Iran: Women in solidarity, "Keeping our heads up"

In the wake of the appalling executions of more than 20 Sunni, Kurdish political prisoners on Tuesday, August 2, 2016, a large number of anti-death-

penalty activists and other bereaved mothers from across the country declared their sympathy and solidarity.

Political prisoner Atena Da'emi who is on temporary leave, wrote, “Last week, I received a necklace from Shahram Ahmadi in Rajaii-shahr Prison, and today, he was executed along with Farzad Honarjoo and others. Tomorrow, I will be tried again for opposing the death penalty, but I will go to the court with my head up, just like Shahram went to the gallows. I will go to the court whispering the mantra, “no to executions” and will condemn massacres wherever they might happen in the world.”

Sholeh Pakravan, activist mother who opposes the death penalty, addressed the mothers, sisters and wives of those executed, and wrote, "I would not express condolences as I know it would not calm your burning hearts. But I would ask you to look around and see so many women mourning the loss of their loved ones. I would ask you to chain our hands, demand justice and sing, 'long live life.' ”

Also, the mother of two Baluchi political prisoners, Abdol-Vahhab and Abdol-Basset Rigi, from the southeastern province of Sistan va Baluchistan, wrote a letter to Shahram Ahmadi’s mother. Her letter reads in part, “I feel your pain and I know it is hard. My son, Abdol Basset went sooner than the other, just like your younger son, Bahram …

I had not yet recovered from this pain, when they raided the Central Prison of Zahedan and executed my other son, Vahhab along with his friends… And I still wonder, what the crimes of my sons were which merit their being killed.

It is hard for the rulers to see young Sunni men stand up to them. So, stand up and straight, keep your head up, and show the enemy that we are not afraid of losing our beloved ones.”

It should be noted that the wife of Shahram Ahmadi protested the unjust hanging of her husband on Tuesday right after the executions took place. She wrote to Mr. Ahmad Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, “They arrested my husband for a crime that he had not committed. All the documents are available. If they are honest and are telling the truth, why don't they hold a fair trial and broadcast it on TV, of course with an impartial judge. Not a judge that issues death sentences for 10 people in just 5 minutes.”

Iran: Marivan protests ban on women's right to ride bicycle

In a march with bicycles on Tuesday, August 2, 2016, the people of Marivan (Iranian Kurdistan) carried placards protesting the State Security Force's ban on women's bicycling and declaring it unlawful.

In the mean time, some 1,400 Kurdish civil activists issued a joint statement calling the newly imposed ban on women’s bicycle riding unlawful and a violation of women's rights which must be ended. “Today, violence against women in Marivan is alarming. We are witnessing further obstruction of women's activities, inciting an athmosphere which undermines women’s rights.”

Women’s athletics was declared un-Islamic after the 1979 revolution in Iran. Until the mid-80s, no news of women’s sports were ever broadcast by the media. Later, only short news were broadcast with no images. The mullahs have used every opportunity over the years to underline that women’s sports are not permissible.

http://women.ncr-iran.org/iran-women-news/2953-iran-marivan-protests-ban-on-women-s-right-to-ride-bicycle

https://www.facebook.com/Femme-Iran-Libert%C3%A9-903706633040006/
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https://youtu.be/-ya9-JF8mhs

Dual national Nazanin Zaghari in court for first time

The first court session for the trial of Iranian-British citizen Nazanin Zaghari who was arrested along with her toddler in Tehran's airport was held on Monday, August 1, 2016. Ms. Zaghari is accused of attempting to overthrow the Iranian regime. (The IRGC announced)

http://women.ncr-iran.org/iran-women-news/2952-iran-dual-national-nazanin-zaghari-in-court-for-first-time

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Young Iranian womn wins European Mathematics Society award

Iranian-Swedish mathematician Sara Zahedi won a prestigious European Mathematical Society Prize, the top honor for young European mathematicians awarded once every four years. She was awarded the prize for her outstanding research regarding the development and analysis of numerical algorithms for partial differential equations with a focus on applications to problems with dynamically changing geometry. Sara Zahedi was born in Tehran in 1981. She lost her father in the resistance against Iran's ruling regime and has been living in Sweden since she was 10.

http://women.ncr-iran.org/iran-women-news/2951-young-iranian-woman-wins-european-mathematics-society-award

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Selling manteaux with designs or signs that belong to anti-Islamic groups is a crim

Chairman of the Business Chamber in Hamedan: 18 apparel stores had been plumbed in Hamedan because of selling manteaux that have designs or are open in front. Also it is announced that "Production, distribution, sale and use in public of attires baring signs that belong to anti-Islamic groups is considered a crime and violators will be punished with jail and cash fine"

http://women.ncr-iran.org/iran-women-news/2950-iran-18-apparel-stores-sealed-and-salesmen-fined

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West should push for Iran regime change

The only way to make peace with Iran, according to the Obama administration, is to appease its cruel and authoritarian government.

The alternative, according to the White House, would be increased hostility and perhaps even war.

Under this dichotomy, U.S. President Barack Obama has extended an olive branch to America’s longtime adversary.

Last summer, the U.S. struck an historic nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran...

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/07/08/west-should-push-for-iran-regime-change

Bishops warn against growing persecution of Christians in ‪#‎Iran‬ Persecution of Christians in Iran is bad and getting worse, bishops say in a new protest

Bishops warn against growing persecution of Christians in ‪#‎Iran‬
Persecution of Christians in Iran is bad and getting worse, bishops say in a new protest
Harry Farley

Nearly 80 church leaders from the UK and US have backed a powerful call to action against the Iranian theocratic regime, a year after Western powers lifted economic sanctions on the Islamic state. They urged their governments to demand improvements in how Christians and other persecuted minorities are treated.
Flickr / Maryam Rajavi
Last year's Free Iran demonstration attracted thousands to protest against the regime.

In a statement released ahead of Saturday's "Free Iran" protest in Paris, the Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek, the Bishop of Stepney Adrian Newman, the Bishop of Selby John Thomson and the former Bishop of Oxford John Pritchard issued a joint statement with others setting out their "grave concern" at how Iran's rulers are mistreating Christians.

They say: "Repression of Christians has not only continued but intensified during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani."

They continue: "In such circumstances, we call on all Western countries to consider the deplorable situation of human rights in Iran, particularly the painful situation of Christians and the intensification of their oppression, in navigating their relations with Iran.
"We call upon them to precondition improvement of those relations on the cessation of oppression of Christians and on a halt in executions."

The leaders pledge to support the international protest in Paris on Saturday "to promote freedom and human rights in Iran." The demonstration marks a year since the P5+1 group of world powers – the US, UK, France, China, Russia plus Germany – signed the Iran nuclear deal, lifting sanctions on Iran in return for a restriction of its nuclear activities.

Sir David Amess, MP for Southend West, backed the church leaders in an article in Forbes on Wednesday and said it was "up to us in the West to fight for the rights of those who do not have a voice around the globe and perhaps nowhere is that more important and with more of a potential positive effect than Iran."

The co-chair of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom wrote: "We must not ignore Iran."

More than 100,000 people are expected to join the event including church leaders and a number of politicians from other Muslim nations.

Donya Jam is Iranian-American who fled Iran as a child after her father was briefly arrested for opposing the regime. Now a student in the US, she told Christian Today it was her "responsibility" as a Christian to oppose "the evil of the regime" in Iran.

"Jesus resisted evil and he wanted to bring and love to people," she said. "Therefore as a Christian it is our responsibility to bring peace and to bring love.

"The regime just brings hate. It has created such a dark atmosphere."

Jam, 21, went on to say that no opinion against the regime was allowed. "It is stoning people and amputating their hands. If that isn't evil I don't know what is."

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) are the largest organised opposition to the regime and are behind the protest in Paris on July 9. The People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) is at the centre of the NCRI and Jam said she has been attending their demonstrations throughout her life.

"People have said the regime can reform," she told Christian Today. "That obviously is not true. I have always called for regime change. We want democratic regime change and that is the only way to bring about real freedom and democracy in Iran."

The demonstration comes in the same week as a barrage of more than 50 missiles hit Camp Liberty, the home of PMOI in Iraq. The former US military base in Iraq now houses members of the Iranian resistance in exile. At least 40 residents have been injured in the attack and a number of buildings destroyed.
http://www.christiantoday.com/…/bishops.warn.agai…/90080.htm

Maryam Rajavi-MEK Interview

Maryam Rajavi says women have an important role in stopping terror groups and repression against ethnic and religious minorities in the Middle-East.
‪#‎FreeIran‬
‪#‎MaryamRajavi‬

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFIHiSpCE7g

Don't Ignore #Iran

Sir David Amess

Mr. Amess is Conservative MP for Southend West in the House of Commons and co-chair of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom.

In Iran, punishment for breaking the law is brutal. In May, 30 college students were sentenced to 99 lashes for having a co-ed party—but consider them lucky.

Over the past three years alone the Iranian regime has carried out over 2,400 executions, more than at any period since the revolution. This startling rate of executions was enough to give the country the title of top executioner per capita in the world. And Iran’s current and supposedly “reformist” President Hassan Rouhani, described these executions publicly in 2014 as “God’s commandments” and “laws of the parliament that belongs to the people.”

Yet this rate of executions, which disproportionately targets opposition figures and ethnic minorities, and the barbaric punishments inflicted on its own citizens, which also includes forced amputations, has elicited little more than a shrug from the West. Especially in Washington D.C. there has only been lip service and no action. This type of “concern” over “action” approach is good for short-term political gains, but the people of Iran, the Middle East and those across the globe will continue to pay a high price in real terms.

We can’t ignore Iran

Our history books are littered with examples. The decision to not get involved in Rwanda enabled genocide, the decision to not act decisively on North Korea left a growing nuclear threat and the decision to ignore Syria helped the Assad regime on one end and extremist groups on the other, including ISIS. We must not ignore Iran.

The Iranian regime’s ideology, combined with their continued push towards nuclear weapons [via public ballistic missile tests], their unabated sewing of turmoil and sponsorship of terrorism in the region, along with their domestic abuses make them a particularly worrying case vis-à-vis inaction.

So what’s next?

We can certainly agree what Iran should not be and that is another Iraq war. A simply militaristic approach with a top-down aim of imposing democracy from the outside, combined with a long military occupation is a very bad idea. Luckily, there are many avenues of involvement, all of which involve empowering the Iranian people themselves to embrace a democratic system we already know they support.

An alternative to Iran’s current theocracy

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is the largest organized opposition to Iran’s current theocracy. They are led by Maryam Rajavi who espouses the idea of a free and democratic Iran that fosters separation of church and state, a moderate and progressive Islam, friendly ties with neighbors and the international community, and an embrace of international norms including abolition of capital punishment. The NCRI had advocated for real-world solutions in order for the international community to help the Iranian people achieve this goal, solutions that include heightened economic sanctions on the theocratic leaders and those responsible for human rights abuses in Iran, a recognition of Iran’s human rights record and violent foreign policy, along with approaches vis-à-vis the nuclear program that are more well adapted to an Iran that has time and again deceived the international community.

The People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI or MeK), the principal Iranian resistance movement, is at the core of the NCRI. Actually it was PMOI activists who exposed the Iranian regime’s clandestine nuclear sites, alarming the world about the threat of Iran’s secret program to acquire nuclear weapons.

Let the Iranian voice for democracy be heard

On July 9 the Iranians will hold an important international event aimed at making Iranian voice for democracy heard. The event, entitled “Free Iran” will be attended by hundreds of international dignitaries, including a stellar bipartisan list of American dignitaries, a unique phenomenon given the polarized election season in the U.S. As the U.S. is moving towards choosing a new president, having the right policy on Iran will be a daunting challenge for whoever will be at the Oval Office this time next year.

It is up to us in the West to fight for the rights of those who do not have a voice around the globe and perhaps nowhere is that more important and with more of a potential positive effect than Iran.

To not speak up and defend moderate Islam against extremism would be letting evil triumph.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/07/06/iran-extremism-consequences/#3ebce9072495

Maryam Rajavi, Face of Iran to Be

Maryam Rajavi is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI ), a coalition of some 500 Iranian opposition groups and personalities, committed to a democratic, secular and non-nuclear republic in Iran.
Maryam Rajavi presents a 10 point plan for Free Iran:
In Maryam Rajavi's view, the ballot box is the only criterion for legitimacy. Accordingly, she seeks a republic based on universal suffrage.
Maryam Rajavi wants a pluralist system, freedom of parties and assembly. She respects all individual freedoms. Maryam Rajavi underscores complete freedom of expression and of the media and unconditional access by all to the internet.Maryam Rajavi supports and is committed to the abolition of death penalty.
Maryam Rajavi committed to the separation of Church and State. She rejects any form of discrimination against the followers of other religions and denominations.
Maryam Rajavi believes in complete gender equality in political, social and economic arenas. She is also committed to equal participation of women in political leadership. Maryam Rajavi announced any form of discrimination against women will be abolished. In Maryam Rajavi's view women will enjoy the right to freely choose their clothing. Maryam Rajavi believes women must be free in marriage, divorce, education and employment rights.
Maryam Rajavi believes in the rule of law and justice. She wants to set up a modern judicial system based on the principles of presumption of innocence, the right to defense, effective judicial protection and the right to be tried in a public court. Maryam Rajavi also seeks the total independence of judges. Maryam Rajavi believes the mullahs’ Sharia law must be abolished.
Maryam Rajavi is committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international covenants and conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Maryam Rajavi is committed to the equality of all nationalities. She underscores the plan for the autonomy of Iranian Kurdistan, adopted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran. In Maryam Rajavi's view the language and culture of Iranians from whatever nationality, is among the nation’s human resources and must spread and be promulgated in tomorrow’s Iran.
Maryam Rajavi recognizes private property, private investment and the market economy. Maryam Rajavi believes all Iranian people must enjoy equal opportunity in employment and in business ventures.
Maryam Rajavi's foreign policy will be based on peaceful coexistence, international and regional peace and cooperation, as well as respect for the United Nations Charter.Maryam Rajavi announced that she wants a non-nuclear Iran, free of weapons of mass destruction.

Maryam Rajavi wins hearts and minds of Iranian diaspora

On Saturday, July 9th, the world will witness the largest annual gathering of Iranian exiles in Le Bourget, Paris, with Maryam Rajavi as the keynote speaker. 

More than one 100,000 Iranians as well as hundreds of politicians and personalities from five continents will converge in Le Bourget to declare their support for Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance and their struggle to overthrow the regime ruling Iran and establish freedom and democracy in their country. But who is Maryam Rajavi?

Maryam Rajavi, a devout Muslim woman, has led the opposition to Tehran's fundamentalist regime for the past three decades. Maryam Rajavi espouses a tolerant and democratic interpretation of Islam and calls for unity of all democratic forces to confront terrorism and extremism emanating from the clerical regime in Iran, as the most dangerous threat of our time to global peace and security.  

Maryam Rajavi's ten-point plan offers a democratic alternative to the ongoing savagery of the ruling regime in Iran. 

Maryam Rajavi calls for abolition of the death penalty, separation of the church and State, and equal participation of women in political leadership. Maryam Rajavi also calls for a non-nuclear Iran that lives in peaceful coexistence with its neighbors. 

Maryam Rajavi believes that women's equality is essential to democratic progress in today's world, in any country and in any organization. So, it was all the more essential to the struggle against the misogynous fundamentalist extremists ruling Iran. 

One of the major achievements of Maryam Rajavi has been the involvement of the Resistance's women in the most crucial positions of responsibility in the movement. The idea of women's equal participation in political leadership, economic and management roles, has been realized in Maryam Rajavi's movement. This is especially important because this phenomenon is not limited to a few talented and intelligent women, but embraces a generation of women with diverse backgrounds. 

Maryam Rajavi's achievement was made possible by rejection of all forms of discrimination against women in her movement and providing a just and equal opportunity for everyone, proving the fact that any human being can exercise her/his talents and intelligence once given an equal opportunity for education and occupation. 

Maryam Rajavi is recognized for her strength, resolve and leadership qualities. Maryam Rajavi is admired for her tireless leadership and struggle against the ruthless mullahs of Iran. Maryam Rajavi has demonstrated amazing strength in the face of numerous difficulties facing her movement. 

Maryam Rajavi's motto is “We can and we must.” Maryam Rajavi believes that by being realistic, devoting enough energy and time to any task, human beings can decide their own fate and break through any impasse. That is how Maryam Rajavi has succeeded in leading her movement through a tortuous path over the years, towards imminent victory. 

Iranians believe that with Maryam Rajavi vowing for regime change in Iran, they would enjoy their inalienable, equal human rights in a free Iran.

Three Years After Rouhani's Presidency:
The human rights situation in Iran under Rouhani, his support for terrorism and the Iranian regime’s interference in the region and Particularly in Syria
Online Conference
With: Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras
Vice-President of the European Parliament (199902014),
President of the International Committee In Search of Justice (ISJ) Committee
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Time: 1600 Paris
Broadcast: www.iranfreedom.org
Post questions to @4FreedomInIran
#FreeIran
#No2Rouhani
#HumanRights

The freedom of my mind is my most expensive illusion. ~

Maurice Chapelan

Hunger strike

Hunger strike
jafar Azimzadeh
Iranian imprisoned worker
in hunger strike
since 30 april

Maryam Rajavi: Paying tribute to Italy's aware conscience, Marco Pannella

His voice was the voice of those starving in Africa and the voice of death-row prisoners. He voiced solidarity with the residents of Ashraf and the Iranian people's Resistance. His voice will never be silenced.

Arrest of an Iranian woman biker

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