The shark was shipped from New York to Los Angeles
and placed in an above-ground pool in a Van Nuys backyard, the site of a Kmart
commercial shoot. The American Humane Association, the group responsible for
overseeing the treatment of animals on film and TV sets, said everything was
done to ensure the shark's safety in the 60,000-gallon outdoor tank.
The shark seemed to be in good condition earlier
in the day, but started showing signs of distress, according to Karen Rosa,
AHA's senior adviser for the film and television unit.
"As far as I
know, it was immediately insisted upon that the animal receive specialized
aquatic veterinarian care," Rosa told Reuters.
The shark was given a shot
of adrenaline and oxygen was pumped into the tank before it was transferred to
an aquatic veterinary compound where it died the same day.
"We honestly
don't know why the animal died. It was not being mistreated. It was not being
harmed," Rosa told Reuters.
The AHA has reportedly commissioned a third
party group to help investigate the cause of death.
Animal rights group
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a letter to AHA after it
learned about the shark's death from two on-set whistleblowers.
"Sharks
are sensitive animals who, in captivity, require a highly specialized and
controlled environment," the PETA letter read. "Given the delicate nature of
this species, why would the AHA approve the transport and use of this
animal?"
The concept of the Kmart commercial was not
disclosed.
"We take this matter seriously and safety is always our
paramount concern," a spokesperson for Kmart parent company Sears Holdings said
in a statement. "We have been advised by our agency that the production company
responsible for this shoot worked with professional animal handlers and a
representative of the American Humane Association for the purpose of monitoring
the shark's welfare. We are saddened by this incident."
Committee of Human Rights Reporters – After women’s day was celebrated in the world, there are still a large number of female political prisoners accused of civil, and human rights activism who are serving prison terms behind bars throughout Iran.
During the past months a number of female prisoners were released after serving their sentences. Among the released are Ronak Safarzadeh (Sanandaj prison), Zeinab Bayazidi (Zanjan prison), Fereshteh Shirazi (Amel prison), Nazanin Deyhimi, Negar Haeri, Ladan Mastoufi and Haniyeh Farshi Shotorban (Evin prison).
Following is a list of female prisoners in various prisons throughout the country. This list does not incorporate all female prisoners of conscience.
Evin Prison:
1 – Besmeh Al-Jabouri - Iraqi prisoner, charged with espionage for Iraq, 5-year sentence, has served one and a half years.
2 – Bahare Hedayat - student and women’s rights activist, member of Daftare Tahkime Vehdat (Student Unity), prior arrest in 05 stemming from student and women’s rights activism, arrested during aftermath of the contested 09 presidential elections, 10-year sentence, has served more than 3 years, presently out on medical furlough.
3 – Behnaz Zakeri - Swedish national detained as she entered the country, charged with connections to the Mujahedin political party (MEK), 10-year sentence, has served about 8 months.
4 – Hakimeh Shokri – member of Mourning Mothers, arrested in December 2010 after attending funeral services of Amirashed Tajmir (killed during time of mass protests after the 09 contested presidential elections), 3-year sentence, has served 4 months.
5 - Reyhaneh Haj Ebrahim Dabagh – among the many arrested during time of “Ashoura 88” protests, charged with connections to the Mujahedin political party (MEK), death sentence, later commuted to 15-year sentence, has served over 3 years with no furlough.
6 – Jila Baniyaghoub – journalist and women’s rights activist, one-year prison sentence and 30-year ban on press activities, has served 6 months. Her husband Bahman Ahmadi Amoui is a journalist with a 5-year sentence behind bars in Rajai Shahr prison and presently out on furlough.
7 – Jila Karamzadeh Makvandi - poet and member of Mourning Mothers, arrested after 09 contested presidential elections, 2-year sentence, has served one year with no furlough.
8 – Shabnam Madadzadeh – former student activist, arrested in March 09, charged with connections to Mujahedin political party (MEK), 5-year sentence, has served over 4 years. Her brother Farzad Madadzadeh held in Rajai Shahr prison on same charges.
9 – Shiva Nazarahari – human rights activist, member of CHRR, detained twice after contested 09 presidential elections, 4-year sentence and 74 lashes, has served one and a half years, granted furlough on March 12, 2013.
10 – Sedigheh Moradi – charged with connections to Mujahidin party (MEK), 10-year sentence, has served over a year.
11 – Saghra Gholamnejad – charged with connections to Mujahidin party (MEK), 2-year sentence, has served one year.
12 – Faezeh Hashemi – political activist, 6-month sentence, has served 5 months.
13 – Fariba Kamalabadi – Baha’i citizen, member of 7-person group Yarane Iran, 20-year sentence, has served over 5 years without furlough.
14 – Faran Hesami – Baha’i citizen, 5-year sentence, mother of toddler has served over 8 months. Her husband Kamran Rahimian is spending 5-year sentence behind bars in Rajai Shahr prison.
15 – Kobra Banazadeh Amirkhizi – detained during attempt to visit her son in Iraq, charged with connections to Mujahedin party (MEK), 5-year sentence, has served over 4 years without furlough.
16 – Kefayat Malek Mohammadi – arrested during “Ashura 88” events with her husband, charged with connections to Mujahedin party (MEK), 5-year sentence, has served over 3 years.
17 – Lava Khanjani – Baha’i citizen, 2-year sentence, has served 8 months. Her brother Foad Khanjani is serving 4-year prison sentence in Rajai Shahr prison.
18 – Aliyeh Tabrayiyan – 2-year sentence, has served about 6 months.
19 – Asal Esmailzadeh – Green movement activist, 2-year sentence, has served 2 months, granted furlough on March 14, 2013.
20 – Mahboubeh Karami – member of One Million Signatures Campaign, charged with membership in Human Rights Activists in Iran, 3-year sentence, has served over 2 years.
21 – Mahboubeh Mansouri – charged with connections to Mujahedin party (MEK), 2-year sentence, presently out on furlough.
22 – Maryam Akbari Monfared – arrested during time of “Ashura 88” protests, charged with connections to Mujahedin party (MEK), 15-year sentence, mother of 3 has served 3 years without furlough.
23 – Maryam Jalili – Christian convert charged with changing her religion, 2.5-year sentence, has served about a year.
24 – Motehareh Bahrami – arrested during time of “Ashura 88” protests (along with her husband Mohsen Daneshpour Moghadam, her son Ahmad Daneshpour Moghadam, and 2 friends Reyhaneh Haj Ebrahim Dabagh and Hadi Ghaemi), death sentence, commuted to 10-year sentence, has served over 3 years without furlough despite numerous illnesses.
25 - Mitra Zahmati – Christian convert charged with changing her religion, 2.5-year sentence, has served about a year and half without furlough.
26 – Manijeh Najm Araghi – translator, writer, member of Writers Association of Iran and women’s rights activist, one-year sentence, has served about 10 months.
27 – Manijeh Nasrollahi – Baha’i citizen, 3.5-year sentence, has served over 3 years.
28 – Mahsa Amrabadi – journalist, 2-year prison sentence, has served over a year. Her husband journalist Masoud Bastani serving sentence at Rajai Shahr prison and is presently out on furlough.
29 – Mahvash Shahriari – Baha’i citizen, member of 7-person group Yarane Iran, 20-year sentence, has served over 5 years without furlough.
30 – Nasrin Sotoudeh – lawyer and human rights activist, 6-year sentence, has served about 2.5 years. Mother of 2 has launched 4 hunger strikes behind bars in protest of the unlawful treatment of herself and her family members.
31 – Nasim Soltan Beygi – journalist and former student activist, 3-year sentence, has served about 7 months.
32 – Nooshin Khadam – Baha’i citizen, professor at BIHE (a Baha’i online university), 4-year sentence, has served over 1.5 years.
33 – Haniyeh Sanae Farshi – political activist charged with “insulting the holy”, “propaganda against the regime”, “acting against national security,” 7-year sentence commuted to 5-years, has served more than 2.5 years with no furlough.
Kermanshah prison:
34 – Zeynab Jalalian – Kurdish citizen, member of the PKK, arrested in Kermanshah in 08 and transferred to Sanandaj prison, endured severe torture in long periods of solitary confinement, charged with “moharebeh” (enmity with God), death sentence later commuted to life in prison, has served her time in Kermanshah prison without any furlough.
Ahvaz prison:
35 – Fatemeh Rahnama – arrested during time of “Ashura 88” protests, close to Zahra Rahnavard, jailed at age 19 on charge of “connections with MEK,” now handed a 10-year sentence on same charge, serving her sentence in Ahvaz prison.
Gharchak & Ramin prison:
36 – Raheleh Zakayee – lesser-known prisoner, charged with “propaganda against the regime,” one-year sentence, was recently transferred from Evin to Gharchak & Ramin prison without explanation.
Semnan prison:
37 – Taraneh Tarabi – Baha’i citizen, charged with following Baha’i faith, 2.5-year sentence, has served 5 months. In October 2012 she was transferred to Semnan prison with her newborn despite the fact that the conditions in this prison are not at all suitable for a baby.
38 – Zohreh Nikaeen – Baha’i citizen, charged with following Baha’i faith, 23-month sentence, has served 5 months. In October 2012 she was transferred to Semnan prison with her toddler despite the fact that the conditions in this prison are not at all suitable for a toddler.
39 – Rofia Beydaghi – Baha’i citizen, charged with following the Baha’i faith, one-year sentence. The father of this prisoner is also behind bars in Semnan prison.
40 – Jinous Nourani – Baha’i citizen, charged with following the Baha’i faith, one-year sentence.
Mashhad prison:
41 – Rozita Vaseghi – Baha’i citizen, charged with “advertising the Baha’i faith” and “insulting the holy”, 5-year sentence. Despite spending half her sentence behind bars with 6 months in solitary, she has not been granted any furlough.
42 – Sima Ashrafi – Baha’i citizen, charged with “propaganda against the regime,” and “insulting the holy,” 5-year sentence, served 2.5 years. The mother of two has not been granted her right to furlough despite having spent over half her term behind bars.
43 – Nahid Ghadiri – Baha’i citizen from Mashhad, charged with “advertising the Baha’i faith,” 5-year sentence, has served 2 years 6 months, in poor health.
House Arrest:
44 – Zahra Rahnavard – Put under house arrest with her husband Mir Hossein Mousavi since February 15, 2011. She has not been tried in any court or handed any sentencing. She is deprived of all her rights as a prisoner and has had very rare supervised visitations with family.
View PhotoAssociated Press - A Swiss woman, center, who, according to police, was gang-raped by a group of eight men while touring by bicycle with her husband, is escorted by policewomen for a medical examination at …more a hospital in Gwalior, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Saturday, March 16, 2013. Thirteen men were detained and questioned in connection with the attack, which occurred Friday night as the couple camped out in a forest after bicycling from the temple town of Orchha, local police officer R.K. Gurjar said. The men beat the couple and gang-raped the woman, he said. They also stole the couple's mobile phone, a laptop computer and 10,000 rupees ($185), Gurjar said. (AP Photo) less
NEW DELHI (AP) — A Swiss woman who was on a cycling trip in central India with her husband has been gang-raped by eight men, police said Saturday. The attack comes three months after the fatal gang-rape of a woman aboard a New Delhi bus outraged Indians.
Authorities detained and questioned 13 men in connection with the latest attack, which occurred Friday night as the couple camped out in a forest in Madhya Pradesh state after bicycling from the temple town of Orchha, local police officerR.K. Gurjar said.
The men beat the couple and gang-raped the woman, he said. They also stole the couple's mobile phone, a laptop computer and 10,000 rupees ($185).
The woman, 39, was treated at a hospital in the nearby city of Gwalior, Gurjar said, adding that she and her husband apparently suffered no major injuries.
A photo showed the woman walking while being escorted by police to the hospital. Her face was concealed with a hood, a common practice in India, where law does not allow rape victims to be identified publicly to protect them from the stigma attached to rape in the conservative country.
Police detained 13 men and questioned them, Gurjar said. Six of the men were released after questioning. No other details were immediately available.
Indian television stations showed scores of police searching the forest where the attack occurred.
Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Tilman Renz described the case as "deeply disturbing" and said Swiss diplomats were assisting the couple.
The diplomats called on Indian authorities "to do everything to quickly find the perpetrators so that they can be held accountable," Renz said in a statement.
Last month, the Swiss government issued a travel notice for India that included a warning about "increasing numbers of rapes and other sexual offenses" in the South Asian nation.
India has seen outrage and widespread protests against attacks on women since December's fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a moving bus in New Delhi, the capital. The crime horrified Indians and set off nationwide protests about India's treatment of women and spurred the government to hurry through a new package of laws to protect them.
One of six suspects in the December attack was found dead in a New Delhi jail this past week. Authorities said he hanged himself, but his family and lawyer insisted foul play was involved. A magistrate is investigating. Four other men and a juvenile remain on trial for the attack.
Indore: A woman was allegedly gang-raped inside a public transport bus by its staff and their associate in Indore yesterday afternoon.
Police said the woman took the private bus from Dewas, around 40 km from Indore. On entering the city, all passengers except her got off at Vijay Nagar.
The driver then took the bus to near a flyover, where another man boarded. The two and the bus conductor allegedly gang-raped the woman.
The woman's medical report has confirmed rape. The three suspects have been arrested and the bus impounded.
Police said the bus, which has been impounded, had tinted windows despite a recent crackdown against such vehicles in Madhya Pradesh.
The drive to penalise public transport buses having tinted glasses was started after last December's gang-rape of a medical student on a Delhi bus, but stopped after protests by bus operators.
Mexican Army servicemen apprehended a man identified as Melvin Gutierrez Quiroz aka “El Melvin”, second in command of the Arellano Felix Cartel(CAF), just below Fernando Sanchez Arellano aka “El Ingeniero”, this happened today in an operation in the Juarez suburb in Tijuana.
Gutierrez Quiroz is the one who in February 2012 sent threats against the Zeta magazine editorial staff in Tijuana, and whom at the time was believed to be followed real close by the authorities of both Mexico and USA.
Among the activities “El Melvin” performed was the collection of fees(cobro de piso) to other cartels for crossing drugs through Tijuana to the USA.
The Capture
About 10:00 am this morning, several units of the Mexican Army closed Television Avenue, near a church and a school where elements of the National Defense Ministry(Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional-SEDENA) performed an operation in the Juarez suburb , at first it was mentioned that a kidnapping victim was saved, this versión was later changed when it was confirmed that “El Melvin” was captured.
Gustavo Rivera aka “El P1
Who is “El Melvin”?
Melvin Gutierrez Quiroz began his criminal life with the Tijuana Cartel at the beginning of the 90´s under DavidCorona Barron aka “El CH”, whom he met in the Logan Heights gang in San Diego, California.
While under Barron’s command he was a hit man for Ramon Arellano Felix until “El CH” died in the ambush against journalist Jesus Blancornelas, director of Zeta Magazine.
When David Barron died “El Melvin” inherited the command of the Logan Heights sicarios working for the Tijuana Cartel, at the time he became part of Gustavo Rivera´s criminal cell, Gustavo Rivera aka “P1” was apprehended in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur after the DEA found him.
After years working for the Tijuana Cartel, “El Melvin”[at left] became a cell leader and at the moment was considered the main enforcer of Fernando Sanchez Arellano. He controlled the drug shipments that were smuggled in the Otay area and was believed to be the owner of many of the narco-tunnels found there.
In 2011 he was believed to be working alongside Alfredo Arteaga aka “El Aquiles” for the Sinaloa Cartel but this was never confirmed, other versions say that he was in charge of collecting the narco fees from ”El Aquiles” rather than working for him.
Committee of Human Rights Reporters – Parvin Ghafarkhani, former dean of the Tehran Medical Sciences department of Islamic Azad University who was detained on charges of “insulting the leadership” and released on 50 million tomans bail, set herself on fire and is now hospitalized in serious physical and mental condition.
According to news provided to CHRR, in May 2011, writer and poet Parvin Ghafarkhani went to Tehran’s family court on Kharak Street to follow up on a criminal file but got into a verbal scuffle with Judge Khakpour who was in charge of the case. She was subsequently detained and transferred to Evin prison on the charge of “insulting the leadership.”
Mrs. Ghafarkhani who suffers from MS (multiple sclerosis) was not provided her necessary medication while behind bars and when she was finally released on 50 million tomans bail, she left prison in a wheel chair. In protest of the events that led to her situation, Parvin Ghafarkhani resorted to setting herself on fire some time ago. Her only request, which has not been granted so far, is that the 50 million tomans bail money that is being used as collateral against her parental house be lifted.
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