Arrests, Torture and Heavy Verdicts for the families who visited their Children
Situation of Human Rights Activists in Iran:

Translated By WFAFI from Peykeiran site

March 30, 2008
Based on the reports received from Gohardasht prison in Karaj, on February 5th, 2008, the 50 year-old Mrs. Zahra Asadpour Karaji and her 22 year-old daughter, Ms. Fatemeh Joshan were kidnapped by the notorious Intelligence  Ministry agents in Sasan Square in Karaj. That afternoon the agents of the Intelligence Ministry attacked and inspected their home and destroyed their possessions. They took with them the family’s computer, CDs, books and other personal belongings. They transferred Mrs. Asadpour to the solitary confinement in the ward 8 of the prison known as the Guards ward (this ward is similar to ward 209 of the Evin prison and is run by the Intelligence Ministry agents and Revolutionary Guards Security forces). She was imprisoned in solitary confinement for 30 days. In the February cold weather, she was placed in a cell where the glasses of the windows were broken and the cell lacked insulation. During the period in the solitary confinement, she was under constant interrogation. The interrogations happened at night and were accompanied by severe physical and psychological tortures. They would first expose her to extreme physical tortures and then during questioning would try to force her to admit to the interrogators accusations. The Intelligence Ministry agents would also expose her to various psychological tortures such as threatening to kill her or her daughter. They would also tell her how they had raped or hanged numerous girls and women in the same cell.

This practice was repeated during the 30 days of her imprisonment. In response to the severe tortures, Mrs. Asadpour went on a dry hunger strike for several days and committed suicide. Mrs. Asadpour’s poor health forced the agents of the Intelligence Ministry to take a doctor to her cell. While in prison, Mrs. Asadpour was not informed of the whereabouts and the situation of her daughter. The interrogators who tortured Mrs. Asadpour were Mohebi and Reza Aref. They are located in the Karaj office. The head of Gohardasht prison, Haj Kazem and Ali Mohammadi also had a direct role in their torture.
Mrs. Fatemeh Joshan was transferred to the ward in Gohardasht prison where women criminals were kept. She was attacked and beaten by the prison guards and dangerous prisoners on several occasions.
Since the kidnapping of his spouse and daughter, Mr. Joshan and his family regularly visited the Revolutionary Judiciary and other offices where they were treated with threats and insults and given no information about their whereabouts. Two weeks after their detention, he was informed that they were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry. Mohebi and Reza Arefi, the agents of the Intelligence Ministry ordered the father and son of the family to their office on a daily basis and questioned them. The rest of the family members are also being physically threatened and on the verge of losing their jobs. After 33 days of persistently referring back and forth, the family finally briefly met with the mother and daughter who had lost a lot of weight. The visit was at the presence of the interrogators. The visits of the family with a person named YarMohammadi in the Branch 6 of the Revolutionary Judiciary who is in charge of the case and with the Judge, Mir-Ghafari in the 3rd branch of Karaj Revolutionary Judiciary have been so far futile. The family is treated harshly and amid 25 million Rials of bail set for each one, their loved ones are still kept in detention. They are also told that they will be tried after the Norouz holidays and are subjected to harsh treatment because they visited their children in Ashraf camp in Iraq last year.
It is noteworthy that in the past 2 years, several members of the families who visited their children in Ashraf* have been arrested, tortured and condemned to long imprisonments. Some of those are: 62 year-old Ms. Zahra Aghili, 50 year-old Ms. Shahla Zarinfar who was recently exiled to Gohradasht prison, 64 year-old Mr. Abbas Asgarizadeh, 65 year-old Mr. Javad Aligholi, 60 year-old ShirMohammad Rezaei who is a survival of the 1988 prisoner massacre, former prisoners Asghar Banazadeh and Hamid Banazadeh.
* The City of Ashraf is situated northeast of the Iraqi town of al-khalis, approximately 80 km from the Iraqi capital Baghdad and 70 km to the West of the Iran-Iraq border. Ashraf was founded in 1986, the year that the PMOI moved its headquarters to Iraq.
 

The women suffering in Iran
By Baroness Cox, Former Deputy Speaker of the UK House of Lords
The Church of England Newspaper

April 7,  2008

At a time when the Iranian regime has been sanctioned for the third time over its nuclear weapons programme, the Iranian opposition group which first exposed Tehran's programme could offer a solution to the crisis that now faces us.
From 2002 when the world's attention was drawn to Iran's nuclear programme till the current day scarcely a day seems to pass when Iran does not hit the headlines. From comments made by President Ahmadinejad to its terrorist activity and nuclear programme Iran is world news day in, day out.
However, during a period when Iran is condemned over such activities we must not forget those who have suffered most at the hands of this callous regime. The Iranian people and most significantly Iranian women have been brutally suppressed over 29 years of the Mullahs rule.
From public executions to stoning to death, Iran has long been one of the worst perpetrators of human rights abuses in the modern world. However, one story struck me more than most earlier this month. An Iranian man had stoned his 14-year-old daughter to death over his belief that she had been conducting a relationship. A young girl was brutally killed by a man's belief in Islamic fundamentalism, a belief instilled in him by this Iranian regime. The ideology of Islamic fundamentalism has led to young women being beaten and bloodied in Iran's streets by Iran's notorious Bassij forces for failing to adhere to the regime's strict dress-codes.
Such savage acts are only a few of the truly horrific crimes carried out in Iran. However, there is hope for the Iranian people, a hope which shows itself in the thousands of demonstrations that have taken place across Iran over recent months. Intriguingly, the female population which has been most suppressed has now become the most forceful in its resistance, as women lead their male counterparts in demonstrations and strikes, which have on occasion brought much of Iran to a standstill.
The Iranian resistance movement, whether internal or external, now has women at its heart. The largest Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), best known for exposing Iran's nuclear programme, is led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. The female leadership of such a significant exiled group has been built on by the female population inside Iran who see such leadership as a great sign of hope for their future.
Unfortunately, the Iranian women's movement has been deeply hampered by a spate of recent arrests of Iran's leading women's activists. Many currently remain in Iran's prisons where there can be little doubt that they will face some of the many forms of torture used by this Iranian regime.
Clearly there is an intrinsic link between Islamic fundamentalism and the Iranian regime. Therefore, any solution to one problem cannot occur without a solution to the other. It is for this reason that we must look to the people of Iran for an answer. The Iranian people are clearly demanding democratic change in their nation and we must support them in this struggle.
This is what has now become the 'third option' of Maryam Rajavi. Her leadership of Iran's largest opposition group offers great opportunity. However her work and that of her Parliament in exile has been hindered by a terrorist label on the largest member group of the NCRI, the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI).
This terror label has now been struck down by the UK's Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC) and the European Court of Justice (ECJ). With two courts of law finding in the group's favour it is evidently time for this illegitimate terror tag to be removed.
An option for democratic change in Iran clearly exists. The women of Iran offer a hope that must not be lost as we search for a solution to these international crises. The irony may well be that the female population, which this regime views with such scorn, will be the downfall of its rulers.
 

Give Iranians Their Freedom Back

By Soona Samsami

Huffington Post

April 11, 2008

American commentators and politicians love to opine about Iran. Everyday there are more articles and op-eds by so-called 'experts' on what to do about the nuclear issue, Iran's influence in Iraq, religious extremism, etc. I would like to offer my perspective as an Iranian woman, with deep knowledge and understanding of her own people and its leadership about what the future course should be for American policy towards Iran.
As one who left my native Iran in the wake of the fall of the Shah in 1979 and came back, periodically, to find a foreign and dark country based on religious rule and intolerance, I know first-hand, what people on the street are thinking and feeling about a nation that has become increasingly isolated, aggressive and intolerant. My country is run by illegitimate and despotic extremists who silence dissent, imprison opponents, and crackdown on anyone who challenges the status quo. Last spring's release of the American-Iranian scholar, Haleh Esfandiari from a Teheran prison, was positive--but it was followed by more round-ups of students and scholars, journalists and pro-democracy activists, seeking to express themselves, freely.
So, for example, while Americans debate the wisdom of electing a woman President, Iranian women live with the reality that the Constitutions bans women from holding the office of President. Yes, we have 9 female parliamentarians in the Majlis, the Islamic Consultative Assembly -- the Iranian parliament) but they hold little sway over the government. Yes, we have women writers and professors -- but they pay a heavy price for speaking out. Women are banned from many walks of life -- relegated to raising children who are taught not to challenge authority.
Iranian misbehavior extends beyond its treatment of Iranians inside the country to those around the world. Take Iraq, where over 3,500 Iranians, who are political refugees, protected under the Geneva Convention, live at Camp Ashraf in Asraf City, Iraq. These pro-democracy Iranians are continuously subjected to harsh threats of expulsion because of Iranian government demands on the Iraqi government.
Beyond the Iranian community, the mullahs in Teheran are directing a campaign of extremism that affects U.S. troops who continue to face the backlash of Iranian-supported militias in Iraq where support for terrorists continues through an infusion of money and arms.
So what can America do? The answer is not war, even though there are some in America who beat the war drums. But neither is the prevailing Western policy, which has relied, hopelessly, on "constructive engagement" to change the behavior of the Iranian regime, effective. We need a firm policy that meets the escalation of the threat from Iran. As Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian opposition leader, said in her speech to the European Parliament last year, "neither war nor pacification of Tehran's religious extremists holds the answer."
The current U.S. strategy towards Iran has failed because it ignores the immense power of the disenchanted people of Iran. Unlike some of its neighbors, Iran has a history dotted with periods of genuine democracy. Today, the Iranian people are endowed with democratic aspirations and a well organized, capable, resistance movement that needs support. As a matter of necessity, U.S. strategy towards Iran must include empowering the Iranian people. On that score, the United States cannot seem ambivalent, publicly or privately. The Iranian people have demonstrated that they are willing to take on a ruling regime that is violent and expansionist because of its weakness. Decisiveness is key in expressing American support for the willingness of people to challenge their rulers. We need statements and actions that reflect American support for democracy groups that are pressing for change inside Iran.
It has been 30 years since the United States has had relations with Iran. In those decades, the Iranian people, despite being silenced, have let the world know that they are unwilling to live with religious zealotry and control. Now the world must get behind them and give them the tools and resources to gain back their freedom.
 

Iran: Arrests, Jailings Of Political And Rights Activists Continue
By Farangis Najibullah
RFE/RL

April 14, 2008
The Iranian authorities this month have added several more names to the list of political activists, human rights campaigners, and journalists who have been imprisoned for voicing dissent.
The leader of the unregistered Democratic Party of Iran, Abbas Khorsandi, is among the latest targets of the Iranian security services. Khorsandi was sentenced last week to eight years in prison after being found guilty of threatening Iranian state security by setting up "an illegal political group."
A 50-year-old economics professor in the northern town of Firuzkuh, Khorsandi was arrested about seven months ago and has spent more than two months in solitary confinement in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.
Khorsandi's wife, Forozandeh Seylespur, tells RFE/RL that her husband has become a prisoner of conscience because of his stated opposition to the Iranian government.
"He got this sentence only for holding opposing views," Seylespour says. "He hasn't done anything to justify getting such a sentence. He was only involved in writing. He has acted -- in a totally peaceful manner -- as a writer and human rights activist. He has voiced his views only through the pen and in speeches."
The news of Khorsandi's lengthy prison sentence followed reports about the arrest of another peaceful campaigner, Khadija Moghaddam.
The women's rights activist and member of the One Million Signatures Campaign was arrested by security officers, who Moghaddam said "forcibly entered her home" and treated her in a "despicable manner."
Moghaddam has reportedly been charged with spreading propaganda against the state, disrupting public opinion, and acting against national security.  The court has set a bail of some $110,000 for her release.
The One Million Signatures Campaign was launched in 2006 as a nonpolitical movement that calls on parliament to change what it calls "discriminatory laws in Iran," including laws on inheritance, divorce, and child custody, which the campaign says treat women unfairly.
In an interview with RFE/RL earlier this year, Moghaddam said it is time to abolish such laws, which were set up many centuries ago.
"What I say now is the opinion of all Iranian women," Moghaddam said. "We live in a century when women take an active part in political, economic, social, and cultural affairs alongside men. We work, we study, and we should not be considered as half of a man. Sixty-four percent of [Iranian] university students are women. They cannot accept a 1,400-year-old rule that considers a woman as half of a man."
Some 600 Iranian activists have signed an open letter condemning Moghaddam's arrest and calling for her release. "Moghaddam has been active for years in creating jobs for women and forming women's cooperatives," the letter says. "Who would believe that she has harmed national security or caused public offense?"
Arrests 'Routine'
Rights activists say that the arrests of peaceful campaigners, independent journalists, and anyone who is critical of the government have become routine under President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's government. International organizations including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have harshly criticized Tehran for cracking down on all voices of dissent in the country.
RSF has called Iran "the biggest prison in the Middle East" for journalists and authors whose views differ from the government's. According to the media rights group, dozens of Iranian journalists and rights campaigners have been imprisoned and accused of undermining national security for "simply being outspoken."
On April 5, 30-year-old Elham Yaqubi was arrested and accused of threatening national security for taking part in a peaceful demonstration.
On the same day, Parvin Ardalan, an award-winning rights activist, was charged with spreading propaganda against the state, a month after she was banned from traveling to Sweden to collect her Olof Palme Award.
Ardalan has been summoned to court at least three times this year. She received a summons two days after the Olof Palme Foundation announced that she had won the prestigious award for human rights activists.