Blog/Latest News

Heavy Bails: Releasing Prisoners or New Hostage Taking by the Judiciary?

(Analysis) – News of Abdollah Momeni’s release on the heavy bail of approximately $800,000 makes it appear that the Judiciary is setting ransoms and not bails. In fact most of the political prisoners released on bail over the past few months appear to be hostages of the judicial system due to the unreasonably high bail amounts they have had to post. Some of the bail amounts set are higher than the prisoner’s estimated earnings in 100 years. Presently hundreds of political, student, and civil society activists and journalists who have been released on heavy bails are either waiting for their sentences to be carried out or are facing new problems caused by their bail amount.

Hassan Assadi: Daneshjoo’s Remarks Nothing New, Iranian Academia has Already Been Attacked

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Hassan Assadi Zeidabadi, Head of the Human Rights Committee of Tahkim-e Vahdat Alumni Association, a large student organization in Iran, reviewed the new statements of Iran’s Minister of Science pertaining to the dismissal of students and faculty members who have differing viewpoints than that of the ruling group. According to this student activist, “The ideological selection process in the Islamic Republic is a process of violation of human rights and it must be viewed as a set of definitive and mandatory rules which systematically prevents citizens from their rights to have public appointments through unfair selection and discrimination.”

Morteza Semyari Released on $600,000 Bail

Morteza Semyari, Secretary of Social Affairs of Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat, was released on a 600 million Tooman (equivalent to US $600,000) bail and custodianship.

Semyari’s release orders from Ward 209 of Evin prison were issued after his bail of $500,000 and his custodianship of $100,000 were posted. “The Semyari family had said earlier that they could never be able to post such a heavy and unreasonable bail,” a student activist told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “Semyari’s uncles posted bail by bringing deeds to three homes which added up to 500 million Tomans, paying most of the heavy bail. “

City of Barcelona’s Support of Human Rights in Iran

The Barcelona city council has approved an institutional statement in favor and support of human rights in Iran. The text of the statement is below (translated from Spanish):

The municipal council agrees:

1- To declare its concern about the persistent and recurrent violation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to the A/C.3/64/L.37 resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

2- To express its preoccupation with the response of the Islamic Republic of Iran government, after the June 12, 2009 elections and the parallel increase of violation of human rights.

Interview: Details of Bahai Students’ Deprivation of Education and Imprisonment of Right to Education Committee Members

In an interview with International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Hessam Mishaghi, spokesperson for the Right to Education Committee, most of whose members are in prison right now, spoke of barriers for education for Bahais and students who are active in civil and political activities at universities. He explained in this interview that contrary to Mohammad Javad Larijani’s statements in Geneva in which he said no Bahai has been arrested or deprived from education or social rights on grounds of his Bahai faith, he and one of his friends have discovered a letter in which Ministry of Science’s Security Department and Ministry of Information have deprived them of education on the same grounds. Hessam Mishaghi also talked about the arrests of his friends and colleagues and how what Larijani said in Geneva were lies. The Campaign’s interview with this civil and student activist who has been deprived from education follows:

Minister of Science’s Statements Are Against the Iranian Constitution, Islamic Penal Code, and International Conventions

In statements which have caused grave concern amongst the Iranian human rights and social activists, Iranian Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, Kamran Daneshjoo, has said that only those can teach or study at universities who have proven commitment to Islam and velayat-e faghih. Therefore university students and faculty members who are studying or teaching at universities may lose their jobs or be deprived of continuing their education on grounds of their differing points of view and political ideas.

Mashad Student Activist Reza Lotfi Arrested

A student source told International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that Mashad Azad University student and human rights activist Reza Lotfi was violently abducted from his home by plainclothes forces last night. During the late hours of last night, several plainclothes forces stormed his home and scuffled with Lotfi’s family members, transferring him to an unknown location.

Valian’s Family under Pressure to Deny News of his Execution Sentence

While over the past few days several sources have published news of Mohammad Valian’s death sentence as the first case of its kind upheld by an appeals court, Valian family refrain from confirming the news. One of his Mohammad Valian’s classmates told International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that his family is under immense pressure to withhold interviews with the media and human rights organizations.

What are the refugees’ expectations in Turkey? Eyewitness report

With the widespread flight of many Iranian journalists and political and social activists who are now in neighboring countries, seeking asylum from third countries over the past few months, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has tried to demonstrate the issues and problems facing the Iranian refugees in Turkey. A distinguished Iranian journalist [...]

Evin Prison: Visiting political prisoners

After the Iranian Presidential elections of 12 June 2009 which was accompanied by widespread political arrests, the visitation pattern of political prisoners’ families changed drastically from previous years. The number of political prisoners increased and therefore the number of families who were in search of their arrested loved ones also increased. International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has conducted several interviews with the families of political prisoners regarding the details of their visits to Evin Prison. What follows is the observations of several of these people. The interview content has been summarized and presented here in the form of a report, taking out the duplicate questions: