Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Weekly Digest Wednesday June 2nd, 2010

Weekly Digest Wednesday June 2nd, 2010
Message from student.information.center@gmail.com:

Student Information Center (SIC)

Newsletter Issue 214 - Wednesday June 2nd, 2010

FUTURE PLANS
--Efforts focused at increasing non-violent civil disobedience in the society.
--Allah o Akbar during the nights
--Writing slogans on the walls and bills
--Being out in the streets on Thursdays

NEWS
--Deutsche Welle: The International Campaign for Human Rights has published a report where it has named 15 Iranian judicial, military and media personalities as responsible for the brutal repression of protesters and the opposition. This document reports on the atrocities committed in Kahrizak detention center and reports that at least 48 people died during the street protests. The full text of this report is jointed to this newsletter in Farsi. The English text can be found at http://www.iranhumanrights.org/men-of-violence/ . A summary report can be found here: http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/06/crackdown-perpetrators/

--Radio Farda: Khamenei has accepted to pardon 81 of those who were arrested after the presidential elections unrest based on their statement of regret.

--Jaras: Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have asked the authorities for the permission to hold a rally this month to mark the one year anniversary of last years pos-elections unrest. This letter, also supported by various reformist and activist fractions has asked for the constitutional right to rally for the anniversary.

--Jaras: Monday marked the Iranian women's day. This day was celebrated with the presence of many women's rights activists as well as families of political prisoners, and families of those who were killed in the recent events. Zahra Rahnavard delivered the main speech at this event.

--Radio Farda: Mr. Mousavi, as well as Mr. Khatami, reformist leaders, both condemned the actions of Israel against the convoy in Gaza.

--BBC: Iranian foreign minister presented himself in the German parliament to discuss the relationship between the two countries. His convoy's presence however was met with anger from protesters who tried to blockade him from entering the building. Protesters who held pictures of Neda (who died during the street protests last year) condemned the actions of Iranian authorities. This confrontation resulted in some commotion at the German parliament.

--Radio Farda: A few female students have been expelled from Tehran's Allameh Tabatabai University on charges of "disrespecting the religious dress code". While the exact number is not known, some University authorities said that this number was higher than 20 people and this was due to improper wearing of the headscarf. These students will be banned from attending university for 1 to 2 semesters.


--Green Path: Mahboobeh Khansari and Azam Vismeh, two female journalists who had been associated with reformist media were arrested last week. The police also attempted to arrest several youth reformist activists by going to their homes. But because they were not present, they were unable to arrest them. It is speculated that the number of arrests of activists and journalists is on the rise because of the upcomign anniversary of the unrest.

--Radio Farda: Alireza Shokoufandeh (also known as Dariush Shokouf), an Iranian filmmaker residing in Germany, has been missing for the past few days. The 55 year old film maker has made a movie about Iranian prisons. Mr. Shokouf was a vocal opponent of the Iranian regime and had staged hunger strikes to condemn the actions of Ahmadinejad.

UNIVERSITY NEWS
--Jaras: On the eve of the anniversary of the death of Kianoush Asa, a student who was killed during the protests last year, hundreds of University of Science and Technology students gathered on Tuesday on their campus. Students were seen wearing black and holding green signs. Videos from the protest are attached to this newsletter.

NEWS OF THE ARRESTED
--Rahana: Maryam Akbari Monfared, a house wife and the mother of three young children, was sentenced to ten years in prison for participating in post-elections protests. Several of her family members were political prisoners in the 80s, four of whom were executed. She had spent several months in solitary confinement in prison but is now in the public ward.

--Radio Farda: Ali Reza Beheshti Shirazi, Senior advisor to Mir Hossein Mousavi who was arrested last December still remains in Jail. He is now transferred to Evin prison.

--Rahana: Arash Noori has been sentenced to 6 years in prison and 74 lashes.

--Rahana: Ali Arshadi, PhD student, has been charged with acting against national security by participating in protests and has been sentenced to 1 year in prison.

--Kalameh: Mehdi Bootaraby, a blogger, was released on bail.

--BBC: The physical conditions of Koohyar Goodarzi and Majid Tavakoli have deteriorated since they started their hunger strike in prison. Mr. Goodarzi had to receive medical treatment as the result of his hunger strike. Majid Tavakoli's mother has also joined the hunger strike. However, since Monday, this hunger strike ended and Majid has been moved out of solitary confinement.

--Rahana: Zia Nabavi, A student activist and spokesperson for the Council to defend the right to education has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

--Student News: Bahram Cheginy, pro-Mousavi campaign activist from Arak, has been spending the last two weeks at a detention center.

--Rahana: Anushirvan Lotfi's mother has been banned from organizing ceremonies which mark the one year anniversary of the death of her son.

--Rahana: Rassool Bodaghi, political activist, has been severely beaten while in prison.









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Monday, May 10, 2010

Weekly Digest Monday May 10th, 2010

Weekly Digest Monday May 10th, 2010
Message from student.information.center@gmail.com:

Student Information Center (SIC)

Newsletter Issue 205 - Monday May 10th, 2010


SIC wishes to give condolences to all Iranians and Kurds for the executions of the 5 Kurds earlier this week.

FUTURE PLANS
--Efforts focused at increasing non-violent civil disobedience in the society.
--Allah o Akbar during the nights
--Writing slogans on the walls and bills
--Being out in the streets on Thursdays

NEWS
--BBC: Tehran's Prosecutor's Office issued a statement early Sunday announcing the execution of 5 political activists. According to the official report these individuals were executed because of their terrorist activities including planting bombs in government centers. The suspects executed in Evin prison were: Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heidarian, Farhad Vakili, Mahdi Eslamyan and Shirin Elmhooli. It is reported that the families of the political prisoners were not informed that the execution was going to take place. It is widely speculated that these executions were timed to coincide with the approaching one year anniversary of the post-elections protests. 

--BBC: The lawyer of executed political prisoners Mr. Kamangar and Mr. Eslamian has told BBC that during the court hearing, the prosecution took an excessive amount of time questioning the defendant on such basic information such as their name etc. When the defendants' lawyer asked for time to speak, the ruling judge asked him to write down whatever he has to say because it is time for him (the judge) to go to his "daily prayer". In this way, according to the lawyer, he was not given proper time to discuss the case and defend his clients. 

--Radio Zamaneh: The execution of the 4 men and one woman has raised concerns with multiple human rights watch bodies outside of Iran where these actions have been strongly condemned. The International Campaign for Human Rights released a statement condemning the Iranian regime whereby the sudden and unannounced execution of the five individuals shows that the government is trying to terrorize the population and its opponents. 

--Radio France: After the execution announcement, hundreds of Iranians residing in Paris took to the streets and protested the executions. The crowd of protesters headed towards the Iranian embassy where they broke windows until the French police intervened. 

--Deutche Welle: The families of the executed have not yet received their bodies. A number of them were told to return on Tuesday. Since a number of the executed individuals were kurdish, their families would like a burial in the province of Kurdistan.

--BBC: It reported that earlier today (Monday May 10th) students at Shahid Beheshti University (north of Tehran) protested the presence of Ahmadinejad on their campus. Youtube videos show the scene where security forces disperse the students. A similar event happened last week when he was present on another University campus in Tehran. In similar news, the families of the executed planned a protest sit-in in front of Tehran University. But the security forces barrackated the area, preventing the sit-in from taking place. Similar protests broke out in multiple cities around Iran where protesters were met with heavy security and in general the atmosphere of these cities has become tense and heavy with police forces. Finally, a sit-in is also organized in the Iraqi city of Soleimanieh and this will continue until tomorrow evening. 

--Kalameh: Following the recent execusions, Mr. Mousavi has released a statement heavily condemning the unfair process that led to these executions. He also used this opportunity to point out that the assailants that attacked university dorms last June, and the individuals responsible for the Kahrizak detention center atrocities still walk free and have not been held accountable. The persian version of his statement is attached to this newsletter. 

--Radio Farda: For the second time in recent times, hundreds of people gathered outside the Iranian embassy in Kabul and protested the way in which the Iranian government treats afghani refugees and immigrants inside Iran. They also demanded that the Iranian regime stop executing afghan refugees. Many of the protesters were women.

--JRS: An internal investigative survey shows that the government of Ahmadinejad is the most corrupt government Iran has had in recent history with a 27% rank on the corruption assessment scale.

NEWS OF THE ARRESTED
--BBC: The sentences for some of the arrested activists were announced recently. These individuals include Abdollah Momeni, Feizollah Arabsorkhi, haleh Sahabi and Mehdi Kalari. According to the verdict, Abdollah Momeni is sentenced to 4 years in prison. Mr. Arabsorkhi (member of the Organization of Mojahedeen of Islamic Revolution) has been sentenced to 6 years in prison. Haleh Sahabi, women's rights activist, has been sentenced to 2 years in prison and was ordered to pay a fine (which replcaed her flogging punishment). Mehdi Kalari, student at Sharif University, has been sentenced to 3 years in prison. 

--Radio Farda: Mr. Karroubi has visited the family of Mohammad Davari, an emprisoned journalist. Mr. Davari hs been arrested for 8 months now because of the journalism work he did on the sexual abuse that goes on in detention centers. He had gathered video and other documents regarding these abuse claims.


Email: student.information.center@gmail.com








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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Weekly Digest Monday 3 May 2010

Weekly Digest Monday 3 May 2010
Message from student.information.center@gmail.com:

Student Information Center (SIC)

Newsletter Issue 203 - Monday May 3rd, 2010

FUTURE PLANS
--Efforts focused at increasing non-violent civil disobedience in the society.
--Allah o Akbar during the nights
--Writing slogans on the walls and bills
--Being out in the streets on Thursdays
--Attending Labor's Day Demonstration

NEWS
--BBC: Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the opposition leaders have urged all reformist groups to obtain protest permits for June 22nd, to mark the one year anniversary of the post-elections protests. During their meeting, they emphasized the constitutional right of the Iranian people to rally.

--BBC: Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi released statements commemorating Worker's day. On this occasion, they urged all workers and teachers to join the struggle for freedom.

--JRS: In honor of Worker's day and Iranian Teachers day, a group of political prisoners announced their solidarity with Iranian workers and teachers by going on a hunger strike. They also criticized current regime policy that has left many without their rights, with unemployment and no retirement insurance.

--Kalameh: It is reported that Ahmadinejad visited Tehran University campus last Saturday for an unannounced speech. The student body was not informed of his visit to the campus but it is reported that as soon as it was revealed that he was present at the University, student gathered outside the hall where he was giving his speecha nd protested his presence.

--Radio Farda: Security and judicial pressure continues to increase on Iranian human rights activists and teachers. Two member of the Teacher Trade association were summoned ot the Intelligence ministry last week and subsequently arrested.

--BBC: ENI, a large Italian oil company has announced that it is canceling its operation in Iran because of US embargo pressures. According to officials of ENI, Italy's share in Iran's oil production in 2009 was equivalent to 35 thousand barrels per day.

--Radio Farda: Based on the latest situation report from Freedom House press freedom in the world, Iran ranks at 187 for freedom of press. It is only ahead of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, North Korea. Iran is now notably worse than Burma. In 2008, Iran ranked 181 ahead of China and Rwanda.

--Radio Farda: Zahra Rahnavard, wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, has asked the Islamic Republic authorities to free all prisoners and to hold free and democratic elections for the country.

--BBC: A special commission has requested that two reformist parties (The participation front and the Revolution Mujahedeen Organization) be resolved. In response to these political moves, the leaders of these parties have stated that they will continue their legal political activity.

--Radio Farda: After nearly a year since the post-elections unrest, Jamshid Ansari, member of Fraction of Imam's line party has stated that despite was was initially claimed, no investigative body was formed to investigate the brutal events that took place in the Tehran University dorm. It was reported that 5 students lost their lives after the Basij raided the dorms last summer.

--JRS: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran published a statement on Tuesday where it expressed concerns over the death penalties given to protesters arrested after the post-elections events last year. They also demanded a halt of these political executions. According to this organization, at least 11 protesters have so far been sentenced to death.









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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Weekly Digest Wednesday 28 April 2010

Weekly Digest Wednesday 28 April 2010
Message from student.information.center@gmail.com:

Student Information Center (SIC)

Newsletter Issue 201 - Wednesday April 28th, 2010

FUTURE PLANS
--Efforts focused at increasing non-violent civil disobedience in the society.
--Allah o Akbar during the nights
--Writing slogans on the walls and bills
--Being out in the streets on Thursdays
--Attending Labor's Day Demonstration

NEWS
--BBC: Deputy commander of Tehran police said that the police intends to "focus" on major non-governmental organizations. Tehran police's spokesperson said: "The concern is that police surveillance is not enough on some of the public organizations and some administrative bodies are not run in an organized manner and need supervision".

--Voice of Freedom: Freedom of the Press Award for this year was awarded to Iranian journalists who are currently under pressure from their government. Maziar Bahari, the Newsweek reporter who was recently freed from an Iranian jail accepted the award on behalf of his colleagues.

--Sahaam News: Mehdi Karroubi continues his visits to the families of activists detained in prisons in Iran. He states that he aims to pursue their cause and put pressure on the government for their release.

--Radio Farda: Ayatollah Sanei, Shiite authority in Qom, continues to voice his criticism of the Iranian regime. In a recent statement, he said that the imprisonment and harassment of critics of the regime wont solve the countries problems. He has been one of the few clerics who showed a strong reaction to the government's behavior after the presidential elections. He has said "Unfortunately today some use Islam for their own personal gains and instead of serving Islam, they are using Islam to serve them",

--Radio Farda: In a letter to UN Secretary General, Shirin Ebadi has asked that the Islamic Republic of Iran's application for membership to Human Rights Council be rejected. In this letter, Mrs. Ebadi highlighted the many human rights abuses done by the Iranian regime, especially towards minorities, women and children.

--International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: Aaron Rhodes, a spokesman for the campaign announced that 5 more persons have been sentenced to death based on their political activity. These individuals are a husband and a wife, along with their son as well as two family members. They have been accused of sending images and videos to Mujaahedeen-e-Khalgh, who are known to many as a terrorist organization. The spokesman for this campaign informs that the evidence used against the accused is incomplete and unjust. The name of these individuals are: Motahareh Bahrami, Mohsen Daneshpour Moghaddam (husband and wife), Ahmad Daneshpour (their son) and Hadi Ghaemi and Reyhaneh Haj Ebrahimi.

--JARAS: The committee for Protection of Journalists has condemned the phone threads made against Maziar Bahari (Newsweek magazine reporter). In a statement released on April 19th, they urged the Iranian government to put a stop to its acts of intimidation.

NEWS OF THE ARRESTED
--JARAS: Kiarash Kamrani, Omid Yavari, Arash Ghasemi, Abolfazl Ghassemi and Azra-Sadat Ghazi Mirseyed, five detainees who were arrested during the elections protests, were sentenced to prison. A kurdish citizen (from the city of Sanandaj) by the name of Habibolah Golparipoor has been sentenced to death.

--Radio Zamaneh: Some union members belonging to the Teachers Union Council have started a hunger strike to protest the illegal detainment and execution of fellow teachers. They urge other to join them in solidarity for the upcoming Teacher's day.

--Radio Zamaneh: Human Rights Commitee has reported that Monireh Rabii who was arrested during the unrests has been sentenced to 5 years in prison. She has been accused of creating "war" against the regime. It is also thought that she is arrested because of her family members belong to the Mujahedeen-e-khalgh organization.

--Freedom Call: Mohammad Hossein Agassi, the lawyer of Amir Reza Arefi has reported that there is a possibility that his client's death sentence might be reduced.

--JARAS: Following the lead of many political prisoners in Evin who started a political fasting. Many of their families also started the fasting outside the prison to show solidarity with their arrested family members.

--Radio Farda: Ten Iranian poets and writers wrote a letter demanding the freedom of Masoud Baastaani, the detained journalist.

--BBC: A group of Iranian political prisoners in Evin prison wrote a letter to religious leaders and complained about the behavior of the judicial officials and the lack of justice. They explained the abuse and the mistreatment. They also complained against the sham public trials and forced confessions that are used during these trials.

--Kalameh: Mohamad NouriZad the documentary maker who was arrested 120 days ago for writing letters which criticized the regime and the judiciary system has written a new letter from prison where he has shared some of his recent concerns.

--Kalameh: lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, the lawyer of a gourp of arrested activists wrote a letter to the head of judiciary last week criticizing a number of prisons rights abuses and lawless behaviors.

--Kalameh: Majid Tavakoli Polytechnic Student activist whose arrest started the veil campaign) was transfered to a new section of Evin prison after spending 125 days in solitary confinement. While his sentence had been handed down ( 8 years in prison, 5 years of no political activity and a 5 year travel ban), he was illegally held in solitary confinement and his prisoner rights were denied.

--JARAS: Peyman Aref, a journalist and a law student at Tehran University who was arrested last June was temporarily released from prison until further decision is reached for his case. Dorsa Sobhani who was arrested a few months ago was also released.

--Rahana: Mitra Aali, biomedical engineering graduate student at Sharif University, who was arrested last month by the ministry of education has been conditionally released on bail.

--Radio Farda: Committee for Human Rights announced three-year imprisonment sentence for Hussein Baastaaninejad, Mehrdad Varshouiy and Faramarz Abdolahnejad. Fouad Shams, student activist from Tehran University has been sentenced to 6 months in jail. Keyvan Samimi, journalist and human rights activist, has been sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for "disturbing public opinion and acting against national security".

--Kalameh: Kobra Zaghehdoost was confirmed to have been arrested nine months ago during vigil for the victims of post-elections protests.






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Weekly Digest Wednesday 28 April 2010

Weekly Digest Wednesday 28 April 2010
Message from student.information.center@gmail.com:

Student Information Center (SIC)

Newsletter Issue 201 - Wednesday April 28th, 2010

FUTURE PLANS
--Efforts focused at increasing non-violent civil disobedience in the society.
--Allah o Akbar during the nights
--Writing slogans on the walls and bills
--Being out in the streets on Thursdays
--Attending Labor's Day Demonstration

NEWS
--BBC: Deputy commander of Tehran police said that the police intends to "focus" on major non-governmental organizations. Tehran police's spokesperson said: "The concern is that police surveillance is not enough on some of the public organizations and some administrative bodies are not run in an organized manner and need supervision".

--Voice of Freedom: Freedom of the Press Award for this year was awarded to Iranian journalists who are currently under pressure from their government. Maziar Bahari, the Newsweek reporter who was recently freed from an Iranian jail accepted the award on behalf of his colleagues.

--Sahaam News: Mehdi Karroubi continues his visits to the families of activists detained in prisons in Iran. He states that he aims to pursue their cause and put pressure on the government for their release.

--Radio Farda: Ayatollah Sanei, Shiite authority in Qom, continues to voice his criticism of the Iranian regime. In a recent statement, he said that the imprisonment and harassment of critics of the regime wont solve the countries problems. He has been one of the few clerics who showed a strong reaction to the government's behavior after the presidential elections. He has said "Unfortunately today some use Islam for their own personal gains and instead of serving Islam, they are using Islam to serve them",

--Radio Farda: In a letter to UN Secretary General, Shirin Ebadi has asked that the Islamic Republic of Iran's application for membership to Human Rights Council be rejected. In this letter, Mrs. Ebadi highlighted the many human rights abuses done by the Iranian regime, especially towards minorities, women and children.

--International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran: Aaron Rhodes, a spokesman for the campaign announced that 5 more persons have been sentenced to death based on their political activity. These individuals are a husband and a wife, along with their son as well as two family members. They have been accused of sending images and videos to Mujaahedeen-e-Khalgh, who are known to many as a terrorist organization. The spokesman for this campaign informs that the evidence used against the accused is incomplete and unjust. The name of these individuals are: Motahareh Bahrami, Mohsen Daneshpour Moghaddam (husband and wife), Ahmad Daneshpour (their son) and Hadi Ghaemi and Reyhaneh Haj Ebrahimi.

--JARAS: The committee for Protection of Journalists has condemned the phone threads made against Maziar Bahari (Newsweek magazine reporter). In a statement released on April 19th, they urged the Iranian government to put a stop to its acts of intimidation.

NEWS OF THE ARRESTED
--JARAS: Kiarash Kamrani, Omid Yavari, Arash Ghasemi, Abolfazl Ghassemi and Azra-Sadat Ghazi Mirseyed, five detainees who were arrested during the elections protests, were sentenced to prison. A kurdish citizen (from the city of Sanandaj) by the name of Habibolah Golparipoor has been sentenced to death.

--Radio Zamaneh: Some union members belonging to the Teachers Union Council have started a hunger strike to protest the illegal detainment and execution of fellow teachers. They urge other to join them in solidarity for the upcoming Teacher's day.

--Radio Zamaneh: Human Rights Commitee has reported that Monireh Rabii who was arrested during the unrests has been sentenced to 5 years in prison. She has been accused of creating "war" against the regime. It is also thought that she is arrested because of her family members belong to the Mujahedeen-e-khalgh organization.

--Freedom Call: Mohammad Hossein Agassi, the lawyer of Amir Reza Arefi has reported that there is a possibility that his client's death sentence might be reduced.

--JARAS: Following the lead of many political prisoners in Evin who started a political fasting. Many of their families also started the fasting outside the prison to show solidarity with their arrested family members.

--Radio Farda: Ten Iranian poets and writers wrote a letter demanding the freedom of Masoud Baastaani, the detained journalist.

--BBC: A group of Iranian political prisoners in Evin prison wrote a letter to religious leaders and complained about the behavior of the judicial officials and the lack of justice. They explained the abuse and the mistreatment. They also complained against the sham public trials and forced confessions that are used during these trials.

--Kalameh: Mohamad NouriZad the documentary maker who was arrested 120 days ago for writing letters which criticized the regime and the judiciary system has written a new letter from prison where he has shared some of his recent concerns.

--Kalameh: lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, the lawyer of a gourp of arrested activists wrote a letter to the head of judiciary last week criticizing a number of prisons rights abuses and lawless behaviors.

--Kalameh: Majid Tavakoli Polytechnic Student activist whose arrest started the veil campaign) was transfered to a new section of Evin prison after spending 125 days in solitary confinement. While his sentence had been handed down ( 8 years in prison, 5 years of no political activity and a 5 year travel ban), he was illegally held in solitary confinement and his prisoner rights were denied.

--JARAS: Peyman Aref, a journalist and a law student at Tehran University who was arrested last June was temporarily released from prison until further decision is reached for his case. Dorsa Sobhani who was arrested a few months ago was also released.

--Rahana: Mitra Aali, biomedical engineering graduate student at Sharif University, who was arrested last month by the ministry of education has been conditionally released on bail.

--Radio Farda: Committee for Human Rights announced three-year imprisonment sentence for Hussein Baastaaninejad, Mehrdad Varshouiy and Faramarz Abdolahnejad. Fouad Shams, student activist from Tehran University has been sentenced to 6 months in jail. Keyvan Samimi, journalist and human rights activist, has been sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for "disturbing public opinion and acting against national security".

--Kalameh: Kobra Zaghehdoost was confirmed to have been arrested nine months ago during vigil for the victims of post-elections protests.






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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Weekly Digest Monday 19th April 2010

Weekly Digest Monday 19 April 2010
Message from student.information.center@gmail.com:

Student Information Center (SIC)

Newsletter Issue 198 - Monday April 19th, 2010

FUTURE PLANS
-- Efforts focused at increasing non-violent civil disobedience in the society.
-- Allah o Akbar during the nights
-- Writing slogans on the walls and bills
-- Being out in the streets on Thursdays

NEWS
--Kalameh: Mir Hossein Mousavi addressed a group of students yesterday. He explained that under the current situation and ban on freedom of press, followers of the Green movement have to take other measures to communicate with each other. He added that he was astounded by the high unemployment rate and the severe dependence of teh ocuntry on oil money. He finished by saying that Iran is a culturally diverse country where 70 million cultured Iranians could live together despite different ideologies.

--JRS: It is reported that Khamenei has suggested that many religious figures in Qom meet with Ahmadinejrad in a move to validate his presidency in the eyes of the people. While some senior clerics complied, many refused these guidelines directly issued by the supreme leader and went as far as saying that meeting with Ahmadinejad would be ungodly.

--BBC: Mohamad Khatemi, former Iranian president and an avid supporter of the green movement was prevented from leaving the country. He was on his way to a anti-nuclear weapons meeting in Japan when he was barred from traveling outside the country. Following this event prime ministers of Canada and Sweden wrote letters to Ahmadinejad expressing their dissatisfaction with the situation. Hamid Rasai, a parliamentary representative who is a supporter of Ahmadinejrad has reported that 150 members of the parliament, including himslef had asked Ahmadinejad to issue a travel ban for Mr. Mousavi, Mr. Khatami and Mr. Karroubi, or as he called them, the "leaders of crisis".

--BBC: The Malaysian oil company Petronas, has declared that it stopped selling gas to Iran as of March 2010. While they did not give any specific reasons, it is speculated that this was in order to not perturb relations with the USA.

--JRS: It is reported that the Revolutionary Guard has taken control of the Jahad building on the main street near one of Tehran's main universities. This building typically belongs to the ministry of agriculture. But it is hypothesized that the Guard was interested in this building because of its location near the University for surveillance. The height of the building also allows for crown control and monitoring.

--JRS: The head of Cannes Film Festival has declared Jafar Panahi to be their special guest at the festival. Mr. Panahi, a renowned Iranian director is still in prison in Iran.

--BBC: Tehran governor had previously said in a interview that the major protests seen immediately after the elections had a permit from the government. In a new interview last week, he denied the that this permit was issued.

--Radio Farda: The office of Ahmadinejad has declared that he wrote another letter to Mr. Obama last week where he has told him that the US should learn how to fight terrorism from Iran. This is the second letter sent by Ahmadinejad that has received no response.

--BBC: Karim Mohammad Beigi, Mustafa's father, the 27 years old man who died during the Ashura protests, has said that his son died in injustice and that he has not yet recieved any explanations for his death. He asked human rights watch groups to carry on his message and let the world know of these injustices so that his son's death was not in vain.

--Radio Farda: On Wednesday,International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran called for an immediate stop to of the "special court" that has been assembled in Evin Prison. This court works outside the juridicial system where many of the accused do not have access to a defense. This court shows the extent of the Revolutionary Guards reach wthin the judiciary system.

--BBC: American Institute of Research about censorship (CRC) announced the distribution of a special Internet Proxy Iran called "Haystack" which allows users in Iran to bypass government filters and have full access to the internet (http://www.haystacknetwork.com).

UNIVERSITY NEWS
--JRS: Seyed Ali Asghar Beheshti Shirazi (cousin Ali Beheshti, consultant to Mir Hossein Mousavi) who was a University professor, has officially been banned from the Science and Technology University.

--JRS: a group of Allameh Tabatabai University students staged a protest when one senior adviser to Ahmadinejad visited their campus. They protested his presence by singing songs and shouting slogans.

NEWS OF THE ARRESTED
--BBC: Mohamad Nourizad, journalist and Iranian filmmaker, was sentenced to 3 and half years in prison and 50 lashes. He was accused of speaking against the state and insulting government officials. HE was arrested after posting a critique of the supreme leader on his personal blog. He subsequently spent 4 months in jail, where 70 days were in solitary confinement.

--Kalameh: A group of political prisoners in Evin sent a letter to UN Secretary-General. They asked him to visit them in Evin prison during his trip to Iran. In order to truly appreciate their dire condition, they asked him to visit them and interview them in private.

--Saham News: Mehdi Karroubi visited the family of Ahmad Zaydabadi today who was arrested during the unrest. During this meeting the family described Zaydabadi's condition as very bad where is is in a prison cell with convicted murderers and drug traffickers. After spending 35 days in solitary confinement (with 17 of those days being a hunger strike), He was sentenced to six years in prison, 5 years exile in Gonabad, and a lifelong ban on any political activity, written or oral. Mr. Mousavi and his wife also visited the family of Mr. Zaydabadi to show their support.

--JRS: One JRS reporter who was recently released from prison reports on a large number of detainees in Evin who are in prison while awaiting trial or unclear as to what will happen to them. The list of these names was made available through SIC last week.

--Rahana: Two members of the human rights committee were summoned to Evin prison for security investigation last week. This is while the detention of two other activists were confirmed last week after a month of questioning by their families.

--Rahana: Issa Saharkhiz was acquitted of charges of publishing lies and propaganda against the government.

--Green Voice: Majid Tavakoli, student activist was sentenced in a lower court where he was not allowed to have a lawyer. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison, followed by a 5 year ban on political activity as well as a five year travel bad. His lawyer is still trying to arrange a situation where his sentence would be reconsidered and he could defend Mr. Tavakoli.

--Green Voice: Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, political activist and magazine director was arrested in late December. According to his lawyer, his situation is deplorable and after 4 months of his detention, he is still in solitary confinement.

--Reporters of the Committee for Human Rights: Mohammad Ghaznavian, women's and children's rights activist who was released on a heavy bail, was returned to prison only 9 days after paying his bail.

--Rahana: Yaser Yousefzadeh, chief of Mousavi's campaign in the city of Babolsar has been arrested for over a month. It is reported that his physical and mental condition is very bad at this point in time.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND WARNINGS
According to Mr. Sazegara's videos:
-According to the new law approved by parliament, Assembly of Experts, the Expediency Council, the Guardian Council and Supreme National Security Council may independently practice passing new laws. This new law makes sit easier to directly turn the supreme leaders desires into law, effectively eliminating the democratic process of law making.
- He also highlighted 4 resistance strategies: 1. exposing the oppressors. 2. street protests. 3. non-participation in government organized events and 4. strikes.






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