Unjust trail for three Kurdish students

Three Kurdish students; Sabah Nassiri, Hedayat Ghazali and Yasser Gholi, have been detained and are facing torture and interrogation.

Two of these students: Sabah Nassir and Hedayat Ghazali have been held illegally for the past eleven months.

They were transferred mysteriously from the 209 section of Evin prison to the so called court, in which they underwent a summary trial without the presence of a lawyer. They have apparently been held, interrogated and trialed in relation to activities of a student news bulletin called "Rozhameh", No detail of their trial is available.

Prior to the new developments, Sabah Nassiri, Hedayat Ghazali had both asked to be trialed officially in an open court with their attorney present.

The two activists had been arrested eleven months prior to this and were charged with delivering a speech in a meeting held to support "Educating the mother tongue". They were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry and held in Sanandaj intelligence detention centre, west of Iran, and eventually, transferred to 209 section of Tehran.

Sabah Nassiri is the head director of "Rozhameh" in Tehran University, and Hedayat Ghazali is a member of the editorial board of the news bulletin.

At the same time another court in Sanandaj, has announced a destined trial of Yasser Goli to be held in the western city of Iran, on charges of threatening National security, and that Yassers' mother is to be tailed along her son.

Mrs.Goli has been, herself a civil right activist on women's' issues. She had been arrested on a different occasion by the Ministry, but had managed to bail out.

Student arrested in 1999 unrest, freed

After 8 years and nine months detention, Mehrdad Lohrasbi , who was arrested in 1999 has been released.

Mr.Lohrasbi, was arrested in relation to the 1999 student unrest and sent to "Tohid" and the notorious "209" section of Evin prison. There he was subjected to brutal torture.

The 6^th branch of the so called revolution court, charged him with threatening National security and propagating against the State, and sentenced him to death by hanging.

Later, an appeal court revised his prison sentence along with others arrested during the same unrest, to long prison sentences.

Mr Lohrasbi, was only allowed to under go medical treatment twice during his detention.
He had been transferred from Evin prison to Rajaei shahr, under the supervision of the Intelligence Ministry.

Prison sentence of Amirkabir University students confirmed

Prosecutor of the 44^th Branch of the appeals court, Mr.Saedi, confirmed prison sentence of the Three disputed Amir Kabir Students; Majid Tavakoli, Ahmad Ghassaban, and Ehsan Mansouri.

The 6^th Branch of the so called revolution court sentenced the three students each, three, two and two years prison sentences respectively. The given verdict is non-appeal able.

It is reported that the Appeal court has disputed the charges under the pressure of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry and the General Prosecutors office of Tehran.

Prior to this, the Public court had violated the 6^th branch courts' verdict, which had acquitted the three students and ordered their release on bail.

It is evident that the public court had been influence by the Intelligence ministry, specifically the personal persistence of deputy General prosecutor "Hadad",(Known by the prisoners as the butcher of political prisoners).

The three students have been in prison since February 2007.

They have been under constant torture and pressure of the Intelligence Ministry to provide fake interviews and accept their charges.

At the beginning they faced charges of insulting "sacred values" of the Islamic Republic, by printing leaflets with insulting images of the religious leader. They denied the charges categorically, saying the publications had been faked.

The public Court had acquitted the students of all charges, namely: Insulting sacred religious values, insulting kins to all Moslems (a term usually associated with relatives of the prophet , in this case, the country's appointed religious leader), insulting the people of Ghom city, Insulting hejabed women, young believers, insulting the Presidency of the state and other officials including the science and technology Minister, and officials of Amirkabir University.

Political Prisoner transferred to solitary confinement

Arjang Davoudi, a political prisoner detained in the public section 3 of Evin prison , has been transferred to solitary confinement of the section known as "2-ALef"(2-A) ,on 14 April , for no specific reason.

Section "2-Alef" is supervised under the Security division of the RGC. Prison cells in this section are known to measure 1.5meters wide, and 2.5 meters long, and contradict International standards.

Arjang, was called to the court a day before his transfer and was interrogated.

Mr.Davoudi was arrested in 2003 by the security agents. The 26^th branch of the so called revolution Court, charged him for conspiracy against national security and propagating against the Islamic Republic. He was then transferred from his Home town Tehran to the southern city of Bandar Abass.

Kin of 1988 mass murdered victims arrested

Elham Yaghoubi, who has lost two of her family members in the state mass murder of more than 5000 political prisoners in 1988, has been arrested.

Ms.Yaghoubi , has been arrested on 5 April by the Intelligence Ministry agents, and accused of participating in a ceremony held in the victims' memory.

She was kept in the detention centre of the 13th district police of Tehran , then transferred to the isolated unit of the notorious Evin prison, and has been there since.

Sources close to Ms.Yaghoubi have reported that her arrest was personally ordered by "Rahmati", who has been her interrogator. They have stressed that prior to here arrest, "Rahmati" had been threatening her through telephone calls
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Ms.Yaghoubi had been arrested last year too, after a similar ceremony had been held, and spent three weeks in solitary confinement in the notorious Evin prison after which she was released on bail.

She was trialed by the 1st branch of the so called revolutionary court and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment.

It is reported that Ms.Yaghoubi and others arrested after her, had been tortured physically and mentally, because of their participation in this ceremony. She was charged of threatening national security.

Ms Yaghoubi is 30 years old and has lost two of her uncles (supporters of PMOI) in the massacre, when they were killed by a firing squad 20 years ago.

In November 2007, Amnesty International, condemned harassment and arrest of families of political prisoners and stated that those executions have been a crime against Humanity.

A policial activist sentenced 8 years imprisonment

The so called revolutionary Court sentenced Abbas Khorsandi, General Secretary of the "Democratic Party of Iran", and a critic of the tyranny in Iran, to 8 years imprisonment. Mr.Khorsandi was arrested last year at his home in Firouzkooh.

The court has charged him of founding a political dissident group and hence threatening the States security.

Mr. Khorsandi had been arrested along with five other activists last September. Sepideh Pouraghaii, Ghassem Shirzadian, Mansour Faraji, Bahram Rasekhifar, and Meisam Roudaki, have been released on bail.

Precedent to this Mr.Khalil Bahramian, attorney to the case, has declared that he has been deprived of his clients' dossier.

Mr.Khorsandi had been kept in the notorious Evin prison 209 section for one month prior to his recent arrest.