Seminar on Human Rights in Iran By Art in Mind

Saturday July 11, 2009 at 5:00 pm


IVC, Room B209, 5500 Irvine Center Dr. 92618, Tel. 949-451-5100

Speakers and topics:


Dr. Ardi Anoshiravani is a physician, a psychiatrist, a writer, and a speaker. He has written extensively about psychology of the Gathas, the divine songs of Zarathushtra, and is a lecturer in the field of ancient Persian culture and history. Dr. Anoshiravani will speak on the women's rights in the Zoroastrian Era.

Mrs. Soraya Falah is a former Kurdish political prisoner. She has studied international law, and is an advocate of human rights in general and women's rights in particular. She will give an update on the violation of human rights and peaceful movement in Iran.

Dr. Fereshteh Bethel is a faculty at California State University, Fullerton. She has practiced as a Clinical Psychologist and as an educator has traveled to different countries and spoken on the Baha'i Faith and social issues, persecutions, and progression in spiritual teachings. She will speak on the violation of human rights of the Baha'is in Iran.

Dr. Kamal Artin is a physician, a psychiatrist, an essayist, and a satirist. He argues in words and images how piracy as the reign of the pirates, by the pirates, for the pirates differs from democracy as the government of the people, by the people, for the people.

The seminar is conducted in English. Video clips relevant to human rights as well as clips of folks, classic, and modern music will be presented during the intervals. At the end of the program there will be a panel discussion and Q & A. Light refreshment will be provided.

Attendance is free of charge and open only to 18 and above. Seats are limited. For reservation please contact: july2009@art-in-mind.org

A Memorial Night with Silent Protest & Candle Light Vigil for the Brave Martyrs of Iran

ندای جانباختگان

هر شب ستاره ای به زمین می کشند و باز این آسمان غمزده غرق ستاره هاست

A Memorial Night with Silent Protest
& Candle Light Vigil
for the Brave Martyrs of Iran

شبی با حضور شاعران و هنرمندان موسيقی در سوگ جانباختگان ايران

UCLA Bruin Plaza
(Outside Ackerman Union) 308 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90024
Saturday June 27 - 7 pm to 10 pm
Closest Parking: Parking Structure 4 and 6

This is a peaceful silent event. Please bring no Iranian flag or signs.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=91861614797

ندای جانباختگان مراسمی با آرامش و سکوت است. لطفا هيچ گونه پرچم و پلاکارد نياوريد

Iran: Stop using Basij militia to police demonstrations

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE 22 June 2009 Iran: Stop using Basij militia to police demonstrations   Following reports from Iran that members of the Basij militia have used excessive force against demonstrators - and in light of the history of abuses committed by this unaccountable branch of the security forces - Amnesty International calls on the government of Iran to stop using the militia to police demonstrations with immediate effect.   The Basij militia is a volunteer paramilitary force of men and women under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).  Its members are found in schools, universities, state and private institutions, factories, and even among tribes.  Basij forces are widely used to help to maintain law and order and repress dissent, and have frequently been accused of using extreme brutality. Many of those who took part in the recent demonstrations claim non - uniformed and armed personnel, whom they believed to be members of the Basij militia, used excessive force and carried out human rights violations – including beatings and use of firearms - against demonstrators on the streets. A video of a member of the Basij shooting from an building used by the Basij during the demonstrations on Monday 15 June in which at least 8 people were killed should have triggered an immediate investigation by the authorities and clear instructions should have been issued to prevent further loss of life. Another video of a young woman identified as Neda, dying apparently from a chest wound, has been widely circulated amid claims of involvement of Basij members. The response of the Iranian authorities has not been to open a proper investigation to clarify the circumstances of any death but rather to issue further warnings that protests will be handled in a 'revolutionary manner' by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Basij militia and other police and security forces. "Iranians wishing to peacefully express their opposition to recent events surrounding the election have no space to do so, as they are met with violence that has been legitimized by the highest authority in the land," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme.  "It's time for the Iranian authorities to allow peaceful protest and to remove the Basij from the streets.  The policing of any demonstrations should be left to the police or other security forces which are properly trained and equipped." Following the speech from Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday demanding an end to the protests, there were further demonstrations on Saturday in Tehran and other cities and towns across the country.  13 people were killed according to the authorities and many more were injured. According to the government, over 400 people were arrested.     Another demonstration of about 1,000 people in Tehran on Monday has been met with tear gas and arrests. "Recent statements from the police, who denied opening fire on protestors, and from the Tehran Prosecutor-General, who blamed the killings on 'armed terrorists', look like an attempt to disassociate state organs from responsibility for violence," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. "This is all the more reason to stop using the Basij as there is no way for the public to even identify them, let alone bring them to account for violations.  If the Iranian authorities are not able to control such a militia, they should disband it. It is irresponsible to provide weapons and then to relinquish responsibility when abuses occur". Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to investigate fully all reports of death, including possible extrajudicial executions, and to bring anyone found responsible to justice. Public Document ****************************************

Amnesty International cites "shocking" beating of Iran protesters

http://www.monsters andcritics. com/news/ middleeast/ news/article_ 1483491.php/ Amnesty_Internat ional_cites_&quotshocking&quot_beating_ of_Iran_proteste rs_   London/Washington - The human rights organization Amnesty International Sunday condemned reports of excessive violence by Iranian security forces against people protesting the results of Friday elections and called for an investigation. 'The shocking scenes of violence meted out by the security forces need to be urgently investigated and those responsible for human rights violations must be brought to justice,' said Hassiba Hadj, an AI official, in a statement e-mailed to dpa in Washington. Hadj is deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa programme of the London-headquartere d organization. Amnesty International said that at least 170 people were arrested on Saturday as supporters of Iran's opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi protested the results that declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected by a 62 per cent majority. Iranian police said 60 people had been arrested as some protestors threw rocks at store windows and carried out other acts of violence. Amnesty International said it had reports that plain-clothes security forces used batons to beat and disperse many non-violent individuals, causing many injuries. The report cited several incidents, saying University of Tehran students had reportedly been chased by 100 riot police. It said police on motorcycles had beat Moussavi supporters who were staging a peaceful sit-in in Tehran's Vanak Square. According to the rights organization, protests had spread to other cities including Rasht, Mashahd, Shiraz, Ahwaz, Zahedan and Oroumiye. 'We deplore that the new presidential term is heralded with widespread abuses,' the group said. 'Amnesty International considers anyone arrested simply for demanding transparency and for questioning ther esults of the electionis to be a prisoner of conscience who shoudl be immediately and unconditionally released.' __._,_.___ . __,_._,___

Withhold Recognition of Iranian Presidential Election Results

Withhold Recognition of Iranian Presidential Election Results

Danger of Extreme Violence—a “Tehran Tiananmen”

(13 June 2009) The international community should not recognize the results of Iran’s 12 June 2009 presidential election, which gives all signs of having been manipulated by government authorities to produce a massive victory for incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The Campaign further recommended that the existing results be voided and new elections held in order to establish legitimacy.

As the Campaign reported earlier, the leading challenger to Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Moussavi, was informed by Iran’s Interior Ministry at 23:00 on 12 June that tabulated results showed him to be victor, and he was asked to wait on celebrations until Sunday.

A few hours later, the Ministry inexplicably reversed itself declaring a massive victory for Ahmadinejad. Iran’s religious Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ignoring turmoil in the Ministry and rising protests, announced the victory and declared the process finished.

“The international community cannot accept such questionable election results, and should withhold recognition of these elections,“ stated Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.

“All must help the authorities understand that there will be no social peace in Iran and no credibility for the government abroad, without a re-run to discover which candidate actually deserves to govern,” he said.At this time, Iran has been thrown into an unprecedented crisis of legitimacy. Thousands of Iranian citizens expressing their outrage, shock, and humiliation are facing the extreme danger of lethal violence at the hands of police and security forces in Tehran and throughout Iran.

“The stage has been set for a Tehran Tiananmen, in which massive violence will be unleashed in an attempt to intimidate the citizens from pursuing their dream of democracy,” Ghaemi said, referring to the 1989 massacre of many hundreds of Chinese pro-democracy demonstrators.

The Campaign called upon all of Iran’s partners in the international community to strongly denounce not only the election process, but the government’s violent attempts to quash legitimate protests.

The Campaign believes that a government can neither serve the Iranian people at home nor represent them abroad under the cloud of suspicion that exists at the present time. Only new elections, conducted with transparency, accountability, and with independent observers can rectify the situation. The international community must do its responsible part to bring about this solution by withholding recognition of the 12 June results.

For the latest human rights developments in Iran visit the Campaign’s website at www.iranhumanrights.org

For more information:

Hadi Ghaemi, in New York: +1 917-669-5996

Aaron Rhodes, in Vienna: +43 676-635-6612

Jelveh Javaheri’s Letter of Complaint to the Head of the Judiciary: Put an End to My Illegal Detentio

Change for Equality:
Following her illegal arrest in the early hours of the morning on 2nd May and her continuing detention, Jelveh Javaheri sent a letter of complaint to the head of the judiciary requesting an end to her illegal detention and a clarification of her situation. In a similar move, Kaveh Mozaffari also handed a letter of protest to prison officials and requested to know the details of both his and his spouse’s cases.
Jelveh Javaheri wrote her letter on 24th May, but because she was due to receive a visit in the general women’s ward of the prison, she, along with Alieh Eghdamdoost, who had been condemned to prison on account of her participation in the women’s gathering of 12th June 2006, was transferred to section 209 of Evin Prison. Today (25th May) she was told that because the prison officers responsible for the security prisoners differ from the other officers, and because the officer in charge was not at the prison, she could instead give her letter to her family on visiting day so that they themselves could follow up the matter. Jelveh’s mother comments that visiting days are Tuesdays, but that they had been told that there would be no visit on Tuesday. As a result Jelveh read out her letter over the telephone to her mother who handed the letter herself to the office of Ayatollah Hashemi-Shahroudi.
Jelveh in her letter to Ayatollah Shahroudi, head of the judiciary, wrote the following:
I, Jelveh Javehri, child of Manouchehr Bamdad, was arrested and detained in an inappropriate manner without a warrant on 2nd May and am currently still in detention. At the present time I am still uninformed of the charge against me. In the middle of the night on 1st May while I was returning home I became aware of the presence of security officers entering the house while accompanying my husband, Kaveh Mozaffari, who had been arrested on the afternoon of the same day in Laleh Park.
My husband objected to the security officers searching the house without a search warrant, and reminded them that their actions were illegal. As for myself, when I asked the officers the reason for their presence, they told me that it had nothing to do with me, yet as they were searching the house they took away my personal effects along with those of my spouse. At this point I objected to them that if they considered themselves within their rights to confiscate my husband’s effects even though they were not in possession of an arrest warrant, what basis did they have to take my effects as well? They replied that I had no right to object and that they themselves determine within what parameters they may operate.
Having searched the house, the officers asked me that I accompany them for questioning, but I reminded them that according to the law, for them to interrogate me, I must be sent a written summons by a court. In response to my objections, they dragged me from the house roughly and violently, citing the necessity to obey the laws of the land, and took me to the Vozara Detention Center.
At around three in the morning on 2nd May I was taken into custody at the Vozara Detention Center, even though no arrest warrant had been issued for me. On the afternoon of the same day, along with sixteen other arrested women, I was sent to Evin Prison. I and these sixteen others were kept in solitary confinement in section 305 of Evin, before being transferred on 17th May to Women’s General Ward Two.
During this entire time I was not made aware of the charge against me. During this entire time I protested against the illegal manner in which I had been detained and interrogated, and many times I reminded officials that without them informing me of the charge against me, my continued detention and interrogation was illegal. Interrogators from the intelligence services also indicated that they were unaware of the reason for my arrest, and promised that they would follow the matter up, but during this time no answer was forthcoming and for this reason my situation is still unclear.
I was last interrogated on 14th May and on this date I was informed that my detention had come to an end and that they were sending my dossier to the courts, but my situation continues to be unclear.
According to the rights granted to citizens and to the accused, the charge must be communicated to the accused with all due speed. After the communication of the charge, a guarantee may be taken from the accused, a guarantee which is based on the type of crime, the types of proof involved, the consequences of the crime, the character of the accused, and so on. In the most severe cases, the heaviest guarantee that can be sought is temporary detention, while in the least important cases the lightest guarantee is that the accused present herself before a judge. In this case, how is it that the heaviest guarantee has been sought from me, namely detention, even though the charge has not been communicated to me?
I hereby request that my illegal detention be terminated and that my situation be clarified,
Jelveh Javaheri
24th May 2009

IRANIAN WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

Contact: Peyman Malaz FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tel.: (949) 466-0142

Email: forequality@gmail.com

Website: www.campaignforequality.org/english

CONTINUED SUCCESS OF IRANIAN WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

Southern California activists celebrate June 12, the Iranian Women's Solidarity Day

June 12^th is the fourth anniversary of the historic gathering in 2005 near Tehran University organized by Iranian women demanding gender equality in the legal system. This peaceful demonstration was attended by more than six thousand women and men, and was supported by over ninety groups and NGOs in Iran with a broad range of concerns from women's rights to the environment and education. The following year, on June 12^th 2006, a similar gathering for gender equality organized in 7^th Tir square in Tehran was met with a harsh police reaction and the arrest of seventy participants. Undeterred by the backlash, this gathering grew over the following months into an extensive grassroots movement called the One Million Signatures Campaign, which has spread to most cities and provinces in Iran. Today, it is a worldwide movement, with branches in thirteen countries, and has received widespread acknowledgement and support. So far in 2009 the Campaign has been awarded prizes for its work by the Simone de Beauvoir Foundation in France and the Feminist Majority Foundation in the USA.

June 12^th 2009 is of special significance as it coincides with the first round of voting in the Iranian presidential elections. Activists from the Campaign are among the members of different women’s movement groups that have come together in an election coalition, not supporting any one candidate but demanding that all candidates pledge to tackle a number of specific issues relating to women. A first fruit of this coalition has been the promise by one candidate, Mehdi Karoubi, to seek an official explanation for the rejection of all female presidential candidates by the Guardians Council, the body entrusted with the vetting of candidates.

The One Million Signatures Campaign raises awareness by public dissemination of information about discriminatory laws, and seeks to promote social justice through a petition that calls for legal reform. Based entirely on volunteer labor, the movement has no political agenda and instead presents information about the Iranian legal system in a non-ideological manner. People around the world can join in peaceful protest against discrimination by signing the Campaign's petition in support of the Iranians' demand for legal gender equality. Forms of support can include printing the petition from the campaign website, circulating it and sending it in, and talking about the campaign with family and friends.

The Campaign is well represented in areas with large Iranian immigrant populations, including Southern California, which is home to the largest number of Iranians outside Iran. The local chapter of the Campaign comprises Iranian-American graduate students and professionals, who not only promote awareness of the campaign's efforts but also aim to protect activists within Iran by calling attention to an ongoing crackdown on peaceful and law-abiding Campaign volunteers on the part of the Iranian authorities.

###

For more information about this press release, or to schedule an interview with a local campaign organizer, please call Peyman Malaz (949) 466-0142 or email forequality@gmail.com

Ten Things About Judge Sonia Sotomayor

Today, President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the next U.S. Supreme Court justice. Of course, the Right is already fighting against her confirmation—so we need to get the facts out about her impressive qualifications and background.

Below is a list of 10 key things about Sonia Sotomayor that you might not know. Can you check it out and send it to 10 friends today? If each of us forwards the list, we can start to get the word out about Judge Sotomayor, and help to ensure that she gets a speedy and fair confirmation process.

Ten Things To Know About Judge Sonia Sotomayor

1. Judge Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the bench than any Supreme Court justice in 100 years. Over her three-decade career, she has served in a wide variety of legal roles, including as a prosecutor, litigator, and judge.

2. Judge Sotomayor is a trailblazer. She was the first Latina to serve on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and was the youngest member of the court when appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of New York. If confirmed, she will be the first Hispanic to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

3. While on the bench, Judge Sotomayor has consistently protected the rights of working Americans, ruling in favor of health benefits and fair wages for workers in several cases.

4. Judge Sotomayor has shown strong support for First Amendment rights, including in cases of religious expression and the rights to assembly and free speech.

5. Judge Sotomayor has a strong record on civil rights cases, ruling for plaintiffs who had been discriminated against based on disability, sex and race.

6. Judge Sotomayor embodies the American dream. Born to Puerto Rican parents, she grew up in a South Bronx housing project and was raised from age nine by a single mother, excelling in school and working her way to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton University and to become an editor of the Law Journal at Yale Law School.

7. In 1995, Judge Sotomayor "saved baseball" when she stopped the owners from illegally changing their bargaining agreement with the players, thereby ending the longest professional sports walk-out in history.

8. Judge Sotomayor ruled in favor of the environment in a case of protecting aquatic life in the vicinity of power plants in 2007, a decision that was overturned by the Roberts Supreme Court.

9. In 1992, Judge Sotomayor was confirmed by the Senate without opposition after being appointed to the bench by George H.W. Bush.

10. Judge Sotomayor is a widely respected legal figure, having been described as "...an outstanding colleague with a keen legal mind," "highly qualified for any position in which wisdom, intelligence, collegiality and good character would be assets," and "a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity."

Judge Sotomayor is an historic, uniquely qualified nominee to the Supreme Court. Let's get the word out and make sure we get a prompt, fair confirmation on her nomination.

Thanks for all you do,

–Nita, Kat, Daniel, Ilyse and the rest of the team

Sources for each of the 10 things:

1. White House Statement, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon. org/r?r=51451&id=16226-9017427- rxGuxQx&t=1

2. White House Statement, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon. org/r?r=51451&id=16226-9017427- rxGuxQx&t=2

3. Cases: Archie v. Grand Cent. Partnership, 997 F. Supp. 504 (S.D.N.Y. 1998) and Marcella v. Capital Dist. Physicians' Health Plan, Inc., 293 F.3d 42 (2d Cir. 2002).

4. Cases: Flamer v. White Plains, 841 F. Supp. 1365 (S.D.N.Y. 1993), Ford v. McGinnis, 352 F.3d 382 (2d Cir. 2003), and Campos v. Coughlin, 854 F. Supp. 194 (S.D.N.Y. 1994).

5a. "Sotomayor's Notable Court Opinions and Articles," The New York Times, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon. org/r?r=51454&id=16226-9017427- rxGuxQx&t=3

5b. Cases: Bartlett v. N.Y. State Board, 970 F. Supp. 1094 (S.D.N.Y. 1997), Greenbaum v. Svenska Hendelsbanken, 67 F.Supp.2d 228 (S.D.N.Y. 1999), Raniola v. Bratton, 243 F.3d 610 (2d Cir. 2001), and Gant v. Wallingford Board of Education, 195 F.3d 134 (2d Cir. 1999).

6. "Sonia Sotomayor: 10 Things You Should Know," The Huffington Post, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon. org/r?r=51452&id=16226-9017427- rxGuxQx&t=4

7. "How Sotomayor 'Saved' Baseball," Time, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon. org/r?r=51455&id=16226-9017427- rxGuxQx&t=5

8. "Sotomayor's resume, record on notable cases," CNN, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon. org/r?r=51453&id=16226-9017427- rxGuxQx&t=6

9. "Sotomayor's resume, record on notable cases," CNN, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon. org/r?r=51453&id=16226-9017427- rxGuxQx&t=7

10a. Judge Richard C. Wesley, a George W. Bush appointee to the Second Circuit.
http://www.moveon. org/r?r=51451&id=16226-9017427- rxGuxQx&t=8

10b. "Sotomayor is Highly Qualified," The Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2009.
http://www.moveon. org/r?r=51456&id=16226-9017427- rxGuxQx&t=9

10c. Honorary Degree Citation, Pace University School of Law, 2003 Commencement.

Happy Mother's Day

One Million Signatures Campaign winner of Global Women's Right award

Elenor Esmael, Christian Amanpor, Soraya fallah,One million signature campaign,Mavis Nicholson Leno


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The One Million Signatures Campaign has been recognized as the special winner of the Eleanor Roosevelt 2009 Global Women's Rights Awards, along with Christiane Amanpour and other people who have contributed part or all of their lives or careers to women's rights issues. The Campaign received the award last night, April 29^th 2009, at a gala dinner reception hosted by the Feminist Majority Foundation in the Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles, California.

After reading a short introduction about the Campaign, Dolores Huerta acknowledged the pressure induced on Campaign members, the imprisonment of Alieh Eghdam Doust, the attendance of two of the Tehran based activists, Fariba Davoodi Mohajer and Sussan Tahmasebi, at the gala, and congratulated the Campaign on the news of the release of Maryam Malek from prison. Dolores Huerta then handed out the 2009 Global Women's Rights Awards to the Campaign. The One Million Signatures Campaign was honored in special recognition of its ground-breaking work to demand an end to laws in Iran that discriminate against women.

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