Mashad Student Activist Ali Gholizadeh Arrested

Ali Gholizadeh, a student activist, was arrested by authorities last Friday in his father’s home. The news of his arrest was confirmed by his mother in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Gholizadeh is a member of Daftar Tahkim-e Vahdat student organization and has been deprived from continuing his education. “Today at noon, two men came and said that they were Intelligence forces, and want to take Ali for a few questions. They said they would return him before night. It is nighttime now, and there is no news from my child,” the student activist’s mother told the Campaign.

Iranian Judiciary Denies Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s Imminent Execution

Following widespread rumors about the imminent execution of Sakineh Ashtiani, the head of East Azarbaijan’s Justice Department emphasized that Ashtiani has not been executed. According to ISNA News Agency, Malek Ajdar Sharifi denied news reports that Ashtiani has been executed inside Tabriz Prison. “She is in complete health right now inside Tabriz Prison. Her case is under review inside the Province’s judicial courts and is going through its administrative process,” said Malek Ajdar Sharifi, Head of East Azerbaijan Justice Department.

Mahdieh Golroo Denied Medical Attention, Health Problems Continue

Marzieh Golroo, sister of prisoner of conscience Mahdieh Golroo, spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about her sister’s prison condition. Mahdieh Golroo, who is a member of the Right to Education Council, has been in prison since 3 November of last year and her requests for medical leave have been repeatedly denied for 11 months by prison authorities. Despite poor health, Golroo remains in very good mental condition, says her sister.

Weekly Rights Podcast 16: An Interview with Roxana Saberi

This week, Roxanna Saberi, on freedom of the press. The young Iranian-American journalist spent six years reporting in Iran, before she was arrested last year. She was convicted of spying, and sentenced to eight years. But an appeals court reduced the charge, and she was released in May, 2009, after 100 days in the notorious Evin Prison. I asked her if she had any plans to return to Iran… Listen to the interview:

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Life of Jailed Human Rights Lawyer at Great Risk

(4 November 2010) The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, should immediately intervene with Iranian authorities to ensure the physical well being of detained human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

On Sunday, 31 October, Sotoudeh, one of Iran’s most prominent human rights lawyers went on a dry hunger strike protesting her detention and ill treatment inside Tehran’s Evin prison. Her family reported that her health is quickly deteriorating.

“As High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay has a duty to come to the aid of embattled human rights defenders,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.

Expulsion of Two Student Activists from Mazandaran Universities

An informed student activist told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that two Mazandaran Province political student activists were expelled from university. The students are Kaveh Daneshvar, a student at Babol Noshirvani Industrial University, and Behnam Farazmand, a student at Mazandaran University.

Retired Revolutionary Guard Commander Arrested, Intelligence Officials Disavow Knowledge

A reliable source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the fate of Mashad political and cultural activist and Iran-Iraq war era deputy Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Reza Farzin, remains unknown. Farzin was arrested two weeks ago by IRGC intelligence officers in Khorasan and transferred to an unknown location. The Intelligence Office of the City of Mashad disavowed knowledge regarding his whereabouts. Due to his heart condition, Farzin’s arrest has gravely worried his family. Farzin had open heart surgery last year and also suffers from hypertension.

“The Bloggers Must Be Acquitted and Judges Be Put on Trial”

Mohammad Seifzadeh, lawyer in the “Bloggers Case,” spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran saying despite a ruling being issued in the case, officials have not served him with the decision. Six years have passed since 21 journalists and technical staff of several websites were arrested. So far, the court has changed the presiding judge twice, just as acquittals seemed likely. There have been calls for former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, who was responsible for the court file, to be held accountable for his illegal actions in arresting the bloggers. This year, Mortazavi was suspended for his role in the transfer of some prisoners to Kahrizak detention center, where at least four died from severe torture. After several years, four of the accused bloggers have been sentenced to prison terms by lower courts.

Ten More Secret Executions in Mashad, Foreign Citizens Among Those Executed

According to information obtained by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the implementation of death sentences in Mashad’s Vakilabad prison continues. Last Tuesday, 26 October, ten more prisoners were executed in a group without any official announcement by the Iranian government. All those executed had been charged with drug trafficking. Among those executed was a Nigerian citizen. In similar executions in recent months in Vakilabad prison, some Afghan citizens and a citizen of Ghana were also executed.

More Secret Executions in Mashad: 23 Executed in October

Reliable sources continue to present reports to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, indicating widespread, clandestine group executions of hundreds of inmates. Those executed were charged with transportation and storage of drugs and were held in Vakilabad prison in Mashad. The Campaign has learned that executions were carried out on 5 and 12 October 2010 inside Vakilabad prison. Reliable sources told the Campaign that a total of 23 prisoners, thirteen on 5 October, and ten on 12 October. The executions were carried out without any regard for official Islamic laws or respect for fair judicial procedures. Lawyers and family members were not present nor given prior notice. A number of former prisoners from Vakilabad prison have reported forced confessions under torture and pressure.