A Death Sentence for Throwing Rocks

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran confirms that twenty-year-old Mohammad Amin Valian, a student at Iran’s Damghan University, has lost his case in Iranian appeals court; Iran’s judiciary upheld Valian’s death sentence in connection with the December 27th Ashura protests. Valian is among 11 others who were charged with “moharebeh”, or waging war against God, the most serious offense one can be charged with in Iran.

These rulings continue to demonstrate the international community’s failure to bring about any real change in Iran’s human rights record. Even after the United Nation’s Human Rights Council’s examination of Iran in February, there still seems to be little progress towards holding the Iranian government accountable for its actions.

“We see a direct relationship between the failure of the international community, particularly the UN Human Rights Council, to hold Iran accountable…,” stated Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“Iran has received a clear message:  Your atrocities will neither  arouse any serious response from the Human Rights Council, nor block your bid for membership in the Human Rights Council,” he said.

Valian testified in court that he threw rocks at security forces and plainclothes militiamen, but further added that these rocks did not actually strike anyone.  Although the student was politically active, and participated in several demonstrations, he was not a political leader. The International Campaign for Human Rights further reports that more than 100 Iranian students are in detention for their political activity.

‘Mercy’ Period is Over

The NY times reports that Iran’s national police chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, issued a warning that the “mercy” phase was over: Iranian authorities would soon begin cracking down even more severely on opposition activities.

The police chief warned that this crackdown would not be limited to protesters but anyone who used technology, such as cellphones, twitter alerts, and e-mails to publicize the street protests.

This proclamation does not come lightly; since the June 12 disputed presidential elections opposition groups have relied heavily upon such technology to help organize their movement. The government has repeatedly tried to block websites and shut down opposition newspapers, and the battle over access to information is a daily struggle.

“After all the evidence we saw on Ashura, our tolerance has come to an end, and both the police force and the judiciary will be confronting them with full force,” Mr. Ahmadi Moghaddam said, according to Iran’s semiofficial news service ILNA.

The December 27^th Ashura protests was one of the most violent outbreaks since the initial summer protests, as hundreds of dissidents were arrested and at least 8 were killed. More opposition protests are expected next month during the celebration of the founding of the Islamic Republic.

At War With God? Iran Accuses 5 Protestors of Warring Against God

Nazila Fathi reports that at least five of the protesters  arrested during the Ashura protests last week are being tried for the crime of “warring against God,” a crime that can ultimately lead to a death sentence. The severity and charge of the crime coming so soon after the protesters’ arrest demonstrates that the Islamic Republic is increasing efforts to bully protesters, hoping to (perhaps literally) kill the dispute over the June presidential election.

In a statement carried by IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, the judiciary said that the five would soon be tried by the revolutionary court on charges of “Moharebeh,” meaning waging war against God, which is punishable by death according to the penal code. The statement did not disclose the names of the defendants, when they would be tried or any details of accusations against them.

…

A representative of the supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, characterized protesters during a speech at a pro-government rally last week as “followers of the path of Satan.”

The fact that the indictment was put together on the newly-expedited timelines cause for even more skepticism regarding the case.

“Shahram, your blood was unjustly shed!”

Shahram Farajzadeh Tarani was run over by a police car during Dec 27 Ashura protests.

To the world, he is the man that was brutally run over a police car during Ashura’s protests, but to his family, he is Shahram.

Abbas (Shahram) Farajzadeh Tarani was thirty-years old when a police car  backed into him and then ran over him again, killing him on Dec. 27. His death was captured by fellow protesters by this thirty second youtube video. He worked in a paint factory and leaves behind his wife and five year-old daughter.  Like many of those martyred during the post-election unrest, the Iranian government has done its best to stop the impact of his death.

As was told to us by a third-party source, after he was hit, fellow protesters and one relative took his body to the hospital. But, when his family arrived at the hospital, his body was missing.  Shortly thereafter, government officials called his brother to tell him that Shahram’s body was being buried in Behesht Zahra, the main cemetery in Tehran.

When the brother arrived, he was faced with four intelligence officers and they warned him not to cause a scene. His family was told they were not allowed to hang up the traditional black cloths on his home or his office to notify friends of his death. The government had taken the liberty of washing his body and wrapping it in a white cloth, both of which are important rite in Iranian mourning process normally overseen by close friends and relatives, and then, in proper tradition, wrapped him in a white cloth. They were allowed to see the body for a moment and noticed that he was covered in stitches.

After burying the body, families normally hold a ceremony at a mosque on the third day of the person’s death. But for the Farajzadeh Taranis, each mosque they approached refused them.  Apparently the government had threatened the mosques and forbade them from hosting the ceremony.

Like many families who have lost their relatives to the post-election upheaval, Shahram’s family was forced to quietly mourn for him in their home, in fact, his brother had to sign an agreement saying he would not have a public ceremony.

As if the Iranian intelligence community does monitor its citizens’ behavior enough, four intelligent officers oversaw the Shahram’s ceremony at his family’s home. Men filled one room and women the other, all the while, Shahram’s father kept crying out, “Shahram, your blood was unjustly shed!”

Two days ago, on Monday, a week after his death, the Farajzadeh Tarani’s were allowed to mourn the seventh day since Shahram’s death at a mosque. Normally families print out flyers and paste them outside the mosque or near their work places, but once again, they were denied this basic custom. Instead they printed flyers themselves and handed them out to friends who seemed to be unaware of their son’s death. Traditionally, on the top of these flyers is a line of poetry, and his reads, “From every death, rises some sadness, but there are differences between death and death.”

“I feel he died in vain,” expressed one of Shahram’s relatives to our third-party source.  So the responsibility once again falls to outside media and Iranian citizen journalism to ensure the world remembers Shahram’s fight for freedom.