Week 08 - 2013

Prisoners’ News

A- Transfers

• On death row political prisoner Saman Nasim was transferred from Mahabad prison to Urmia prison.
• Human Rights attorney Mohammad Seifzadeh was transferred back to Rejaei Shahr prison after completing treatment at hospital.

B- Arrests/Incarcerations

• National Religious activist; Roin Atoufat arrested.
• Civil activist Behboud Gholizadeh was arrested by Intel Ministry's office in Miandoab.
• Another journalist, Ehsan Mazandarani, arrested
• Nava Naeemi, Baha’i from Esfahan arrested.
• Semnan Baha'i, Akbar Pour-Hosseini, summoned, arrested and taken to start his 18 month prison term.
• Baha'i Sama Raoufi was arrested by 5 armed Intel agents in Sanandaj.
• Ali Shariati begins serving his 8 month sentence in Evin.
• 300 Gonabadi Dervishes arrested in front of Evin, they had gathered to show support for jailed Dervishes lawyers on Thursday; they were released on the same day.

C-Liberations

• Etemad newspaper editor-in-chief Javad Daliri  released on bail.
• After 3 years Mohammad Davari granted prison furlough.
• Fatemeh Sagharchi Jamaran site editor/journalist/media activists detained three weeks ago,  released on 120M Tomans bail.
• Journalist Hossein Yaghchi released.

D-Other News

• Political prisoner Jafar Afshari in Oromieh prison launched a hunger strike and sewed his lips.
• Mohammad Reza Pourshajari suffered heart attack in Rajai Shahr prison.
• After 37days of no news from the Gonabadi Dervishes lawyers imprisoned in solitary their families were allowed a visit.

News of injustice in Iran

• Political prisoner Mostafa Farjam who suffers from amnesia due to torture sentenced to 18 years in prison.
• Mostafa Fegheh sentenced to 4 years imprisonment on charges of affiliation with a banned Kurdish group.
• Student activist Hesam Ghorbani -from Yasouj University- sentenced to flogging (20 lashes) and has to pay a fine.
• Student activist, Yashar Piri, sentenced to 3 months in prison and 30 lashes by Tabriz court.
• Mohammad Seifzadeh, Human Rights lawyer, was condemned to 6 years in prison.
• One man hanged in Sanandaj prison last week.
• 4 executions in Zahedan prison.
• 3 executions in Arak prison on Sunday.
• 3 public executions in Shiraz on Sunday.
• 8 executions in Adeleabd prison in Shiraz on Tuesday.
• 1 execution on Wednesday.
• 3 executions in Kermanshah prison on Wednesday.
• 1 public execution in Arak on Wednesday.
• 2 executions in Yazd prison on Thursday.

University – Culture

• Sepideh Vaziri-Pourhaghighi and Samir Golshan have been expelled from the Kharameh campus of Payam-e Nour University because of their Bahai beliefs.
• Noroozi, Iranian photographer, wins awards at World Photo Press.
• Jafar Panahi won the Berlin Film Festival prize for the Best Script for “Pardé” (Closed Curtain).

Politics in Iran

• Supreme Leader criticizes Iran’s president for first time.
• Iranian president proposes new Minister of Communications and Technology.
• Maternity leave for Iranian women has risen from 6 to 9 months.
• Naeemeh Eshraghi, Ayatollah Khomeini's granddaughter, sharply criticized house arrest of Mousavi, Karroubi and Rahnavard.
• Keyan Market in Ahwaz, which is an important center of commerce for impoverished Arabs, was burned down by Iranian security forces on February 14.

Iran abroad

• Intelsat in US and Canada removes Iranian Channel PressTV.
• Nigeria says arrests Iran-linked cell targeting U.S., Israel.
• Vice President for International Affairs arrives in Havana.
• An Iranian diplomat asks for asylum in Norway.
• Spain arrests 3 men for allegedly spying for Iran on regime dissidents seeking asylum.

Miscellaneous

• Iran confiscates Buddha statues from shops.
• 30,000 marriages a year of children under the age of 15 takes place in Iran.