Monthly Archives: June 2010

Iran Pressured to Open Doors to U.N. Rights Investigators

GENEVA, Jun 11 (IPS) – The Iranian government rejected charges that it has violated human rights and freedom of speech and assembly before a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva Thursday – the same day that the Iranian opposition’s request to hold a peaceful protest was denied by authorities.

Although Tehran insists there is a standing invitation for U.N. special human rights rapporteurs to visit, none have gained access to the country since 2005. “We would like see the Iranians actually follow through with concrete action on their commitment to allow special rapporteurs, as well as the [U.N.] high commissioner’s office, to enter Iran and do full investigations of the human rights situation,” Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, the U.S. representative to the Council, told IPS. Continue reading Iran Pressured to Open Doors to U.N. Rights Investigators

Anniversary Preview: Tehran Gets the Jitters

picture-3June 10, 2010 | 10:29pm, the Daily Beast
Tension is building in Tehran ahead of Saturday’s anniversary of the Iranian protests. Omid Memarian talks to people in the Iranian capital.

In advance of the one-year anniversary of Iran’s disputed elections on Saturday, the government has sent security forces into the streets of Tehran to prevent another popular uprising. Already, plainclothes police and students have clashed violently, and the government has warned against further protest rallies. Confrontations with women over how to dress, and the execution of five dissidents last month have contributed to tensions in the capital.

When students gathered at the Azad University recently, chanting slogans such as “death to the dictator,” and protesting recent arrests, plainclothes officers swiftly cracked down on the demonstrators, who were beaten, according to reports by people who were there.

“It seems that as we get closer to the anniversary of last year’s elections… confrontations and threats intensify.”
A few days later, the police commander of greater Tehran, General Hossein Sajedinia, told an official news agency that police forces would not hesitate to confront illegal demonstrations.
Continue reading Anniversary Preview: Tehran Gets the Jitters

Iran’s Hanging Judge

Jun 9 2010, Institute for War and Peace Reporting– Abolghasem Salavat, dubbed “Judge of Death”, and two colleagues have presided over most political trials since last year’s unrest.A decision to show clemency to 81 of the people detained in the unrest that followed last year’s presidential election in Iran has once again shone the spotlight on the country’s judicial and penal systems.

On June 2, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved a recommendation by the head of the judiciary. Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, to release some of the 81 under amnesty and reduce the sentences of the rest. Continue reading Iran’s Hanging Judge

Divisions Sharpen as Iran Girds for Renewed Protests

BERKELEY, California, Jun 7, 2010 (IPS) – A week before the first anniversary of Iran’s contested presidential elections, the disruption of a speech by the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini during a memorial service for the founder of the Islamic Republic on Jun. 4 has once more publicly exposed the rift within the top level of Iran’s leadership.

According to the government, two million Basij militia members and supporters from all over the country were mobilised to come to Tehran to participate in last week’s ceremonies marking the 21st anniversary of Khomeini’s death.

However, many believe the rallies were in fact intended to intimidate the opposition protesters expected to take to the streets on Jun. 12, a year after the polls in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner and the government waged a bloody crackdown in which hundreds were arrested and jailed. Continue reading Divisions Sharpen as Iran Girds for Renewed Protests