Amrican teacher in the U.S. raising awareness on the human rights
Marc Nelson in an interview support Iranian political pirisoners
If only we had more people like Marc Nelson in this world!
Watch his interview:
German Iran Committee Expresses Solidarity With Iranian Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike
representatives of federal and state parliaments, lawyers and human Rights activists, expresses its solidarity with the demands of Iranian political prisoners on hunger strike in Gohardasht Prison.
A statement by the Chair of this Committee, Otto Bernhard, addressing the prisoners, said: "The regime in Tehran has ruthlessly trampled all international standards of imprisonment. It has shown no respect for the values of the international community. We will invariably support you and appreciate the international supporters and politicians who have been taking measures against the deteriorating conditions you are in. We are confident that many members of the European Parliament and the national parliaments in the EU support us as well. ”
The German Committee in Solidarity with Free Iran added, "Along with you, we demand an investigation into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners by an impartial international body to prosecute the perpetrators of the crime.”
“Your struggle against the appalling conditions and the methods of punishment is a heroic act and it has spurred our solidarity.”
Women in Germany, Switzerland stand with Iranian political prisoners
In a letter sponsored by Professor Rita Süssmuth, a number of German MPs urged the European Union to intervene to save the lives of Iranian political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison.
German Dignitaries Call on EU to Support of Iranian Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike
A group of German MPs and former government officials called on EU to intervene to save the lives of Iranian political prisoners who are on a prolonged hunger strike in Gohardasht Prison.
Former President of the Bundestag, Professor Rita Süssmuth wrote a letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel expressing concern about the deteriorating health of over 20 Iranian political prisoners who continue their hunger strike that began over 4 weeks ago.
UN expert fears for health of hunger-striking Iran prisoners
GENEVA (AP) - A U.N. human rights expert is urging Iran's government to engage in "good faith dialogue" to help resolve a prolonged hunger strike by prisoners whose medical conditions are reportedly worsening.
Asma Jahangir, the independent special rapporteur on Iran mandated by the Human Rights Council, says she is "deeply alarmed" by reports about the deteriorating medical conditions of the prisoners, who have faced torture and ill-treatment.
The U.N. human rights office says the prisoners are protesting their treatment and transfer to a high-security section of Rajai-Shahr prison in Karaj, west of Tehran.
The statement said 53 prisoners were transferred in recent weeks without notice or explanation, and they reportedly have been deprived of adequate medical care and faced other mistreatment. It didn't indicate how many prisoners were on the hunger strike.
Italian Committee Admires Iranian Political Prisoners' Fight Against Harassment and Torture
In an open letter to over 20 Iranian political prisoners on hunger strike in Gohardasht Prison, the Italian Parliamentary and Citizens’ Committee for a Free Iran condemned the crimes of Tehran’s regime and expressed admiration for the prisoners’ commitment to non-violent struggle and self-sacrifice in the face of torture and harassment by the regime. Read more
Italian Human Rights Group Join Intl. Campaign in Support of Iran Political Prisoners' Demands
Press Release by Hands Off Cain, August 27, 2017
IRAN: Hands Off Cain calls on Italian Government to listen to the demands of political prisoners who are on hunger strike in Karaj prison protesting inhumane conditions.
ROME – 27 August: Hands off Cain joins the international campaign supporting demands of the political prisoners in Raja'i Shahr prison in Karaj. The prisoners began a hunger strike 27 days ago and call on the Italian government to act so that their human rights are respected.
More than a dozen political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, have gone on hunger strike in protest at the cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions they have been forced to endure at a maximum-security prison in Karaj, Alborz province, Amnesty International said today.
Political prisoners at Raja’i Shahr prison were recently transferred to a newly opened area where conditions have been described as suffocating. They are held in cells with windows covered by metal sheets, and deprived of access to clean drinking water, food and sufficient beds. They are also barred from having in-person family visits and denied access to telephones, which are usually available in other parts of the prison.
“The fact that detention conditions have become so poor that desperate prisoners feel they are forced to go on hunger strike to demand the most basic standards of human dignity is disgraceful and highlights the urgent need for reforms to Iran’s cruel prison system,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director for Amnesty International.
“The Iranian authorities must urgently ensure that adequate food, drinking water, medicine, health care and sanitation are available to all prisoners in Raja’i Shahr prison.”
Iranians Stage Hunger Strike and Rallies in Different Cities of the World in Solidarity With Striking Political Prisoners
In Solidarity with the striking political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison, freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the Iranian Resistance staged demonstrations and rallies in various cities of the world, including in Los Angeles (USA), Berlin and Hamburg (Germany), London (UK), Stockholm and Gothenburg (Sweden), Oslo (Norway), Copenhagen, Aarhus (Denmark), The Hague (Netherlands), Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver (Canada).
The rally of the Resistance supporters in Los Angeles was held in front of the Federal Building on Saturday, August 19th. In this rally, where the members of the National Council of Resistance were participating, Mr. Filabi and Amir Aram delivered their speeches, and the statement issued by a group of former political prisoners in solidarity with the striking prisoners was announced.
In Berlin, on Aug. 26, freedom-loving Iranians protested against the Brandenburg Gate. The protesters, some of whom were on hunger strike, called on human rights defenders and freedom-loving people to defend prisoners in Gohardasht Prison. Participating Iranian communities asked the German government in their statement not to keep silent before this injustice and take steps to prevent the crimes committed by the mullahs’ regime.
“The Tehran dictatorship is weak engulfed with crises. It is hated by the people and wants to hide this weakness by showing power in the face of defenseless of political prisoners,” said Leo Dautzenburg, a former member board of directors of the Christian Democratic Presidency in the German Federal Assembly.
The participants called on the German government and the European Union to convene a United Nations investigation commission on the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 2008, and to prosecute and punish those responsible for this massive crime. The demonstration of mass executions performed by a number of young people greatly influenced the participants in the rally.
Resistance supporters in Hamburg showed their support for striking prisoners by staging a one-day hunger strike. In this rally, the statement by the German Committee in Solidarity with Free Iran was read in solidarity with the striking prisoners of Gohardasht.
In the protest rally of Resistance supporters in Oslo, Mr. Parviz Khazaie, the representative of the National Council for Resistance in Nordic countries, expressed support and solidarity of the Iranian Resistance with the striking political prisoners.
In Canada, supporters of the Iranian Resistance in Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver announced a one-day hunger strike. They respected the prisoners’ persistence by holding torches and the prisoners’ pictures.
In the Hague (Netherlands), freedom-loving Iranians went on hunger strike in solidarity with the striking prisoners in a rally staged on Saturday. They hanged the prisoners’ pictures from their neck.
In London, the freedom-loving Iranians, while presenting images of striking prisoners, organized a book-desk to expose the intensified pressure and repression against prisoners.
In Stockholm (Sweden), freedom loving Iranians held an exhibition in support of the Justice-Seeking Movement and political prisoners, and went on hunger strike. An exhibition was also held in Gothenburg in support of striking prisoners. Supporters of Resistance in the cities of Malmö and Bruce in Sweden and Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark organized protest rallies and photo exhibitions in solidarity with striking prisoners.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 28, 2017
Trump and Rouhani each highlight the need for change in Iran, in very different ways
By Alireza Jafarzadeh
Fox News, On September 19 and 20, the United Nations General Assembly hosted two competing speeches, one of which could have a dramatic impact on global policy-making and the future of the Middle East.
Prominent US dignitaries from both sides of the aisle joined the rally and voiced their support for the demonstration’s cause.
Senator Joseph Lieberman, Chairman of the United Against Nuclear Iran, highlighted on the necessity for a collective effort to change the Tehran regime.
While emphasizing Iran’s clerics must not celebrate their 40th anniversary in February and if Rouhani is allowed into the United Nations, Ambassador John Bolton emphasized so should a representative of the Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Powerful Protest by Iranian Activists Over Rouhani's Speech at UN
NCRI - A huge crowd of human rights activists, politicians, and people from the Iranian diaspora gathered outside the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Wednesday September 20, to protest Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech.
Amir Emadi, the spokesman for the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) noted that Rouhani should not be accepted in New York, a city so dedicated to human rights, and certainly not at the UN.
Some protesters dressed in caricature-esque costumes of Rouhani and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei , designed to highlight the grotesqueness of the Regime that has murdered over 120,000 political dissidents, while others gave out literature which documented the Regime’s crimes, and more still chanted, played music, and spoke up for human rights in Iran.
A large Syrian delegation also joined the Iranian Resistance rally in NYC. They called for the freedom of Syrian people from the dictator Assad regime. The speaker said that there is not doubt that the Syrian and Iranian people will prevail soon. The only reason that the dictator Assad is in power is because of the mullahs criminal regime helping them. So we are gathered here to say NO to Rouhani and No to Assad.
Senator Joseph Lieberman also addressed the huge crowed of Iranian Americans at the great rally in NYC in front of the UN Plaza to say No to Rouhani at the UNGA.
the Senator said during past two years that the nuclear agreement was negotiated nothing has been done to improve the human rights in Iran. And the President Trump was right to say that Iranian regime is the biggest threat the region and the world.
Senator Lieberman added that since the Iranian regime says that we are not going to change, then we must change the regime.
John Bolton, former US Ambassador to the United Nations also spoke at the Iranian rally in front of the UN Plaza on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.
He said that instead of the mullah Rouhani who is now speaking on behalf of the Iranian people at the UNGA, a representative from the Iranian Resistance must represent the Iranian people.
Veterans, leaders urge US to withdraw from Iran deal
Al Arabiya, 21 September 2017 -
American political leaders pushed for the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement during an Iranian opposition rally in New York on Wednesday.
Former Trump campaign adviser and ambassador to the United Nations, Jon Bolton, praised US President Donald Trump’s UN speech calling it “the best speech of his presidency” while calling for the United States to leave this “disastrous [Iran] agreement”
Maryam Rajavi’s message to the demonstration of Iranians before the UN HQ in New York
Fellow compatriots, friends of the Iranian Resistance, I salute you for your demonstration and perseverance. The people of Iran are proud of you.
I would like to thank the distinguished personalities who have joined this rally in solidarity with the Iranian people’s Resistance.
Your gathering today, echoes the cries of the people of Iran as well as the voice of human society dismayed by the admission of the president of an anti-human regime to the UN General Assembly.
This year, Rouhani’s participation in the General Assembly coincides with the report of the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran who has for the first time focused attention on the catastrophic massacre of political prisoners in Iran in 1988.
The UNSR has recalled the executions of thousands of men and women upon Khomeini’s edict and their burial in unmarked mass graves. She has called for an independent and effective inquiry into this crime and revelation of the truth.
The report, which was submitted to the General Assembly with a note by the UN Secretary General, was among the achievements of the Call for Justice Campaign demanding justice for the 30,000 victims of the massacre in 1988.
The report is also a valid document that challenges admission of the regime’s president to the United Nations. Our demand, which is the demand of our oppressed nation, is the expulsion of the president of the regime of massacre from the United Nations.
Do not let the podium of the United Nations become a pulpit for defending a state-sponsor of terrorism and its brutal tyrannical regime. A regime that has violated all international laws and UN covenants, and has trampled upon all the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For years, the regime has turned down the requests of the UN rapporteurs, particularly the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, to visit Iran.
Yes, Iran’s ruling religious fascism has no place at the United Nations and must be sent out of UN.
Rouhani has acknowledged, himself, that the regime has done nothing but execution and torture over the past 38 years, and therefore, he must not be accepted by the United Nations.
More than 3,000 people were executed during Rouhani’s first term. Over the same period, the regime’s war budget exceeded those of all the previous years. Every year, Rouhani wasted a major portion of the country’s revenues on the slaughter of the people of Syria and the regime’s destructive interventions in Iraq and Syria.
And today, his cabinet is made up of people who either were on the death commissions ordering the massacre of political prisoners, or were among the highest ranking officials of the Intelligence Ministry in charge of torture and executions.
And the most important commitments of such a cabinet are none but the expansion of the regime’s missile program and added manufacturing of weapons to continue their belligerence and terrorism in the Middle East region.
I must reiterate that as long as the international community, including the United Nations, keeps its doors open to the murderers of the people of Iran, the latter will continue their rights abuses and warmongering.
The time has come for the international community, particularly the Western governments, to stop being lenient and making concessions to the religious dictatorship in Iran and remain silent and passive towards their crimes in Iran and abroad.
The international community must compel the Iranian regime to stop its massacre of the people of Iran and suppression of their rightful protests. The world must put an end to the Iranian regime’s crimes in the Middle Eastern countries.
The clerical regime is in a very weak position and it needs its relations with the West more than ever before. The Iranian people expect that the world’s democratic governments condition every commercial engagement with Tehran on the end to torture and executions.
They must recognize the massacre of political prisoners in Iran in 1988 as a crime against humanity.
The United Nations must set up an independent inquiry committee to investigate the 1988 massacre in Iran.
And the UN Security Council must set up a special court or refer the dossier of the 1988 massacre in Iran to the International Criminal Court to arrange for prosecution of the regime’s leaders.
All governments, and particularly the United States, must block all means of trade with the IRGC. Yes, the eviction of the Iranian regime from Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and expulsion of the IRGC from those countries is only solution to the problems in the Middle East.
Of course, our people seek to bring down the religious dictatorship ruling the country. As the Iranian Resistance Leader Massoud Rajavi once pointed out, “As long as the mullahs’ regime exists, its overthrow is our inalienable right and the right our people.”
Dear friends,
Today, regime change in Iran is within reach more than any other time. You can see this in the resistance of heroes, the hunger strike of political prisoners and in the movement of the people of Kurdistan who protest the ruthless killing of porters.
This social readiness is also ever more evident in the acts of protest staged by teachers, nurses, workers, students and those whose properties have been looted by government agencies.
These facts attest to the truth that the people of Iran are yearning for fundamental change in Iran more than ever before. To achieve this goal, each one of you bear a great responsibility to seize the opportunities and turn them into an effective force against the mullahs’ regime. This can be made possible only at your hands. Your acceptance of responsibility and efforts are more significant than any other time.
I call on everyone to help expand the campaign for the overthrow of the mullahs’ religious tyranny and the velayat-e faqih regime in Iran.
Hail to you all,
Hail to freedom
Iranians to Protest Rouhani UN Visit
Thousands of Iranians joined by their supporters will gather in New York City to protest Iranian regime president Hassan Rouhani’s presence at the United Nations General Assembly, and call for regime change in Iran.
Association of Iranian Americans in New York (AIAINY), a member of the Organization of Iranian American Communities-US (OIAC), said in a statement that the 3-day program includes a September 20, 2017 rally outside the U.N. headquarters as well as street acts and a photo exhibition to commemorate the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran.
The rally will call on U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley to refer the 1988 massacre dossier to the U.N. Security Council, the statement by the group said. Read more
New York City; August 10, 2017 – Thousands of Iranian-Americans will gather in New York City to protest Iranian regime president Hassan Rouhani’s presence at the United Nations General Assembly, and call for regime change in Iran. Organized by the Association of Iranian Americans in New York (AIAINY), a member of the Organization of Iranian American Communities-US (OIAC), the 3-day program includes a September 20, 2017 rally outside the U.N. headquarters as well as street acts and a photo exhibition to commemorate the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran.
Protesters will urge the international community to evaluate Rouhani on his deeds, not his deceptive demeanor or words. They will emphasize the ever-escalating discontent in Iran. According to the regime’s own officials, some10 million Iranians struggle with addiction and around 18 million people live below the poverty line. Yet on December 31, 2015, Rouhani ordered his armed forces, “to quickly and significantly increase their missile capability.”
Parallel to the regime’s ballistic weapons program and terrorism across the Middle East, the number of executions in Iran has skyrocketed during Rouhani’s presidency. In July 2017 alone, at least 100 Iranians were executed. Individuals who served in his previous administration, and those now being picked as ministers, not only perpetrated the current barbarism, but also had a major role in the mass executions of 1988. His choice for Justice Minister for the last 4 years, Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, was a member of Tehran’s infamous “death commission.” He was replaced this term by Alireza Avaie, who was directly involved in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran’s Khuzestan Province
Rouhani’s deeds are indeed an affront to modern civilization and highlight the abject failure of Western appeasement policies vis-à-vis Iran. While applauding the growing international awareness of Rouhani’s contempt for democracy and human rights, and his unsavory role in the growing instability in the Middle East, Iranian Americans
will emphasize that regime change in Iran is imperative and achievable, not by means of outside military interference, but from Iran’s own people and their organized Resistance, which is fully prepared to facilitate that change.
Our community members, their Congressional representatives, human rights defenders and their interfaith supporters will also attend and call on U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley to refer the 1988 massacre dossier to the U.N. Security Council.
Two Months Into Debilitating Hunger Strike, political prisoner’s life is at risk Political prisoner Arzhang Davoudi has been on a hunger strike since May 21, 2019 in Zabol Prison in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, demanding to be returned to the political ward. Arzhang Davoudi, 66, has been locked up held in a ward with inmates convicted of violent crimes, in violation of Iran’s regulations on separation of inmates. He has been also deprived of visits and phone calls. Davoudi is being held in a dark and dirty room in the prison’s quarantine section. The room he is incarcerated in has never seen the light of day since it was created and has never even been disinfected. According to the latest news the political prisoner is currently suffering from deteriorating physical conditions. He has announced that he will continue his hunger strike until his demands are met. Read more
Iranian regime breaks the legs of political prisoner Arzhang Davoodi in Zahedan prison
According to reports from Zahedan Central Prison in Iran’s Baluchistan province, the prison guards of the Iranian regime has broken the legs of political prisoner Arzhang Davoodi. The reports pertain that the prison guards have thrown him off a staircase and broken his legs while torturing him.
The Iranian regime transferred Davoodi to Zahedan prison in January. Since then, the torturers of the Iranian regime have kept him in the prison’s quarantine and kept him under constant, severe torture. Davoodi went on hunger strike. He was subsequently summoned to the office of the prison’s chief while his hands and feet were enchained. When he left the room the deputy chief of the president shoved him and threw him off the stairs of the second floor.
Iranian political prisoner Arzhang Davoodi under torture
Iranian teacher and political prisoner Arzhang Davoodi, who is being held in the quarantine section of the Zahedan prison is currently suffering from deteriorating physical conditions. There has been no news of Mr. Davoodi since March.
In his previous message, Davoodi had said that he had been transferred to a small solitary confinement unit and was deprived of family visits, phone calls and any communications with other prisoners. He was also deprived of free airtime, reading, television, and access to medication and food suitable for his health condition.
Political prisoner Arzhang Davoudi, recently held in Central Zahedan Prison, south east of Iran, has staged hunger strike and refused his medications since March 3, 2017 in the quarantine section of this jail.
The 64 year old prisoner was taken to this facility’s quarantine ward on January 6, 2018 where inmates with murder and drug charges are held. During this period Arzhang Davoudi had been denied medical care despite suffering from diabetes.
He had been deprived of fresh air and family visit as well.
Davoudi protested to the harsh condition by staging hunger strike. After a while on the order of the warden, Mohammadhossein Khosravi, he was taken to a 180*160 meters solitary confinement with handcuffs and shackles.
Arzhang Davoudi, 64, was born in the city of Abadan and has an engineering degree from the University of Texas in Ausin. He has been imprisoned for the last 14 years after first being arrested in 2003 for criticizing Iran’s human rights record in a documentary film titled Forbidden Iran. The film investigated the death in suspicious circumstances of Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist. Human rights activists say that she was raped multiple times and tortured to death by the Iranian regime. The regime said that she died of a stroke while in custody.
During his time in prison, Arzhang Davoudi has suffered torture, beatings and solitary confinement and was denied access to basic hygiene products and kept in unsanitary conditions.
A group of political prisoners in the prisons of Evin, Gohardasht and the Greater Tehran Penitentiary staged a 3-day long hunger strike protesting the closed political space and lack of any freedom.
The statement says ‘We the political prisoners in Evin, Gohardasht and the Greater Tehran Prisons will go on Huger stick for 3 days starting on Sunday, March 18.’
While congratulating fellow Iranian people on the Persian New Year (Nowruz) they added: ‘We, more than ever, hope that the new year would be a rich and successful year and would bring freedom, justice and welfare to all people.’
political prisoner in Gohardasht prison in Karaj is on the sixty-ninth day of his hunger strike. Mohammad Nazari, Kurdish political prisoner, has been on hunger strike to protest his legal status and Iran regime’s failure to address his situation. One of his requests is his transfer to a prison in Iranian Kurdistan province such as Mahabad or Orumiyeh. He has fallen unconscious several times during the hunger strike and the prison officials have not done anything about the prisoner's requests.
Meanwhile, four political prisoners in Rajajahi Shahr (Gohardasht) Karaj, in a letter addressed to the U.N. Secretary General, Mr. António Guterres, and the UN Rapporteur on Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Ms. Asma Jahangir, warned about the condition of Mohammad Nazari, one of the most prominent political prisoners in Kurdistan, calling for his unconditional release.
The political prisoners Saeed Shirzad, Ibrahim Firouzi, Jafar Eghdami, and Saeed Masouri, in their letter noted more than 60 days of hunger strike by Mohammad Nazari and wrote: “Mohammad Nazari has spent more than 24 years in prison without even one day of furlough. He was sentenced to life imprisonment allegedly for having contact with Kurdish parties.”
In another part of this letter, these prisoners who themselves have been convicted of several vague charges including “propaganda against the system, disturbing public opinion and assembly and collusion against the system”, referring to the laws of the judiciary regarding the prisoners on the verge of dying as well as the serious physical and health condition of Mohammad Nazari, who is not even able to speak and drink sugar water, has called on all the awake consciences as well as independent lawyers to protect Mr. Mohammad Nazari life and his freedom as well as his demands which are fully legitimate.
Mohammad Nazari, Kurdish political prisoner was arrested in 1993 on the charges of having contact with Kurdish parties and was sentenced to death after false confession taken under beating and torture.
However, due to the pressure of human rights organizations, his death penalty was reduced to life imprisonment in 2007 and he was then transferred from Orumiyeh to Rajaei-Shahr prison.
He and 16 of his cellmates have been on hunger strike for more than 3 months to protest the lack of investigation of the indictment against them and the inhumane condition of the prison.
Despite forty days of hunger strike of political prisoners, they face a number of serious challenges, including the lack of adequate nutrition and the lack of solutions to health issues and medical care.
For more than two months, the prisoners have not received any fruit, vegetable, or legumes. The prison food is not suitable. Prisoners inevitably have to purchase the food they need from the prison shop, but the prison officials do not allow them to have access to the prison shop.
Despite the fact that all costs are on the shoulder of the prisoners and they pay for food, they are not given any meat or dairy. The only recent change was that they were allowed to purchase canned food, which alone does not provide a complete diet for the prisoners, especially the elderly.
The medical care and treatment of prisoners in this hall is also a complicated issue. In general, prisoners who have been on hunger strike for 40 days did not receive medical attention after the strikes ended, and most of them have similar medical problems such as gastrointestinal disorders and physical weakness.
Messrs. Mohammad Banazadeh Amirkhizi and Aboulqassem Fouladvand are indire health condition following 40 days of hunger strike and Mohammad Nazari had liver and kidney problems and the prison officials refrain from dispatching him to hospital outside the prison and he is a serious health condition.
It is notable that the 40-day hunger strike of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Gohardasht prison had taken place in protest against the denial of basic human rights and violent treatment of the prisoners contrary to human dignity of the detainees by the Iranian regime.
In the statement addressed to the Iranian people and human rights organizations the strikers stated that: during the strike, the prisoners have been deprived of the most basic facilities, even legalized in prison, access to legal proceedings in prison and access to medical treatment and the regime's judiciary and prison officials were trying to ignore and deny their hunger strike.
Gohardasht's political prisoners said they were grateful for the support they had received and added: “We all admit that our 40-day resistance in the difficult circumstances of Gohardasht prison was only possible with your support and sympathy and solidarity, and we believe that the recongnition of the cause of freedom and equality will be possible only through the unification of all political and social forces.”
Iran Regime Threatens Political Prisoner's Family for Supporting His Strike
Arab political prisoner, Maher Ka'bi, has called on all human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and also the European Parliament to address the situation of political prisoners in Iran.
He also called on the UN Special Rapporteur on Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Asma Jahangir, to put pressure on Iranian regime officials to stop them from torture and repeated violations of the rights of detainees and their exile to various cities.
According to reports, his family was pursuing his case for cancellation of his son's exile, but in response, the intelligence officials said that because he supported the political prisoners in Gohardasht by sending an audio message in Arabic, a new case is made against him and he will receive additional prison sentences.
They threatened that Maher Ka'bi in addition to bearing a 4-year prison term, another sentence was considered for him and a worse end will be waiting for him eventually.
In response to this call, Ka’bi's mother told them that your threat and trick does not work on us and would not be useful. My child is innocent and you have to release him.
The family has become very worried about the conditions of their son after the threats.
Temporary Pause of the Strike by Political Prisoners
A group of political prisoners in Gohardasht - Karaj, west of the capital Tehran, after 40 days of hunger strike announced temporary pause of their strike on Thursday September 7
They said that despite the fact that so far none of our demands has been met, and we continue to be in inhumane conditions, at the request of individuals and social groups and labour activists, teachers and students, current political prisoners and parliamentarians from the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and the European Parliament, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations and human rights activists and our families we temporary stop our strike from Friday, September 8, 2017 after 40 days, making it political protest fasting.
we urge the international community to intervene and save the lives of hunger striking political prisoners in Iran's Gohardasht prison
Rallies in Front of Iran Regime Parliament for the Release of a Labor Activist
NCRI - On Tuesday, September 5, 2017, people held rally in front of the Parliament of Iran to protest against the condition of a labor activist and a member of the boards of The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (SWTSBC) who have been imprisoned.
Reza Shahabi started his hunger strike 28 days ago to protest against his detainment. The hunger strike began when the labor activist realized that the Judiciary has not approved his medical leave and he has to remain in jail for other 968 days.
The Rally began in front of the parliament on Tuesday following a call by of Reza Shahabi’s wife, Robabeh Rezaei. A group of people, students, labor activists, and drivers of Tehran Bus Company gathered in Baharestan Sq. demanding the release of Reza Shahabi. But the rally was prevented from the beginning by the security guards and plain clothes agents.
Iran fears no international intervention into alarming treatment of imprisoned dissidents
By Rowan Scarborough
The Washington Times, September 4, 2017 - The United Nations and a human rights group are expressing alarm at Tehran’s brutal treatment of imprisoned dissidents who have stepped up criticism of Iran’s religious regime.
A foreign policy analyst told The Washington Times that, despite international condemnation, Iran believes it has nothing to fear given its unchallenged ability to intervene in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as well as aid Israeli enemy Hamas and harass the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf.
“Iran will pay no price for clamping down on dissent,” said retired Army Col. Robert Maginnis, a counterterrorism specialist.
An Iranian exile opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, says more than 20 political prisoners at Iran’s most notorious maximum-security prison are on a 35-day hunger strike after being subjected to inhumane conditions. Dissidents in other prisons have joined them.
Iran’s ruling mullahs have a history of crackdowns on dissenters, who in some cases are imprisoned for years or face execution by hanging.
Suppression of dissent in Iran unchallenged by West
WorldTribune:While the West may be critical of Iran’s practice of imprisoning, torturing and executing dissidents, the Islamic Republic has no fear that any real action will be taken to stop it, an analyst said.
“Iran will pay no price for clamping down on dissent,” retired Army Col. Robert Maginnis told The Washington Times on Sept. 4.
Rajaee Shahr Prison
“We have little leverage in the region, and no other nation in the region will hold it accountable.”
Iran’s regime has a history of crackdowns on dissenters, who in some cases are imprisoned for years or face execution by hanging, according to human rights reports.
Asma Jahangir, the United Nations special rapporteur for Iran, said that “punishments such as flogging, blinding, amputation and stoning, which violate the absolute prohibition of torture and other forms of ill treatment, continue to be implemented.
“Major overcrowding in Iranian jails, unhygienic detention facilities, lack of proper medical care, torture and ill treatment by prison officials, and solitary confinement continue to be daily realities for thousands of prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Many of us cannot go 5 hours without needing something to eat, whether it’s a healthy kale snack or some fast food you know you really shouldn’t touch. Yet political prisoners in one of Iran’s prisons, Gohardasht – some 15 miles northwest of the capital – have entered their 5th week of hunger strike. Even under so-called normal circumstances, Gohardasht’s security guards are more notorious than those at Evin, Iran’s most notorious prison,
when it comes to cruelty in treating political prisoners and some former political prisoners consider Evin as a 5 star hotel in comparison to Ghoardasht.
Political Prisoners in Southeastern Province Support Gohardasht Prison Hunger Strikers
Political prisoners in Zahedan prison in a statement announced their solidarity with the political prisoners in Gohardasht prison who are on hunger strike and supported their legitimate demands.
The political prisoners detained in Gohardasht prison in Karaj west of capital Tehran, are suffering from weight loss and serious loss of blood pressure as well as serious physical problems on the 30th day of their hunger strike.
The prison doctor has not visited the prisoners inside the prison so far, and prison officials have not paid any attention to the prisoners' strike.
A number of hunger striking prisoners who met with their families on Wednesday, 30 August 2017, faced serious problems and were unable to stand up.
To Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Gohardasht Prison City of Karaj, Iran
On August 30, 2017 Gérard Deprez MEP and Chair of the Friends of a Free Iran in the European Parliament, send a letter to the hunger striking political prisoners in Iran,
Iran President's 2nd Term Begins With Abuses, Hunger Strike by Political Prisoners
By Patrick Goodenough
CNS News, August 29, 2017 - Concerns are deepening for the well-being of more than 20 Iranian political prisoners on hunger strike, who reportedly are being denied medical care by authorities who triggered their protest in the first place by forcibly transferring them to accommodation where conditions are described as “unbearable.”
The incident comes in the early weeks of the second term of Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, whose ostensibly “moderate” presidency has been characterized by ongoing repression at home, include a 20-year high in executions.
Some of those affected at the Gohardasht prison west of Tehran have been on hunger strike for a month now, and political prisoners at other jails have begun to voice support and in some cases have joined the protest action.
Iran Human Rights Monitor, August 29, 2017 - On July 30, the Warden of Gohardasht Prison along with special execution guards known as Black Masks, attacked Hall 12 of Ward 4, beating prisoners there and damaging their belongings.
The prisoners were subsequently transferred to Hall 10 located in the maximum-security section used for detention of prisoners affiliated with ISIS and al-Qaeda.
Iran: Mother of political prisoner says son is in critical condition
Ms. Zahra Eghdami, the 60-year-old mother of political prisoner Jafar Eghdami, a political prisoner who is presently on hunger strike in Gohardasht Prison in Iran, said that her son was in unsuitable condition when she last visited him and that he could barely stand on his feet.
Iran is currently striving to manage a number of increasingly painstaking dilemmas. International spotlight is again on Tehran’s nuclear program, with the United States demanding United Nations inspectors be granted access to its military sites.
Equally troubling is Iran’s collaboration with North Korea to pursue their nuclear ambitions and ballistic missile capabilities. Such dossiers are enough to undermine the spirit of the JCPOA, Tehran now also considers its meddling in the Middle East indispensable in its effort to establish a regional empire reaching the Mediterranean.
Crackdown on Iranian political prisoners reveals Rouhani's true colors
By Amir Basiri
While Tehran's diplomacy apparatus has been trying to portray a moderate image of the Iranian regime, the realities inside the country reveal a completely different truth.
On July 30, a few days before the inauguration of Hassan Rouhani's second term as president, the special guards of Gohardasht Prison, Karaj (60 kilometers west of Tehran), also known as Raja'i Shahr, raided a ward where political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists, and students were kept. The prison guards forcibly transferred some 50 inmates to a separate hall without allowing them to take their personal possessions, including their medicine. In the process, several of the prisoners who protested the unlawful act were beaten and injured.
Hunger Striking Prisoners Call on the Iranian People and the International Community to Support Their Justice Seeking Movement
Political prisoners in Gohardasht prison in Karaj called on their fellow citizens to declare their solidarity with their justice seeking move and asked them to help them in standing up against abuses and law breakings in religious despotism ruling Iran. The prisoners, who are now on their 30th day of hunger strike, urged all international human rights bodies and organizations to visit all political prisoners and striking prisoners to work toward securing their rights
The Prominent Political Prisoner Goes on Hunger Strike
The political prisoner, Arzhang Davoudi has gone on hunger and medicine strike since August 20, 2017, in Zabul Prison located in Southeastern Iran to express solidarity with the prisoners of Gohardasht Prison. He is suffering from diabetes and heart disease. As soon as he heard about the strike of political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison, he also started his strike to support them and to also protest against the poor condition of Zabul Prison. Arzhang Davoudi has also announced that he is not going to stop his strike unless his demands are fulfilled. This political prisoner has been kept in solitary confinement and is under pressur
The Political Prisoners in Other Prisons Join the Hunger Strike in Solidarity
NCRI - A group of political prisoners of Ardabil Prison, Northwestern Iran, in a letter to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed their support and sympathy with the prisoners on hunger strike in Gohardasht prison located in Karaj, West of the capital Tehran, urging the authorities to address their issues including the prison's poor condition.
According to the latest reports from sources close to the prisoners, more than 20 political prisoners on strike have been constantly continued their protest for 25 days so that their demands to be addressed. The health condition of prisoners on strike is deteriorating. The doctors are not allowed to enter the wards for medical examinations and no prisoner is transferred to the healthcare facility as well.
More Support for Political Prisoners in Hunger Strike
A group of political prisoners in Rajaei Shahr (Gohardasht) prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, have launched a mass hunger strike in protest against inhuman and degrading treatment and forced transfer to the max-security section of the prison.
Arash Sadeghi, a political prisoner incarcerated in Evin prison, in a letter announced his support for the legitimate demands of the hunger striking political prisoners in Gohardasht prison concurrent with their 25th day of hunger strike.
The Firm & Courageous Position of the Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike
NCRI - A group of political prisoners in Gohardasht prison located in the city of Karaj, West of Tehran, wrote a letter to the human rights organizations and associations on the 26th day of their strike seeking the recognition of their rights. The political prisoners called on the human rights organizations to pay a visit to prisons in Iran in order to see the poor condition of political prisoners. In their letter, the political prisoners also refer to the 4 decades of repression and violation of human rights, writing that," a person does not achieve self-esteem and freedom easily. We and some of our brothers, who have been imprisoned by the age of 70, are witnessing a blatant violation of human rights against the prisoners of conscience and the political prisoners by the authorities of the Judiciary, the Intelligence Organization, and the guardsmen.
The World’s Shame: Iran’s Hunger Striking Political Prisoners are Largely Ignored
By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
Human rights record has deteriorated markedly in Iran according to human rights organizations including Amnesty International.
For example, most recently, on July 30, inmates in Ward 4, Hall 12 of Iran’s Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison were made subject to a violent and unexplained raid that led to more than 50 persons being transferred to Hall 10, where conditions and treatment are even worse than the prisoners had been experiencing up to that time. Hall 10 had been newly renovated ahead of the raid, apparently with the explicit intention of putting more pressure on the prisoners of conscience that the Iranian government was planning to transfer there. In their new surroundings, the prisoners are subject to 24-hour video and audio surveillance, even inside private cells and bathrooms. Windows have been covered over with metal sheeting, thereby reducing airflow during summer in a facility that was already known for its inhuman and unhygienic conditions. In additional, the raid saw the confiscation or outright theft of virtually all of the inmates’ personal belongings, including prescription medications. Since then, prison authorities have denied the prisoners access to medical treatment and have even blocked the delivery of expensive medications purchased for them by families outside the prison.
SUPPORT FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS ON HUNGER STRIKE IN IRAN
By Zohair Ahmad
On July 30 this year, the authorities in Gohardasht prison conducted a savage attack on the political prisoners in hall 12 of ward 4. The guards insulted and beat the prisoners and forcefully transferred them to the hall 10 in the same ward. The prison authorities have deprived the prisoners of minimum hygiene facilities and decent clothing. The prisoners have also been deprived of all family visits and have been placed under pressure to end their hunger strike.
Since the news came out, the prisoners on hunger strike have gained massive support not only around the world but also from fellow political prisoners in various prisons across Iran.
The health of many of political prisoners who are on their 24th day of hunger strike in Gohardasht prison to protest their inhumane conditions has deteriorated.
On Monday, August 21, Mr. Hassan Sadeghi, who is suffering from glaucoma due to the severe blows he received from prison authorities, was transferred to Farabi Hospital in southern Tehran.
Mr. Sadeghi’s eyesight has diminished severely. Physicians believe he is facing the danger of losing his eyesight due to pressure build up.
Mr. Hassan Sadeghi was last arrested for the third time in 2015 for supporting the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
Many of the prisoners on hunger strike do not have the strength to stand on their feet and have fainted repeatedly.
In the meantime, prison authorities once again transferred another hunger striking political prisoner Amir Qaziani to solitary confinement.
Imprisoned women support hunger strike in Gohardasht Prison
Atena Daemi, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Maryam Akbari Monfared, detained in the women's ward of Evin Prison, published an open letter on August 19, 2017, calling on conscientious people to speak out against the difficult conditions of political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison who are on the 20th day of their hunger strike in protest to the extremely repressive conditions in that prison.
In their letter, Atena Daemi, Golrokh Iraee and Maryam Akbari Monfared have emphasized, “Those who are critical of the government --for whatever reason-- must not face such harsh reactions placing them under inhumane conditions in prison. Under the clerical regime, many people have been killed unjustly, countless rights trampled, and many unjust rulings issued. Hunger strike has remained as the only way for prisoners to demand justice.” Read more Hunger Striking Political Prisoners in Dire Conditions, Call for Urgent Action
Twenty days have passed since the day when at least 18 political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran, launched a hunger strike. Their conditions are reported as very dire. These prisoners began protesting on July 30 following a vicious attack by authorities on the inmates of hall 12 in ward 4. Their personal items and money were stolen, and they were transferred to hall 10 of this ward where they are kept under harsh conditions. These political prisoners are demanding their return to hall 12 and all personal belongings and money returned. The authorities broke the prisoners’ eyeglasses, stole their purchasing cards and used all their credits in the prison store. Read more
Letter of Exiled Prisoners in Support of Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike
A group of political prisoners in Ardebil prison Northwest Iran, wrote a letter of support for the political prisoners in Gohardasht prison near Tehran who are on hunger strike, urging the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to take immediate action to save the lives of these prisoners.
They emphasized in their letter that if the demand of the political prisoners in Gohardasht is not met and they are not transfeedr to Hall 12 of the prison, they will start a hunger strike too. click to read the text of the letter:
Political prisoner, Ali Moezi announced his support for those political prisoners on hunger strike
17 August 2017-- The high profile political prisoner, Ali Moezi, 65, who has been mostly without legal counsel since his arrest in 2008, has written a letter announcing his support for the political prisoners on hunger strike in Gohardasht prison in Karaj, northwest of Tehran.
In this letter, he recalls his memoirs from Gohardasht prison and the memories of those martyred during the 1980s, particularly the martyrs of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. Read more Political Prisoners in Ward 4 of Gohardasht Prison in Danger
Brussels August 15, 2017. Following the recent savage attack to political prisoners by Iranian regime, Mr Gérard Deprez ,MEP and Chair of the Friends of a Free Iran committee in the European Parliament, issued the statement click here to read The Lives of the Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Danger
The Iranian Resistance expresses grave concern over the health and security of political prisoners on hunger strike in solitary confinement of ward 4 in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran. All international human rights organizations, especially the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur of Human Rights in Iran, Special Rapporteur on Torture are called upon to take urgent action to save the lives of these political prisoners.
Misters Abolqassem Fouladvand, Hassan Sadeghi, Saeed Masouri, Reza Akbari Monfared, Jafar Eqdami, Amir Qaziyan, Khaled Heradani, Zaniyar and Loqman Moradi who are in solitary confinement. A number of other ward 4 prisoners, including Misters Mohammad Banazadeh Amir Khizi, Pirouz Mansouri, Majid Assadi and Payam Shakiba are amongst the inmates who are also on hunger strike protesting repressive measures against ward 4 political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison. The authorities have banned these political prisoners from any family visits and placed them under pressures to end their hunger strikes. Read more Latest Report on the Situation of the Political Prisoners Transferred to Max-Security Hall
On the morning of Sunday, 30 July 2017, Gohardasht prison officers in Karaj west of Tehran forcefully transferred the political detainees to the maximum-security Hall after beating and mayhem.
According to a new report, officers took the political prisoners to the courtyard on the pretext that one prisoner has escaped and they have to get statistics, and then transferred them to the max-security Hall 10, Ward 4 by force. All 53 transferred prisoners staged hunger strike to protest regime's actions.
The report indicates that, the health condition of one of the political prisoners (Shahin Zoghi-Tabar) was deteriorated on Tuesday, August 1, due to the hunger strike, and he was transferred to the so-called Rajaei Hospital in Karaj. But with his hands handcuffed from behind, the officers sent him back to solitary confinement without any medical treatment. Read more
According to reports, the political prisoners incarcerated in ward 4 Hall 12 of Gohardasht prison staged an indefinite hunger strike following the raid by special guards and forced transfer of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience to Hall 10 after beating and mayhem.
Hall 10 of Gohardasht prison in Karaj – west of Tehran, contrary to the prison regulations, is equipped with 40 CCTV cameras and sixty four surveillance systems. The agents have also prevented the transfer of all drugs and equipment of the sick prisoners.
Brutal Raid of the Special Guards, on the Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Conscience Tuesday, 01 August 2017 08:15
NCRI - Special Guards at the Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, on Sunday July 30, 2017, brutally attacked hall 12 located in section 4 of the prison, which is the hall of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and beat them.
According to reports, prisoners have been transferred to hall 10, which is equipped with CCTV cameras and a surveillance system.
Special Guards have caused great damage to the personal belongings of the prisoners following the onslaught.
Families of prisoners are worried about their loved ones’ status. Prisoners protested against the special guards during the raid and forcible displacement. Read more
Sunni Political Prisoner Hanged at Gohardasht Prison
Iranian Resistance calls on international community to condemn the execution of political prisoners in Iran, and urges all governments to make their relations with the religious dictatorship in Iran contingent on an end to executions and torture.
The Iranian regime hanged Seyed Jamal Mousavi, a Sunni Kurdish political prisoner from city of Sanadaj on Wednesday August 23 after spending nine years in prison on the so-called charge of Moharebeh (waging war on God). This is while the new cabinet of Hassan Rouhani has not been through its first week in the office.
The authorities in in Gohardasht prison (west of Tehran) transferred Mr. Mousavi from Hall 21 of Section 7 of the prison to solitary confinement on the pretext of sending him to hospital on 16 August. He was held enchained in solitary confinement for a week. They threatened Mr. Moussavi that his death sentence would be implemented if he leaks any information from inside the prison.
In an open letter to over 20 Iranian political prisoners on hunger strike in Gohardasht Prison, the Italian Parliamentary and Citizens’ Committee for a Free Iran condemned the crimes of Tehran’s regime and expressed admiration for the prisoners’ commitment to non-violent struggle and self-sacrifice in the face of torture and harassment by the regime. Read more
