IRAN:44th anniversary of execution of Iranian MEK founders

IRAN:44th anniversary of execution of Iranian MEK founders

 

بنیانگذار کبیر محمد حنیف نژاد ودو یار قهرمانش  شهیدان بنیانگذار سعید محسن  وعلی اصغر بدیع ذادگان 

 This week marks the 44th anniversary of the execution of the founders of Iran’s main opposition group.

On 25 May 1972, the founders and leaders of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), were executed by death squads after months of imprisonment and torture from the regime of the Shah.

The MEK, a group which sought, and still seeks, a secular Iranian government, was considered one of the main threats to the regime of the Shah.

The Shah’s secret police, SAVAK, arrested all MEK leaders and most of its members in a series of raids in 1971.

The founders, Mohammad Hanifnejad, Said Mohsen, and Ali-Asghar Badizadegan along with two other leaders, Mahmoud Askarizadeh, and Rasoul Meshkinfam stood firm in the face of the Shah’s regime and paid with their lives.

The origins of the MEK

The MEK was founded on September 6, 1965, by engineers; Hanifnejad, Mohsen, and Badizadegan. All three were once members of the Liberation Movement; created by Medhi Bazargan in 1961 and outlawed, along with other pro-democracy groups, in 1963 following the June Uprising in which opponents to the Shah’s regime were gunned down in the streets.

The men wanted to create a new path to democracy and began by meeting with like-minded friends for a twice-weekly discussion group focusing on religion, history, philosophy, and revolutionary theory.

They sought to discover the true interpretation of Islam which, they have shown, is incredibly democratic and compatible with modern ideals. The MEK views freedom, human rights and the equality of people regardless of gender, race or religion as commitments that were set out in the Quran, in teachings from the Prophet Muhammad and by other senior members of the faith.

Women's News Iran: 74 lashes, three months jail for mother of political prisoner and human rights activists

Iran: 74 lashes, three months jail for mother of political prisoner and human rights activists

18 human rights activists including families of political prisoners and martyrs were sentenced each to 91 days imprisonment and 74 lashes.

They had participated in a peaceful gathering outside Tehran's Evin Prison on November 21, 2015, demanding abolition of death sentence for prisoner of conscience Mohammad Ali Taheri, and freedom of all political prisoners.

The 18 convicted activists included Mrs. Simin Aiyvazzadeh (mother of political prisoner Omid Ali-Shenas), Azam Najafi, Parvin Soleimani, Sara Sa'ee, Farideh Toosi and Zahra Modarres Zadeh. They were charged with "illegal gathering disrupting public order."

IRAN - Forozan Abdipour, member of Iran national volleyball team

Forozan Abdipour, member of Iran national volleyball team

to all volleyball fans: In memory of Forozan Abdipour, member of national volleyball  team who was executed in 1988 by the Iranian regime

Ms. Abdi was born in Tehran in 1957. She was the captain of the National Volleyball team and a sympathizer of the PMOI. According to her cellmate, Ms. Abdi was very popular among other inmates.

Her cellmates remember her for her open-mindedness and tolerant attitude towards other political prisoners. In one instance, her cellmate recalls, when a repenting prisoner who was in charge of the cell ordered another prisoner to separate her dishes from the others (because prison authorities treated prisoners who did not believe in God as “unclean”), Ms. Abdi had intervened and stressed that “no one considers the prisoner as ‘unclean’ and whoever does, should separate her own dishes from others”. Ms. Abdi had also kept her athletic spirits during her years of imprisonment and organized volleyball games during the short period when female prisoners had access to a volleyball court at Qezelhesar prison.

Arrest and detention

She was arrested in 1981.

One of her cellmates saying: "I saw her in section 8 of Qezelhesar in 1982. It was a section for special punishment and sometimes there were 25 to 30 people in a cell [that was meant to fit 3]... They placed Foruzan and some others in a restroom in early 1983. The place was so dirty that all of them contracted skin diseases. Then, they were transferred to solitary confinement at both Gohardasht and Qezelhesar prisons where they stayed until early 1986."

Ms. Abdi was protesting against the inhuman rules and behaviour of prison guards. As a result, for almost a year and half (fall 1983 - winter 1984), she was held in solitary confinement and was deprived from recreation time outside, from having contacts with others, reading newspapers, and having regular visits from her family.

Sometime in 1986, Ms. Abdi was transferred from Gohardasht to Evin prison where she was detained until her execution. During this period, she also spent most of her imprisonment in the closed section of the ward that prison authorities used for punishing prisoners. Those held in this section were held in closed cells and were allowed to leave their cells 3 times a day (for 30 minutes), during which time they could use the bathroom, wash their dishes and their clothes.

Forozan Abdipour was executed along with 30 000 other prisoners, mostly PMOI, when the Iranian regime carried out the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988.

Today, women are fighting to enter volleyball stadiums to watch games. Forozan Abdipour, member of national volleyball volleyball team was executed in 1988 by the Iranian regime for wanted all women to live in freedom and democracy.

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: Political prisoner sentenced to two years behind bars

Afsaneh Bayazidi

AfsanehBayazidi was sentenced to two years imprisonment by the court of Mahabad, Iranian Kurdistan. This student from Bukan is charged with “anti-government propaganda” and “insulting the leader (of the clerical regime)” and was banished to Kermanshah’s Prison.

Ms. Bayazidi was deprived of having a defense attorney of her choice. She had been arrested on October 8, 2015, by the Guards Corps Intelligence.

Iran student sentenced to 15 years for insulting Khamenei

The mullahs' fundamentalist diet HAS condamné a young university student to 15years Imprisonment for insulting the Supreme Leader's diet and spreadinganti-diet messages. His ill wife Was aussi condamné to six years in jail.

Arash Sadeqi Previously Was Expelled from Tehran's Allameh University and arrested This Tabataba'I on September 6, 2014 by intelligence agents of the Revolutionary Guards. He Was Held in solitary confinement for seven months.

Husband and wife: Arash Sadeqi and Golrokh Ebrahimi

IRAN - Regime change in iran ;we can & we must

Naghmeh-Shirazi

IRAN: YOUNG WOMAN RECEIVES 7-YEAR SENTENCE ON CHARGE OF 4 MILLION FACEBOOK LIKES

A young woman in Iran received 7-year imprisonment sentence on incredible charge of 4 million likes on her Facebook posting.

Shahi Savandi Shirazi was told by the authorities that four million likes on her Facebook page threatens the Iranian regime's "national security". She said she was asked questions about her private life that were irrelevant to her detention and was accused of things she had never done.