Weekly Rights Podcast 25

In this week’s Weekly Rights Podcast: lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh is taken back to prison; Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi speaks out against the treatment of Arab minorities in the Khuzestan province of Iran; informed sources told the Campaign of political prisoners being moved to the infamous Ghezel Hessar Prison in Karaj; the Iraqi government acknowledges attacking Camp Ashraf, the base of the Mujahedin Khalgh Organization; the family of journalist Nazanin Khosravani expressed shock over the long prison sentence handed down to their daughter; Fatemeh Maleki, wife of documentary filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad, asked for help from the international community to secure her husband’s release who has been in prison since November 2009; Shirin Ebadi and nine other human and labor rights organizations condemned a bill that monitors the establishment and supervises NGOs; Shiva Nazar Ahari has been awarded the prestigious Theodore Haecker prize for her reporting on human rights abuses; the Iranian government has demanded that Sarah Shourd, the American hiker who was arrested with her two friends Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, return to Iran to face charges of espionage; and Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been awarded the prestigious Carrosse d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

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In Rare Move, Man Sentenced To Blinding And Disfigurement In Retribution (Qisas)

“The Supreme Court issued a rare final ruling, sentencing the suspect in an acid throwing case to eye gauging and earlobe cutting,” the Iran Daily reported yesterday.  Six years ago, the young man had mistakenly thrown acid on a tailor shop employee’s face. According to the Iran Daily, on 23 June 2005, Hamid, 26, threw [...]

Shirkoo Moarefi’s Lawyer Says His Execution Orders Have Been Issued

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Saeed Sheikhi, political prisoner Shirkoo Moarefi’s lawyer, said that his client’s death sentence, issued on charges of “acting against national security” and “moharebeh” (enmity with God) and upheld by the Supreme Court, has been sent to the Implementation Unit of the Judiciary, even though neither he nor his client have been served with the papers. Moarefi’s lawyer is concerned because over the past few years, several times execution orders have been carried out without informing the lawyers or families of the prisoners. Last year, Arash Rahmanipour was executed without the knowledge of his lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, or his family.

Statement By Seven Labor Organizations on International Labor Day Harshly Criticizes the Iranian Government

On the occasion of the International Labor Day on 1 May, seven Iranian labor organizations have published a statement, objecting to the violations of Iranian workers’ most basic rights. “While all over the world, the workers’ show their joy and passion and will to fight on 1 May, and their free million-strong protests against their living conditions shake the world, Iranian workers are not only deprived of the social rights to establish organizations and street protests, they are exposed to the most severe attacks on their lives and livelihood,” the statement expresses. The statement briefly describes the current state of affairs for Iranian workers and illustrates the many problems they currently face.

Next Court Session For Three Americans Scheduled For 11 May; Sarah Shourd Must Return To Iran

The next trial session for the three Americans who were arrested on 31 July 2009 on Iran’s western border will be held on 11 May. Sarah Shourd, one of the three, was released on bail of $500,000 in September 2010 after it was disclosed that her health had deteriorated in prison; she immediately left Iran.