“My son and Loghman Moradi [no relation] have been convicted of murdering the son of the Marivan Friday Imam, but the victim’s family knows that Zanyar and Loghman are not the murderers,” Eghbal Moradi said.

Eghbal Moradi, a member of the Kurdistan Komala Party, fled to Iraqi Kurdistan years ago. “My son is a victim of a political game. I myself oppose the regime, I went to prison, I was injured, and I don’t live in Iran right now. They want to seek revenge on me through my son,” Moradi claimed.

Security forces arrested Zanyar Moradi, 23, and Loghman Moradi, 25, on 22 December 2009, for the murder of the son of Marivan’s Friday Imam on 5 July 2009. Judge Salavati of Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court tried them for charges of “moharebeh” (enmity with God), “corruption on earth,” “acting against national security,” and “murder of Marivan Friday Imam’s son,” and sentenced them to death. The Appeals Court has now confirmed the death sentences for the two men.

“When the Intelligence Ministry asked the Marivan Friday Imam, Mr. Shirzad, to appear at the Enforcement Unit of the Judiciary to carry out the sentence, he refused, saying that he doubts these young men have committed the murder, and he has fortunately refused to appear,” Eghbal Moradi said. “But the Intelligence Ministry wants to execute these two no matter what, even if the main plaintiff in the case, the father of the victim, doubts that Zanyar and Loghman are the murderers.”

“Unfortunately, my son’s lawyer only participated in that first court session. Regardless of how many times Loghman’s family and my relatives have asked him to go to court to follow up on the case he has not done anything,” said Zanyar Moradi’s father.

The two prisoners wrote a letter from prison, stating that they had accepted the charge under severe torture and threats of rape. The two prisoners have also written a letter to UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran Ahmad Shaheed.

“As Zanyar and Loghman said in their letter describing their torture, they were tried in a court trial that lasted only a few minutes, and Judge Salavati immediately convicted them of ‘corruption on earth’ and sentenced them to death. The two suspects were never given a chance to defend themselves or say anything. The judge had already decided how to sentence them,” Eghbal Moradi told the Campaign.

“We Kurds know that the chain of assassinations that happened in Kurdistan were carried out by government elements inside Kurdistan,” Moradi claimed. “Government agents and stick-wielding forces murdered the son of the Marivan Friday Imam’s son, but they now want to hold these two young men responsible for the murder,” he continued.

“Unfortunately, I have no news about my son. Since he was imprisoned he has only met with my parents twice for a few minutes. Since he was transferred to Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj about 25 months ago, he has not been allowed to have any visitors. This is why we are very concerned about him, especially when he wrote of torture in his letters,” Moradi told the Campaign. “My other relatives have repeatedly requested visits with him, but they were told that only the immediate family of the prisoner [are allowed to visit with him]. Unfortunately, I live with his mother in Iraqi Kurdistan and we are not allowed to come to Iran. We only hear about Zanyar through released prisoners of Rajaee Shahr Prison or through the media.”

One Year of House Arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi: Free Them Now

(8 February 2012) Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, should immediately release the three opposition leaders who have spent the last year under illegal house arrest and stop using extrajudicial and inhumane methods to silence political opponents, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

Today, nearly one year since the house arrest began, the Campaign released a multimedia project containing a detailed timeline, “News of a Kidnapping,” accompanied by a short video and a letter-writing campaign calling for the release of former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, former speaker of Parliament Mehdi Karroubi, and prominent political advisor and university chancellor Zahra Rahnavard.

“Khamenei bears the ultimate responsibility for these house arrests, which indeed are nothing short of a kidnapping,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson. “Khamenei is operating above the law of the land, and the intelligence and judicial apparatus are tools of repression in his hands, operating with impunity and without any regard for the law or the constitution,” he added.

These house arrests are illegal under both Iranian and international law. Iranian law does not contain any provisions authorizing house arrests. Any detentions must be followed by proper charges and prosecution in a court of law. Authorities have not applied any of these steps in the cases of Rahnavard, Mousavi, and Karroubi.

Moreover, the detainees have not even had access to basic rights normally afforded to prisoners, such as regular visitations, proper health care, or access to lawyers. Since their house arrest, the three leaders have had minimal access to and communications with their immediate families, raising fears for their mental and physical health. For instance, during the first seven months of his confinement, Mehdi Karroubi was allowed access to fresh air only once.

No Iranian official has directly accepted responsibility for the house arrest of these opposition leaders. However, it has become apparent that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is ultimately responsible for ordering the arrests and their continuation.

On 28 January 2012, in an interview with the semi-official Fars News Agency, First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Reza Bahonar said that Khamenei was the final decision-maker in ordering the house arrests.

“These continued illegal detentions demonstrate the epic hypocrisy of Iranian leaders,” said Ghaemi. “On the one hand, they want to claim the mantle of Arab uprisings against dictatorships, and on the other hand they are kidnapping opposition leaders and keeping them under house arrest without any due process whatsoever.”

The United Nations General Assembly, in a resolution adopted 21 November 2011, “Express[ed] deep concern at … [t]he continuing and sustained house arrest of leading opposition figures from the 2009 presidential elections.”

Calls for the release of the three leaders have been increasing in Iran. On 25 January 2012, 39 prominent political prisoners published a statement that said, “We call upon all freedom-loving citizens across the globe to create public awareness regarding the upcoming sham and rigged parliamentary elections in February, and to continue to do everything in their power to ensure that the detained leaders of the Green Movement are released in the month of February.”

On 26 January 2012, Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi supported this call and urged the international community to advocate for the release of the opposition leaders from their house arrest.

The Campaign calls on all international actors with access to the Iranian government to urge the release of Rahnavard, Mousavi, and Karroubi. In particular, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon should call on Iranian authorities to end the unjust and illegal house arrest of the opposition leaders.

Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, two presidential candidates in the disputed June 2009 election, along with Zahra Rahnavard, an outspoken critic and Mousavi’s wife, have been under house arrest since 14 February 2011, when they called for demonstrations in support of the Arab Spring. Fatemeh Karroubi, a social activist and Karroubi’s wife, was also put under house arrest at the time but has since been released due to medical reasons.

During a brief visit by his daughter on 7 September 2011, Mousavi told her that if she wanted to comprehend his condition, she should read Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s News of a Kidnapping, which details the kidnapping of ten notable Colombians by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. This comparison inspired the title of the Campaign’s timeline.

“When prominent figures from within the establishment are treated in such an extrajudicial and inhumane manner, the fate of regular prisoners of conscience, captive to intelligence and judicial operatives, is many-fold worse,” Ghaemi said.

The Campaign reiterated its call for the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience held unjustly in Iranian prisons solely for their peaceful opinions and beliefs.

*This timeline is currently best used on Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari. Internet Explorer users may for the time being experience some difficulty.

Sanatipour is a chemistry student at Mashhad’s Ferdowsi University and Secretary of the university’s Allameh Group. He has also worked with several student publications,

Hassan Fathi, appearing on television to talk about the explosion on 12 November

The family of imprisoned journalist Hassan Fathi has reason to believe he has been returned to solitary confinement, a source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“We think he has been transferred to a solitary cell again, because last week when the family went to visit with him, they were told that he is barred from having visitors,” a source close to the family said. “He must be in solitary, as prisoners in the General Ward are allowed visitors. But we don’t know anything about his conditions for sure,” the source added.

Security forces arrested Fathi on 13 November 2011, one day after he had appeared as a guest on BBC Persian Television to discuss an explosion in a military base belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Fars News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, reported on Fathi’s arrest shortly thereafter: referring to him as a BBC employee, they cited his charges as “propagating falsehoods” and “creating public anxiety.” He was in solitary confinement inside Evin Prison for more than 45 days.

Officials have repeatedly told Fathi’s family, including his wife and his brother, that he would be released soon. A few days after Fathi’s transfer to the general ward, officials told his brother that Fathi would be released within a few days. Later, Fathi’s wife wrote the authorities a letter asking for a visit with her husband, his brother told the Campaign. During the visit, prison authorities told her that her husband would be released on bail by the following week. “We had prepared ourselves for any bail amount, but we never heard about it again,” said Fathi’s brother.

“The family doesn’t know why he wasn’t released,” the source told the Campaign. “[Fathi’s] wife spoke with the judge in charge of his case. We don’t know what this was all about, but the entire family believes that he has not committed any crime. His background is quite clear. He served in the Iran-Iraq war front. Before the revolution, he spent time in Savak Prison. He is the brother of two war martyrs. He is a reporter for the government [press]. I hope he is released soon.”

Fathi has worked in government-affiliated publications such as Omid-e Javaan and Etela’at Haftegi.

“The [family’s] last visit with him was about two or three weeks ago, when he had just been transferred to the general ward. His wife, son, and daughter went to see him in person. He was in good shape on that day. Mr. Fathi served a few months in prison before the revolution, and he is not easily affected,” the source told the Campaign.

“His doctors wrote that he should go on medical leave. His father is now in Tehran to pursue his furlough,” Ronaghi’s mother, Zoleikha Mousavi, said.

Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, 26, was arrested on 13 December 2009. In October 2010, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to 15 years in prison, which was later upheld by an appeals court. Ronaghi has been suffering from kidney and liver problems for months. He had submitted several requests and written letters to the Tehran Prosecutor for a review of his conditions and his transfer to a hospital, the texts of which have been published in news websites.

“Finally last week his transfer was set. His father and I had gone to Tehran together, and we were there for two days,” Mousavi said. “They told us, ‘Come and wait at the hospital, we will bring him,’ but they didn’t bring him. Exactly on Thursday, 19 December, when we had returned to Tabriz from the 10-hour trip, they called us from the prison and said that Hossein was transferred. We returned back to Tehran again. On Saturday he was operated on and on Monday he was returned to prison.”

The doctor’s orders state that Hossein Ronaghi Maleki should be transferred back to the hospital in 15 days in order to be re-examined.

“The Tehran Prosecutor has written a letter to Judge Pirabbasi asking for bail orders so he can go on medical furlough. But we have been told that the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] would not allow Hossein to be granted leave. We will now have to see whether Judge Pirabbasi will grant him leave or not,” Mousavi told the Campaign.

“Why don’t they respect a sick person? We said, ‘Let us take Hossein home and when he is better, he will return to prison.’ But they won’t allow it; they think I’m lying. They say the IRGC won’t allow it,” the imprisoned blogger’s mother told the Campaign. “I swear to God, Hossein was so pale. He had become so thin. He was nervous. He has suffered so much inside the prison. I am a mother. This upsets me,” Mousavi continued.

After visiting Ronaghi recently, Mousavi said, “Hossein doesn’t say much, but he said this time, ‘Mom, I haven’t stepped outside for fresh air or exercise since September, because it’s really cold there.’ He had kidney pain, too. Another prisoner told us how cold it is in Evin.”

“What has Hossein done for them to treat him like this? Of course they don’t just treat my son like this, they treat all sick prisoners in the same way. The Medical Examiner has confirmed Hossein’s illness. They went to prison and examined him and said that he must go on furlough, but they won’t allow it. We said we would accept whatever bail amount is said. Why do they treat people like this? Is it right for all these sick people to remain in prison in this cold weather?” she added.

Regarding her visits with her son in the hospital, Mousavi said, “He didn’t have handcuffs and footcuffs this time. But an officer and two soldiers were watching him all the time.”

Abolfazl Tabarzadi, a civil engineering student and human rights activist, is the nephew of imprisoned political activist Heshmatollah Tabarzadi. Security forces arrested the former on 19 December 2010 at his father’s house. In an earlier interview with the Campaign, Abolfazl Tabarzadi’s father asked, “Why should Abolfazl be in prison? What sin has he committed? He was just a human rights activist, he was just trying to get furlough and visitation rights and such for his uncle….”

A lower Ahvaz court sentenced the younger Tabarzadi to 15 months in prison on charges of “acting against national security” and “contact with foreign media.” His sentence was reduced to nine months at the appeals level. The 24-year-old human rights activist began serving his sentence in Karoon Prison in Ahvaz on 18 October 2011.

“It seems Abolfazl is suffering from severe paranoia,” a source close to the family told the Campaign. “He constantly thinks he should be responding to interrogators, that agents are after him, and he is worried about his family’s health. Apparently he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night, until prison authorities contacted his family, asking them to go to the prison. The Prosecutor’s Office signed his hospital transfer authorization form, and he was sent to hospital,” the source said.

“The doctors have ordered him to be hospitalized for a month and then to be put under treatment for six months in a tranquil environment. But, unfortunately, he is currently under tight security in the hospital,” the source continued.

“When they send a university student who has never thought about prison or such things to a facility like Karoon Prison in Ahvaz, which is even worse than medieval prisons, well, he would go crazy. There is no separation of inmates by type of crime and all types of prisoners sleep and live next to each other,” the source said.

“Abolfazl has a very sensitive soul; I guess he couldn’t take it anymore. Last year he was under heavy interrogation. They sent him to court in handcuffs and footcuffs without a lawyer, and then to prison. Wouldn’t these things drive anyone crazy?” the source added.

FAITH AND SACRIFICE: THE BAHA’IS IN IRAN from Education Under Fire on Vimeo.

“The world needs to know about the plight of the Baha’is of Iran” are the stirring words spoken by Iraj Kamalabadi at the opening of this powerful short film. His sister, Fariba Kamalabadi, is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

The second video in the Angels of Iran series, “Faith and Sacrifice” weaves together accounts of nine family members of Baha’is who have faced imprisonment, torture and execution under Iran’s present government and features commentary by Glenford Mitchell, retired member of the world governing council of the Baha’i Faith who was deeply involved, at the highest levels, in the early days of the defense of the Iranian Baha’is.

Referring to the systematic attempt by the Islamic Republic of Iran to destroy the Iranian Baha’i community, Kimia Kline, whose grandfather, Fat’u’llah Ferdowsi, was executed in 1982 says, “The Iranian government wants these lives erased, their memories erased. But, when you sacrifice something as irreplaceable as your life … that is inherently unforgettable.”

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran joins Amnesty International, United4Iran, Education Under Fire, The Boroumand Foundation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, the Baha’i national communities of the United States and Canada, and other organizations in supporting these new Angels of Iran videos and the DRIVE TO 25 initiative calling for action to end the violations of human rights in Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and other Iranian officials have so far never formally responded to any grievances and demands from Sunni clerics and leaders.

In the letter, dated 19 December 2011, members of the Sunni Faction of the Iranian Parliament wrote to Khamenei about the non-implementation of “key and important articles of the Constitution, in particular those principles that refer to religious freedom of the Sunnis and ethnic equality,” and express regret about it. “Unfortunately, many of the important and key articles in the Constitution, including Articles 12, 15, and 19, have not been completely implemented yet. Additionally, Article 115 of the Constitution forbids qualified Sunni political and religious leaders from running in the presidential elections,” the letter states.

Members of the Sunni Faction have additionally reminded Ayatollah Khamenei that Iranian Sunnis have so far been unable to receive permission to build even one mosque in Tehran. They have emphasized that this illegal prohibition continues, adding, “Despite frequent follow-ups, unfortunately the authorities have not agreed to the construction of the mosque.”

The signatories of the letter, Sunni MPs from various regions throughout Iran, point to the statements made Ayatollah Khamenei during his trips to provinces and Sunni-dominated regions, and specifically during his 2009 visit to Kurdistan Province, about religious “equality and brotherhood,” as well as “unity,” ask Khamenei to “form a special committee” to take action on “implementing delayed articles and correcting Article 115 of the Constitution,” and to end the religious and ethnic restrictions and prohibitions imposed on Sunnis.

Article 115 states, “The president must be among religious and political figures and have the following qualifications for elections: Iranian descent, Iranian citizenship, be a wise manager, have a good record and be trustworthy and pious, be faithful and a believer in the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a member of the official religion of the country.” Since Article 12 of the Iranian Constitution defines the official religion of Iran to be Ethna Ashari (Twelver Shiism), Sunnis are prohibited from becoming candidates in the presidential elections.

The Sunni Faction of the Iranian Parliament was established in 2008 by a group of Sunni MPs after religious restrictions for Iranian Sunnis increased, several Sunni clerics were arrested, and security confrontations with Sunnis in different Iranian provinces intensified. Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, MP from Mahabad in Kurdistan Province, is Secretary of the Sunni Faction of the Iranian Parliament.

Signatories of the letter include: Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, representative of Mahabad and Secretary of the Sunni Faction; Peyman Forouzeh, representative of Zahedan; Eghbal Mohammadi, representative of Marivan and Servabad; Abdaljabbar Karami, representative of Sanandaj, Divandarreh, and Kamyaran; Mohammad Ali Partovi, representative of Sardasht and Piranshahr; Saidamad Hosseini, representative of Qorveh and Dehgolan; Said Fatahollah Hosseini, representative of Paveh and Oramanat; Mohammad Reza Sajjadian, representative of Khaf and Rashtkhvar; Mohammad Gheyoom Dehghan, representative of Iranshahr, Sarbaz and Delgan; Abdollah Rastgar, representative of Gonbad Kavoos; Abdolaziz Jamshidzahi, representative of Saravan, Sib Suran, and Zaboli; and Ahmad Jabbari, representative of Bandar Langeh, Bastak, and Parsian.

Zanyar Moradi and Loghman Moradi

The Iranian Supreme Court has upheld the death sentences of two Kurdish political prisoners, local sources told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Prison authorities from Rajaee Shahr Prison allegedly told Zanyar Moradi and Loghman Moradi that their death sentences were upheld.

On 22 December 2010, Judge Salavati of Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced the two Kurdish prisoners to a public hanging on the charges of “moharebeh” (enmity with God) and “murder of the son of Marivan’s Friday Imam.”

The source told the Campaign that prison authorities informed the prisoners of this conviction last week. “During a short call to his family, Loghman Moradi confirmed this news, saying that he was shocked upon hearing the verdict, and considering that the notification of the decision was not in writing, he was hopeful that this was done only to intimidate him.”

The lawyer for the two political prisoners told the source that he was also surprised by the announcement, that he has told the families of the prisoners that he had not been formally served a court decision, and that he will be traveling to Tehran to follow up the case at the Supreme Court.

The two political prisoners had previously written letters alleging that they were tortured in prison and forced to make false confessions. (Link in Persian) On 2 February 2011, the two prisoners had submitted the appeal request for their death sentences to the Supreme Court.

In an earlier interview with the Campaign, Zanyar Moradi’s father Eqbal Moradi, a member of the Kurdish opposition group Komalah, said, “How can a 20-year-old kid be a murderer? My son was arrested 20 months ago and after 17 months he was accused of murder and terror. But the people of Mariwan and even the family of the victim know that Zanyar and a few other kids did not do this. All of Mariwan’s people and even the victim’s family know that the murderer in this recent case of murders is none other than the regime, and this has nothing to do with the kids,” he said.

Similarly, Loghman Moradi’s father Osman Moradi told the Campaign, “During the first nine months when [Osman] was at the Intelligence Office Prison, there was no murder charge in his case. Later, during the next seven months when he was held in prison, there was no such talk, either. But they returned him to the Intelligence Ministry again, and held him there for 25 days. He was tortured and abused to the point where he accepted the murder [charge]. I mean he accepted it in order to save himself from those conditions. It took them 17 months to take that confession from him,” Osman Moradi said.

What does the recent increase in the arrests of journalists in Iran have to do with the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iran? Mehrad Vaezinejad, a Middle East analyst based in London, explains that the two are actually related. We also speak with Niousha Masoumi, a friend of Parastoo Dokouhaki, a recently arrested journalist, who tells us more about her and the work she did in Iran as a blogger and journalist.

In this Weekly Rights Podcast, Mehrad talks about the Iranian authorities’ “campaign of fear,” the latest victims of which are the recent arrests of journalists Parastoo Dokouhaki and Marzieh Rassouli. A friend of Rassouli, he talks about these arrests mean for the situation of human rights in Iran. Niusha explains further what Parastoo’s and Marzieh’s arrests mean for Iranian society in the upcoming election. If you want to learn more about these two journalists, don’t miss this podcast!