiritual-healers-death-sentence/
Iran- Terrorism Activities (Middle-East)
Islamic Extremism Epicenter is in Iran, Former Senior Officials Tell Senate Briefing
OIAC
A Senate briefing at the United States Kennedy Caucus Room featured prominent former U.S. officials who discussed the Iranian regime’s in Iraq and Syria and to voice support for Iranian dissidents at Camp Liberty, Iraq.
The first U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, former Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, former Vice Chairman of the Army Joint Chiefs Gen. Jack Keane, and former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield Jr. highlighted the recent horrific terrorist attacks in Paris and California.
http://oiac.org/islamic-extremism-epicenter-is-in-iran-former-senior-officials-tell-senate-briefing/
Argentina’s disgusting attempt to whitewash Iran’s role in the ’94 Jewish center bombing
New York Post
File this one as predictable: In a newly released tape from 2012, Argentina’s former foreign minister admits that Iran was behind the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center.
But Hector Timerman’s conversation with local Jewish leaders is the first concrete admission to become public.
And it bolsters the evidence that Argentina’s government tried to cover up Iran’s involvement in the blast, which left 85 dead and hundreds wounded.
http://nypost.com/2015/12/25/argentinas-disgusting-attempt-to-whitewash-irans-role-in-the-94-jewish-center-bombing/
Iranian Hackers Claim Cyber Attack on New York Dam
CNBC News
An Iranian hactivist group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that gave it access to the control system for a dam in the suburbs ofNew York – and intrusion that one official said may be “just the tip of the iceberg.”
The group, SOBH Cyber Jihad, sent a message through another Iran-linked hacker outfit, Parastoo, promising that it would release the technical information that proves it was behind the 2013 breach, according to Flashpoint Intelligence.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/23/iranian-hackers-claim-cyber-attack-on-new-york-dam.html
Iran- Nuclear Activities
Editorial: Kerry caves to Iran again
Boston Herald
What is it about U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that whenever Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says “jump,” Kerry simply asks “how high?”
This time the Iranians have their noses out of joint over a provision in the congressional budget agreement that would impose new restrictions on anyone who has traveled to or through Iran. Iran insists such restrictions would be a violation of the nuclear arms deal – a phrase that apparently strikes fear into the heart of Secretary Kerry. Can’t possibly have one of the signature achievements of the Obama administration come unraveled before it is even signed, now can we.
http://www.bostonherald.com/opinion/editorials/2015/12/editorial_kerry_caves_to_iran_again
Iran Breached the Nuclear Deal — Iran’s Largest Ballistic Arsenal in the Middle East
Huffington Post
The Joint Plan of Action Agreement (JCPOA) between six world powers and Iran hints at “addressing UN Security council resolutions” regarding Tehran. However, the JCPOA (UNSCR 2231 Annex II, paragraph three) states, that Iran should not undertake any ballistic missiles activity “until the date eight years after the JCPOA Adoption Day or until the date on which the IAEA submits a report confirming the Broader Conclusion, whichever is earlier.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/majid-rafizadeh/irans-ballistic-arsenal-t_b_8873536.html
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to Stage Massive Military Drill in February
The Algemeiner
Brigadier General Rahmatollah Sadeqi, the Commander of the Neinava Corps of Golestan, declared, “The fourth day of the 10-Day Dawn celebrations [February 1-11, marking the 37th anniversary of the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution overturning the Shah’s Rule] is named ‘the Islamic Revolution, Faith, Jihad and Martyrdom Day’, and Golestan province’s Beit ul-Moqaddas and Kosar battalions of Neinava corps will stage drills on that day.”
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/12/21/irans-revolutionary-guards-to-stage-massive-military-drill-in-february/
