Week 39 - 2012

Prisoners’ News

A- Transfers

• Kurdish political prisoner Shahram Eliasi (life imprisonment) transferred from Evin prison to Rajai Shahr prison.
• Hamid Eslami, Baha’i transferred to Adel Abad prison in Shiraz.
•  tFarhad Lahorianransferred to solitary in Sanandaj prison.
• Anwar Hossein-Panahi transferred from Sanandaj prison to an unknown location.
• Human Rights Activist Hossein Ronaghi Maleki was transferred to Evin prison from Tabriz prison.
• Hesam Salavati transferred to solitary in Sanandaj prison.
• Rahman Vafaei, Baha’i transferred to Adel Abad prison in Shiraz.

B- Arrests/Incarcerations

• Blogger/translator Hamidreza Abdollahi was arrested in a raid of his home Sept 19.
• Fereydoun Aghazadeh (Atila), Azeri activist, arrested during a memorial in Khoy.
• Asgar Akbarzadeh, Azeri activist, arrested during a memorial in Khoy.
• Meysam Azadi, Azeri activist, arrested during a memorial in Khoy.
• Journalist Masoud Bastani returned to prison Friday after 10 days out on furlough.
• Adeleh Cheraghi was arrested Sept 24. Her husband labor activist Alireza Askari recently released on bail.
• Rahim Gholami, Azeri activist, arrested during a memorial in Khoy.
• Hamid Ghorbanalizadeh, Azeri activist, arrested during a memorial in Khoy.
• Faezeh Hashemi arrested to serve her 6 months sentence
• Mehdi Hashemi arrested for interrogations.
• Ahmadinejad's media advisor Aliakbar Javanfekr arrested and sent to Evin to start serving 6 months sentence.
• Abbas Lisani, Azeri activist, arrested during a memorial in Khoy.
• Hasan Maadikhah arrested to serve his sentence.
• Former Gorgan city council member Abdolnaser Maihimini arrested in a raid of his son's home in Tehran while visiting him.
• Siamak Mirzaei, Azeri activist, arrested during a memorial in Khoy.
• Greens supporter activist Shokrollah Nazari arrested in a raid of his home in Shiraz.
• Ali Ranjbar, blogger and translator, arrested on 13 Sep.
• Student activist Esmail SalmanPour who was released on bail on 12 Sept, arrested.
• Kianoosh Tohidi, Azeri activist, arrested during a memorial in Khoy.
• Blogger/Mazandaran University student Mani Tavakoli arrested on his way back home from Tehran.
• Taraneh Torabi, Baha’i, sent to Semnan prison to serve her 20 months sentence with her baby.

C-Liberations

• Sarand earthquake relief volunteer worker Mohammad Arjomandirad was released from Tabriz prison.
• Babak Dashab released after finishing 3 year prison term.
• Vahed Kholoosi, aid worker from Sarand camp, released from Tabriz prison.
• Milad Panahipour, aid worker from Sarand camp, released from Tabriz prison.
• Sarand earthquake relief volunteer worker Farid Rohani was released from Tabriz prison.
• Activist Ali Samadpour  released on bail after 83 days in detention.
• Sarand earthquake relief volunteer worker Shayan Vahdati was released from Tabriz prison

News of injustice in Iran

• Ayoub Asadi sentenced to 20 years in prison in exile.
• Anisa and Keyvan Dehghani sentenced by Appeals to 6 months each.
• Fakhroldin Faraji sentenced to 30 years in prison in exile.
• Chengiz Ghader Kheiri sentenced to 40 years in prison in exile.
• Sentence of 4 months suspended for Davood Khodakarami maintained by Appeals.
• Azari activist Hamidreza Ranjbar sentenced to 3 years + 74 lashes by court in Tabriz.
• Sentence of 1 year for Ebrahim Rashidi upheld by Appeals.
• Mohammad-Hossein Rezaei sentenced to 30 years in prison in exile.
• Sentence of 6 months + 6 months suspended for Rouzbeh Saadati confirmed by Appels.
• Sanaz Tavassoli sentenced by Appeals to 6 months.
• One person hanged on Saturday.
• One hanging in Semnan on Tuesday.
• 11 hangings in Ghezel Hesar on Wednesday, one in Evin.
• Six hangings in Ghezel Hesar on Thursday.

University – Culture

• Student activist Vahid Abedini denied PhD studies again by Tehran University.
• Google and Gmail have been filtered in Iran.
• Jomhouri Eslami halves number of pages because of paper crisis.
• The head of Cultural and Social Branch of the Ministry of Education announced the decision to enforce uniforms for college students.
• Iran boycotts the 2013 Oscars (in the wake of the anti-Islam film).
• 180,000 academics leave Iran each year.
• Iran Gender Equality site is hacked.
• Some government offices have installed VPN and filter-breakers to use Gmail.
• 17 sunni teachers banned from teaching in Kurdistan province.
• Iran bans Shargh Daily, reformist paper.
• Iran scraps cheaper foreign currency for studies abroad.

Protests

• 10000 workers in Iran in a petition to the government: Faltering economy, unfair labor practices jeopardize our livelihoods.
• Teachers rally in front of Parliament, again.

Iran Economics

• $1 = 2460 tomans on Saturday, 2475 on Sunday, 2530 on Monday, 2523 on Tuesday, 2630 on Wednesday, 2700 on Thursday.
• 200 workers lose their job due to auto factory not being able to import parts from France due to sanctions.
• According to the head of the Retired Workers Society, 80% of the retired workers are under the poverty line.
• Luxury car imports up 30%.
• Faced with a lack of funds and credit needed to continue construction of the Ahvaz Metro, the project managers imposed a forced vacation on most employees.
• MP: Inflation rate in price of food items is 46%.

Iran  abroad

• Big money helps remove MEK, Iranian opposition group from terror list.
• US have issued over 100 Visas to Ahmadinejad's entourage so far for his 2012 UN visit to New York but refused 20 others among them Mohammad Shaikhan and Mohammad Jafar Behdad.
• Pro- regime Iranian journalist killed by Syrian rebels.
• Ramin Mehmanparast, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, attacked by protesters in New York.
• Students demand expulsion of French Ambassador from Tehran.
• Iran to set up Holy Prophet stand at Frankfurt Book Fair 2012.

Miscellaneous

• Iran accused Siemens of implanting tiny explosives inside equipment Iran purchased for its nuclear program.
• Iran ranks 3rd in Islamic countries for suicide after Sudan and Tunisia.
• 3 earthquakes jolted Tehran province, near city of Tehran, Varamin, Damavand and Rey.