Iran - Mother and child activist get's 7 years in prison

Posted on: 16th May, 2015

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HRANA News Agency – Atena Daemi, civil activist, has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the primitive court.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Atena Daemi, children’s rights activist, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and she was notified of this decision on 12th May by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge Moghiseh.

This civil activist’s trial took place on 14th March 2015, on charges of propaganda against the regime, acting against national security through gathering, blasphemy, insulting the leadership and concealing evidence of the crime.

Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided by Judge Moghiseh did not allow her barrister and herself to give evidence and by applying  Article 134 of the new Penal Code, Atena Daemi was sentenced to seven years and she was notified of this decision on 12th May.

According to her relatives, Judiciary Officials, in the case, accepted the testimony of a person against this civil activist who is one of the accused persons of this case and he has testified against Atena Daemi, just to release himself from prison.

A friend of Atena Daemi about her case, told HRANA’s reporter: “Atena’s activities were completely peacefully, such as participating in a rally opposing the execution, gathering to support Kubani, protest against the execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari, opposing compulsory veiling and about insulting, this allegation is totally baseless and Atena even in a private message did not offend anybody.”

Atena Daemi, civil activist, 26, holds a high school diploma and was working in “Enghelab gym”, before she was arrested on 21st  October by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers and transferred to Evin prison and after being kept in solitary confinement for a long time, was sent to the women’s ward of Evin prison.

IRAN: Kurdish teachers arrested over protesting

On Thursday, May 14, teachers of Kurdistan held their fourth protest gathering. They are protesting unfair wages and prejudice in the educational system.

This gathering in Sanandaj was held in front of the governor’s building. Teachers protested their difficult living conditions and the unresponsiveness of the educational system regarding their grievances. They stated that they are just given hollow promises.

On May 7, teachers and educational system employees had staged protests in Tehran and cities throughout Iran complaining about their difficult livelihood.

Teachers’ protests took place while Khamenei had paved the way for a crackdown on teachers’ protests by emphasizing on May 6 that “the teachers are cognizant of enemies’ conspiracies and the adversaries of the Islamic system that wish to instigate problems for the system and give seditious, strategic and political slogans under the pretext of teachers’ livelihood”.
As the protests expanded, the suppressive forces resorted to threats and arrests to rein in the protests.

In the past days and weeks, a number of teachers have been arrested and families of imprisoned teachers have been threatened.

Two Killed after Student Protest in Chile

SANTIAGO – Two young men who took part Thursday in a student march in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso were shot and killed by an individual who was apparently angry that they had vandalized his home, police said.

The victims, aged 18 and 25, were spray-painting the door of a house at the end of the demonstration when the owner realized what they were doing and began arguing with them, according to the preliminary investigation.

Several witnesses said the homeowner’s son then went out on the street with a gun and fired the deadly shots.

One of the victims was shot in the neck and the other in the chest; both were rushed to Carlos Van Buren Hospital in Valparaiso, but emergency responders were unable to save them.

The suspect is a 20-year-old man who has already been taken into custody and was due to be questioned on Thursday.

Interior Minister Jorge Burgos, for his part, condemned the double homicide and said a special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate.

“The government does not and will not tolerate actions of this nature that endanger lives,” Burgos said, adding that the preliminary investigation indicates the suspect had no ties to the police who were monitoring the demonstration.

Different hypotheses have been offered for the deadly violence but none justify the reaction of the gunman, who acted in an “absolutely disproportionate” manner, the minister said.

The killings occurred near Valparaiso’s Plaza Victoria after the two men had taken part in one of several multi-city demonstrations organized by the Confederation of Chilean Students, or Confech.

Argentine Government Increases Pressure to Force 97-Year-Old Judge’s Replacement

BUENOS AIRES – The Argentine government on Monday demanded that the Supreme Court replace 97-year-old Justice Carlos Fayt, whom it says is not “able to work every day” but who is refusing to retire.

During his Monday press briefing, Cabinet chief Anibal Fernandez said that the situation at the high court “has gone on long enough” and that the government must appeal “to the rationality, the intelligence and the respect for the nation” among the court’s top leadership.

“He who needs to be replaced has to be replaced. A possible way out has to be found so that once again we have men and women of stature who are able to work every day to resolve the problems of Argentines,” said the official.

Fernandez’s remarks came amid an assault on the judicial branch by the government, which last week raised its level of criticism against Fayt, whose ability to carry out his duties has been called into question in public by several top officials, including President Cristina Fernandez.

In the face of the doubts about his health, Fayt defended himself saying that he feels “fine” and is “working just like always” in a brief message broadcast by Radio America.

In response, the Cabinet chief said Monday that he was not certain that the person who spoke on the radio was actually Fayt and he called for a videotape of the statement to be rebroadcast on television.

In addition, Fayt’s situation is scheduled to be discussed in the lower house’s Impeachment Committee, which recently changed leadership and is now headed by a lawmaker from the governing party.

Since January 1, the court has been operating with one justice fewer than the law establishes due to the resignation of 75-year-old Raul Zaffaroni.

The 1994 constitutional reform establishes that Argentine judges must retire at age 75, but Fayt, Argentina’s longest serving justice ever and who formerly presided over the high court, managed to get a court ruling to retain his post and survived the reduction in magistrates on the body by late former President Nestor Kirchner.

With five months to go before the general elections, in which Cristina Fernandez’s successor will be chosen, and with numerous court cases pending against top officials, including the president, the government is having trouble filling the vacant court seat with its own candidate, Roberto Carles, whose judicial independence has been called into question by opposition lawmakers

13 Suspected Kidnappers Arrested in Central Mexico

MEXICO CITY – The Federal Police arrested 13 suspected kidnappers who operated in the capital and the central state of Mexico, which surrounds the Federal District and forms part of the Mexico City metropolitan area, and are subjects in 10 investigations, the Government Secretariat said Thursday.

Federal Police officers launched an operation on May 8 in Valle de Chalco, a city in Mexico state, where they arrested 13 suspects, the secretariat said in a statement.

Cristian Versay, 22, and Ricardo Gomez, 23, have been identified as the gang’s leaders, the secretariat said.

The suspects face organized crime, drug and firearms charges.

The arrests were made as part of an investigation launched earlier this year that identified a gang that targeted people between the ages of 20 and 40 in the eastern part of Mexico state and in the Federal District, the secretariat said.

Officers seized a rifle, a revolver, 100 kilos of a substance believed to be marijuana and three vehicles from the suspects, the secretariat said.

“Cellular telephony gear presumably used to call the relatives of victims and items belonging to the people they held captive were seized from the suspects,” the secretariat said

Iran - The clout of the NCRI grow's in Washington D.C

On Thursday, IranFreedom.org hosted an online question and answer session with Professor Ivan Sascha Sheehan of the University of Baltimore. Professor Sheehan is the director of the graduate program in negotiation and conflict management at the university’s School of Public and International Affairs. In recent years, much of his scholarship has focused on Iran and its democratic political opposition.

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In keeping with this background, Sheehan’s introductory remarks and his responses to questions from international journalists focused both on prospects for internal change in the Islamic Republic and on critiques of US-led negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

The program with Professor Shaheen came one day after a similar question and answer session with Ambassador Robert Joseph, who formerly served as United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation.

The two scholars’ talks touched on many of the same points despite each having a different central focus. Both expressed the view that the emerging nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+ failed to establish sufficient verification of Iranian compliance, and that Iran’s flat refusal to grant unfettered access to international inspectors was highly suspect.

But Sheehan’s independent remarks largely emphasized the general need for change in US policy toward Iran, including the need for support of Iranian opposition movements, and particularly the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

That movement, Sheehan said, represents the “best hope” for the defeat and transformation of the clerical regime currently ruling Iran. “This is a point I’ve been making again and again,” Sheehan said with reference to both his scholarship and his regular communication with policymakers on Capitol Hill. “And I’ve found a terrifically receptive audience.”

When asked about Western reactions to the NCRI, Sheehan said the group was getting “quite a bit of attention in the halls of Congress.” This was illustrated in April when the organization’s president, Maryam Rajavi spoke before a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

Sheehan described this as an “extraordinary” event, which reflected “great enthusiasm that has been growing for some time” for Rajavi’s presence in the policy landscape.

According to Sheehan, the Iranian Resistance has a “profound role to play.” Western support for the movement’s goal of regime change in Iran represents a crucial third alternative to tactical military strikes and “unending cosmetic diplomacy” with the Iranian regime.

Criticizing the US for acting as if the clerical regime’s continued rule is inevitable, Sheehan declared that that regime is “not a fixture of the Middle East landscape,” but could be replaced with a “nuclear free, democratic, and secular” government, as represented by the organized opposition and the massive protests that have recently spread across Iran.

“As a scholar of the Middle East I can say without hesitation, the greatest threat to peace in the region is the Iranian regime,” Sheehan said. As such, he told his online audience that what is needed for the region is regime change in Iran, as distinguished from the “regime modification” that has lately been pursued by the Obama administration.

Iran - Father threaten's to "set himself on fire ", over son in prison (Hossein Ronaghi)

“I will set myself on fire”

When Ahmad Ronaghi-Maleki speaks about his son, his voice shakes with emotion. He utters his name softly. But when it comes to the subject of Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki's imprisonment and the illegal treatment he has endured while incarcerated, Ahmad Ronaghi-Maleki’s tone changes. He is angry and determined. “They want to kill my son,” he shouts. “They want to turn him into another Sattar Beheshti.” Beheshti, a blogger and activist, who died in 2012 while in custody.

Now Ahmad Ronaghi-Maleki says he is willing to take drastic measures to draw attention to his son’s case. On March 2, he stated his intention to stage a sit-in outside the prosecutor’s office until he receives a response. “I will sit there wearing a shroud,” he tells IranWire. “I will bring gasoline and if they do not answer me, I will set myself on fire. If they try to prevent me, I will set them on fire as well.”

Blogger and activist Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki was arrested on February 28. He had previosusly been released from prison on September 3, 2014 after the Supreme Leader pardoned him on medical grounds. It was thought that he was in such poor health that that he would not live to serve out his sentence. But soon after his release, he was re-arrested.

In recent weeks, his father has contacted the prosecutor’s office and the prison warden, hoping to get further information about his son. He has called the judge in charge of the case, but has had no reply.

“They [the authorities] took Hossein for no reason at all,” Ahmad Ronaghi-Maleki says. “They even disregarded the Supreme Leader’s pardon. He was summoned to the prosecutor’s office under the pretext of a medical examination and was arrested. They accuse him of escaping his punishment. No matter how many times I tell them that he has been pardoned — and the prosecutors know this — they will not listen.”

After his latest arrest, Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki was sent to Ward 8 of Evin Prison. His father says the ward is unbearably cold, and that his son has gone on hunger strike to protest against prison conditions and his arrest. He says he is determined to continue his hunger strike until he is released. As of the last week of February, he was still on strike. “What difference does it make if I die by myself or I am killed?” Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki told his father over the phone.

Prior to his initial arrest in 2009, Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki blogged under the penname Babak Khorramdin, in honor of the 9th century Iranian freedom fighter who fought against Arab occupation. He studied software engineering at university and worked with the anti-censorship cyber group Iran Proxy, which enabled Iranians to circumvent government filters. Accordingto the Iran-based Committee for Human Rights Reporters, Maleki’s expertise was in computer programming; he was adept at setting up websites that navigated around government censorship and established ways to access blocked addresses. He was especially active in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential election.

The Cyber Police unit of the Revolutionary Guards arrested Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki and his brother Hassan on December 11, 2009 at their father’s home. Both were taken to Section 2A of Evin Prison, which is controlled by the Revolutionary Guards, and put under intense physical and mental pressure to sign confessions. It was believed that authorities arrested Hassan Ronaghi-Maleki, who was not politically active, in order to force Hossein to confess. Hassan was released on bail after spending a month in solitary confinement, but Hossein remained in a solitary cell for a total of 13 months.

Maleki’s case was sent to Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Pir Abbasi, who sentenced him to 15 years in prison for his cyber activities and for insulting the Supreme Leader, a verdict which was upheld by the appeals court.

“He suffers from kidney problems, intestinal hemorrhaging and an uncontrollable urination problem,” his father tells IranWire. Prior to his arrest, Hossein had begun suffering from kidney problems, but his condition worsened after he was subjected to physical abuse and prison authorities failed to offer him medical care.

Ahmad Ronaghi-Maleki says the family has been deceived. “They told me that if the doctor decided that the prisoner cannot withstand incarceration because of his medical condition, he would be pardoned. All the letters from the forensics team and prison officials have been presented. Despite this, he has been taken back to prison. I told them over and over that he needed medication and should not be detained, but they would not accept this, insisting that he had fled from his sentence illegally.” He insists that his son presented himself to authorities as soon as he was summoned via telephone. “We have given the prosecution a bail amount of 1.7 billion tomans [over $600,000]. But they will not budge.”

“Nobody in this country is accountable.”

When Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki was first arrested in 2009, authorities warned his father not to speak to the media. But now he feels he must talk.  “I do not want to create headaches for my son,” he says, “but when nobody in this country is accountable and nobody hears me, I have to speak to the media. I call on all authorities to look into my son’s case.”

But authorities have told Ahmad and Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki that speaking to the media will not work.  Khoda-Bakhshi, the assistant to the prosecutor, has said, “Many have died and what happened? At most the BBC and Voice of America make noise for a few days. And then it is over.”

Ahmad Ronaghi-Maleki says security agents have repeatedly issued death threats against his imprisoned son. “I know that they want to kill him; why else would they take him back to prison?”

The former blogger and prisoner is not yet 30; he has spent five years in prison. This is not the first time he has gone onhunger strike — there were fears for his life in 2012. Today, his health is fast deteriorating. “How can they behave this way?” his father asks. “Why, under the Islamic Republic? I plead with the Supreme Leader, with the head of the judiciary, with the prosecutor and MPs to look into my son’s situation.” Once again, he draws a parallel with the case of Sattar Beheshti. He bursts into tears and cannot continue.

“Hossein lost his kidneys in prison,” says Ahmad Ronaghi-Maleki. “Why don’t just they let us be?”