Iran ( Three Christians arrested in Anzali, north of Iran ) Priest taken out of church arrested

Posted on: 7th July, 2014 

Tell A Friend

Close

Your Name

Friend Email

Enter Message To Friend

 

•  

HRANA News Agency – The security forces has arrested three new converted to Christianity and members of a group called Iran Church, in Anzali city.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Seyed Alireza Ali Haghnejad, known as Mathews, the new converted to Christianity from Anzali city was arrested on July 5^th.
Mathews is a priest of Iran church, who was arrested along with Mohammad Roghangir, known as Vahid and Soroush Rezayi, who are from the same church in Shiraz, in Anzali, at Mathew’s house, on Saturday, July 5.
The security forces have seized the holy books, pamphlets and personal computer of Mathews.
Previously, Yousef Nadar khani, another member of Iran church was sentenced to death, but because of the activities of human rights organizations the sentence was cancelled and he was released.
Behnam Irani, another member of this church, who is serving his sentence at Central Prison of Karaj was transferred to an unknown location for two weeks last month, despite his bad physical and health condition. He is deprived of all the rights of a prisoners like furlough.

GAZA/JERUSALEM ( Rockets Launched from Gaza Hit Outskirts of Jerusalem )

GAZA/JERUSALEM – Rockets launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel struck the outskirts of Jerusalem late Tuesday, causing damage but no casualties.

Witnesses told Efe that one rocket, which activated the air-raid sirens for the first time since Israel launched its offensive against the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza, hit in the area of Mateh Yehuda, a mountainous zone west of the Holy City.

The Israeli press reports that a second rocket fell in a vacant area near Pisgat Zeev, a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

Earlier Tuesday, the municipal government had decided to begin opening the city’s air-raid shelters given the possibility that Hamas has rockets that could reach the city.

Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, within a range of 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Gaza Strip were already on alert for rocket attacks.

In a later communique, Hamas said it had launched four M75 rockets against Jerusalem, which is 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Gaza Strip.

While many Jerusalem residents are sleeping in shelters, others gathered downtown to watch World Cup action from Brazil.

Air-raid sirens have also been heard in Tel Aviv, where the Iron Dome antimissile shield intercepted at least one rocket.

The armed wing of Hamas said that it had launched rockets against Haifa, on Israel’s northern coast, more than 150 kilometers (about 93 miles) from Gaza.

Israel on Tuesday began a massive military operation against the Gaza Strip.

During the first few hours of the offensive, at least 18 people died, many of them civilians, Palestinian health officials said.

Defense Ministry officials said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not ruled out a ground offensive and Israel’s Security Cabinet mobilized 1,500 reservists and called up 40,000 others to gradually reinforce regular troops on the border with the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu said at the end of the Security Cabinet meeting that Israel should be prepared for a “long, continuous and tough campaign against Gaza.”

The Israeli army said about 200 rockets had been fired from Gaza since June 12, when Israel began a massive search for three Jewish seminary students who went missing in the West Bank and were found murdered last week.

Israel blamed the kidnappings on Hamas, which has denied any role in the three Israelis’ deaths, and arrested 500 people, most of them linked to the Islamist movement, during the search.

Tensions between the two sides flared after a Palestinian teenager was abducted in Jerusalem last week and found burned to death hours later in a revenge killing for the murders of the three Israeli students.

Israeli security forces have arrested six people in connection with the murder, one of whom confessed on Monday and confirmed the involvement of the other accused.

SAN JUAN ( 10 Guards Injured in Prison Riot in Puerto Rico )

SAN JUAN – Ten guards and several inmates were injured during a large-scale riot at the Zarzal Correctional Institution in the eastern town of Rio Grande, Puerto Rican authorities said.

The riot started after prison guards uncovered a stash of illegal substances, which led to a showdown with the prisoners, who in turn attacked the guards.

After several clashes about which few details have been reported, the riot was controlled by a prison service SWAT team, though the authorities are as yet unable to say how many inmates were injured.

One of the guards suffered facial wounds and was taken to the Rio Piedras Medical Center for observation and care.

BOGOTA ( Colombian Cop Killed for His Bicycle )

BOGOTA – A Colombian police officer died of stab wounds inflicted by three assailants who stole his bicycle, authorities said Tuesday.

The commander of the Bogota police, Gen. Humberto Guatibonza, announced Tuesday a reward of 20 million pesos ($10,000) for whoever provides information about those responsible for the killing.

The incident occurred around 10:40 p.m. Monday, when Lt. Jesus Arango of the drug squad left work and crossed a bridge on the west side of Bogota on his bicycle.

On the bridge, located at a busy station of the TransMilenio transit system, he was attacked by three men who stabbed him several times and stole his bicycle.

Witnesses of the robbery alerted the emergency system, which in turn called the police to take Arango to the Colombia Clinic, where he died.

The investigation indicates that the criminals belong to a gang of bicycle thieves who prowl the capital’s bridges at night, and dismiss any possibility that the attack was related to Arango’s work as a cop.

Authorities are also investigating the slaying of a soldier in Medellin, the country’s second-largest city, who was robbed of his cell phone.

WASHINGTON ( White House: “Most” Undocumented Child Migrants in U.S. to Be Deported )

WASHINGTON – The White House toughened its stance on the situation created by the massive arrival of unaccompanied and undocumented Central American children along the U.S. southern border, saying that “most” of them do not meet the requirements to be allowed to remain in the country for humanitarian reasons and will be deported.

“Based on what we know about these cases, it is unlikely that most of these kids will qualify for humanitarian relief... and what that means is, it means that they will not have a legal basis for remaining in this country and will be returned,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a press conference.

To date, the Barack Obama administration had only said that undocumented minors who reach this country will be submitted to a deportation process, but the immigration court makes each decision case by case and considers the risks each might run upon returning to their country of origin.

The U.S. government on Tuesday will send Congress its definitive plan for speeding up deportation of undocumented Central American children who come to this country, most of them from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Various media estimate the supplementary emergency budget that Obama will ask Congress to approve in order to deal with the border situation will come to about $2 billion.

In addition, Obama will ask that more authority be granted to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to accelerate the process of deporting the minors, who are currently being housed in federal shelters or with relatives while they await the processing of their cases.

According to government data, some 90 unaccompanied children and teenagers cross the U.S.-Mexico border every day, and some 52,000 have been detained in the last nine months, a figure that could climb to 100,000 by the end of the year.

RIO DE JANEIRO ( Brazilian Police Arrest 4 Colombians for Stealing Cell Phones )

RIO DE JANEIRO – Four Colombians were arrested early Monday at a concert hall in the city of Rio de Janeiro on charges of stealing cell phones from people attending a show there, Brazilian police said.

The four foreigners, who recently entered Brazil as tourists, were found in possession of seven cell phones which were later picked up at the police station by their owners, who admitted they had not noticed when they had lost them.

The suspects, Diana Garzon, Paola Ceron, Jonathan Rodriguez and Edgar Garzon, were formally charged with theft and taken to the Bangu prison, where a judge will decide whether to bring them to trial in Brazil or deport them.

The Colombians were arrested at Circo Voador, a well-known cultural venue in downtown Rio, after several people attending the show there approached security personnel to report the loss of their cell phones.

The four were identified after a would-be victim reacted to an attempt to steal his cell phone and became involved in a fistfight with the alleged thieves that had to be broken up by security guards and by the police.

The thieves evidently were experienced at this type of theft operation, given that the other victims did not notice when the cell phones were removed from their pockets and did not suspect anything, police spokesmen said

LA PAZ ( Three Alleged Cattle Rustlers Lynched in Bolivia )

LA PAZ – Three alleged cattle thieves were lynched by villagers in the Bolivian province of La Paz, local media reported Monday.

The incident took place on Friday in the town of Topoco after six men were surprised by local residents as they were stealing cattle. After a pursuit, three of the men were apprehended and lynched by their captors, Radio Erbol reported.

Once they were dead, the three men’s bodies were burned, according to the radio report, which added that Bolivia’s Special Crime Fighting Force (FELCC) had been informed of the incident.

Lynchings of alleged criminals occur relatively frequently in Bolivia and, as magistrates have warned, their occurrence shows that the death penalty is regularly imposed by angry crowds around the country.

The mobs regularly argue that they are applying so-called indigenous community justice, something that is recognized in the 2009 constitution but which does not allow the death penalty or physical punishment to be imposed.

Both Bolivian authorities and international organizations, including the UN, have expressed their concern over these acts, which the police are often unable to stop, given that many of them are carried out in rural areas where there are few law enforcement officers that might be able – or willing – to confront the furious lynch mobs.

According to human rights defense organizations, there are between 10 and 20 lynchings in Bolivia each year and a larger number of attempted lynchings.