Iran shelling of Iraqi Kurdistan kills a Kurdish boy

 A 10-year-old Iraqi Kurd has been killed in shelling by Iranian forces of Iraqi Kurdistan Border, an official said on Friday.

The boy was the third Iraqi to be killed in artillery bombardments as part of ongoing clashes between Iran and the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) which began two weeks ago.

"Mohammed Antar Zerrar, who is 10 years old, was killed on Thursday evening at around 7:00 pm (1600 GMT) by Iranian shelling of the village of Battas," Maghdid Aref Ahmed, the mayor of the nearby border town of Haj Omran in Iraqi Kurdistan, told journalists.

On Monday, two villagers in the town of Sidakan, also in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, were killed by Iranian shelling.

Overall, since Iran launched an offensive against PJAK bases on July 16, three Iraqis have been killed and 11 wounded, officials have said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday the fighting has displaced hundreds of villagers in the border regions of northern Iraq.

Arina Moradi

source : http://www.peyamner.com/details.aspx?l=4&id=242338

Ansar al-Islam’s cooperation with Iranian troops Against Kurdish Peshmargas confirmed

SULEMANI, -- The Kurdish Special Forces (Peshmerge) confirmed the allegation of the cooperation of the fundamental and radical Islamic groups with the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps in the invasion of South Kurdistan.
A commander of the Peshmerge Forces confirmed that Ansar al-Islam has been closely working and aiding the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in their invasion of South Kurdistan.
“Ansar al-Islam group has been fighting the Kurdish guerrillas of PJAK (Free Life Party of Kurdistan) shoulder to shoulder with the Iranian Revolution Guards,” said Selah Dilmani commander in chief of battalion of 18 in Balakaeyti in an interview with Rudaw News.
Mr Dilmani added, “Ansar al-Islam group has been guiding the Revolution Guards, for they well know these areas.”
“There are two groups of Ansar al-Islam, who are local Kurds from the districts of Qeladize, Sengser, Teteq, Kifri and Kelar. They have been guiding and assisting the IRGC in the fight against the Kurdish guerrillas,” concluded Mr Dilmani.

source : http://www.rojhelat.info/english/kurdistan/1443-ansar-al-islams-cooperation-with-iranian-troops-confirmed

Kurds in Diyarbakir protest against iranian governments invison of south kurdistan and iranian governments policies against Kurds

 Thousands of Kurds gathered in front of the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) office in Amed (Diyarbakir) earlier this evening to protest against the Iranian aggression on the border. Clashes erupted when police attacked the crowd after some youngsters had thrown stones.

Ten people have been detained following the clashes. The police searched the streets near by the area of the demonstration.

The meeting had been called at 6pm. The crowd could only walk up to Bayındırlık Caddesi, a street a few hundred meters away from the BDP building and was stopped by the police. Hundreds of antiriot heavily armed policemen had blocked the road denying permission to the crowd to march through.

The people started a sit-in action chanting slogans against the Turkish army ongoing operations as well as the Iranian operation into the Kurdistan Federal Region.

Police was ready to attack the crowd, and when they put on the gas masks it was clear that they would do so. Indeed a couple of stones thrown were enough for the beginning of a vicious and violent attack. People started to run back while the ambulances' sirens began to be heard.

On a side road a police car was hit by a stone and a policeman immediately got outside and without a single thought fired a live bullet into the air.

Kurds send letter to UN regarding Iran's border aggressions

 Members of Kurdish community in Diasporas sent an open letter to the United Nation (UN) to draw its attention to the Iran's continuing border aggressions.
Besides UN, the letter will sent to the EU Human Rights Commission and Parliament, Amnesty International, CNN, BBC, Telegraph, Jpost, Haaretz, Aljazeere and some of countries including the USA.

The letter is read as follows;
We, a set of Kurdish intellectuals, political activists and human rights advocates, are writing to your Excellency to draw your immediate attention to the deteriorating plight of Kurdish citizens of Kurdistan Autonomous Region, Iraq.
As your Excellency is informed, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been indiscriminately shelling Iraqi Kurdistan regions for the last two executive weeks, utilizing all sorts of banned weapons against defenceless civilians, culminating in killing, injuring and displacing a large number of refugees and causing a serious human debacle.
Despite the unfortunate growing number of civilians’ deaths toll, the federal government of Iraq has not taken any concert action to put an end to these unjustifiable border aggressions and suffering of its populace. Iran continues to commit human rights violations with no regard to international laws and principles. Iran is breaching the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq.
We condemn these acts of war crimes in its strongest possible terms and call upon all individuals and organizations who claim to espouse liberty and democracy and who are Partisan of human rights, the UN and the international community to take immediate action to end the ongoing devastating conflict and protect the safety of Iraqi civilians.
We urge you to personally involve yourself and look into the matter and send an independent commission to launch a probing and evaluate the inflicted damages by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The state of affairs is critical, and it requires urgent United Nations intervention.”

source : http://www.rojhelat.info/english/component/content/article/1437-kurds-send-open-letter-to-un-regarding-irans-border-aggressions

Kurds in Hewler protest against Iranian Military invasion of South Kurdistan

South Kurdistan, -- Hundreds of protestors have launched a demonstration in front of Iran’s Consulate in Hewler on Tuesday, condemning the continued Iranian bombardment of the border villages in South Kurdistan, criticizing the Iraqi government’s silence towards violations against human rights.
About 400 civil activists have demonstrated in front of the Iranian Consulate in Hewler, demanding an immediate stop to the Iranian bombardment of Kurdistan’s border areas.
They demand that the Federal government in Baghdad interfere to put an end to such violations.
An activist Surour Mohammed said that the demonstrators have also “criticized the silence of Baghdad's government up until now, and its failure to announce any official position towards the Iranian bombardment.”
"The aggressive act is a violation of human rights, international resolutions and an undermining of Iraq’s sovereignty,” Surour noted

source: http://www.rojhelat.info/english/component/content/article/1436-kurds-in-hewler-protest-against-iranian-invasion-

New laws in Syria makes creation of Kurdish parties impossible

KURDWATCH, July 29, 2011—The Syrian government passed a new law regarding the creation of new politicial parties on July 24, 2011. According to Article 5 of the new law, the following conditions must be fulfilled for a new party to be created:
The party must be oriented in accordance with the Syrian Constitution and democratic and constitutional principles, as well as with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and must respect all treaties signed by the Syrian Arab Republic.
It must defend the unity of the nation and strengthen national unity within society. The basic tenets of the party, its goals and its financial recources must be disclosed publicly. A party may not be established on a religious or regional basis. Furthermore, it may not be associated with a tribe, a social class or a profession, or have its establishment be based on discrimination by race, gender or skin color.
The party organs, the leadership and its activities must be oriented according to democratic principles.
In addition, the party may not pursue military or paramilitary goals either publicly or secretly. It may not employ violence in any form, or threaten or call for violence. Lastly, the party may not be an offshoot of a non-Syrian party or an illegal political organization.
The Syrian Ministry of Justice has announced that the application to found a new party must be reviewed by a committee formed for this purpose. In accordance to Article 7 of the party law, this committee is composed of the Foreign Minister, the Vice President of the Court of Cassation, and three independent personages, who are to be named for a term of three years by the President. In accordance with Article 9, the application for the founding of a new party must be signed by fifty founding members. All founding members must have possessed Syrian citizenship for at least ten years, be at least 25 years of age, be residents of Syria, and be in possession of their full civil and political rights. Further, they may neither have been punished for a crime nor be a member of another Syrian or non-Syrian party.
Furthermore, at its founding a party must have at least 1,000 members, who must be registered with the authorities in at least half of all the provinces of Syria. The percentage of members from a single province may not be less than five percent of the total number of party members. Additionally, all parties must reflect the national structure of Syrian society.

Should no answer be forthcoming within 60 days after the submission of the application for the founding of a new party, the foundation of the party qualifies as approved. Should the application not be granted, the applicants can lodge protest at the appropriate court within fifteen days. The court must reach a decision within 60 days.
The provisions that a party may not be founded on a »regional basis«, that members must come from at least half of all Syrian provinces, and that the party must reflect the »national structure« of Syrian society make the foundation of an explicitly Kurdish-oriented party impossible.

source:  http://www.kurdwatch.org/index?aid=1834

links between al Qaeda and the government of Iran

The Wall Street Journal
That there have long been links between al Qaeda and the government of Iran isn't exactly news.
In 2003, the Washington Post reported on a "decade-old relationship" between al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri and Ahmad Vahidi, now Iran's minister of defense. In 2004, the 9/11 Commission wrote that "there is strong evidence that Iran facilitated the transit of al Qaeda members into and out of Afghanistan before 9/11, and that some of these were future 9/11 hijackers." Throughout the war in Iraq, there was extensive intelligence that Iran was supporting the Mesopotamian branch of al Qaeda, never mind that they were terrorizing the country's Shiite population.
Yet it was only yesterday that the U.S. government formally acknowledged the connection between the world's most dangerous terrorist group and the leading state sponsor of terrorism. In a move by the Treasury Department, six members of a terrorist network based in Iran were sanctioned for serving as "the core pipeline through which al Qaeda moves money, facilitators and operatives from across the Middle East to South Asia," principally meaning Pakistan and Afghanistan. The leader of the group, Ezedin Abdul Aziz Khalil, is a Syrian who has been operating from Iran under an agreement signed in 2005.
The sanctions will likely have little effect on the terror network, at least so long as its members remain in the Islamic Republic. But at least it ought to put to rest the idea that doctrinal differences all but forbid radical Sunnis to make common cause with radical Shiites. As in politics, terrorism can make strange bedfellows, especially when there's a shared hatred of the United States.
The Obama Administration has come a long way since the days when it thought it could strike a "grand bargain" with Iran's mullahs, and yesterday's move is another good step. Above all, it's a reminder of why a regime that has no qualms serving as al Qaeda's facilitator can on no account be permitted to build a nuclear bomb.

source: http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/104022.html

Innocent Kurds killed, leave their homes in Kurdistan, due to Iranian government bombing

 An Iraqi Kurdish citizen has been killed and large numbers of citizens of northern Arbil’s Choman border township with Iran, were force to leave their villages, due to Iranian bombardment of the area on Friday, a military source in the Border Guards Command reported
“A citizen in a Choman village has been killed due to artillery bombardment by the Iranian side on the village on Friday,” the source stressed, adding that about 40-50 families from the areas that came under bombardment were forced to desert their villages.
Kurdish villages, close to the borders with Iran had been under continuous Iranian bombardment over the past few weeks, under justification of chasing the anti-Tehran Free Live Party (PJAk), taking refuge in those areas.

SKH (ST)

source:http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/31283

Amnesty Interntional urges Iranian government to free US hikers

(AFP) – Amnesty on Friday renewed calls for Iran to release two young US hikers held on spying charges since July 2009, two days ahead of a fresh hearing in their case. “Iranian authorities have held these men for two years, subjecting them to legal proceedings that fall far short of international fair trial standards,” the London-based organisation said.
“The parody of justice must end here. By now it seems clear that the Iranian authorities have no legal basis for continuing to hold these US nationals, so they must be released and allowed to leave the country.”

Shane Bauer, 28, and Josh Fattal, 29, were arrested with Sarah Shourd, 32, on the unmarked Iran-Iraq border on July 31, 2009. Tehran has accused the three of “spying and illegally entering the country.”
They have pleaded not guilty to spying charges, saying they were hiking in northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region when they innocently strayed into Iran across the border.
Washington has vehemently denied Tehran’s charges and has pressed for their release.
Shourd is being tried in absentia after she returned to the United States following her release on humanitarian and medical grounds in September 2010, for which bail of about 500,000 dollars was paid.

source: http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/31282
pic source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2011/07/30/sarah-shourd-and-others-hope-iran-will-set-the-hikers-free/_jcr_content/body/inlineimage.img.jpg/1312032683338.jpg

3 Iranian political prisoners spending their birthdays behind bars

Laleh Hassanpour, poet and human rights activist

Poet and human rights activist Laleh Hassanpour was arrested at her father’s home on March 16, 2009 during a raid on activists working with HRANA. She was released two months later from Evin prison on bail. Judge PirAbassi in branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced her to one year in prison and four years suspended imprisonment. She has been charged with, “Membership in HRANA”, “Gathering and collusion”, “Engaging in propaganda activities against the regime”, “Insulting what is sacred”, and “Insulting the presidential rule”.
Laleh Hassanpour’s sentence was upheld by branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court. On April 18, 2010, Laleh Hassanpour was summoned to Evin prison to serve her one year prison term. She is currently held in Evin prison.

Seyed Massoud Hosseini Lavasani, writer and journalist

Writer and journalist Massoud Lavasani was arrested on June 30, 2009, following the disputed 2009 Iranian Presidential election. He was charged with “Engaging in propaganda activities against the regime”. Judge PirAbassi in the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to eight and a half years in prison. He was also issued a lifelong ban from journalism. In the Appeals Court Massoud Lavasani’s sentence was reduced to six years in prison and a ten-year ban from journalism.
Massoud Lavasani has worked with the following publications:

• The weekly newspaper Sobh-e Sadegh, editor of the arts and literature section.
• Mehr News, reporter in the field of culture and literature.
• The newspaper Aftab Yazd, responsible for the arts and literature section.
• Fars News, Middle East and international affairs analyst.

He has also worked with numerous other publications, including Shargh, Kargozaran, and Etemad Melli. Massoud Lavasani is a member of the Association of Iranian Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists.

Ehsan Abdeh Tabrizi, PhD student

Ehsan Abdeh Tabrizi is a PhD Politics student at the University of Durham, England. Today, he spends birthday behind bars in Evin prison for the second consecutive time.
He was arrested at the Imam Khomeini airport when he had returned to Iran from his studies abroad.
Ehsan Tabrizi was held for four months in the solitary confinement ward 209 of Evin prison without contact with his family. He is currently held with other political prisoners in ward 350 of Evin prison.
In two sessions, October 30, 2010 and December 7, 2010, Ehsan Tabrizi was sentenced to seven years in prison by Judge Moghiseh in branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court:

• Two years for “Insulting the President”
• Three years for “Having presence in the Ashura protests”
• Two years for “Contacts with foreign agents”

Hossein Abdeh Tabrizi, Ehsan’s father is a critic of Ahmadinejad’s economic policies. He is the former secretary of the Tehran Stock Exchange. He had previously provoked the anger of government officials with his economic criticisms in the Sarmayeh newspaper. He is among the 70 economists that had criticized the government’s economic policies in a letter.

source:  http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/31262

Mohammad Mandazahi, Baluchi human right activist in iranian prison was Hanged in Kerman by the iranian government

HRANA News Agency – On Tuesday, July 26, 2011, Mohammad Mandazahi, son of Dadkha, was hanged in Kerman’s central prison.

According to a report by Baluchistan Human Rights Activists, Mohammad Mandazahi was charged with drug trafficking. Mohammad Mandazahi spent six years behind bars and was sentenced to death without the presence of an attorney or his family at the trail.


source: http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=459:baluchi-prisoner-mohammad-mandazahi-hanged-in-kerman&catid=12:prisoners&Itemid=12

A general and seven Iranian commanders killed in kurdistan

A general and seven Iranian commanders were killed by Kurdish guerrillas of PJAK, while the Iranian army is continuing its major operation along the border with Iraq since July 16.
"A general and seven commanders were killed on Thursday, July 21 by the guerrillas in an ambush in Dola Koke, in the region of Qandil" said Shirzad Kamankar, the spokesman for the PJAK, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan.
The names of the causalities are as follows;
Revolutionary Guards Commander General Abbas Asemi from Qum city
Colonel Delavar Ranjbarzadeh, Commander of Revolutionary Guards at Sardasht-Piranshahr Front
Hadjiagha Maroufi, Commander of Special Forces at Eastern Front and five other senior commanders: Ali Akhbar Jamrassi, Mahmoud Tabar, Najat Mousavi, Mahdi Khabir, Rohoullah Sehrahi.
The Iranian regime has confirmed the death of General Assem but still keeps silent about others. "The General Assem from the body of the Revolutionary Guards in Qom (centre) and five of his companions were killed in clashes with PJAK rebels in the region of Sardasht" at the border,’ said Friday the agency Fars.
One day before his death, Colonel Delavar Ranjbarzadeh Iran had announced the acquisition of control of three PJAK camps in Iraqi territory, but this information was denied by the PJAK and the Iraqi Kurdish authorities. All attempts to infiltrate troops into the autonomous Kurdish region have been delayed by the PJAK fighters had said a spokesman for that organization.

A SERIES OF ATTACKS
Kurdish guerrillas have launched a series of attacks between July 20 and 21, in responses to the military operation at the border. A captain and two Revolution Guards were killed and another wounded on July 20 in an ambush laid by guerrillas on the road between Mariwan and Sine. Local collaborator Mihemmed Rexnebeş was killed while another guard Mıhemmed Melek was injured, reported PJAK's military wing Eastern Kurdistan Forces (HRK).
The same day, eight Iranian Revolution Guards were killed and four were injured in Berdanaze in Piranshar region, in clashes with the PJAK.
On July 21, the guerrillas launched an attack on a military post in the village of Savan at Bane, Kurdish town, killing four Revolution Guards.

The Iranian army suffered heavy losses since the beginning of the operation. More than 150 Revolution guards have been killed and seven guerrillas lost their lives according to PJAK.

FIVE VILLAGERS INJURED
The Iranian army carried out an artillery bombardment on Kurdish villages in the autonomous region of South Kurdistan. Four villagers were wounded in the night from Thursday to Friday by Iran's bombardment on Sune village, near Qeladize, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan.
A woman of 27 years, living in Sune village, was injured on July 17 in her house by the bombing that also affected a school, mosque and several houses.
The bombing on Thursday and Friday did extensive damage in the villages of the regions and Choman Haji Omran.
According to the head of the Choman, Abdullwahid Giwayi, artillery hit up to 4 km inside the autonomous Kurdish region.

source: http://www.rojhelat.info/english/component/content/article/1426-a-general-and-seven-iranian-commanders-killed

3 people hanged in Ghuchan, 10 executions in 3 days by the Iranian government

Iran Human Rights: Three people convicted of two separate rape cases were hanged in the northeastern Iranian town of Ghoochan (in the province of Khorsan Razavi), according to the report on the official website of the Khorasan Razavi province.
The names or ages of those executed were not mentioned in the report.
Based on the information gathered from official Iranian sources, ten people have been executed during the last days. Three people were hanged publicly in Kermanshah on Tuesday and four people were hanged in two different prisons in the Kerman province earlier this week.

source: http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/103470.html

Video of public Execution in iran that outraged Human right organizations

Missing iranian actress, Pegah Ahangarani is in prison

Al Jazeera English
An Iranian actress and blogger was arrested as she prepared to leave for Germany to write a blog for the Deutsche Welle radio station about the women's football World Cup, the semi-official ISNA news agency has reported.
Pegah Ahangarani, 27, was arrested last week, ISNA said on Monday, citing the prosecutor's office in Tehran.
It is unclear why the actress has been arrested and what charges she might be facing.
Ahangarani had been arrested briefly in 2009 after the disputed presidential elections over charges of playing a role in the post-election riots. Ahangarani is the daughter of Iranian filmmakers Manijeh Hekmat and Jamshid Ahangarani. The investigation into her case was continuing, ISNA said.
Deutsche Welle said Monday it has learned from people close to Ahangarani that the actress is being detained in Tehran's Evin prison. The broadcaster urged Iranian authorities to immediately release her.
The actress was to write a blog for Deutsche Welle's Persian-language section but decided against going to Germany after being warned by Iranian authorities not to go a day before her planned departure, Deutsche Welle said.
As a result of this and further "threats" Ahangarani decided not to attempt to travel to Germany. She vanished shortly thereafter. On July 14 it was confirmed that she had been arrested four days earlier, Deutsche Welle said.
"Obviously with the arrest of Pegah Ahangarani, Tehran wants not only to prevent reporting of women's football, but first and foremost, cooperation with Germany's international service," Deutsche Welle said.
Ahangarani has written a blog about the Berlin Film Festival, the Berlinale, in the past and last year came to Bonn for a blogs awards ceremony, Deutsche Welle said. She also makes documentaries.
Another Iranian reporter accredited to cover the tournament, Maryam Majd, was arrested on June 26, according to the German government's top human rights official Markus Loening, who said Berlin was "outraged".

Source:http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/103463.html

Iran public execution outrages human rights groups

A disturbing video of the public execution of three men in Iran has sparked anger among human rights activists.

The graphic video, released by Amnesty International on Thursday, showed guards standing on top of buses draping ropes around necks of three convicts sentenced to death by hanging after being convicted of rape. The men were later hanged from an overhead bridge after the vehicles drove away.

The executions, which took place on 19 July in the western city of Kermanshah, home to Iran’s Kurd minority, attracted significant crowds, including children. Some of the crowds appear to be filming hangings by mobile phones.

The video, which was supplied to Amnesty by an Iranian human rights activist, Fazel Hawramy from kurdishblogger.com, highlights the use of public executions, in which officials publicly hang convicts from a large crane or a high place in front of crowds.

“What is so alarming about this video is the apparent normality of the event. Thousands of people are watching as if it were a football match. People are shouting and cheering. But what is most shocking is the participation of children in this barbaric ‘spectacle’,” Hawramy said.

The release of the video follows human rights groups’ alarm over thesharp escalation in capital punishment in Iran.

Activists said two weeks ago that Iran has executed an average of almost two people a day in the first six months of this year. Iran insists the executions are related to serious crimes such as drug-trafficking although at least two political activists have been identified among those hanged in the first half of 2011.

Amnesty said Iranian authorities have acknowledged public executions of at least 28 people so far this year.

Speaking to the Guardian by phone from Kermanshah, the Iranian who filmed Amnesty’s video said: “I was there, the executions took place at the centre of the city in Azadi Square at 10 in the morning when people were busy with their businesses or shopping.

“Authorities didn’t have any consideration for innocent children who were accompanying their parents and suddenly watched an execution which I would guess would be carved in their mind for ever.”

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa deputy director, said: “Not only those executed, but all those who watch public executions, including, children, are brutalised and degraded by the experience. These public displays of killing perpetuate a culture of acceptance of violence and bloodlust, rather than a belief in justice.”

She added: “It is deeply disturbing that despite a moratorium on public executions ordered in 2008, the Iranian authorities are once again resorting to this inhuman practice.”

Amnesty said Kermanshah’s executions follow “several widely publicised gang rapes of women this year in Iran. In some cases, officials blamed the victims for failing to adhere to the official code on dress or gender segregation.”

In criticism to Iran’s use of capital punishment as a solution to the country’s rape issue, Hadj Sahraoui said: “Executions after speedy, unfair trials are no solution to the extremely serious problem of rape in Iran, which feeds on the acceptance of violence against women at all levels of society.

“The Iranian authorities should be aiming to combat this culture of violence rather than perpetuate it through these public displays of brutality.”

Rebin Rahmani of HRANA, a human rights website, said 450 people in Kermanshah prison, convicted of charges such as rape or drug-trafficking, have been handed down death sentences and are currently awaiting execution.

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/22/iran-public-execution-human-rights

source: http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/30977

Iranian Student Activist Hadi Hamidi Shafiq Arrested and was not allowed to get married

HRANA News Agency – In an unprecedented move, Tabriz Intelligence Agency prevented Hadi Hamidi Shafiq to have a wedding.

According to a report by South Azerbaijan Student Movement (AZOH), Hadi Hamidi Shafiq’s wedding was to take place in Tabriz with political and social activists from all over Azerbaijan attending the event.  Yesterday morning, on July 20, 2011, Tabriz Intelligence Agency summoned the wedding banquet hall director and interrogated him about the scheduled event.


Additionally, this morning, Tabriz Intelligence Agency contacted the bride and the groom’s families by phone, summoning them for questioning and threatening to arrest all the guests.  The intelligence agents also contacted Hadi Hamidi Shafiq, forbidding him from going ahead with his wedding plans.  When faced with his opposition, the agents told him that the wedding ceremony would be held by them and all the guests without any exception would be detained.

The intelligence agents from Tehran and Urmia offices have also phoned some of the activists invited to the wedding in order to warn them not to attend the ceremony or be arrested.

According to the last reliable news, Hadi Hamidi Shafiq has been arrested by Tabriz Intelligence Agency, and his whereabouts is still unknown.

Recently, Hadi Hamidi Shafiq was sentenced to six months in prison and 60 lashes on charges of propaganda against the regime.  In May 2006, Hadi Hamidi Shafiq was arrested for attending demonstrations and spent 17 months behind bars

source: http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/30962

20-Year Prison for Kurdish artist Yılmaz Dünen

Kurdish artist Farquin (Yılmaz Dünen) is tried together with three members of a group of people that entered Turkey via the Iraqi border in 2009. Farquin is facing a prison sentence of between seven and 20 years. He is charged with "membership of an illegal organization" and "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization".
A total of 26 refugees from the UN refugee camp in Mahmur and eight former members of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) crossed the border to south-eastern Turkey upon imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan's call on 19 October 2009. They followed their own personal decisions as an attempt to push forward the jammed political process of finding a solution to the Kurdish question.
The eighth hearing of the case was held in the beginning of this week. The trial was discussed controversially in the Turkish media. However, the prosecutor presented his final speech on the substance of the matter and the case was postponed to 1 November in order to allow additional time for the defence.
bianet talked to Farqin's lawyer Mesut Beştaş. He said that the final plea of the prosecution considered the people who welcomed the members of the illegal organization as members themselves. The other defendants of the trial are Ayla Yıldrım, Nurettin Turgut and Mehmet Şerif Gençdal as members of the group from Habur. All of them went on stage that day to address the crowd with a speech.
Farqin was hosting the welcome ceremony on a stage installed on the Batıkent Square in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır in south-eastern Turkey. He told bianet, "On that day, a general welcome was prepared in Turkey for the peace group from Habur. We wanted to support that as well in Diyarbakır as people who are doing arts and I hosted the welcome. This trial stems from our right to welcome the friends from this peace group when we were on stage, from welcoming them to the capital of hearts, from saying that this peace might be permanent and that this development might bring peace to Turkey and from saying that people in Turkey live in peace".
"I do not think that I could be punished because of that sort of situation but it is very difficult to predict the decision that is going to be given by the judges and prosecutors. We hope that procedures will be dropped because there is no situation that would justify a complaint. There is no situation that would encourage people to violence", Farquin stated. He underlined that it was their aim to support the peace process and that the words quoted in the indictment were in line with that.
Lawyer Beştaş indicated, "The law has to be an area of trust for the people. Unfortunately, we are encountering decisions that remove the legal security". He added that his client was not guilty. (ÖÖ/VK)

source: http://www.bianet.org/english/minorities/131591-20-year-prison-threat-for-a-warm-welcome

Tension increasing after Clashes between Kurds and turkish Military in Silvan

13 soldiers were killed in an armed conflict in Silvan close to the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır in south-eastern Turkey on 14 July. One week later, tension in the country is still rising high.
Kurdish citizens were assailed throughout the past week and buildings of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) were attacked. On Wednesday (20 July) new clashed occurred.
A group of 300 people attacked the BDP district head office in Zeytinburnu (Istanbul). On the same day, a group of about 500 people reportedly made an assault on 200 Kurdish workers.

A "critical" night in Zeytinburnu

In Zeytinburnu, clashes occurred between BDP members who had gathered in front of the BDP district office and people from the district.
The group of BDP members apparently started chanting slogans supportive of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) at around midnight. Thereupon, an estimated 300 people carrying stones and clubs walked towards the BDP district office. The police intervened with water cannons when the people started throwing stones to the windows of the building.

Workers attacked in Erzurum

As reported by Fırat News Agency (ANF), a group of 500 people attacked Kurdish workers in the Aziziye district of Erzurum (eastern Turkey). The police, the district governor, the chief of police, the Erzurum governor and the gendarmerie came to the scene. Workers said that the police and the gendarmerie formed a barricade between the workers and their attackers before they were brought out of the district in groups.
Worker Şirin Gümüş from a TOKİ construction site told ANF that they were attacked two days earlier. Gümüş recalled, "Two days ago a group of 15 people came to the building site and beat one of our colleagues. He suffered a skull fracture and a broken arm. They came back today and attacked us again. They threw a Molotov cocktail to the tent we were staying in".
It was reported that the group was carrying stones, knives, clubs and planks. (AS/EKN/VK

source: http://www.bianet.org/english/minorities/131621-tension-continues-after-clashes-in-silvan

Situation of Kurdish Youth in Turkey

The Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV) and a number of other non-governmental organizations active in Diyabakır prepared a report on children and their families who were imprisoned on the basis of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK) and released later on due to according legal amendments. The NGOs studied the situation of the children in the Kurdish-majority city in south-eastern Turkey for a whole year.
According to the report, more than 4,000 children aged between 12 and 18 were taken into police custody and/or were kept in prison for the duration of between two months and four years.

One in three children abandoned education

Here are some of the issued highlighted by the report:
* 12 out of 30 children the NGOs established contact with after their release from prison abandoned school.
* The report also raised the question of how many children and juveniles would turn to the armed outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after their experiences in custody and prison.
* Mustafa Malçok burned himself on 15 February.
* Some children are constantly being kept under observation by the police on their way to school, in the neighbourhood and on the street. After some time, this develops into harassment like saying "We will arrest you again" and into oppression such as saying "What are you doing on the street? Don't wander around or we will take you into custody".
* The families are anxious; they confine their children at home, send them to the military or let them do heavy jobs. The social life of these children is restricted.
* The judiciary became inclined to not to arrest but release the children subsequent to the legal amendments. However, the police continued to take children and juveniles who were walking on the street into custody. Ill-treatment in police custody and also at the moment the young persons are caught by the police has worsened.

"Children must be fully excluded from TMK"

The report is stating that children should be fully excluded from the scope of the TMK. Articles 220/6 (committing a crime on behalf of an organization without being a member of the organization) and 220/7 (knowing and willingly aiding and abetting an illegal organization) of the Turkish Criminal Law (TCK) should be lifted. Moreover, the report points to Law No.2911 that still defines "stones" as weapons. The NGOs demand this definition to be abolished. "Molotov" cocktails should be covered by Article 174 TCK on "unauthorized possession or transfer of hazardous substances".
Mass organizations, local governments and political parties have to define serious policies regarding children. Children and juveniles should have their own areas where they can express themselves. The media has to put works and studies related to children on the agenda, the NGOs proposed.

22 children died in the region within six months

The "Children Report" issued by the Human Rights Association (İHD) for the region of eastern and south-eastern Anatolia covering the first six months of 2011 revealed that 14 children and juveniles were killed by the police or the military and one child was injured. 15 children were wounded because of mines or undefined explosives, three children died. Two children were injured along the border and three were killed. The death of two further children left doubts about the reason for their death. 485 children were taken into police custody, 139 children were arrested.
18 children committed suicide, three children attempted to do so. One child was exposed to domestic violence. Five children died as the result of violence, abuse and rape; eight children experienced abuse, eight children were raped.

Family profiles

17 of the families that participated in the study were forced to leave their villages in the 1990s and hence migrated to the centre of Diyarbakır. 12 families lost a first degree relative in armed conflicts between the army and the PKK. 18 families have at least one or more relatives who were/are still imprisoned mainly for political reasons.
A part of the surveyed families make a living as working or retired civil servants or working or retired labourers. Another part of the families have an income from temporary work such as scrap-iron business, construction or the service sector.
12 families are living in a rented flat, four families live in a house provided by another family member and 14 families own their homes. Members of 11 surveyed families suffer from serious health problems (cancer, bullet injury, hepatitis, bronchitis, asthma etc.) caused by bad conditions in prison and police custody.

Points of attention

* The demonstrations where children and juveniles play the main role must be seen under the aspect of their political identity and should be interpreted as a way to open up particular areas where the children and juveniles can express themselves.
* A part of the children that left the region after having finished secondary education return to their province due to adaptive difficulty and discrimination. Some continue their education and others abandon school.
* Schools in the region have an insufficient infra structure. Children attend overcrowded classes. Discriminative policies within the education system create the risk of estranging the child from his/her hometown and school.
* Kurdish children have been deprived of their village, their mother language and their culture. The children suffer an obvious trauma caused by oppressive and rough treatment at primary school and by a dominant language that is taught by force. At the same time, the child is being exposed to a number of political, economic and social risks in the city.
* In Kurdish-majority provinces, 10,000 school-aged children work in seasonal jobs instead of going to school.
* The child's identity is being used as a yardstick in processes like his/her prosecution, police custody or imprisonment.
The report was prepared by the following institutions:
Human Rights Association; Diyarbakır Bar Association; Diyarbakır Medical Chamber; Justice for Children Group (ÇİAT); Health and Social Service Workers Union (SES) Diyarbakır Branch; Education and Science Workers' Union (Eğitim-Sen) Diyarbakır Branch; Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Social Support Centre; Local Agenda-21 Youth Assembly; Sarmaşık Association for the Struggle against Poverty and Sustainable Development; Psychologists Initiative for Social Peace.

source: http://www.bianet.org/english/minorities/131651-prison-instead-of-school---work-instead-of-play

Kurds on hunger strike in Dublin demanding revocation of Lausanne Treaty

 On 88^th anniversary of Lausanne Treaty which divided Kurdistan into four parts, Kurds in Ireland launched a 3-days hunger strike today outside European Union House.
The hunger strikers demand the revocation of Lausanne Treaty and the full recognition of Kurds to self-determination.
They also strongly condemn the latest Iranian invasion of South Kurdistan and urge European Union to break the silence and take stance against the oppression of Kurdistan at the hands of the occupiers.
Lausanne Treaty signed on 24th July 1923 officially divided Kurdistan between Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. The Treaty denied the very existence of the Kurds and exposed them to the most horrendous state terror that one nation could ever be subjected to.
They hunger strikers demand the revocation of the Treaty or its replacement by another pact, where the right of Kurds are fully recognised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f27gMFOLKDo

source: http://www.rojhelat.info/english/world/1421-kurds-on-hunger-strike-in-dublin-demanding-revocation-of-lausanne-treaty

Iranian Military artilleries targeting Kurdish villages

 Iranian artilleries deliberately target the Kurdish villages on the border of Iran and Iraq, local sources said.
Iranian bombardment of South Kurdistan has entered its 6th day. Locals say Iranian targeted Kurdish villages along the border and several of livestock is destroyed by the bombardment.
Ali Resh, Zewke, Sune, Serxan, Soregule and Beste villages are reportedly hit by the Iranian artillery. A forest fire broke out near Ali Resh as a result of the mortar attack.
At least a Kurdish woman was seriously wounded during the attack. Dozens of villages were emptied and hundreds of villagers settled in tent camps.

source: http://www.rojhelat.info/english/kurdistan/1424-iranian-artilleries-targets-kurdish-villages

National - Iraqi Parliament formed delegation to investigate of Iranian artillery attacks on the Kurdistan region.

PNA-In the sixth meeting of Iraqi Parliament, the bombardment of the borders areas in Kurdistan from Iranian government was on the agenda.

According to Peyamner News, in this meeting,the chair of the Parliament made officer a defense committee, Security and foreign affairs with cooperation the defense ministry and foreign affairs to investigate about bombardment in the Kurdistan region.
 
Lane Mohammad said to Peyamner  News : a delegation consisting of Defense commissions ,security and Foreign affairs will be sent to the borders of Kurdistan region.

source: http://www.peyamner.com/details.aspx?l=4&id=240737

South Kurdistan Peshmerges: If Iran doesnt withdraw, we will fight them too

Following the Iranian bid to invade and occupy Southern Kurdistan, the long standing Kurdish Peshmerges (Special Forces) have strongly denounced the offensive and warned they would fight the Iranian forces if they don’t withdraw.
Kurdish Peshmerges have displayed their outrage at the occupying bid of the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps entering the Kurdish soil and articulated their readiness to defend Kurdistan.
It should be noted that the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps invaded Kurdish with the use of heavy weaponries including tanks and helicopters on yesterday.
They were stopped by the East Kurdistan Forces (HRK) and were given a heavy blow. In the battle which is reported to be continuing to the moment, 21 Iranian militant were killed and 43 wounded.
A few numbers of guerrillas have also reported wounded.

 source: http://www.rojhelat.info/english/kurdistan/1413-kurdish-peshmerges-if-iran-not-withdraws-we-fight-them-too

Top CIA officer stated that Israel will probably attack Iran in Sept.

Israel will probably attack Iran in September, a veteran CIA officer who spent 21 years in the Middle East, including in Lebanon and Syria, told a Los Angeles radio show on Tuesday.
While former CIA officer Rober Baer didn't reveal the sources behind his prediction, he referred to former Mossad chief Meir Dagan's warnings of an Israeli attack on Iran as "no bluff."
Baer told the KPFK Los Angeles show Background Briefing that previous comments made by Dagan that an Israeli attack on Iran could lead to a regional war, "tell us with near certainty that Netanyahu is planning an attack, and in as much as I can guess when it's going to be, it's probably going to be in September before a vote on the Palestinian state."
Baer added that Netanyahu is "also hoping to draw the United States into the conflict, and in fact there's a warning order inside the Pentagon to prepare for conflict with Iran."
The retired senior CIA officer predicted a scenario in which Israel would attack the Natanz nuclear facility as well as "a couple of others to degrade their capabilities."
"The Iranians will strike back were they can and that will be in Basra and in Baghdad," where the US has a diminished troop presence, Baer said, adding "we've started to look at Iran's targets in Iraq and across the border."
Baer, however, diffused predictions of regional war, saying, "What we're facing here is an escalation, not a planned all-out war."

Source: The Jerusalem Post
source:http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/103110.html

At Least 32 Killed in Syrian Protests Against Regime

Four months after anti-government demonstrations began in Syria, tens of thousands of protesters marched Friday demanding the release of scores of people jailed during the uprising and calling for an end to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Witnesses and activists in several towns reported that security forces fired at protesters, with at least 32 killed and several more injured.

In an appeal issued over the Internet site Facebook, activists called on Syrians to take to the streets to mark a day of “freedom of the prisoners”.

Many heeded the call. Large turnouts were reported in several Syrian cities including Homs, Hama, Daraa and this one in the northern Damascus suburb of Harasta.

Thousands of young men in the town could be seen in a video posted on YouTube carrying banners calling for freeing prisoners marched defiantly down narrow streets alongside a long, unfurled Syrian flag.

Human Rights Watch's Emergencies Director Peter Bouckaert spoke with VOA by Skype from Geneva. He says HRW estimates some 17,000 people have been detained since the uprisings began exactly four months ago.

“There is very little information about their fate in custody," said Bouckaert. "The families have not been told where they have been taken. And from those who have been released it is a very dire picture. We have documented many cases of torture and very brutal beatings, in what are now extremely over-crowded detention facilities.”

Western nations have turned up the pressure on President Assad to stop the government's bloody crackdown on protesters and implement promised reforms.

Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that the Syrian leader is not “indispensable.”

While the U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, in an interview published Thursday, called on President Assad and his government to “take hard decisions” and move toward reform or, he warned, "the street will wash them away".

Last Friday, Ambassador Ford and his French counterpart attended a large demonstration in the flashpoint city of Hama, angering Syrian authorities and leading to retribution from a pro-government mob on the U.S. and French embassies.

In the wake of those events, HRW's Bouckaert said the Syrian government has told foreign diplomats they are no longer allowed to travel outside Damascus without permission.

He adds that the government's efforts to intimidate protestors is not working.

“From what we are seeing the momentum is still building, in terms of the number of people who are coming out to these protests, the amount of cities which are involved in the protests, and also the fact that protests and now very much spreading beyond the usual Friday protests and also taking place on other days," he said.

President Assad's regime says the military crackdown is aimed at armed “terrorist” groups and infiltrators, not innocent civilians. Human Rights Groups say more than 1,600 protesters have been killed since the pro-democracy rallies began. Most foreign media has been banned from the country, making independent verification of reports difficult.

Meanwhile, across the border in the Jordanian capital, Amman, police armed with batons roughly dispersed demonstrators demanding government reform in their country.

The unrest erupted after hundreds of people took to the streets, where they urged the government to meet their demands for change. At least 10 people were wounded in the confrontations.

source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Activists-Call-for-Friday-Protests-in-Syria-125626963.html
pic source: http://www.dp-news.com/Contents/Picture/Default/2011/03/Kurds-from-Syria-celebrate-Nowruz-Day.jpg

The Kurds declared Democratic Self-rule in Turkey

AMED, -- Congress for a Democratic Society (DTK), a platform for Kurdish associations and movements, the main Kurdish party BDP have proclaimed democratic self-rule, saying that the Kurds do not want to live without a status.

The 850 delegates of the DTK, meeting Thursday, July 14 in Amed (Diyarbakir), the capital of North Kurdistan, have decided to proclaim a ‘democratic self-rule’ for the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question.

"In the light of international conventions on human rights, respect for the territorial integrity of a common land and the prospect of a democratic nation, we, the Kurdish people, pledge our Democratic Self-rule, as well as national commitment to unity of the peoples of Turkey, "says the final declaration, read by the co-chair of the DTK, Aysel Tugluk.

Stressing that democratic self-rule is the natural system of all communities, Tugluk indicates that this autonomy is not intended to destroy a state and build another.

For the DTK, autonomy is not a democratic state system, but a system in which the Kurdish people could govern themselves.

The DTK also claims that the Kurdish people will no longer accept living without a status and called on the international community to recognize that right.

BOYCOTT OF PARLIAMENT TO CONTINUE

This announcement comes as the main Kurdish party BDP continues to boycott the Turkish parliament since the elections on June 12

Kurdish MPs demand the signing of a bilateral protocol between the BDP and the ruling AKP of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But the government refuses to agree on draft legislation that could finally pave the way for the release of six Kurdish deputies in prison, including Hatip Dicle, a figure of the Kurdish movement.
The parliamentary seat of the latter was removed on June 20, eight days after the election, by the High Electoral Board(YSK), under the pretext of his being sentenced to 20 months in prison for remarks under the Terrorism Act.

Independent candidates for the Bloc "Labour, Democracy and Freedom", supported by the BDP main Kurdish party, the poll came out victorious, winning 36 seats against 22 in 2007, despite a very unfair campaign and fraud across the country, especially in the Kurdish region.

Source:http://www.rojhelat.info/english/taybet/1404-the-kurds-declared-democratic-self-rule

Kurdish political prisoner Kamal Sharifi denied meeting with judge said his sister

The sister of Kurdish political prisoner Kamal Sharifi, Mahnaz Sharifi, spoke with the Campaign about her brother’s situation in prison. Sharifi said that while her brother continues his hunger strike in prison and is denied visitation rights, the family has met with the representative of the Supreme Leader in the city of Sanandaj to try and meet him. She also testified that the family’s attempts to meet with Kamal Sharifi have been met with arrest threats for his younger brother by the case judge.
“I don’t know what is happening to my brother and what ailments he may have. After his hunger strike, he asked for a prison visit by the judge in [the city of] Saghez, so that he could tell him his demands and break his hunger strike. He is in a prison where he shares a cell with addicts, thieves, and drug traffickers and he is the only political prisoner there. His constant demand was to be transferred to another prison near his residence,” Sharifi told the Campaign about the lack of attention to her brother’s only demand.
“The only information we have of him is through contacts of his cellmate who told us he is not well at all and he is only drinking water,” she added.
Kamal Sharifi, 38, is a political activist and journalist who has worked with Iraqi Kurdish media. He was arrested in the city of Saghez in 2008. He trial took place in the courts of Saghez and Sanandaj and he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He has been barred from having any visitors and has only been able to call his family on the phone. He has been on hunger strike for the past 41 days and has not been allowed to call his family during this time.
“My father and brothers wrote a letter to the Sanandaj Information Office and were told ‘We will inform you. We will call your home,’ but nothing happened. We went to see Mr. Shaegh, who is the head of the Saghez Revolutionary Court, as well as the judge in my brother’s case. My father said ‘Give us only five minutes to visit with Kamal and to ask him to break his hunger strike,’ but he said ‘Let your son die. Why do you want to go?’ My brother was very upset, so he said, ‘Why do you say this? You have to judge fairly. All we need is five minutes to ask our brother to break his hunger strike. We love him, he is our brother, our parents love him.’ But the judge was upset by these words and immediately called and asked two officers to come and arrest my brother, too,” said Sharifi.
“My father, who has a heart condition, asked my brother to leave and to not say anything further. I don’t know what to do anymore. Today (Tuesday), my parents went to Sanandaj to see Ayatollah Khamenei’s representative and to ask him to grant them a meeting. I don’t know whether he rejected this request, too, or not,” she continued.
“Our request is for human rights organizations to know about my brother’s condition and to get the voices of my brother and all Iranian political prisoners to the world and to convey their demands,” pleaded Mahnaz Sharif. Addressing Iranian judicial authorities she said, “If you cannot meet the demands of political prisoners, at least don’t be disrespectful to them. My brother’s request was to meet with the town Judge. Was that a huge thing to ask?”
Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
source:http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/103040.html

Christian Pastor Facing Execution in Iran

Iran’s Supreme Court says an evangelical pastor charged with apostasy can be executed if he does not recant his faith, according to a copy of the verdict obtained by a religious rights activist group.
Christian Solidarity World says Iranian-born Yousef Nadarkhani, who was arrested in 2009 and given the death sentence late last year, could have his sentence suspended on the grounds that he renounce his faith.
Those who know him say he is not likely to do that, for if he were disposed to giving it up, he would have done it long ago.


If Nadarkhani does not recant, his fate is unclear. It’s believed his case would then be remanded to lower courts in Iran.
Recently the U.S. State Department issued the following remarks: “We are dismayed over reports that the Iranian courts are requiring Yousef Nadarkhani to recant his faith or face the death penalty for apostasy, a charge based on his religious beliefs. If carried out, it would be the first execution for apostasy in Iran since 1990. He is just one of thousands who face persecution for their religious beliefs in Iran, including the seven leaders of the Baha’i community whose imprisonment was increased to twenty years for practicing their faith and hundreds of Sufis who have been flogged in public because of their beliefs.”
Christian and human rights groups say apostasy isn’t even codified in Iranian law.
“From a human rights perspective, you can’t criminalize someone’s choice of religion, much less execute them for that,” says Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
Nadarkhani, from Rasht, on the Caspian Sea, converted to Christianity as a teenager. He is reportedly an effective pastor, who has converted an unknown number of people from Islam to Christianity.
Some believe he has about 400 people in his church.
Iran has ancient Armenian and Assyrian churches. The Evangelical Church of Iran is relatively new, church officials tell Fox News, a product of the legacy of Anglican missionaries who were in Iran in the last two centuries. Even after the Islamic Revolution, Iran been fairly tolerant of the older Armenian and Assyrian orders, which date back to the early days of Christianity, but has been less accepting of Evangelical conversions.
Firouz Khandjani, a spokesman for the evangelical Church of Iran, lives in exile in Eastern Europe. He fled Iran for Turkey for security reasons, but says even in his new homeland he’s not safe, and was informed he could be targeted by Iranian agents in Turkey.
Khandjani says a sort of “soft persecution” began after the Revolution, with Christians generally losing many civil rights, including access to top jobs in the country, but has increased since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005.
Khandjani himself was arrested and released 18 years ago. But he says about 40 people have been arrested, many of them also released, since Ahmadinejad became President.
“I can’t say Ahmadinejad is persecuting us, but the hard-liners around him are. The leadership needs hard-liners to permit them to do what they want. They need their support.”
It is hard to get a number on how many Evangelical Christians there are in Iran. It is not a large number in this country of 70 million, but reportedly, the numbers continue to grow. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran estimates there may be 4,000. Khandjani believes the number to be as high as 200,000. Many of them watch evangelical television stations beamed into Iran from the United States.
Ghaemi says, “Most churches in Iran operate with some degree of secrecy. They operate in homes. People take their batteries out of their cellphones and leave them at the door. They show up at random times so as to avoid the appearance of a crowd filing in. The current government sees them as a threat.”
Ghaemi says there had been a tacit agreement between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Church of Iran, whereby if worshippers were open, and told the Ministry where they were going, the government would leave them alone. The government appears to have broken that “gentlemen’s agreement.”
Firouz Khandjani said the church wanted to be out in the open, and had asked to have physical churches in which to operate under the previous presidential administration.
“It was in the time of Khatami. We believed it was possible. He was more open to minority groups, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the will. We had believed in him.”
A court in Shiraz, Iran, recently released a group of Christians who had been arrested for subversion. The court ultimately ruled that they were just exercising their right to practice their religion. Human rights advocates say the higher courts should follow their example.
Sources say while the Iranian regime doesn’t look fondly upon conversion, it is proselytizing that really rankles them.
Khandjani made a plea to America.
“The U.S., which is fighting for freedom, has to take care of this situation. This is the 21st century. We are not a military group. We want to worship God, according to the Gospel, and being persecuted is not acceptable.”

source: http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/30533

DTK announces democratic autonomy in North Kurdistan

The Democratic Society Congress (DTK) announced democratic autonomy following its Permanent Assembly meeting in Diyarbakır.
The decision was taken unanimously by 850 members.

The Assembly was meeting for days to discuss the latest political situation, including Peace and Democracy Party deputies’ boycott against Grand National Assembly of Turkey inauguration.

The DTK announced to promote and speed the process of the democratic autonomy in its previous meetings.

Source: http://www.peyamner.com/details.aspx?l=4&id=240390

Another mass grave with bodies of 12 Kurdish freedom Fightetrs killed by the turkish Military was found

Another mass grave containing the bodies of 12 Kurdish guerrillas was discovered in Tetewani, a district of Betlis in North Kurdistan.
According to the reports, on 1999 the Turkish Military Forces set an ambush for a unit of Kurdish guerrillas on the village of Karkan located in the district of Tetewani.
Clashes began to erupt as the guerrillas find themselves in the trap. But none of them survived and they all got killed in the ambush.
Turkish forces piled the corpses of the guerrillas on one place keeping them for 2 weeks. The eye witnesses including Mr Hashim and Oxur revealed that because the guerrilla corpses were held on the ground for such a long time, wolves tore the bodies into pieces.
“Me and my brother Hashim, went to the village to collect woods, something like a bench on the meadow attracted our attention, we shouted what is going on there; some body replied there are bodies of PKK guerrillas over there. Once we rushed there, we noticed the remaining bones of the guerrillas were there. A day later me and my brother hid the remaining bones under a walnut tree”, said Bedri Oxur.

Despite the fact that the mass graves are discovered on a daily basis, the Commission for Investigation of these crimes are not established and no efforts have been made to excavate numerous mass graves to bring to light a snapshot of the Turkish crimes in Kurdistan.

source: http://www.rojhelat.info/english/component/content/article/1400-another-mass-grave-with-bodies-of-12-kurdish-guerrillas

8 Kurdish child prisoners launched unlimited hunger strike in Turkish Prison

Eight Kurdish child prisoners went on unlimited hunger strike on Tuesday in Urfa E Type Prison. They demand to be transferred to the political prisoners’ section of the prison.
According to the Urfa Governor’s press release, the children are currently on trail for their alleged membership of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
They demand to be held with other political prisoners who are also on trial for their alleged membership of the PKK.
It should be noted that around 3,000 Kurdish children are imprisoned in Turkey’s detentions. They have been arrested while taking part in anti-government protest. By raising objection to the violent oppression of the Kurds, the Kurdish children yearned to be charged with ‘terrorism’ and get languished behind prison’s bars.

source:http://www.rojhelat.info/english/kurdistan/1399-8-kurdish-child-prisoners-launch-unlimited-hunger-strike

Unexploded chemical bomb discovered on Iran border in kurdish city of Sardasht

A chemical bomb dating back to the Iraq-Iran war era (1980-1989) was discovered in the Kurdish city of Sardasht on the Iraqi-Iranian border. The bomb, weighs 100 kilograms (224 lbs) and it is of a similar kind to the four chemical bombs that Saddam Hussein had used against Sardasht and Halabcha.
To this day, 5000 of the residents of Sardasht suffer from lung, skin and other diseases because of exposure to the chemical weapons.

Source: http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/102975.html
pic source: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40125000/jpg/_40125266_chemical_bomb203.jpg

10,000 Iranian soilders cross the Iraqi border, force Kurdish villagers out of their homes

Following resumption of shelling of Iraqi Kurdistan by mullahs’ regime and the al-Arabia Television’s report about the border crossing and invasion by the Revolutionary Guards into the Iraqi territory, Iraqi media reported that 10,000 Iranian regime’s armed forces crossed the international borders and forced the people in Iraq’s northern villages to leave their homes.
The Iraqi al-Rafedain Television reported: “The Iranian regime has resumed bombing the border regions of Chouman in the Iraqi Province of Erbil. Witnesses said 10,000 Iranian soldiers have penetrated into Iraq. The armed forces of that regime used shells and mortars   in these attacks and forced residents of the region to leave their homes.”
The al-Rafedain TV added: “The Iranian regime’s forces have recently established about 50 military posts and checkpoints and continue their road-making activities in those mountainous areas.”

The Iranian Resistance condemned shelling of Iraqi Kurdistan and invasion of Iraq by the clerical regime’s Revolutionary Guards and forceful expulsion of people in Iraqi Kurdistan’s villages from their homes and called on the international community, especially the United Nations Security Council to condemn these criminal acts and to confront the aggressions and anti-human crimes of the mullahs’ regime.
As a reminder, recently, Danaifar, Iranian regime’s ambassador in Iraq admitted to the shelling of Iraqi Kurdistan and brazenly claimed that these criminal aggressions are done in coordination with the Iraqi officials. This is while despite Maliki government’s silence and inaction, Iraq’s Parliament, political factions, and patriotic forces of Iraq have strongly condemned the clerical regime’s attacks as “aggression against Iraq’s Sovereignty.”
On Sunday, the al-Sabah Daily reported that the U.S. Military in Iraq announced: We are ready to participate in stopping the shelling of border regions by Iranian regime. General Jeffrey Buchanan, spokesman of the U.S. Military in Iraq said: The Iranian regime must respect Iraq’s national sovereignty.

source: http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/30447

Iranian Govenment continue shelling the Kurdish villages

 Despite the objection raised against the shelling of the Kurdish villages and the pastoral countryside, the Iranian artilleries have unabatedly shelled Kurdistan.
The shelling of Choman regions was reported today with huge material losses.
According to our local correspondent form South Kurdistan the Iranian artilleries started a heavy shelling of several villages of Choman regions from last night which continued to day’s noon.
The shelling has caused a huge suffering for the locals and devastated a large area of pastoral lands. The local residents were forced to leave their dwelling to find shelter on the mountain sides.

source: http://www.rojhelat.info/english/kurdistan/1397-iran-sustains-shelling-of-kurdish-villages

Iran army entered 2 kilometres intoSouth Kurdistan

SOUTH KURDISTAN, -- Despite the constant shelling of the Kurdish regions, the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has infiltrated South Kurdistan for 2 kilometres, and they have been building military roads and garrisons deep inside the Kurdish territories.
Awene News Agency reported that a delegate of Kurdistan Parliament paid visit to the areas and discovered the ‘the Iranian forces have infiltrated into the Kurdish regions for 2 kilometres and erected military roads and strongholds’.
According to our local correspondent heavy loss inflicted on the regions due to the sustained mortar attacks of Iranian artilleries.
The delegate of the Kurdistan parliament has requested the Kurdish authorities in South Kurdistan as well as the Iraq’s federal government to take serious measure against such offensives.
“If the Iranian government sustain the mortar attacks, a complaint should be drafted and sent to the international court in The Hay or any other international court. Iran should compensate for all the destruction that have been caused by the shelling,” Kamran Saleh a member of the parliament delegate said.

Source: http://www.rojhelat.info/english/kurdistan/1390-iran-army-infiltrated-south-kurdistan-2-kilometres-

Iranian government threatens to attack Southern Kurdistan Political parties and Kurdish freedom Fighters

(Reuters) – Iran threatened Monday to take military action against the Iraq-based Kurdish rebel group PJAK, saying the head of Iraq’s Kurdistan region had handed the group land without telling the government in Baghdad.
A senior Iranian military official accused Masoud Barzani, the Kurdistan president, of “giving 300,000 hectares of land to the PJAK terrorist group without the knowledge of the central government in Baghdad,” the semi-official Fars news agency said.
“Iran reserves its right to target and destroy terrorist bases in the border areas,” he said. “This terrorist group carries out operations against the Iranian nation with the support of Iraq’s Kurdish regional government.”

Iranian media often report clashes in western Iran between security forces and Kurdish guerrillas said to be members of the
Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which took up arms in 1984 for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey and northwest Iran.
Like Iraq and Turkey, Iran has a large Kurdish minority, mainly living in northwest and western areas of the Islamic Republic.
“We will not allow terrorists to nest in Iraq and to carry out attacks against our nation with the support of America and the Zionist regime (Israel),” Fars quoted the unidentified military official as saying.
The official urged Iraq to investigate the issue.
Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war in the 1980s, but since the overthrow in 2003 of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, relations between majority Shi’ite Iraq and predominantly Shi’ite Iran have improved.
Iran is at odds with the United States and its allies over its nuclear program, which the West says is a cover for building nuclear bombs.
Tehran denies the allegation, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity for its growing population.
(Writing by Mitra Amiri, editing by Tim Pearce)

source: http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/30413

Jamal Alizadeh,Kurdish Political Prisoner on hunger strike in iranian Prison

HRANA News Agency – Kurdish political prisoner Jamal Alizadeh has gone on hunger strike in Urmia’s central prison in the West Azerbaijan Province.

According to a report by Mukrian News Agency, Jamal Alizadeh is a resident of Peeran-Shahr who has been behind bars in Urmia Prison for more than five months. On July 9, 2011, Jamal Alizadeh began his hunger strike in order to protest against prison officials’ lack of response to his request. Jamal Alizadeh has asked to be transferred to a prison in the city of Naqadeh.

The Revolutionary Court has sentenced Jamal Alizadeh to fifteen months in prison on charges of cooperating with a Kurdish political party.

source: http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=439:kurdish-political-prisoner-jamal-alizadeh-on-hunger-strike&catid=14:ethnic-minorities&Itemid=9

7 prisoners secretly executed in Evin Prison by the Iranian Government

According to reports, on Sunday morning seven prisoners were secretly hanged in Evin Prison in a mass execution.
On Saturday July 2, six prisoners from Unit 2 in Qezelhesar Prison and one prisoner from a solitary cell in cellblock 1 in Gohardasht (Rajayi Shahr) Prison were transferred to Evin Prison for execution. They were hanged the next morning in Evin.
The names of these prisoners are:

1- Hamid Nader, about 44 years old. Has been jailed for close to 2 years in Hall 3, Unit 2 in Qezelhesar Prison -arrested and sentenced to death on drug-related charges
2- Seyed Abolfazl Azimi Tabar, 50 years old- Hall 1 Unit 2 in Qezelhesar Prison.- jailed for three years
3- Mehdi Bashiri, Hall 8 Unit 2 in Qezelhesar Prison
4- Javad Abdollahvand, 54 years old, detained for 1.5 years in Hall 1, Unit 1 in Qezelhesar Prison
5- Asghar, Hall 3, Unit 2 Qezelhesar Prison
6- An Afghan national detained in Unit 2 in Qezelhesar Prison
7- Massoud Ali Moradi, 30 years old, was detained in solitary cell in cellblock 1 in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj. (Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran – Jul. 3, 2011)

Source: http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/30352

2 Kurdish prisoners were executed in City of Urmiye prison by the Iranian government

On the dawn of Thursday July 17, two prisoners in the Central Orumieh Prison were hanged on orders of the Judiciary in the courtyard of this prison.
The lawyer of one of the executed men confirmed this report and said, “Sediq N. and Mehdi K. were sentenced to death and their sentences were carried out at dawn today”.
They were charged with so called drug related offences. (Mukrian News Agency – Jul. 7, 2011)

source: http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/30389

Kurdish Political prisoner, Mr. Anvar Khezri on the 40th day of hunger strike in iranian Prison

HRANA News Agency – After forty days of hunger strike in Rajai-Shahr Prison, Kurdish political prisoner Anvar Khezri is in critical condition and alarmingly poor physical health. Meanwhile, prison officials continue to ignore his requests.

According to a report by Kalame News, Anvar Khezri began his hunger strike forty days ago to protest against the conditions under which he has been locked up in Rajai-Shahr Prison, Ward 6, Hall 18. Since two years ago when he was arrested, Anvar Khezri has been in a state of limbo without any formal charges or a trial. Additionally, he hasn’t even been interrogated.

To protest against the uncertainty surrounding his case and also having been locked up amongst ordinary inmates in Rajai-Shahr Prison, Anvar Khezri continues his hunger strike. He refuses to eat any food and only drinks water and tea.

Anvar Khezri has two main demands. First, he has requested to be formally charged and tried after being in a legal limbo behind bars for two years. Second, he has demanded to be transferred to the ward housing political prisoners.

Two other Kurdish political prisoners, Kamran Shakhi and Ebrahim Seyedi, were also on hunger strike but ended it a few days ago.

Anvar Khezri, Kamran Shakhi, Ebrahim Seyedi, Ahmad Kamal Ramzan, Ramzan Saeedi and Hadi Amini are all political prisoners in Rajai-Shahr Prison who have been locked up amongst inmates convicted of violent crimes and also prisoners with dangerous communicable diseases. These six political prisoners have requested to be transferred to the ward housing other political prisoners.

Source: http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=435:kurdish-political-prisoner-anvar-khezri-on-hunger-strike-day-40&catid=12:prisoners&Itemid=12