JINA MAHSA AMINI
The face of Iran's protests. Her life, her dreams and her death.
In memory of Jina 'Mahsa' Amini, the cornerstone of the 'Zan. Zendagi. Azadi revolution.
16 February 2023 | By Gino d'Artali
And also
Read all about the assasination of the 22 year young Jhina Mahsa Amini or Zhina Mahsa Amini (Kurdistan-Iran) and the start of the Zan, Zendagi, Azadi (Women, life, freedom) revolution in Iran  2022
and the latest news about the 'Women Live Freedom' Revolution per month in 2023: July 15 -1--June 30 - 15-June 15-1--May 31 -16-- May 15-1--April--March--Feb--Jan  

And
For all topics below
that may hopefully interest you click on the image:

CLICK HERE ON HOW TO READ ALL ON THIS PAGE

When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali.

 
Iranwire - July 4, 2023 - by MARYAM DEHKORDI
<<More Children Fall Victim to Ahvaz's Decayed Sewage System
On April 21, Iranian media reported the death of a three-year-old girl who had fallen into a sewage well in Ahvaz, the capital of south-western Khuzestan province. The girl, named Jenan, opened the door of her father's car while her family was shopping for the holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, and fell into the unprotected well. According to an IranWire investigation, at least nine children under the age of nine have fallen victim to the city's sewage system over the past seven years. In an attempt to avoid such tragedies in the future, an online petition was launched to <build a modern sewage system in the deprived areas of Ahvaz.> <For many years, the sewage system in Ahvaz has failed to meet city standards, especially in densely populated areas, in suburbs where vulnerable communities reside,> a local activist told IranWire. <Most of the sewage canals are open and ditches are scattered throughout the streets. This poses a danger for children and contributes to the spread of infectious diseases among residents, endangering their health and lives,> he added. <These unprotected sewage wells have been left neglected for nearly two years,> a resident of Ahvaz told IranWire. <Residents have sent numerous letters, but the Ahvaz Water Authority and the contracting company have failed to reach an agreement, leaving these wells unsecured. It is due to the incompetence of the provincial officials that children have lost their lives in these wells.> Jenan's death came less than a month after Meysam Shaverdi, an eight-year-old resident of Ahvaz's Modares neighborhood, died after falling into a sewage well in Shohada Park. According to an individual residing in the neighborhood, the mounds of dirt created by the water and sewage company to pump water from the septic tank are located right next to a children's playground in the park. <Children often play on these mounds, and it's likely that the child slipped and fell into the septic tank. Instead of addressing the problems faced by the residents of this area, the water and sewage company has destroyed the children's playground and dried up the green space,> the resident added. After Meysam's family lodged a complaint over the boy' death, the managing director of the Khuzestan Water and Sewerage Company and the managing director of the contracting company responsible for water projects in the Modares area were arrested on March 31, according to local media. Two days later, the Khuzestan Water and Sewerage Company issued a public apology to the residents of Modares neighborhood. In May 2022, 22-month-old Marvan Khanfari died after falling into a sewage well in another neighborhood of Ahvaz. Another incident involving the city's sewage system claimed the life of a two-year-old boy named Fares Heydari in December 2021. One of the victim's relatives told IranWire that the child remained <stuck for 31 minutes in the [sewage] canal and died.> <The open sewage canal in front of our house has no protection, the water depth reaches half a meter and it is dangerous for children. If they had at least drained the water, we would not bury our loved one.> A year prior to this tragedy, in February 2020, the three-year-old Daniyal Navasari fell into a large sewage canal filled with mud. And in the summer of the same year, a one-year-old child named Seddiqeh Heydari died in another neighborhood for the same reason as Daniyal. Her family has said that they have filed a complaint against Ahvaz Municipality.>>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/features/118175-more-children-fall-victim-to-ahvazs-decayed-sewage-system/
Related articles:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/117951-acute-water-shortages-in-kerman-as-iran-enters-summer-heat/
https://iranwire.com/en/features/117909-fetid-waters-hospitals-in-shahrekord-filled-with-sickened-children/ 
https://iranwire.com/en/news/117932-deadly-pollution-of-aras-river-locals-told-to-stay-silent/
 
Iranwire - July 4, 2023
<<Three Men Executed in Iran for Allegedly Raping Women in Fake Clinic
The Iranian authorities say they have executed three men convicted of raping women they had lured to an <unauthorized beauty salon> and injecting them with anesthetic drugs. The trio was found guilty of conspiring in 12 cases of sexual assault in late 2021 in the southern province of Hormozgan and was hanged in Bandar Abbas prison on July 4, the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported. One of the convicts, a medical assistant, lured seven victims to the fake cosmetic surgery clinic with <false advertisements> for cosmetic procedures posted online, injected them with an anesthetic drug and raped them. The report said that the other two, both nurses, were executed over five cases of rape, as well as charges relating to the theft of the drugs. The executions bring to seven the number of people executed so far this year on rape charges, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group said in a statement. <In cases of rape, there is a high chance of defendants being tortured to make false confessions> that are then used to issue death sentences, it said. According to the group's latest annual report on the death penalty in Iran, at least 23 people were executed on rape charges last year, compared to 10 in 2021 and 12 the previous year. Amnesty International says the Islamic Republic executes more people than any other country except China and hanged at least 582 people last year, the highest number since 2015.>>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/118178-three-men-executed-in-iran-for-allegedly-raping-women-in-fake-clinic/
Opinion by Gino d'Artali: I'm against the death penalty but in case the penalty cannot be hard enough: lock rapists up and throw away the key!
But I strongly oppose the, according to the IHR (Iran Human Rights), this year untill June 5 protesters, 6 women and 71 (20%) Baluch minorities were executed among others, 354 in total, convicted for drugs-related or other crimes.

Iranwire - July 4, 2023
<<Prison Sentence of Social Media Activist Alinia Upheld
The court of appeals of Tehran province has upheld the six-year prison sentence against prominent social media and civic activist Ramin Alinia, IranWire reports, as the Islamic Republic is stepping up its clampdown on dissent and the media. Branch 36 of the court of appeals confirmed the initial verdict and sentence on July 2. The court document emphasized the irrevocable nature of the sentence, stating that the activist is not eligible for any amnesty. Alinia was arrested on November 7 last year and was released on bail from Tehran's Evin prison three weeks later, amid nationwide protests sparked by the September death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. In May this year, Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court handed Alinia a five-year prison sentence for <gathering and colluding to act against national security> and an additional one-year sentence for <propaganda against the system.> The court also imposed a two-year travel ban on Alinia, banned him from joining any political parties or groups, and restricted his online activities for two years. According to the Islamic Penal Code, Alinia will have to serve the highest prison sentence, which is five years. The charges against Alinia related to the activist's critical posts on an Instagram page and his role as the page's administrator.>>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/118177-prison-sentence-of-social-media-activist-alinia-upheld/

Iranwire - July 4, 2023 - by PARVIZ YARI
<<Yusifova: An Azerbaijani Woman's Misery in Iranian Dungeons
Valida Yusifova, a Azerbaijani woman imprisoned in Iran for six months, was recently transferred to a psychiatric hospital after being subjected to mental torture and other cruel treatment, her mother says. Yusifova, 31, was arrested in December 2022 after traveling from Turkey to Iran. She was initially accused of holding improper identification documents, but she later faced drug-related and <espionage> charges. In an interview with IranWire, her mother said that she was held for some time in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison, during which she was completely cut off from her family, she was denied access to legal representation, and she endured mental torture. In her last phone call with her mother, Yusifova said that the prison guards and interrogators administered her drugs that severely affected her mental well-being. The call abruptly ended after a few minutes when Yusifova asked her mother to publicize the harassment she had faced. Due to escalating pressure and relentless harassment from prison guards, as well as the drugs administered to her, she was recently transferred to a psychiatric hospital, her mother said.
In June, Yusifova appeared before Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abulqasem Salavati. The judge acquitted her of the drug-related charges but instead accused her of <espionage,> without presenting any evidence. In the absence of legal representation, Yusifova denied the accusations against her. After the court session, Yusifova was interrogated again and the investigators informed her she was cleared of the charges and would soon be released. Various judicial and security institutions of the Islamic Republic assured Yusifova's mother that she had been acquitted of all the charges and would be released soon. They also advised her to refrain from intervening in her daughter's case.
Victim of Diplomatic Tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan
Baku and Tehran have often had strained relations. Tensions reached a new level in January, when Azerbaijan halted the operation of its embassy in Tehran after what it called a <terrorist attack> that killed the diplomatic mission's head of security and wounded two others. Baku blamed the attack on the Iranian secret services. As tensions between the Islamic Republic and Azerbaijan escalated, the Iranian authorities failed to deliver on their promises to release Yusifova. <Every time that the tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan increased, the interrogators and prison guards humiliated my daughter. They repeatedly denied her the right to make phone calls and subjected her to increasing levels of torture,> her mother said.
According to her, the abuse of Yusifova has recently intensified, causing a decline in her physical and mental condition. In a letter dated June 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan assured Yusifova's mother that it would address her <unjustifiable> detention, <inhumane treatment,> and <torture> via the Iranian embassy in Azerbaijan.
Yusifova is not the only Azerbaijani citizen held in Iran on espionage charges.
Farid Safarli, an Azerbaijani student, went missing in March after traveling to Iran reportedly to meet his Iranian girlfriend. Local media affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that he is accused of <espionage.> >>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/prisoners/118163-yusifova-an-azerbaijani-womans-misery-in-iranian-dungeons/

Iranwire - July 4, 2023 - by OMID SHAMS
<<Indirect Censorship: The Iranian Government's Methods for Suppressing Dissent Abroad
Belgium’s invitation to Alireza Zakani, Tehran’s mayor and the former chief of the paramilitary Student Basij Organization, to attend a mayors' conference in June triggered a political controversy in Belgium that led to the resignation of the Brussels' state secretary for urbanism and to calls for the Belgian foreign minister to step down for issuing a visa to Zakani. Now, with the news that relatives of two protesters against Zakani's visit have been arrested and harassed in Iran, the controversy has entered a new phase. During the Brussel protests against Zakani’s visit, Abdolmotahar Mohammad-Khani, Zakani's spokesman and head of Tehran Municipality's Center for Communication and International Affairs, filmed the demonstrators. After Zakani and his entourage returned to Tehran, relatives of a number of protesters were interrogated and harassed by security agents in Iran. On Twitter, Mohammad-Khani not only explicitly wrote about taking pictures of protesters, but he also implicitly confirmed that their family members were interrogated. This is just one episode in the history of the Islamic Republic's vast and ongoing operations to pressure, suppress and silence the opposition beyond Iranian borders. These actions harm and endanger freedom of expression in democratic countries but, unfortunately, governments there have not done much, if anything, to prevent or to counter these threats.
***
Direct and Indirect Operations by the Islamic Republic Outside Its Borders
Since its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic has used both direct and indirect methods to suppress and silence the opposition beyond its borders. In the 1980s and 1990s, it repeatedly assassinated its opponents abroad. These assassinations and other actions singled out the Islamic Republic as the biggest supporter of terrorism in the international arena, something the country has repeatedly paid a price for in political, economic and diplomatic terms. These costs rose much higher after 9/11 when the global determination for fighting against Islamist terrorism hardened and heightened vigilance of Western intelligence agencies made such assassinations more difficult. Fearing more draconian responses by the West and especially by the United States, the Islamic Republic limited, to some extent, the score of these attacks or relied more on proxies and mercenaries such as criminal gangs to carry them out. While direct suppression of the opposition in other countries was becoming more costly and difficult, the Islamic Republic resorted to other tools to crush its opponents, including harassing the families of journalists, members of the opposition and human rights activists living in foreign countries, along with propaganda, libel, psychological warfare and the abuse of legal means, both domestic or international. These methods can be described as <indirect censorship,> meaning that instead of silencing a person directly, he or she is either silenced through intermediaries or is indirectly forced into silence and self-censorship.
Harassing and Torturing Family Members
One of the most common methods used to put pressure on Iranian expatriates is to harass, arrest and torture their family members in Iran. The most recent example is the arrest of the mother of two men who, during the Brussels protests, were filmed by a Tehran municipality official who was accompanying Zakani during his visit. Also, the son and the brother of Fariba Balouch, a renowned human rights activist who resides in London, were recently arrested in Iran. Security officers told her, <You know well why the two have been arrested. It's because of the activities of your daughter Fariba. She is working against the regime.> The security agents bluntly said that they would release the two when she stops her activities. In late May, Sajjad Shahrabi, brother of Shima Shahrabi, editor-in-chief of IranWire's Persian-language website, was arrested in yet another attempt to silence an independent media outlet that covers events in Iran.>>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/politics/118157-indirect-censorship-the-iranian-governments-methods-for-suppressing-dissent-abroad/

Iranwire - July 3, 2023 - by SAMIRA RAHI
<<Majid Khademi: The Ordeals of an Activist Handed Lengthy Prison Term
Majid Khademi, a 32-year-old activist from Behbahan in Khuzestan Province, was sentenced to 10 years and three months in prison after entering a plea of no contest. The Mahshahr Revolutionary Court handed down the sentence on charges of <propaganda against the system,> <membership in hostile groups,> <disturbance of public order,> <damage to public property,> <acting against national security> and <rebellion,> according to court documents seen by IranWire. Khademi will have to serve the highest prison sentence, which is five years and six months. He was also imposed two years of exile in Taft, Yazd province, and was banned from joining any political or civil group and from traveling abroad for two years. An informed source told IranWire that Khademi, an electrical engineering student who was expelled from Azad Behbahan University, has been arrested and released twice since the November 2019 protests over the sudden rise in the price of gasoline. He endured more than 21 months of incarceration in prisons in Behbahan and Ahvaz, as well as detention centers under the Ministry of Intelligence, during which his jailers inflicted him physical and psychological torture. After his initial arrest in 2019, Khademi endured over 20 months of imprisonment in Behbahan prison during which he didn't receive detailed information about his case and was not able to choose his own lawyer, according to the source. The judge in charge of the case granted him bail and set the bail amount at 6 billion tomans ($120,000) before agreeing to reduce the amount to 3.5 billion tomans ($70,000.). <The family mortgaged all their agricultural land to the government, but the value of the land was intentionally underestimated by the evaluator sent by the authorities,> the source said. After <considerable struggle,> the family finally managed to gather the requested amount, and Khademi was temporarily released from Behbahan prison in June 2021. But Khademi sought the counsel of two human rights lawyers, a move used as a pretext by the authorities to arrest him during a court session held on June 22, 2021, the source said. He spent a month in solitary confinement before being transferred to Shiban prison in Ahvaz, where dangerous criminals are held in abysmal conditions. <During the approximately 50 days he spent in Shiban prison, Majid constantly said that he endured more torture than during the 20 months he spent in Behbahan prison,> the source said. <He developed skin diseases, experienced facial hair loss, suffered from infections in his ears and eyes, and was denied any medical care.> Khademi was subsequently released from detention in exchange for admitting he had accepted money from foreign and terrorist groups. Now, at the age of 32, this political prisoner is preparing to return to prison for a third time to serve a five-year-and-a-half sentence.>>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/prisoners/118139-majid-khademi-the-ordeals-of-an-activist-handed-lengthy-prison-term/

Iranwire - July 3, 2023
<<Celebrated Iranian Artist Hassanzadeh Dies of Alcohol Poisoning
Renowned Iranian painter and actor Khosro Hassanzadeh passed away on July 2 after drinking bootleg alcohol, amid a recent surge in cases of fatal alcohol poisoning in the country. Hassanzadeh was born in Tehran in 1963 to a working class family. He studied painting at the Faculty of Art and Persian Literature of Tehran's Azad University, while being mentored by Aydin Aghdashloo, a renowned painter, graphic designer, author and film critic. The artist, whose works often deal with issues that are considered sensitive in Iranian society, is often referred to as a <political> artist.
His work featured in many exhibitions in Europe and the Middle East and is held by prestigious museums, including the British Museum, the Los Angeles Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Agha Khan Museum in Toronto and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.
Maziar Bahari, a filmmaker and IranWire founder and editor in chief, made a film about Hassanzadeh in 1999, <Paint! No Matter What,> when the artist was working as a fruit seller in Tehran. The consumption of <counterfeit alcohol> or industrial alcohol has killed dozens of people in recent weeks. Abbas Masjedi Arani, the head of Iran's Forensic Medicine Organization, said earlier this month that 644 people died from <alcohol poisoning> during the past Iranian year, which ended in March. That represented a 30 percent increase compared to the previous year, he said.
Alcohol has been banned in Iran Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but Iranians still drink foreign and homemade alcoholic beverages that are sold on the black market. Iranians are increasingly turning to cheap homemade alcohol because many can no longer afford to buy foreign-made beverages amid a deepening economic crisis which has seen growing inflation, unemployment and poverty.>>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/118130-celebrated-iranian-artist-hassanzadeh-dies-of-alcohol-poisoning/

Iranwire - July 3, 2023
<<
Jailed Activist Qoliyan Refuses to Appear in Court to Answer Complaint
Well-known civil rights activist Sepideh Qoliyan, who is currently serving a two-year prison sentence for <insulting> the Islamic Republic's supreme leader, says she won't respond to a summons to answer a complaint filed by a state TV employee. The judiciary summoned Qoliyan to appear at the Kachoi Judicial Complex in Tehran on July 19 to answer a complaint filed by Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour. The activist is accused of <spreading lies in cyberspace" and engaging in "propaganda activity against the Islamic Republic in cyberspace.> <The news triggered a mix of anger and laughter. They are calling for another trial on charges that were already dealt with by Branch 24 of the Revolutionary Court,> she wrote on Twitter. <In my opinion, the judicial system of the Islamic Republic, an institution that swiftly sentences people to death within minutes and executes the verdict within days, lacks jurisdiction and legitimacy. Therefore, I won't go to this peculiar court," Qoliyan added. Qoliyan was initially detained during a workers' strike in November 2018 and later sentenced to 19 years and six months in prison. The sentence was reduced to five years on appeal. The activist was released on March 15 after being granted <amnesty> but was soon re-arrested after shouting outside Tehran's Evin prison, <Khamenei the Zahhak! We'll take you down into the grave.> She referred to a mythical king said to have fed serpents growing out of his shoulders with young people's brains. In May, Qoliyan was sentenced to two years imprisonment for <insulting> Supreme Leader Ali Khameni. The activist was forced into confessing during her detention in 2018 and, following her release from prison, she described the role played by Zabihpour. <Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour was present in the interrogation room. After hours of physical and mental torture, she prepared a pre-written text for me to read in front of the camera,> Qoliyan said. She filed a complaint against Zabihpour, but the judicial system of the Islamic Republic swiftly closed the case.>>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/118132-jailed-activist-qoliyan-refuses-to-appear-in-court-to-answer-complaint/

Jinha - Womens news agency - June 3, 2023
<<Nahid Shirpisheh beaten in prison
News Center- Mona Bakhtiari, daughter of Mahid Shirpisheh announced on her Twitter account that her mother was beaten by several prisoners in the prison. Expressing her concern for the safety of her mother, she wrote, <When I visited my mother, I learned that she was transferred to solitary confinement at her own request. Her body was full of bruises. My mother had been beaten by several prisoners while wardens were watching them. They did do anything to stop them.> The prison officers claim that the cameras in prison were broken and that they have no footage showing that my mother was beaten. Nahid Shirpisheh is the mother of Pouya Bakhtiari who was shot and killed during the November 2019 uprising in Iran after petrol price hike. On July 11, 2022, Nahid Shirpisheh was arrested by Iranian security forces. On July 28, 2022, she was transferred to Kachooie Prison. In September 2022, she was sentenced to five years in prison.>>
Source:
https://jinhaagency1.com/en/actual/nahid-shirpisheh-beaten-in-prison-33496

Iranwire - July 3, 2023 - by SHIMA SHAHRABI
<<Iran’s Women's Emergency Services: Dilapidated Shelters, Ambulances without Air Conditioning
Last week, Iranian media reported the opening of the first women's emergency center in the city of Piranshahr. Farzin Rezazadeh, the head of the Emergency Department in West Azerbaijan province, vowed to launch a second such center in the near future, with women occupying all technician positions, except for the ambulance driver. Meanwhile, Jafar Miyadfar, the head of the Tehran Emergency Department, announced that 200 women will soon graduate in emergency medicine. The plan is to utilize these graduates to expand women's emergency departments across the country.
But given the resources available in the Tehran Emergency Department, is it a wise idea to impose gender segregation in the emergency medical services?To address this question, IranWire interviewed two former and current employees of the Tehran Emergency Department who wished to remain anonymous.
***
The discussion around gender segregation in the emergency services is not new. In September 2021, Ghafoor Rastin, the head of the Isfahan Emergency Department, announced a plan to introduce ambulances for women in the emergency department of Isfahan province. It was decided that these <special ambulances for women> would be launched in the major provinces of the country and would be manned by women. An employee of the Tehran Emergency Department told IranWire: <Currently, there are seven active bases dedicated to providing emergency services to women in Tehran City. These bases are located in the east, south and west of Tehran and are operating for 12 hours a day.> Miyadfar, the head of the country's emergency department, also stated that these bases are planned to operate for 12 hours every day, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. But the employee of the Tehran Emergency Department asked: <Does this mean that we have no female patients from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.? Aren't women supposed to receive emergency care during these hours?> The employee also expressed concerns about the condition of Tehran's worn-out ambulances, in which two female technicians accompany a driver in women's emergency cases. The front cabin has seating for the driver and one additional person, with the second technician sitting in the back seat. Patients and their families have complained about the insufficient or weak air conditioning in the ambulances. <In the summer heat, individuals sitting in the back seat during a mission can feel unwell. Sending three people on a mission in an ambulance is not suitable,> the employee said. The employee stated that authorities seem to prioritize the satisfaction of a small percentage of government supporters and leaders, without considering the practicalities. Regarding the accommodation facilities for emergency technicians, the employee noted that the shelters are located in municipal facilities, including fire stations or municipal gardens. These shelters consist of two rooms and a toilet, but they are worn out due to their age. This indicates that the country's Emergency Department lacks funding to replace both the ambulances and the deteriorating shelters. The employee mentioned that the Tehran Emergency Department currently has 229 bases, but some of them are inactive due to insufficient facilities and staff. Mojtabi Khalidi, the spokesperson for the Tehran Emergency Department, has stated that <in Iran, there is one ambulance for every 50,000 people,> whereas international standards recommend having at least one ambulance for every 12,000 people. Khalidi acknowledged the shortage of ambulances, saying that <emergency ambulances arrive at the scene of serious accidents after 11 minutes on average.> <The delay caused by the lack of ambulances results in the deaths of thousands of injured people every year,> he added. Naser Abdulahi, the director of the Piranshahr Health Network, stated during the opening ceremony of the first women's emergency department in the city that women would be utilized for specific missions and specific locations such as women's swimming pools and women's hair salons. But according to a former technician from the Tehran Emergency Department, having women working alongside male colleagues is beneficial. <If the men's base is closer to a swimming pool or hair salon, should we wait for the women to arrive? This issue undermines the principles of speed and urgency in delivering [emergency] services.> <Now they say that emergency teams with women should not be dispatched to boys' schools - except elementary schools...But what if an incident occurs at a boys' high school located just 100 meters away from the women's base?> the former technician also asked. <Or imagine a scenario where a man has a heart attack near the women's emergency department. Should we wait for an ambulance to come from a more distant location, while women are closer and available? Isn't that gender discrimination against men?> The employee from the Tehran Emergency Department said that, on average, 30 percent of emergency calls in Tehran are made by female patients, adding <I've never heard a patient complain about male emergency technicians.> <In my opinion, this plan is not sustainable, even if it is implemented,> the former technician said. <The country's emergency department lacks the means to implement this plan, but it advertises it to please religious groups close to the government and secure additional funding.> >>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/features/118126-irans-womens-emergency-services-dilapidated-shelters-ambulances-without-air-conditioning/

NCRI - June 2, 2023 - in Women's news
<<Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee sentenced to 5 years in jail
The 36th Branch of the Revision Court of Tehran Province sentenced political prisoner Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee to five years of jail time on charges of <assembly and collusion,> <propaganda against the state,> and <disruption of public order.> The news was published on Sunday, July 2, 2023.
For additional punishments, Ms. Ebrahimi Iraee is also banned from membership in parties and groups, presence in Tehran, and leaving the country for two years. Her mobile phone will also be confiscated. The trial of Ms. Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee was held on June 18, 2023, in her absence.
Security forces violently arrested Golrokh Ebrahimi at her home on September 26, 2022. They ransacked her residence and confiscated some of her personal belongings. In late October, Branch 2 of Evin's Prosecutor's Office informed Ms. Iraee regarding <assembly and collusion> and <propaganda against the state.> Golrokh had been previously arrested and detained for her activities. In the latest case against her, the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced her to three years and seven months in prison. The court also deprived her of membership in any group or party for two years.
The Revision Court later upheld the above verdict without convening any hearing.
Based on Article 134 of the clerical regime's Penal Code, two years and one month of the verdict was applicable.In April 2021, Golrokh Ebrahimi was sentenced to one year in absentia and banned for two years from joining any group or party and leaving the country. Ms. Iraee had not informed of the convening of such a trial session. Golrokh Iraee was finally released from the Prison of Amol on May 9, 2022.>>
Source:
https://women.ncr-iran.org/2023/07/02/golrokh-ebrahimi-iraee-5-years/

DW - June 21, 2023 - by Ben Knight
<<German lawyers file criminal charges against Iranian judges
The daughter of German-Iranian citizen Jamshid Sharmahd has filed charges against eight members of the Iranian judiciary and secret services for kidnapping and torture, and the threat of state-sanctioned murder. Gazelle Sharmahd and the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) are hoping to force German federal prosecutors to investigate the alleged kidnapping and torture of dissident Jamshid Sharmahd in Iran, following years of frustration over inaction by the German government. Jamshid Sharmahd, who is believed to have been abducted by Iranian security forces in Dubai in 2020, was condemned to death by an Iranian court earlier this year on charges of <corruption on Earth> in connection with an alleged terrorist bombing in Shiraz in 2008. Sharmahd, who lived in the US since 2003, denied any involvement with the bombing, and a video confession released by the Iranian government is believed to have been forced. Amnesty International has called his trial <grossly unfair,> saying that he has been denied the right to independent defense, and has been mistreated in custody. Amnesty International said that Sharmahd was targeted because he created a website for an opposition collective that advocates for an end to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The ECCHR lawyers who support his daughter say that since he is a German citizen, the German judiciary is obliged to investigate Sharmahd's case and could issue international arrest warrants against the eight individuals named in the charges. These men include the Iranian chief state prosecutor, the head of Iran's intelligence agencies at the time of Sharmahd's abduction and several top-ranking judges.
Solitary confinement and torture
Speaking via video link from the US at an ECCHR press conference in Berlin on Wednesday (June 21), Gazelle Sharmahd said that she had not had contact with her 68-year-old father for more than two years. <We know that he has been in solitary confinement for over 1,000 days - that alone breaks all basic rights,> she said. <We know that all his rights have been taken away from him in that time. He doesn't know what is happening in the outside world, in Germany. He doesn't know what we're doing for him right now.> Sharmahd has been granted three brief phone calls with his family since his arrest, during which he said that he had been tortured, that he had lost all but two of his teeth, and that he had no access to the medication to treat his Parkinson's disease, resulting in severe pains in his chest and limbs. <He's in a situation in which he could have a heart attack any day, and he could die,> said Gazelle Sharmahd. <Every second counts. And I have to say I am very disappointed with the German government. All the efforts at applying pressure came much too late or not at all. One thing I know is that every time the public looks in that direction, the regime at least hesitates.>
DW has contacted the German Justice Ministry for comment on the case.
Legal instruments
ECCHR insists that the German judiciary has more levers at its disposal than it is currently using. <German international criminal law is especially well-suited to investigate such crimes,> said ECCHR General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck. Should German prosecutors file arrest warrants, there is a chance that those accused by Sharmahd could be brought to Germany. <We hope that the German state prosecutors will start an investigation relatively quickly, and then the big question is: What happens then?> said Kaleck. <We don't know when the people we have identified as potentially accused might travel - but we know that they do travel. And they don't know which countries have what kind of legal agreements with Germany.> <A lot could happen,> he added. <It could happen that Germany talks to Venezuela, or Colombia, or Mexico, or Tunisia and says: 'We know that this or that person from Iran, who is suspected of being involved in this crime, is in your country and is not protected by immunity.> There is also precedent for such cases. German courts last year convicted former members of the Syrian secret police for facilitating the torture of prisoners in Syria. Gilda Sahebi, a German-Iranian journalist and doctor, said it was sad that individuals like Gazelle Sharmahd had been forced to campaign on behalf of their loved ones. <The German government hasn't even described him as a political prisoner yet, as France, for example, does when its own citizens are detained,> she said. <I think the only way that anything can change is if there are consequences.> Edited by: Rina Goldenberg>>
Source with videos:
https://www.dw.com/en/german-lawyers-file-criminal-charges-against-iranian-judges/a-65991082

 
Liberation Front 2019/cryfreedom.net 2023