IRAN: Camp Liberty - Laila Mohammadi: The echoes of a common cause

Laila Mohammadi: The echoes of a common cause

Hello. This is my flute!

It appears to be a musical instrument but in fact, it is an efficient weapon that has harmonized hearts of the freedom fighters

with the Iranian people and people all over the world.

I played my flute in a beautiful sunrise in Ashraf. Within a short time I saw a young boy playing the same tune in Iran and then I heard its echo all over the world…! I call this reverberation, one of a “common cause”.

I found this common cause in my childhood. I learned it from my father who was a political prisoner at the time. I found it in the sad eyes of “Farshid”, a poor young boy with little clothing in the brutal cold winter. He was selling goods for a living in front of my high school. Farshid would sell pens in the morning and in the evening he would polish shoes on the street. There are many “Farshid”s in Iran. Yes. In Iran, there are many children and young adults whose childhood and dreams have been changed to gloom and dark prospects because of poverty.

Executions in Iran hit 20-year high in 2015 - UN investigator

Ahmed Shaheed

Iran's regime executed nearly 1,000 prisoners last year, the highest number in two decades, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Iran said on Thursday.

AhmedShaheed told a news briefing in Geneva that he is particularly concerned by executions for crimes committed by children under 18. This was "strictly and unequivocally prohibited under international law," he said.

There had been a "staggering surge in the execution of at least 966 prisoners last year - the highest rate in over two decades", Shaheed said.

Women's News-Iran:Between 200 and 250 dhildren live with their mother in prisoons

250 children live with their mothers in prisons

Between 200 and 250 children live with their mothers in prisons across the country.

This news was announced by Asghar Jahangir, head of the Iranian Prisons Organization. He also admitted that no budge has been ratified for establishment of kindergartens in prisons.

Iran: Low income families resort to sale of their children

Iran: Low income families resort to sale of their children

Dspreading tragedy of selling newborns due 2 extreme poverty in Iran is D outcome ofD mullahs' crimes against women

An Iranian MP, Abass Gha'ed Rahmat, revealed that sale of infants is turning into a common practice in Iran but the government has neglected it.

Rahmati also admitted that the government has not allocated enough budget to social ills. He said: “Lack of jobs and housing as well as addiction (of parents) are the main elements leading families towards selling their children and infants”.

U.N. panel rebukes Iran for allowing forced marriage, execution at nine years old

U.N. panel rebukes Iran for allowing forced marriage, execution at nine years old

Iran's regime must reform its laws that allows girls as young as nine to be executed for crimes or forced marriage with much older husbands, a United Nations watchdog said on Thursday.

Iran continues to execute children and youth who committed a crime while under 18 years of age, in violation of international standards, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said, after its 18 independent experts reviewed Iran and 13 other countries.

The age of criminal responsibility in Iran is discriminatory, it is lower and lower for girls, that is to say 9 lunar years while for boys it is 15. At nine a girl can marry, even if the law sets the age at 13," said Hynd Ayoubi Idrissi, a panel member.

Nine lunar years in the Iranian calendar is equivalent to 8 years and nine months, a U.N. spokeswoman said.

The age for boys having criminal responsibility is 15, but the age for girls at 9 is "extremely low", Idrissi said.

"The Committee is seriously concerned about the reports of increasing numbers of girls at the age of 10 years or younger who are subjected to child and forced marriages to much older men." Girls suffered discrimination in the family, in the criminal justice system, in property rights, and elsewhere, while a legal obligation for girls to be subject to male guardianship is "incompatible" with Tehran's treaty obligations, the panel said.

The concluding observations by U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child states:

“The Committee is concerned at the reports that content-based offenses such as “propaganda against the state” or “insulting Islam” are not clearly defined and interpreted and can incur prison terms, flogging, and even death sentences, thus limiting the right of children to freedom of expression. It is also concerned about the broad interpretation of offences such as “membership in an illegal organization” and “participation in an illegal gathering” infringing the right of children to freedom of association and peaceful assembly.”

“The Committee recommends that the State party take necessary measures to ensure full respect for children’s right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly and that these rights are not subjected to undue and vague limitations but that restrictions to these rights comply with international standards. The Committee urges the State party to review its legislation in order to ensure that children under the age of 18 years are exempt from criminal responsibility for such content-based offences.”

Iran - Athena courageous defense Farghadani #زن #جوان #آزادی -loving #ایرانی

Atena Faraghdani

"What you read it propaganda, I am appease the men and women whose children were ravaged in 1388 because of the fertile soil for years Nlrzydn roots that can not be ... !!

You know what it is acting against national security and conspiring with Tryqtsh was misguided sect, I support the men and women know that the smallest university is right that the mass of his faith, taken from them no ..! Hominids your own age to allow them to question the dignity of man and unclean Bkhvanndshan and shrines and their houses to smash .. !!!

What you read it as an insult to Parliament through drawing skills, I know the art of our nation home to what our people deserve not to have done well .. !!

And what you call it an insult to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and three branches during interrogation, read, I know it's tough response in response to the pride of the army has seized you what strength security and called for trapping the mutineers like me! ! That if indeed such a power and security "Revolutionary Guardsmen you" there, because of the power and security to trap rogue killer "" I despise and stars "have not been used to date ... . !!

"" Dear Friends "," My defense is not courage or stupidity, hatred Sdaqtyst only in the "last look called" ... the blood of the meeting, only hatred Sdaqtyst the vehicle under the wheels of government in Ashura 88, with fear as well as otherwise the blood cried ...!

Yes, it is a lump in the throat Sdaqtyst 36 years and we rumination by saying "do not be silent because of what people pay and the price very expensive" We calm conscience ... Do you really expect to have only their conscience, and hope wearing no one but themselves, can not cry to all of us, to the side of the bridge to a better tomorrow "we bend ...?!

Come to really rely on themselves talking tree that tomorrow, no one would be accountable for our actions but his conscience gets in front of all of conscience, remain silent, which, in turn, Jrmyst huge and unforgivable that one day the fire house tab will take us to heaven. "

Aylan Kurdi’s relatives arrive in Canada to start all over again

Aylan Kurdi’s 

Montreal, AFP, 29 December 2015 - Relatives of Aylan Kurdi -- the toddler whose lifeless body was washed ashore on a Turkish beach and has become a heartbreaking symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis -- arrived Monday in Canada where they hope to rebuild their shattered lives.

Canadian media showed the boy’s aunt Tima Kurdi, who now lives in Vancouver after emigrating to Canada in 1992, in tears as she welcomed her brother Mohammed, his wife Ghousun and their three children, at the airport.

Tima Kurdi, from Canada, stands next to a painting of her late nephew, Aylan on a board outside of EU headquarters in Brussels

'Thank you to the Canadian people,' Kurdi said.

'Thank you to our Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau for opening the door and showing the world how everyone should welcome refugees and save lives. Thank you very much for doing this.'

The refugee policy became a political issue some months back, when the Canadian government earlier was accused of refusing asylum to some members of the family who since drowned. Ottawa said it never received the applications.

Abdullah Kurdi, 40, father of Syrian boys Aylan, 3, and Galip, 5,

Trudeau’s Liberal government has pledged to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February.

The prime minister earlier this month personally welcomed the first group to arrive at the Toronto airport aboard a military transport plane.

Syrian refugees are greeted by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on their arrival from Beirut at the Toronto Pearson International Airport

Iran - Brave mothers criticize Khomeini in Iran memorial

Brave mothers criticize Khomeini in Iran memorial

A number of brave Iranian mothers of youths who were martyred in the 2009 nationwide uprising against the mullahs' regime have publicly criticized Khomeini for installing a regime which is murdering Iran's children by the day.

The mothers spoke out at a gathering in Tehran’s Shahriar District last Friday to mark the sixth anniversary of the death of Mostafa Karim-Beigi who was killed by the Iranian regime in the course of the 2009 anti-regime uprisings. Many relatives of martyred opponents of the regime and political prisoners took part in the ceremony.

Ms. Shahin Mahin-Far, whose son Amir Arshad Tajmir was killed in the course of the 2009 uprising, said her heart had been ripped apart by her son's death. The regime's henchmen riding a police vehicle ran over his body three times.

Ms. Fatemeh Golgari, whose son, labor activist Afshin Osanloo, died in mysterious circumstances in prison in Iran on June 20, 2013, said at the gathering: "Now should have been a time for joy among our youths, but instead it's their time to be bured."

"I've got something in my heart which I need to say. Let my dear ones and let even the regime hear this. The day when the Imam [Khomeini] came and sat in a cemetery and said 'they've turned this place into a cemetery but I'll turn it into a garden full of flowers,' we didn't understand what he meant by a garden full of flowers. Now we know, he meant that they will kill our youngsters and bury them, and each time we'll have to go there to law flowers on their graves," Ms. Golgari said.

"I long for the day of freedom, when Iran will be free and blossoming and we can all be friends and good brothers and sisters," she added.

Iran: Female prisoner writes about prison

Manizhe Sadeghi

Manizhe Sadeghi, a prisoner who spent some time in the Iranian regime’s prisons, recently wrote to explain the conditions of women in the Iranian regime’s prisons.

“I am a hardworking woman and mother, and I was in prison for a few months with my newborn child. I taught my child to walk in prison. I am

a hardworking mother and seeing my child grow up in prison was like death for me,but I didn’t give in.

“They used the cry of my newborn child to harass me and torture my ill father, who was in the adjacent cell to force us to succumb. However, state agents were never able to make us succumb to their demands.

“They didn’t even show any mercy to my children. They would beat my children before my own eyes. They beat my pregnant daughter before me!

“I am a worker without much income and now a political prisoner, and I have experienced being beaten, tortured and insulted in the dungeons of the Islamic republic while blindfolded.

“They kicked and torture my entire body, but to reach freedom and a better world I became stronger, and I will never rest until we realize our humanitarian values.”

Iranian Dissidents Mark Passing of Dissident Mehri Jannatpour

Mehri Jannatpour - Dr. Mohammad Maleki

On December 3rd 2015, Iranian dissident and activist Mehri Jannatpour passed away. Jannatpour was remembered for her bravery and perseverance as a political activist in Iran over the last 40 years. This included three separate terms served in prison for her support and affiliation with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), one of Iran’s principal opposition organizations.

During her imprisonment Jannatpour was subjected to cruel mistreatment and torture, yet she remained steadfast in her beliefs and resistance. Not only was Jannatpour a symbol of resistance as an uncompromising dissident, but she was also remembered for her dedication and care as a mother. Her children were raised to continue her path of resistance and defiance, and remain actively involved in confronting the Iranian regime and its crimes.

Mehri Jannatpour was honored by Iranian dissidents at her funeral service, including Dr. Mohammad Maleki, the first post-revolution Chancellor of Tehran University, who, like Jannatpour has continued to stand with dignity and defiance in the face of the dictatorship in Iran despite his old age.

Maleki delivered a eulogy on December 5th in which he praised Jannatpour as an activist and as a mother, and lauded the path chosen by her children. Including one of her children who is residing in Camp Liberty, Iraq, which was recently the target of a despicable terrorist attack.

 “But, they are persevering and are as solid as a mountain. They are this mother's children. How fortunate she was! There are many who come into this world, "enjoy" life and die. But the fulfillment experienced by such mothers is different.”

Maleki continued his eulogy in open defiance of the regime by openly praising the path taken by Jannatpour and her children. This path includes standing with the PMOI against the regime in Iran. The penalty for such a stance is normally death, yet Maleki spoke unwaveringly and resolute in his praise for this path, and referenced the 1988 massacre against members of the PMOI as proof that violence and repression cannot crush this movement.

“I am reminded of a quote by the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri who wrote to Khomeini in a letter that rest assured, an idea cannot be killed through murder. You have killed so many, you have beaten so many, you have destroyed so many.”

He added, “This will be so as long as there are people who care for their people, and as long as there are people who say "seek freedom from cradle to grave."

Very rarely is such public defiance exhibited in Iran, and in such a bold fashion and in such powerful forum. At one point Maleki even states, “Let them hear me, and record me, those who are responsible for this.” Whether you agree with the political ideology expressed by Jannatpour or Maleki, it is impossible to deny their courage and the price they have paid in fighting for freedom in Iran.

The speech given by Maleki was just as remarkable as the life lived by Ms. Jannatpour. Both embody the passion and bravery of Iran’s history, people and hopes.

Maleki has led silent protests outside of Evin Prison to call for the release of political prisoners, and has been in and out of prison himself over the last decade. Maleki’s courage as an elderly man mirrors that of Jannatpour, and his bravery against the brutal regime is an inspiration to all Iranians.

Hamid Yazdan Panah is an Iranian-American human rights activist and attorney focused on immigration and asylum in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Iran: Children deprived of visiting imprisoned mothers

Children deprived of visiting imprisoned mothers

A number of children under the age of 18 had gone to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison to visit their imprisoned mothers on 18 November. While they were waiting and their mothers were getting ready to enter the visiting hall, the children were forced out of the hall at the last minute, while in tears. Their mothers were told they cannot see their children on that day, according to the website of the NCRI Women's Committee.

In other news, prison authorities have told political prisoners that Babak Zanjani, an Iranian regime-affiliated businessman charged for plundering millions of dollars, was scheduled to meet his wives on the same day but decided to cancel the visit.

UN must urge Iraq to grant visa to families of Iranians in Camp Liberty.

campliberty-map

As a group of Camp Liberty residents' families residing in Europe and the , we are gravely concerned about the lives of our children, especially after the rocket attack on October 29 that killed 24 of the residents.

During 2003-2009, when the US forces held the responsibility of security of Camp Ashraf on the ground, many of us had the opportunity to travel to Ashraf and stay there for an unlimited period of time and see our children. But since the time the US Camp Ashraf unlawfully turned the security of our children over to the Pro-Iranian regime government of Maliki, despite our repeated application for entry visa to Iraq through various embassies in countries of our residence, Iraq has refused granting permission to enter that country.

This is while our children and relatives are recognized as protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention and have been interviewed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and they are recognized as people of concern protected under international law.

Our loved ones were transferred from Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty, supposedly a Temporary Transit Location, to be relocated to third countries within few months. Yet, after 3.5 years they are under unbearable pressures in the camp and they have not been resettled. The Iraqi Government has virtually turned the camp into a prison.

In these circumstances, dispatched teams of the mullahs’ Intelligence Ministry to Iraq and to Camp Liberty under the cover of so-called families of the residents have no problem entering Iraq and get through to the Camp.

Iran: Call to save lives of four prisoners who were juvenile offenders

executioner of children

The Iranian regime as the foremost executioner of children in the world sentenced to death four young prisoners in Sanandaj Prison who were juveniles at the time of their crimes. The Iranian Resistance calls on all international human rights agencies, especially the UN Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and pertinent UN Rapporteurs, as well as the European Union and the U.S. government, to take immediate action to obstruct these cruel executions that contravene many international laws and covenants.

Yousef Mohammadi, 20, and Heeman Orami-nejad, 18, were both 14 years old when they committed their crimes and are now sentenced to death. Siavosh Mahmoudi and Amanej Hosseini (Oveissi) who were arrested when 17 are also at the risk of being hanged. Another young prisoner by the name of Kiomars Nasseiri, also a prisoner in Sanandaj Prison who was arrested when a juvenile, is threatened to be sentenced to death.

Iran: University graduates resort to street peddling

With the face of poverty turning  in Iran, a considerable number of women turn to peddling to compensate for their financial straits. Among these peddlers are educated women who have finished high level college education.

Leila, 45 with two children, is a graduate of Computer Sciences. She says she is satisfied with her income from peddling in underground metro stations but complains about the "not-proper" approaches of some passers by.

Maryam, 27, has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. "I have very low income and cannot support my family," she says. "Since I could not find a job in my area of education, I had to resort to peddling."

Iran: 800,000 women lost their jobs

Ahmad Masjed Jame'i, an Iranian regime official said, "The result of past work shows 800,000 women have lost their jobs. This is at a time when the number of single mothers have significantly increased. Politicians have made a decision to manage the rise in the number of children, and this has led to the decrease of women's employment."

State-run ILNA news agency – September 7, 2015

Iran: 800,000 women lost their jobs

IRAN - DIRE CONDITIONS OF WOMEN IN IRAN

IRAN: WOMAN, 55, MOTHER OF THREE CHILDREN, ON DEATH ROW

The Iranian regime has transferred a woman in her fifties to solitary confinement in women’s Qarchak prisons near Varamin for implementation of her execution. Batool Karimi, 55, mother of two boys and a girl, has been in prison for four years on drug related charges before transfer to solitary cell. She is at the risk of imminent execution.

The mullahs ruling Iran hang prisoners

in public and in hidings for minor offences and bogus drug related charges while the regime officials themselves are involved in high scale and multi-million dollars trafficking and distribution of drugs inside the country and abroad.

Women victims of repression