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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
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And
For all topics below
that may hopefully interest you click on the
image:
'BLINDING |
CLICK HERE ON HOW TO READ ALL ON THIS PAGE
Here we are to enter THE IRANIAN
WOMEN'S REVOLUTIONISTS against
'Facing Faces and
Facts 1-2' (2022) to commemorate the above named and more and food for
thought and inspiration to fight on.
Dear reader, from here on the 'Woman,
Life, Freedom' page-(s)/menu will look a bit different and this
to avoid too many pop-ups ,meaning the underlined period
in yellow tells you in what period you are and click on another
underlinded period to go there. If you dissagree about any change feel more than free to let me know what you
think at
info@cryfreedom.net
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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