Kamangir (Archer)

The Naive IR Liars

Kamangir | March 19, 2007 | Category Iran

Apparently, the Islamic Republic is still living in the era when you could deny what you had said formerly.

The story began with a sentence in the AP’s translation of Ahmadinejad’s speech in Ardakan, Yazd Province. AP carried the sentence “If all of you gather and also invite your ancestors from hell, you will not be able to stop the Iranian nation.” Although, these words quite perfectly match Ahmadinejad’s vocabulary, when I failed to find the sentence in the official Persian sources, I contacted the AP and asked them what their source had been. They responded, rather quickly, that the sentence does exist in the text published by IRNA, the Islamic Republic News Agency. I did a more extensive research on it and again failed to find any trace of the sentence anywhere, except for a Persian blog which did not indicate its source. So I asked the AP to send me their link.

Now, thanks to my friend Shimbalkhan, a rather meaningless name in Persian, we actually found out that the official newspaper of the government, Iran, published the speech and it did include the rather rude sentence. Thus, to this point, the conclusion is that AP did not make any mistake in the translation and that the IR, rather naively, tried to cover up Ahmadinejad’s remarks. It is interesting to know that the sentence is in fact printed on the front page (pdf).

Guys, this is the year 2007. I guess Khomeini and others did manage to change their words and deny what they had said, but, fortunately, your words are archived forever.

Shahram The Hero

Kamangir | March 19, 2007 | Category Iran

This is a translation of a Persian post written in the first hours after Shahram Jazayeri was rearrested. The post has been the center of enthusiastic discussions in Balatarin. For background on Jazayeri see this post. More pictures here.

Shahram, The Hero

I have seen only a few people delighted after hearing the news of Shahrah Jazayeri’s arrest. Especially, after his pictures in the airport were broadcast and people saw his sad face with traces of slapping on it. Shahram Jazayeri, whom the regime tried to portray as the symbol of economic corruption, in order to exhibit its determination for fighting against corruption, has now turned into a hero, for many people.

The Judiciary and the Intelligence tried to emphasize on his arrest to show off their power. However, they have not been so successful, because many people now support Jazaiery, for many reasons. Thus, the support from the public has pushed the project run by the Judiciary and the Intelligence for orchestrating a show of lawfulness towards complete failure.

It was quite a trend for the regime to make heroes out of political suspects. This time, it was the turn for someone accused of having bribed administration figures. Yet, he is now enjoying the attention of layers of the public and is close to becoming a full-scale hero.

I believe that a true poll will show that people felt pity for him. However, we are sure that no independent poll will ever be carried out, and thus we have to listen to how people in the streets are judging. This judgment, however, is the farthermost from what the Judiciary and the Intelligence are looking for.

Who is Hiding Something, AP or Ahmadinejad?

Kamangir | March 18, 2007 | Category Iran

For the update on this story see this. 

The story of the quote “invite your ancestors from hell”, which AP believes Ahmadinejad has said, is getting more complicated (for the background see this). This morning I recieved an email from AP which says,

We doublechecked the quote. The translation in the AP story is correct. “Agar hameh-ye-shoma jam’ shaveed va ajdaad-e-khod raa neez az Jahannam faraa bekhaaneed…” is in the Farsi version of the specific IRNA report we referenced in our story.

I doublecheked the source too. IRNA has carried the regarding report in two pieces (1) (2). The first report, third paragraph, seems to be the source of AP. However, there is no hell in that sentence, at least not now,

The President addressed the enemies of the Iranian nation and asked “what are you looking for? Today, the Iranian nation owns the complete nuclear fuel cycle and if you all gather, you won’t be able to stop the Iranian nation’s movement”.

The page unfortunately is not cached in Google, so I can’t tell if the original version has been tampered with. There is another source which has republished IRNA and has been cached in Google. That source is the spokesman of the Government of IR and does now show any trace of the AP sentence. There is nothing either in a feed aggregator which has copied the IRNA text.

To be frank, I found one Persian blog which carries the text as AP has quoted it. It does seem like another version of the same speech and does include the “hell” sentence. I am communicating with the author of the post to know where he has found the text. I will also try to talk to AP to ask them for their source.

For the time being, searching the AP-provided sentence, only one entry shows up in Google (the blog I mentioned earlier). Parseek and Ghatreh
(the Persian news search engines) are not able to find the sentence.

p.s. Mr. Ahmadinejad you owe me.

Jackson, Mahmoud Jackson

Kamangir | March 17, 2007 | Category Iran

He is having fun traveling all around the country and talking to people in the farthest villages, where people are so surprised hearing the big guy is coming over that they would show up in big numbers. This is how people stood in the streets to greet him.

Welcome! You Lovable!

He marched in front of them while singing through a wireless microphone (click to enlarge).

Then, he told them a story about a big thing called America. He told them to be brave and fight against the bad thing. By pure chance, he was standing in Tabas, the city close to which Operation Eagle Claw failed in a sand storm.

Ahmadinejad: God Helps Some American Soldiers

Kamangir | March 17, 2007 | Category Iran

This letter is published in Ahmadinejad’s blog,

Mr. President

I am writing you this letter as a mother who her son was sent to Iraq forcibly and has been taken away from her for ever.

You may know it or not that most of the Americans do not like Bush. He is (….). We do not recognize him as our president. He entered the white house by cheating. He is not a legitimate president. Even a great number of American mothers who their sons were not sent to Iraq, are agree with me. They know Bush as (….) [these parts are censored in the original source].

Mr. President! As much as we hate war, we hate Bush and his gangs! I want you know that if you intend to attack U.S., most of the people are like me here. We can’t stop his stupid acts for now, but I am writing this letter, because I know you as a pious and logical man.

I am not scared of Bush and his gangs or his security forces, but since I do not want them to interrupt my battle and my fellow Americans’ struggle against this administration, please keep my name and identification anonymous.
With best wishes

This is how “Mr. President” responds,

Venerable mother

Greetings

First of all, I apologize for the delay of answering your question. This is due to my heavy schedules. So far, I have received many letters – with the same type of messages - such as yours.

If your son opposed to go to Iraq and impose pressure on the people of that region, and then was forcibly taken there, certainly Almighty God would help him….

Dear sister

Of course, we too hate war – as you do….

The piece was also carried in Fars, decorated with the picture shown in the above.

More on the Missing General

Kamangir | March 16, 2007 | Category Iran

The National Television ran a piece on the kidnapped/defected Iranian general, Askari. The footage can be summarized as follows.

Askari, the 46-year-old olive oil merchant, is kidnapped by Israel and the US. He is in a secret CIA facility and is treated in the way Guantanamo and Abu-Ghraib prisoners are treated. He is under fierce pressure to show up in front of TV cameras and say what the kidnappers want him to say [emphasized by the reporter]. It is anticipated that a new psycho-war against Iran will begin soon.

The reporter finishes with this “a Police-espionage story similar to Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes“. You can also hear the famous Hercule Piorot theme at the end of the video.

Associated Press “Mistranslates” Ahmadinejad (Updated)

Kamangir | March 16, 2007 | Category Iran

Washington Post’s Associated Press’s report on Ahmadinejad’s speech in Ardakan contained this rather strange sentence,

“Today, the Iranian nation fully possesses the nuclear fuel cycle,” Ahmadinejad said at a rally in Ardakan, central Iran, addressing his remarks to Western nations, according to state media. “If all of you gather and also invite your ancestors from hell, you will not be able to stop the Iranian nation.”

Although, Ahmadinejad is able to use harsh language, I could not believe that he had mentioned the bold sentence. So, I did a research on it. Mehr carries the speech in two reports (one) (two). The second one carries a sentence which could have been the source of the quote in Washington Post. That is,

Emphasizing that utilizing the complete nuclear cycle is Iranians’ right, and also the right of every other nation, the head of the National Security Council [Ahmadinejad] stated, “what are you trying to stop from happening? Today, the Iranian nation has acquired the complete nuclear cycle and you will not be able to stop this nation, even if you all get united.”

I said to myself, maybe Mehr has corrected the news. So, I looked for it in Fars. In the Persian report in Fars, there is no trace of what Washington Post has reported, other than a sentence similar to Mehr’s report. On top of that, this is the part in the English report in Fars,

“Today the Iranian nation has acquired the nuclear fuel production cycle completely, and if you all get together and become united, you won’t be able to stop movement of the Iranian nation,” Ahmadinejad continued.

Well, I think someone is doing something fishy in Washington Post. I am going to work more on this after dinner.

p.s. The same piece is carried in Forbes and Washington Post. Jerusalem Post does not have any hell-sentence either. It is not mentioned in these sources either: Memri, IRNA. Many other sources have published the AP’s translation, 1, 2, …

p.s.2. Ahmadinejad did call the Security Council “illegitimate”.

p.s.3. Ottawa Citizen has published a piece which uses AP’s translation.

Not Farsi, Not Iranian, Just Persian

Kamangir | March 15, 2007 | Category Iran

Ever wondered why I keep using the term Persian? Maz Jobrani has the answer.

Count Down

Kamangir | March 15, 2007 | Category Iran

Just a quick note, the Russian team which is working on the Nuclear reactor in Bushehr left Iran, claiming that Iran has not paid its dues (Persian). It is interesting to know that the IR even agreed to pay them in advance. This is not a good sign.

Dying Love

Kamangir | March 14, 2007 | Category Iran

Ahmadinejad has just gone to a provincial trip to Yazd Province. This time he was up to a big surprise. Baztab writes,

Because of disarrangement, the number of people who showed up to greet Dr Ahmadinejad was very small. He began his speech while there were only 5,000 people around, in a 20,000-people stadium. Some say this is due to the fact that the stadium is far form the center of the city. According to some other sources, the information was not passed on to the people very well. Also, to reduce costs, only a few number of banners were displayed in the city and the schools were left open. Some of those schools started transferring students to the stadium as soon as they found out what had happened. Yazd was among the three provinces in which Dr Ahmadinejad won his highest votes. President’s trips to Khatam and Bafgh [two small cities in the area] are canceled.

Let’s not ask what sort of “arrangement” is needed when people voluntarily come to hail their leader. Also, let’s not ask what it really means to spend public money on propaganda for the President’s trip. I am not asking why schools should get closed either. However, it is interesting to know that Fars reports that Ahmadinejad did not go to Khatam “because of weather problems”. Fars adds,

After the news was spread in Kahatam [that Ahmadinejad was not coming], a group of 300 people gathered in the main square, besides the provincial building. They started a fire and attacked the building. The Police has made a few arrests and everything is normal in the city.

Sometimes, the IR is just one big silly joke.

The Iranian Dilemma: 300, The Angry People, and Phishing

Kamangir | March 13, 2007 | Category Iran

It is a repeatedly asked question that if the average Iranian is not a little Ahmadinejad, who are those who pour into the streets yelling death verdicts and punching the air. The release of the movie 300, and how the Iranian blogsphere reacted to it was an informative window to the Iranian mindset.

Aside from a few bloggers, the general mood in the blogestan is anger and demand for revenge. There is even a Google Bomb mantled to erupt in the face of those “who have portrayed Iranians as monsters”. The designer of the bomb, Lego Fish, asserts that his will is solely to collect drawings from Iranian artists and “take advantage of the wave and carry the message [that Iranians are not what is portrayed in the movie]“. However, most bloggers who embedded the link in their blogs were more outraged than that. It is becoming common to see links in Balatarin, the Iranian Digg, in which the author has nothing to say more than “I am offended and I need to avenge”.

To my experience, and also according to the results of a recent research, most Iranian bloggers are middle-class university students. When this body of rather intellectual people is so welcoming to anger, who can expect anything from us, the Iranians, other than hundred-thousand-people rallies in which people shout for something they have no clear understanding of. After all, it is no mystery that the Islamic Republic is very good in busing people from suburbs to the heart of the capital city.

At the middle of anger come those who benefit from the chaos and make fortune. Poseidon writes about an email he has received from an Iranian ISP. The email starts with patriotic utterance against the 300 and then asks the recipients to sign a petition, and forward it to all their friends. Knowing that the petition referred to in the email has in fact been signed by about 30,000 people, this seems to be a good deal. However, the address in the email (link), which does not work anymore, in fact leads to a phishing page which collects the signee’s identity. Here, both pages are shown, thanks to Poseidon (the actual page is on top and the fake page is at the bottom).

My guess is, living in a dictatorship, where you might be questioned for the simplest things, we, Iranians, have developed a passionate will for objection, when we afford to. How much this objection is reasonable and who benefits form it at the end, is another story.

p.s. This reminds me of the gigantic and continuous protests in Iran when the verdict for the Mykonos incident accused the Iranian leaders of being involved in the assassinations. I asked a person with close ties to the administration and so serious in supporting them, if she really knew what it was all about. That day she refused to have launch on a table where I was sitting. I guess that was the ugliest way she could afford to treat me.

p.s.2. Thanks to Amirc for reminding me of a mistake in the post.

Viva Canada! Good News for Kamalfar

Kamangir | March 12, 2007 | Category Iran

According to Panahjoo (The Refugee), Zahra Kamalfar and her children will fly to Canada today. Reportedly, the Canadian Embassy have told her that her refugee case has been accepted and that she will be transferred to Canada on March 14th. This, if is true, would be an end to their nine month stay in Moscow Airport.

IR: Askari’s Family is in Iran

Kamangir | March 12, 2007 | Category Iran

Iran managed to produce Askari’s (Asgari) family in front of the reporters. Any thought on that? This is his wife, children, and brother, protesting in front of the Turkish Embassy in Tehran. More picture here.

His wife had more interesting details to present. She said “we were never in Lebanon and he was retired when he was 43, because he began working when he was 18. Also, he is not 63″. Furthermore, according to her, his two wives are still in Iran. I am sure she would never make that up.

p.s. Thanks to Matthew for correcting my mistakes, as always.

Ahmadinejad To Attend the Security Council Meeting

Kamangir | March 11, 2007 | Category Iran

According to the national television, Ahmadinejad is planning to attend the Security Council meeting in which the situation with Iran will be discussed. The government’s spokesperson mentioned his will to be “defending the Iranian nation’s right to benefit from peaceful nuclear technology”.

A Strange Claim

Kamangir | March 11, 2007 | Category Iran

Important Notice: Please read this note before reading this post.

I found this image in a blog, I would cautiously call “not so reliable”. At the first sight, it seems to prove that the self-assigned king of the Blogestan has applied for political asylum in UK, and has been rejected. While I have my own reasons to criticize Hoder, this image is to my understanding fake for many obvious reasons.

First, it is practically very difficult for Hoder’s “enemies” to find such an evidence against him. There is also no reason why he would have scanned the letter, if it ever existed. Also, the letter has not been folded, something very strange if it has been sent by post, as they mostly do. On top of that, although I was not able to find the blank form, the sentences mentioned in the letter are suspicious.

It seems that the text in the box at the middle has been written by the undersigned “John Almond”. The first line reads “You have applied for entry clearance as an Asylum for Political purpose”. I am not sure why “Political” starts with capital P. The second sentence reads “…I am not satisfied, on visit your weblog (http://i.hoder.com), because you have no political problem in Iran, that: You intend to stay in th UK without any strong reason because;…”. Aside from the grammatical problems in this weird sentence, the referred address is Hoder’s Persian website. His English blog, which should have been the source of this decision is this: http://www.hoder.com/weblog/. Also, the first reason, “…I don’t see any thought or counterrevolution or any subject matter against Islamic Republic of Iran regime” is obviously a Persian sentence translated into English by a not very good translator. Especially, the word “counterrevolution” is too much Persian. The second reason ends with a question mark, but obviously is not a question. “A bank account of 2,000$” should be “…$2,000″, I think. The concluding sentence “…I cannot be satisfied that you have strong economic…ties to satisfy me that you are proper as asylum” is again grammatically strange. It is also interesting to know that, as much as I know, Hossein Derakhshan is a Canadian citizen. Thus, there would be no point for him to seek asylum in UK.

I think those who manufacture these personal attacks in fact commit mistakes similar to what he has frequently made. I think there is something really wrong when activism turns into solely defending yourself, or attacking others for that matter.

A Sham Horse For Sale, or Iranian-Syrian Love Affair

Kamangir | March 11, 2007 | Category Iran

In these bad times, for both Iran and Syria, they have started to get along pretty well. In a sequel of friendly visits and support statements, Iran built a factory in Syria for manufacturing a car called Sham, referring to the historic name of the Syrian area, I guess. Even forgetting the strange implications of that name, first pointed out by the Persian BBC blog, the story has more interesting details into it.

The French car company Peugeot has been very active in Iran for over a decade now. Any picture taken in the streets of Tehran will show many Peugeot 206’s and Peugeot 405’s, alongside the “Iranianized” models. One of those Iraninized cars is Samand. Samand uses a Peugeot engine mantled on an Iranian-designed body. At least it is what the IR claims and that’s why they call Samanad the “National Car”. Many argue that the engine is an important part but anyways the IR administration does need to show off their “achievements”.

What they have offered to the Syrians, and have generously renamed it for them, is exactly Samand. From the looks, I say it is Samand and I have not seen any indication in the news that they have made any Syria-specific modifications to the car. Thus, Sham is nothing but Samand. Well, you might call this a business decision.

The interesting part is the tiny sign in front of the car. Samand is a horses’ name in Persian. That’s why a horse head is put there. For some reason, Sham is still carrying the horse head. Why? Don’t ask me.

The Syrian president presented Sham to the nation as a celebration of Syria’s independence day and the Iranian Minister of Industry and Mining expressed hope that the collaboration will produce $200,000,000 in benefits for the Iranian side (Persian). In other words, both parties are happy, and that’s what is important. Who cares if a dumb horse head is there?

Baztab: Asgari Was Kidnapped

Kamangir | March 10, 2007 | Category Iran

Baztab claims that the wife and the children of Ali Reza Asgari, the Iranian General who is missing, are in Iran. Despite previous news that said he and his family are in an unknown place, outside Iran, and that he has surrendered himself to the US, and is cooperating with them, Baztab claims that his family are desperately looking for him. Baztab also claims that the residence of the “retired” general does not show any sign of the will for “immigration”. Baztab concludes that he is most likely to be kidnapped by the Mossad or the CIA.

$5 Question

Kamangir | March 9, 2007 | Category Iran

Find which item describes the bowing man and which one describes the man who doesn’t even feel like opening his eyes.

1- He is the elected president of a nation.

2- He is at most the religious leader of a fraction of the population.

Hint: Have you seen The Queen?

The Commander

Kamangir | March 9, 2007 | Category Iran

I guess the existence of many, somewhat contradicting, persons and lobbies is commonplace in every political system. You can also interpret that as a sign of a true democracy. The Islamic Republic, however, manifests this event in gigantic proportions. That’s probably one of the reasons you hear completely contradicting statements made by Ahmadinejad and Larijani, both of whom seem to be well supported by the Supreme Leader.

Here is another example. Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Chief Commander Hojjatoleslam [a grade below Ayatollah] Zolnour [I am not sure if this is the accurate translation of his military position] is quoted by a pro-Ahmadinejad website mentioning these words in a public speech,

In the developments of Iraq, and regarding who should be the Prime Minister, the circumstances were especially difficult. Ibrahim al-Jaafari would not step down and even the efforts of the great Shia leader, Ayatollah Sistani, were not making any progress. So, Iran sent a representative who told him, on behalf of the Supreme Leader, that the best decision was for him to step down. Jaafari held a cup of tea in his hands at that moment. He said “obeying him is much simpler than drinking this tea”.

Either he is bluffing, in which case it’s a shame for the IR that a commander lies so openly, or he is telling secret stories, which obviously he should not be talking about in public.

300, or Thanks for Making Fun of Me

Kamangir | March 8, 2007 | Category Iran

1- I have not seen The 300.

2- To my understanding, any “great” empire, including the loveable Persian one, became an empire because cities and territories were conquered. I can not imagine conquering a place, without killing people who, “mysteriously”, think they own the land. Thus, I “admire” all great Iranian kings for their sharp swords. For the exact same reason, I “admire” G. W. Bush for his sophisticated aircraft carriers.

3- Novels, movies, celebrities, TV shows and other similar stuff are produced for entertainment. It is bad to portray a nasty picture of others in order to enjoy yourself, and make money, but it is not a crime. At most, you can sue them or do the same to them, as if there is no Iranian movie ridiculing Americans and others.

4- Using Google Bombs, protests, angry blog posts, and mass emails for protesting against a movie is an overreaction, to my understanding.

5- Don’t watch stuff you don’t like to see.

6- As I have not done a DNA check, I am not sure if the Iranian “monsters” in 300 are in fact my ancestors.

Plot: Exploding a German Plane over Iran (Update: German Police Denied) (Update II)

Kamangir | March 8, 2007 | Category Iran

Mehr writes that one man and two women, all Arab nationals, were arrested in Frankfort Airport. They are accused of plotting to explode a Lufthansa in the Iranian airspace, to, as Mehr writes, “initiate more propaganda against Iran and also to carry out another psycho-war”. Reportedly, two bombs were found, one in the engine and the other one in the structure of the plane. A few airport personnel have been arrested, too.

Update: German Police Denied.

Update: IRNA says it was only a bomb threat.

March 8th Protest, Police Attacked Again (Updated)

Kamangir | March 8, 2007 | Category Iran

Last Year’s Protest

The Police started the day in full preparedness (for background read this). According to this blogger, cellphone coverage was disrupted around the parliament. He remembers that the last time this was done, it was the July 1999 protests. He writes “you can imagine how much dangerous these women are considered to be”. In similar protests, cellphone and SMS are good means of communication and management. Parastoo writes, “two thousand people gathered in front of the parliament”. To force them to leave, the Special Police Force used batons and also “kicked them“. Ten to twelve more arrests are reported by this bloggers. The Police has announced only four arrests (link). More in Persian: BBC, DW-World, Balatarin. There is no picture available yet. The one shown in the above is from the same protest last year. More pictures here. This video shows scenes from last years.

In the time being, teachers are continuing their protest in front of the parliament.

Campaign to Free Women’s Rights Defenders in Iran, Press Release

Kamangir | March 8, 2007 | Category Iran

Press Release

Campaign to Free Women’s Rights Defenders in Iran

Three Women’s Rights Defenders Remain in Detention

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 8, 2007

This year, the International Women’s Day is marked by the attack, arrest and detention of women’s rights defenders in front of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. On Sunday March 4 ^th, thirty three women were arrested following a peaceful demonstration. As of now thirty of these women have been released. Those released confirm that the remaining women— Shadi Sadr, Mahbubeh Abbasgholizadeh, and Jila Baniyaghoub,— are still in ward 209 of Evin Prison (run by the Ministry of Intelligence of Islamic Republic of Iran, designated primarily for the political prisoners). The reason for their detention is drafting a statement that called for the gathering.

On Sunday March 4, 2007, women’s right defenders gathered in front of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran to protest the court proceedings of Nooshin Amhadi Khorasani, Parvin Ardalan, Shahla Entesari and Susan Tahmasebi, Fariba Davoodi Mohajer—five prominent members of Iranian women’s organizations who were arrested in pervious peaceful gatherings. As indicated by the women’s right activists and their legal teams the charges are in violation of the article 27 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran, which guarantees the citizens’ right to assemble peacefully. In violation of such right, the security police forces attacked women’s legal and peaceful gathering and arrested thirty-three protestors.

On March 5, fifty family members and friends of detainees gathered in front of the main entrance of Evin prison to protest the illegal arrests of their loved ones and to demand their immediate release. Consequently, prison authorities declared that Evin prison does not have the authority to release the detainees, as they are kept in ward 209, which is monitored and supervised by the Ministry of Intelligence.

In the following days, two groups of women were released from prison. This morning, at around 2:00 am, another group of fifteen women were released. It seems the reason for keeping the three women in detention is that they have accepted full responsibility for drafting the call for the gathering that took place on March 4.

Many international human rights and women organizations and prominent figures including Iranian political and social activists, lawyers, writers, journalists, and academics have denounced the arrest of women’s rights advocates demanding their immediate and unconditional release, including Louise Arbor, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Irene Khan, Amnesty International General Secretary, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Women Living Under Muslim Laws, Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice and the Observatory. Yet, more women’s rights advocates are being summoned to the court and threatened by arrest. This is while the authorities are promising release of more detainees.

The Campaign to Free Women Rights Defenders in Iran

The campaign has been launched immediately after the arrest of women activists by a group of transnational activists. For more information about the campaign and the complete list of supporters, please visit the site:

http://www.meydaan.org/English/campaign.aspx?cid=52

Contacts For Updated and Detailed Information:

The Free Women’s Rights Defenders in Iran Campaign coordinators are ready to provide detailed information about the status of women detainees.

The coordinators are willing to put reporters and news agencies in touch with the families and lawyers of the women in custody. The campaign coordinators can be contacted by phone or email.

Soheila Vahdati, soheilavahdati@gmail.com +1.510.813.7786

Sanam Dolatshahi, sanamdi@gmail.com +1.352.359.3789

Mahbubeh Abbasgholizadeh is the editor of the Zanan quarterly journal and is a key member of the Campaign Against Stoning. She has also served as the director of the NGO Training Center. In November 2004, Mahboobeh Abbasgholozadeh was arrested as a result of her activism on women’s rights and was detained for over a month.

Shadi Sadr is a prominent lawyer, journalist, and activist. She founded Zanan-e Iran, the first website dedicated to the work of Iranian women’s rights activists, and she has written numerous articles and several books on the subject of Iranian women and their legal rights. Shadi Sadr has represented a number of persecuted activists and journalists and has donated her time in successfully overturning the convictions of several women sentenced to execution.

Jila Baniyaghoub is a well-known journalist. She is the editor of the website of the Iranian Women’s Society and the editor of the society and women’s sections of Sarmaye newspaper . She is best-known for her book on Iranian women’s journalism and for her reports from Iraq and Afghanistan.

More Protests

Kamangir | March 8, 2007 | Category Iran

1- For March 8th, women’s movements have declared a protest in front of the parliament, without any banners, “to avoid more arrests” (link).

2- More than 20 teachers were arrested overnight (link). They are the organizers of the current series of protests in front of the parliament.

I feel pity for the old dictators. They are weak and everyone knows that.

Five Poor People Less

Kamangir | March 8, 2007 | Category Iran

According to Tehran-Emrooz, yesterday in the morning, five executions were carried out in Evin Prison,

1- Three years ago, Adel and his wife came to Tehran, to visit a shrine south of Tehran. There, they took a taxi to go somewhere, but when the driver asked for a fare about 50c more than what Adel had in mind, he stabbed him to death.

2- Mohammad Reza went to his friend’s photography store to ask him to return the $2000 he owed him. A fight started and he hit him in the head by a sculpture. He was captured while pulling his body around and shouting “I killed him”.

3-Mohammad Hasan tried to steal pet pigeons from a rooftop when he saw two teenagers sleeping there. He hit the younger boy in the head when he saw him. Then the older brother woke up, only to be stabbed by him. He was then surrendered to the Police by his father.

4,5- Siamak and Babak killed the owner of an automobile gallery.

A sixth man was planned to be hung up for killing his brother in law. He was given six months to pay the ransom.