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iranIn response to the recent declaration by Iran that it will defy UN Security Council resolutions to suspend its uranium enrichment, the US, UK and France are poised to launch talks aimed at new sanctions as early as next week. Iran has asserted that its major expansion of its enrichment plans are part of a large nuclear power program for the country. The on-going international tussle with the US and other countries comes at a time when Iran is still embroiled in internal strife from the controversial elections earlier this year that sparked a major uprising of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Iranians. Amnesty International has released a report just yesterday investigating government abuses in the aftermath of elections. The report cites that many of those arrested were raped, beaten, tortured, locked in containers, and subjected to sham trials and mock executions. The report cited that security forces “resorted to exceptionally high levels of violence and arbitrary measures to stifle protest and dissent”. Hundreds of people have been executed this year alone, and the courts have handed out sentences of flogging and amputations. Demonstrations are still going strong, with reports that the influence of moderate reformer Mir Hussein Mousavi who lost the elections to Ahmedinejad, is waning. The New York Times is reporting that protesters are now taking aim at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
GUESTS: Ali Reza, teacher and political activist, Soraya Fallah, a member and co-founder of the Society for Human Rights in Iran and of the 1 million signatures campaign for Iran, as well as an active member of Amnesty International. Both Ali and Soraya are among the organizers of this weekend’s event.
EVENT INFORMATION - (Download the flyer)
A GLOBAL CELEBRATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGH ARTS AND CULTURE
In Solidarity with the Civil Rights Movement in Iran Art Exhibition.
There will be Iranian Visual Artists for Human Rights, Music by the Shams Ensemble, Local Hip Hop Artists, and more, two films, “We Are Half of Iran’s Population” a documentary by Rakhshan Bani Ehtemad, and “Lion Women- The Fight for Freedom” will be premiered. Speakers include Hadi Ghaemi, Representative of “One Million Signature Campaign” in California, Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari, Shirindokht Daghighian, and Soraya Fallah. Poetry will be read by Esmail Khoi, Leila Farjami, Majid Naficy, and Partow Nooriala. There will also be an Art Workshop for Children. The Event MC is Nazanin Boniadi
Where: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main Santa Monica, CA 90402
When: Saturday, December 12, 2009 1:00-8:00 PM
Admission is Free: Suggested Donations is $10 (No one will be rejected for lack of funds)
Sponsors: Amnesty International, Society for Human Rights in Iran (Southern California), One Million Signature Campaign in California, Society for Democracy in Iran, and Solidarity with Mourning Mothers United4Iran -Southern California is a non-partisan coalition of Southern California Organizations, individuals and groups who stand in solidarity with the people of Iran in their struggle for democracy and human rights.
For Information: Contact Ali Reza (310) 458-3936 or Soraya (310) 990-1696
Friday, December 25, 2009
Monday, December 07, 2009
CKLARA & SORAYA'S PERFORMANCE PIECE-dedicated to Campaign for One million Signature in Iran
TEXT AND VIDEO OF CKLARA & SORAYA'S PERFORMANCE PIECE
WATCH VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMQkbJVPpNU
OR for a lighter more up close view click: http://www.vimeo.com/8014279
READ ALONG:
Soraya: Dedicated to the Women of Campaign for One Million Signature against Discriminatory Laws in Iran, and the women of MY generation who are in prison
Cklara: And My generation who are in prison with them
Cklara and Soraya (together): for their courage!
Cklara: The title of this piece is: "Sculpting the Edifice, Cracking the Walls"
Soraya and Cklara: counting to 30 out loud
Cklara: 30 years!
Cklara and Soraya (together loudly): June 2009!
Cklara: We stood there,
us women, young girls- too young to have cast a ballot,
but not afraid of a bullet,
us women, mothers, sisters, and daughters,
with our hearts out and our arms bare,
we bear no arms,
instead we put up our arms to create signs,
our fingers in peace signs, and our bodies symbols of victories not known to us.
We stood there us women, in waves,
equal to the men by our side
We Stood there,
Us women, with our children
ladies with wrinkles of old age,
girls with rebellion of youth,
holding roses in the front lines,
in every protest, riot, ambush and crack down
We did not pick a fight
holding picket signs and slogans became a crime
Us women, us women, us women…
Our cause breaks the dividing lines,
Soraya: us women, we are Iranians
Cklara: we are Baluch
Soraya: we are Persian
Cklara: we are Kurds
Soraya: we are Azeri
Cklara: we are Turkemen
Soraya: We are Lor
Cklara: We are Arab
Soraya: Us women,
we stood in the front lines and shouted
“!نترس Natars!” “Do not be afraid.”
We are not afraid of sticks and grim faces of oppression. We were born from mothers who did not have the right to look our fathers in the eyes. We live with men who think it is their birth right to own us. We resisted marriages at 15 and ran away to become unemployed professionals.
We do not have the right to live with the child we gave birth to, if we no longer can love an abusive husband.
No!
We are not afraid!
Us women, we have seen much worse at home.
Cklara: “Shazde koochoolo ba sedaye Ahmad e Shamloo”
The Little Prince!
I probably first learned about death from the translation of The Little Prince, spoken on a tape in Farsi by the voice of Ahmad Shamloo.
The Little Prince wants to return to his home planet but he can’t take his body with him because it is too heavy so the author says: “He fell gently, the way a tree falls. There wasn’t even a sound…”
If Little Prince had to let go of his body to find his freedom, to find his way back home, then we were all meant to go one day.
I must have been 6 years old at the time.
I was not afraid anymore;
not when they came kicking at our door,
not when I watched my parents as they
began chewing papers with writings I could not read,
not when big ugly strange looking men who smelled like sewers and smoke broke our windows in the middle of the night,
trashed our house, and took my father away,
not when I was left alone in the basement that was our house,
with no electricity or water for days,
not when my father did not return.
I knew that even if my parent’s body becomes too heavy one day, just like the little prince, they will find their way back home and I can look up at them and I would see “five-hundred million little bells.”
Soraya: She had just started kicking in my stomach when I started singing for her and teaching her poems.
No, I didn’t want her to become an artist but this LIFE, this CHILD in my belly has to be born strong or she could not last long!
I remember last time (pause, take a deep breath, exhale)
they beat every fiber in my body until I bled so much that the fetus growing in me decided the darkness of the womb is better than the darkness outside.
You see, us women, we sing and read to our children so that they will believe that life is beautiful.
***Begin reading Siawash Kasrayi (Poem Arash Kamangir)
آری، آری زندگی زیباست
گفته بودم زندگی زیباست
گفته و نا گفته ای بس نکته ها کین جاست
آسمان باز ، آفتاب زر
باغ های گل ، دشت های بی دروپیکر
سر برون آوردن گل از درون برف
تاب نرم رقص ماهی در بلور آب
خواب گندم زار در ، چشمه مهتاب
بوی عطر خاک باران خورده در کهسار
آمدن ، رفتن ، دویدن ، عشق ورزیدن
در غم انسان نشستن
پا به پای شادمانی های مردم پای کوبیدن
آری آری زندگی زیباست
زندگی آتشگهی دیرینه پابرجاست
گر بیفروزیش رقص شعله اش در هر کران پیداست
ورنه خاموش است و خاموشی گناه ماست
زندگانی شعله می خواهد ، شعله ها را هیمه سوزنده
جنگلی هستی تو ای انسان سربلند و سبز باش ای جنگل انسان
سربلند و سبز باش ای جنگل انسان
Cklara: And that poem taught me that LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!
Us women, we stand barefoot at times,
Us women of this generation, carry the onus of the past
But we want to build a new life,
we want to unveil the black torture halls
and cast away the unfounded shari’a laws
us women of this generation don’t want to be bound
by childbearing and drug wars
at times us women, of this generation
we yearn for the safety of the womb, before the madness of consciousness!
Soraya (SINGS Kurdish song):
له ژیر زنجیری ئه ی ئه مان ده بابه ی دوژمن
سه ری هه زاران ئه ی ئه مان لاوی وه کو من 2
تیک و پیک نه شکیت نه پلیشیته وه
له گولاوی خوین ئه ی ئه مان لاو نه تلیته وه2
دایک را نه کات بو چول وچیا
هه ی داد هه ی بیداد ئه ی ئه مان کورپه که م جی ما2
کچی چوارده سال بو زیندان ئه بریت
پرچه جوانه که ی ئه ی ئه مان ده سکه نه ئه کریت
تیا ده ر نه کریت سوپای بیگانه
رزگاری نایت ئه ی ئه مان ئه م نیشتمانه2
Cklara Moradian and Soraya Fallah will be performing a reading of an original short One Act Two Women Play. This piece is an original collaboration by both women and has been written by Cklara and Soraya unless otherwise noted.
The Concept of this piece is Iranian women and trans-generational activism. It delves into the most recent movement in Iran but also looks at how the spirit of courage has been shaped. Cklara and Soraya tell a universal story of heroism through personal narrative.
OR for a lighter more up close view click: http://www.vimeo.com/80142
READ ALONG:
Soraya: Dedicated to the Women of Campaign for One Million Signature against Discriminatory Laws in Iran, and the women of MY generation who are in prison
Cklara: And My generation who are in prison with them
Cklara and Soraya (together): for their courage!
Cklara: The title of this piece is: "Sculpting the Edifice, Cracking the Walls"
Soraya and Cklara: counting to 30 out loud
Cklara: 30 years!
Cklara and Soraya (together loudly): June 2009!
Cklara: We stood there,
us women, young girls- too young to have cast a ballot,
but not afraid of a bullet,
us women, mothers, sisters, and daughters,
with our hearts out and our arms bare,
we bear no arms,
instead we put up our arms to create signs,
our fingers in peace signs, and our bodies symbols of victories not known to us.
We stood there us women, in waves,
equal to the men by our side
We Stood there,
Us women, with our children
ladies with wrinkles of old age,
girls with rebellion of youth,
holding roses in the front lines,
in every protest, riot, ambush and crack down
We did not pick a fight
holding picket signs and slogans became a crime
Us women, us women, us women…
Our cause breaks the dividing lines,
Soraya: us women, we are Iranians
Cklara: we are Baluch
Soraya: we are Persian
Cklara: we are Kurds
Soraya: we are Azeri
Cklara: we are Turkemen
Soraya: We are Lor
Cklara: We are Arab
Soraya: Us women,
we stood in the front lines and shouted
“!نترس Natars!” “Do not be afraid.”
We are not afraid of sticks and grim faces of oppression. We were born from mothers who did not have the right to look our fathers in the eyes. We live with men who think it is their birth right to own us. We resisted marriages at 15 and ran away to become unemployed professionals.
We do not have the right to live with the child we gave birth to, if we no longer can love an abusive husband.
No!
We are not afraid!
Us women, we have seen much worse at home.
Cklara: “Shazde koochoolo ba sedaye Ahmad e Shamloo”
The Little Prince!
I probably first learned about death from the translation of The Little Prince, spoken on a tape in Farsi by the voice of Ahmad Shamloo.
The Little Prince wants to return to his home planet but he can’t take his body with him because it is too heavy so the author says: “He fell gently, the way a tree falls. There wasn’t even a sound…”
If Little Prince had to let go of his body to find his freedom, to find his way back home, then we were all meant to go one day.
I must have been 6 years old at the time.
I was not afraid anymore;
not when they came kicking at our door,
not when I watched my parents as they
began chewing papers with writings I could not read,
not when big ugly strange looking men who smelled like sewers and smoke broke our windows in the middle of the night,
trashed our house, and took my father away,
not when I was left alone in the basement that was our house,
with no electricity or water for days,
not when my father did not return.
I knew that even if my parent’s body becomes too heavy one day, just like the little prince, they will find their way back home and I can look up at them and I would see “five-hundred million little bells.”
Soraya: She had just started kicking in my stomach when I started singing for her and teaching her poems.
No, I didn’t want her to become an artist but this LIFE, this CHILD in my belly has to be born strong or she could not last long!
I remember last time (pause, take a deep breath, exhale)
they beat every fiber in my body until I bled so much that the fetus growing in me decided the darkness of the womb is better than the darkness outside.
You see, us women, we sing and read to our children so that they will believe that life is beautiful.
***Begin reading Siawash Kasrayi (Poem Arash Kamangir)
آری، آری زندگی زیباست
گفته بودم زندگی زیباست
گفته و نا گفته ای بس نکته ها کین جاست
آسمان باز ، آفتاب زر
باغ های گل ، دشت های بی دروپیکر
سر برون آوردن گل از درون برف
تاب نرم رقص ماهی در بلور آب
خواب گندم زار در ، چشمه مهتاب
بوی عطر خاک باران خورده در کهسار
آمدن ، رفتن ، دویدن ، عشق ورزیدن
در غم انسان نشستن
پا به پای شادمانی های مردم پای کوبیدن
آری آری زندگی زیباست
زندگی آتشگهی دیرینه پابرجاست
گر بیفروزیش رقص شعله اش در هر کران پیداست
ورنه خاموش است و خاموشی گناه ماست
زندگانی شعله می خواهد ، شعله ها را هیمه سوزنده
جنگلی هستی تو ای انسان سربلند و سبز باش ای جنگل انسان
سربلند و سبز باش ای جنگل انسان
Cklara: And that poem taught me that LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!
Us women, we stand barefoot at times,
Us women of this generation, carry the onus of the past
But we want to build a new life,
we want to unveil the black torture halls
and cast away the unfounded shari’a laws
us women of this generation don’t want to be bound
by childbearing and drug wars
at times us women, of this generation
we yearn for the safety of the womb, before the madness of consciousness!
Soraya (SINGS Kurdish song):
له ژیر زنجیری ئه ی ئه مان ده بابه ی دوژمن
سه ری هه زاران ئه ی ئه مان لاوی وه کو من 2
تیک و پیک نه شکیت نه پلیشیته وه
له گولاوی خوین ئه ی ئه مان لاو نه تلیته وه2
دایک را نه کات بو چول وچیا
هه ی داد هه ی بیداد ئه ی ئه مان کورپه که م جی ما2
کچی چوارده سال بو زیندان ئه بریت
پرچه جوانه که ی ئه ی ئه مان ده سکه نه ئه کریت
تیا ده ر نه کریت سوپای بیگانه
رزگاری نایت ئه ی ئه مان ئه م نیشتمانه2
Cklara Moradian and Soraya Fallah will be performing a reading of an original short One Act Two Women Play. This piece is an original collaboration by both women and has been written by Cklara and Soraya unless otherwise noted.
The Concept of this piece is Iranian women and trans-generational activism. It delves into the most recent movement in Iran but also looks at how the spirit of courage has been shaped. Cklara and Soraya tell a universal story of heroism through personal narrative.
"Sculpting the Edifice; Cracking the Walls" AT THE SANTA ANA Grand Central Art Center
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Performance by Soraya Fallah & Cklara Moradian @ The Grand Central Art Center
Performance by Soraya Fallah & Cklara Moradian @ The Grand Central Art Center from Dharma Bum on Vimeo.
Breif Bio of the performers:
Cklara Moradian was born in the Kurdish province of Iran in 1987. Her parents are survivors of the Islamic Republic of Iran's 1980's massacre of political prisoners. Conceived and raised by incredible human rights activists and artists, she was introduced to activism and resistance at a very young age. Though her environment was brutal, she was protected by her family’s love and the richness of her Kurdish/Iranian culture. Her parent’s prison memoirs, revolutionary childhood, and the stories of the countless prisoner’s of conscious who were much like her “aunts” and “uncles” were her bedtime stories. Cklara and her family fled Iran and sought asylum from UNHCR in the former soviet satellite regions. The years between nine and thirteen can neither be summarized nor ignored. The stories of these years are the realities of thousands of other displaced refugees around the world. Though these years are full of madness and at times unbelievable tales of human atrocity, Cklara also remembers new languages, a world of experience, and touching human connections. Cklara has lived in California since the age of thirteen and has done her best to grow from a teenager into an adult woman. These years have been years of healing, reconciliation and of solidifying her much battered identity. She has also used this time to formulate her vision for a better world. She is currently studying Philosophy and is passionatly involved in human rights activism. She is active for minority rights, women and youth rights, and LGBTQQ rights in the US. She remains deeply involved in Iranian politics. She has won numerous awards for her writings and is invited to perform her work at events/conferences. She takes her membership with Amnesty International very seriously and collaborates closely with other NGOs to bring awareness towards progressive movements. She uses spoken word, poetry and art to break through to her generations’ epidemic of apathy and cynicism.
Soraya Fallah is an Iranian born Human Rights activist since her teenage years. She is one of the survivors of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s 1980’s mass execution of political prisoners. Since her flight from Iran in 1996, she has continued her activism in exile in Europe and the United States. She is the president and co-founder of World’s Women For life, an innovative organization aiming to teach and celebrate the beauty of life in the face of the culture of death. Soraya is co-founder, coordinator, and board member of Society for Human Rights in Iran, Southern California and a member of Amnesty international. She is an active member of “Campaign for One Million Signature, Change for Equality.” She has her M.A. in International Law and Relations and has given numerous lectures on the issues of women and minorities in Iran. Currently she works extensively with local and International NGOs to promote women and minority rights in the USA and throughout the world especially in Iran and Middle East. Soraya has always been an artist at heart. Though situational obstacles have not allowed her to pursue her many artistic talents professionally, she has continued promoting art as a form of activism. As a young woman in Iran she performed in revolutionary plays and wrote creative poems and essays promoting progressive women’s movements. She used her talents to imprint pictures of activists who were executed or martyred by drawing their portraits before photography became widely used in her town. She raised her voice and sang folklores and traditional Kurdish songs to pass down her heritage to the younger generation as a means of resistance towards the silent ethnocide of her culture. When buying and selling of traditional clothing became outlawed, she set out to design her own dresses at home. She has since designed traditional clothing and has even found ways to innovatively unite western styles with more eastern designs. She has always been a promoter and supporter of artists and has collaborated with filmmakers and photographers internationally who have been interested in her heritage or human rights causes. As a mother, she believes that her greatest art work is perhaps her children, in whom she has woven a passion for creation much more vigorous than her own. Her daughter attributes her writing abilities to her mother. One of her latest art projects was participation in an International Art conference at Cal Arts “Art in One World” with the theme of Motherhood and Revolution.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
My name is Ms Zeinab Jalalian
Dear Human right organisations
My name is Ms Zeinab Jalalian (زینب جلالیان)
I am 27 years old Kurdish female ,political prisoner, in Iran prison.
My Death sentenced was confirmed by Iranian Supreme Court.
I am currently ill ,because of torture and I don’t have any lawyer to defend me. i want to tell you that . trial took only few minute.
Court told me: “You are a God's enemies. Have to be hanged very soon” That was all my court process
I asked judge to give me permission to say good bye, to my mother and family,
Before execution, he told me "shut up" and rejected.
Zeinab Jalalian (زینب جلالیان)
26/11/2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
PRESS RELEASE A GLOBAL CELEBERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGH ARTS AND CULTURE
PRESS RELEASE
A GLOBAL CELEBRATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGH ARTS AND CULTURE
IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN
The United Nations’ International Human Rights Day
For Information: Ali Reza (310) 458-3936, Soraya: (310) 990-1696
For Immediate Release
LOS ANGELES: On Saturday December 12th, 2009, United4Iran-SoCal[1], an umbrella coalition dedicated to human rights and democracy will host an event “Arts United 4 Iran” in conjunction with Amnesty International and other organizations from 1:00 P.M.-8:00 P.M. at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
Artists from around the world will come together in solidarity with the Iranian people's struggle for human rights and democracy. The day will be filled with music, visual arts & performing arts not only to highlight the violations of human rights and specifically institutional violence and discrimination against women, but also to bring awareness and celebrate the Civil Rights Movement in Iran.
The event will honor the 61st anniversary of the UN adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the U.N. International Human Rights Day (December 10th ). December 12th also marks the six-month anniversary of the June 12Th Presidential election in Iran, which triggered massive peaceful protests that were violently suppressed by the Islamic Republic’s security forces, reports of which have been seen by millions of people all around the world.
Many brave artists in
Schedule of the program (additional programs will be announced upon confirmation):
MC: Nazanin Boniadi, Amnesty International’s spokesperson, accomplished actress
1:00– 8:00 pm Art Gallery Exhibition by Iranian Visual Artists
2:00 - 3:00 pm. Movie/Documentary by: Rakhshan Banietemad
3:00 – 5:30 pm
Speeches:
Hadi Ghaemi, Coordinator of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran;
A member of the One Million Signature Campaign in California;
Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari, Scholar/Thinker of religious renaissance;
Shirindokht Daghighian, Students’ Condition In Iran;
Soraya Fallah, Ethnic and Religion minority issues;
poetry, video clips
5:30 – 7:30 pm Music: Selective members of Shams Ensemble; Azad Hip hop artist & more
7.30. – 8:00 P.M Film Lion Women
[1] United4Iran-SoCal, is a non-partisan coalition of Southern California Organizations, individuals and groups who stand in solidarity with the people of Iran in their struggle for democracy and human rights.
Sponsors: Amnesty International
Society for Human Rights in Iran (Southern California)
One Million Signature Campaign in California
Society for Democracy in Iran
Thursday, November 19, 2009
My beloved Mother in-Law past away
| A memorial service to remember & celebrate the life of Mrs.Aysheh Khatooni, Mr. Azad's loving mother |  |  |
| Cklara Moradian | |
| With a heavy heart and tearful eyes, I must let you know that on November 14, 2009 my family and I were given the sad news that my beautiful and sweet grandmother, Ayesheh Khatoony left this world. Hajieh Ayesheh Khatoony had not even reached the age of retirement at the time of her passing in the city of Saghez, Kurdistan, Iran, but a life of dedication to her family and people, Kurdish suffering, childbearing, mourning and grief had taken its toll on her tender heart. Her surviving children Nader, Hasiba, Nasrin, Fahima, and my father Azad Moradian will miss her terribly and keep the memory of her gentle face alive. Daya Ayesheh, as I called her, was always ready to feed, nourish, heal and comfort the people around her and often sacrificed herself to protect her loved ones. Her compassion and altruism were beyond measure, and this came as no surprise, because she was from a family with a long history of justice seekers. She lost many of her close relatives in the fight for freedom and she will now finally join her two dear martyred brothers, the noble Kurdish heroes Yahya and Abbas Khatoony. Despite nearly 14 years away from my grandmother, I still remember her warm embrace, the comforting aroma of the dried cloves around her neck, her whispered prayers, and even the taste of her Kurdish cooking. On Sunday November 22, 2009 our small family will be holding a memorial service to remember and celebrate the life of this wonderful, authentic, and loving mother, woman, grandmother, and honest human being; Hajieh Ayesheh Khatoony. Please join us for some words, photos, and refreshments between the hours of 4-8pm. Presentation will be at 6pm and refreshments served at 7pm.
Location: The Northridge Village Community Center 8065 Canby Ave Time: Between 4-8pm Street parking is available by Northridge Hospital on Cantera St. /Reseda Blv. Contact Info: Cklara Moradian Cell: 408-421-9444 |
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Ehsan Fattahian was executed by the Islamic Republic...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
I Never Feared Death: The Plight of Ehsan Fattahian
The last glimmers of the dusk sun
Are showing me the path on which to write;
The sounds of leaves under my steps
Are telling me “let yourself fall
And you will rediscover the path to freedom.”
I never feared death. Even now, as I feel its odd and honest presence next to me, I still want to smell its aroma and rediscover it; Death, who has been the most ancient companion of this land. I don’t want to talk about death; I want to question the reasons behind it. Today, when punishment is the answer for those who seek freedom and justice, how can one fear his fate? Those of “us” who have been sentenced to death by “them” are only guilty of seeking an opening to a better and fair world. Are “they” also aware of their deeds?
I started my life in the city of Kermanshah, the name of which has always been on the tongues of my compatriots for its greatness; the city which is called the cradle of civilization. As my thoughts were developing, I came to see and feel the injustice and discrimination; an injustice that targeted me not only as an individual but also as a member of humankind. I went in thousand different directions to find out the reasons behind injustice. Alas, they had made the arena so closed for those who were thriving for justice that I could not find my way in. I immigrated to another arena outside the superficial boundaries to find answers to my questions. I became a Komeleh guerilla in order to find my stolen identity. Yet I never separated from my first home, and once in a while I returned there to renew my memories. And then one day, they found me during one of my visits, arrested me and put me in a cage. The greeting my captors reserved for me from day one convinced me that my fate would be similar to those who had walked before me along that road: torture, fabricated charges, biased court, an unjust and politically motivated verdict and finally death.
Let me put it this way: after being arrested on July 20th, 2008, in Kamyaran, I was taken to the Intelligence Ministry’s local office. A few hours later, as I was blindfolded and chained and could not see or move, a person who introduced himself as the deputy prosecutor began questioning me. His questions were irrelevant and filled with made up accusations (let me remind you that it is strictly against the law to interrogate people in places other than courts and tribunals). This was the first of many interrogation sessions I had to face. The same night, I was taken to the Intelligence Ministry’s provincial headquarters in Sanandaj, where I had to attend the real party: a dirty cell with a disgusting washroom. The blankets had not been washed for years. This was the beginning of three months of going up and down the hall from my cell to the interrogation room, always being beaten along the way. The honorable interrogators were so keen to get a promotion or make a bit more money that they accused me of all kinds of bizarre things, even though they knew of the falsehood of their accusation. They used every means in their power to prove that I had taken part in armed operations. In the end they could only prove that I had been a member of Komeleh and had taken part in propaganda activities against the regime. The 10 year sentence handed by the initial court is good proof that I only had one charge. The 1st branch of the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj sentenced me to 10 years in prison, to be served in Ramhormoz Prison outside Kordestan. The political and administrative establishment in Iran has always been in favor of centralized policies, but, apparently, in my case, they had decided to reverse course! Recently provincial appeals courts have become the judicial authority to rule in cases related to political prisoners, even in capital punishment cases. Capital punishment cases were the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. So, the Kamayaran prosecutor objected the initial ruling, and, surprisingly, against Iranian law, the 4th branch of the Kordestan Appeals Court changed the 10 year sentence to a death sentence. According to Article 258 of Iranian Criminal law, appeals courts can only issue a heavier sentence when the initial sentence is lighter than the minimum punishment required by law. The indictment presented by the prosecutor stated the charge as Moharebeh (enmity against God). The minimum punishment required by law in similar cases is 1 year in prison. Now, be the judge yourself and compare the 10 year prison sentence (served in exile) with the minimum required to see how illegal, unlawful and political the death sentence is.
Let me add that, shortly before my sentence was changed to the death sentence, I was taken from Sanandaj prison to the Intelligence Ministry’s detention center, where I was asked to make a false confession on camera, show remorse for the actions I had not committed and reject my beliefs. I did not give in to their illegitimate demands, so I was told that my prison sentence would be changed to the death sentence. They were fast to keep their promise and prove to me how courts always concede to the demands of intelligence and non-judicial authorities. How can one criticize the courts then?
All judges take an oath to remain impartial at all times and in all cases, to rule according to the law and nothing but the law. How many of the judges of this country can say that they have not broken their oath and have remained fair and impartial? In my opinion the number is countable with the fingers on my hand. When the entire justice system in Iran orders arrests, trials, imprisonments and death sentences with the simple hand gesture of an uneducated interrogator, what is to be expected from a few minor judges in a province that has always been discriminated against? Yes, in my view, it is the foundation of the house which is in ruins.
Last time I met in prison with the prosecutor who had issued the initial indictment, he admitted that the ruling was illegal. Yet, for the second time, it has been ruled that my execution should be carried out. It goes without saying that the insistence to carry out the execution at any cost is a result of pressures exercised by political and intelligence groups outside the Judiciary. People who are part of these groups look at the question of life and death of a prisoner only based on their own political and financial interests. They cannot see anything but their own illegitimate objectives, even when it is the question of a person’s right to life - the most basic of all human rights. How pointless is it to expect them to respect international treaties when they don’t even respect their own laws?
Last word: if the rulers and oppressors think that, with my death, the Kurdish question will go away, they are wrong. My death and the deaths of thousands of others like me will not cure the pain; they will only add to the flames of this fire. There is no doubt that every death is the beginning of a new life.
Ehsan Fattahian,
Sanandaj Central Prison
Source: Human Right Activists in Iran
Monday, November 09, 2009
Save Ehasan Fattahian from Execution
Save Ehsan Fattahian from execution | 3037 Signatures |
Published by Reza Hiwa on Nov 08, 2009
Category: Human Rights
Region: Iran
Target: UN Secretary General Mr Ben Ki-Moon
Background (Preamble):
Excellency Ben Ki-Moon,
The government of Iranian regime is ready to commit one more crime in its desperate behaviour to survive the peaceful freedom movement in the country.
Ehsan Fattahian, the Kurdish political prisoner who went on hunger strike is set to be executed on Wednesday. He is jailed in the Central Prison in Sanadaj.
He was arrested in summer and initially wad condemned to 10 years in prison and exile to a remote prison in the Ramhormoz in Khouzestan, Southern Iran. After the objection the dossier was sent to the Revolutionary Court of Sanadaj, where the sentence was revised and changed to execution! He was accused to be a member of a banned Kurdish political party.
He is set to be executed to set an example of those prisoners who go on strike and don’t stop fighting even within the prisons.
He is set to be executed because the isolated and regime is in panic and kills as many opponents as they can before their end day.
Excellency,
TIME IS RUNNING OUT and every second matters!
The government of Iranian regime is ready to commit one more crime in its desperate behaviour to survive the peaceful freedom movement in the country.
Ehsan Fattahian, the Kurdish political prisoner who went on hunger strike is set to be executed on Wednesday. He is jailed in the Central Prison in Sanadaj.
He was arrested in summer and initially wad condemned to 10 years in prison and exile to a remote prison in the Ramhormoz in Khouzestan, Southern Iran. After the objection the dossier was sent to the Revolutionary Court of Sanadaj, where the sentence was revised and changed to execution! He was accused to be a member of a banned Kurdish political party.
He is set to be executed to set an example of those prisoners who go on strike and don’t stop fighting even within the prisons.
He is set to be executed because the isolated and regime is in panic and kills as many opponents as they can before their end day.
Excellency,
TIME IS RUNNING OUT and every second matters!
Petition:
We ask you to use your authority and do whatever you can to stop this execution. The Iranian regime is behaving as if it were an occupation force.
Please help save Ehsan.
Signatories,
Please help save Ehsan.
Signatories,
The Save Ehsan Fattahian from execution petition to UN Secretary General Mr Ben Ki-Moon was written by Reza Hiwa and is hosted free of charge at GoPetition.
http://gopetition.com/login.php
Sunday, November 08, 2009
mtvU Poet Laureate: Simin Behbahani
Simin Behbahani
Credit: Behrouz Mehri / AFP / Getty
From a Nobel Prize nomination to inspiring lyrics in rock songs, the 82-year old Simin Behbahani’s work has made a significant impact on the world’s cultural landscape. Behbahani began publishing poetry at the age of 14. With over 15 volumes of published works, her voice reflects a distinct style that defines her work as one-of a kind, spanning topics that explore the depths of political, cultural and moral oppression. Currently one translated volume of her works, entitled, “A Cup of Sin,” is available in the U.S. In addition to the Nobel Prize nomination, Behbahani was also awarded a Human Rights Watch-Hellman/Hammet grant and won the Carl von Ossietzky Medal for her struggle for freedom of expression in Iran, and now she’s mtvU’s Poet Laureate for 2009.
http://www.mtvu.com/shows/mtvu-poet-laureate/simin-behbahani/
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