Posts

May 27, 2011

Break Silence about Sexual Crimes

Justice for Iran is calling for all victims of sexual crimes in Iran to come forward in order to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable. The call is on their site in English and Persian.
In Breaking Silence about Sexual Crimes We Will Ensure that Such Violations Will Be PunishedJustice for Iran asks of everyone who themselves or their loved ones were victims of sexual crimes or for whatever reason have information about such crimes to contact us and aid us in shedding light on the truth about the circumstances surrounding such crimes as well as hold the actors and perpetrators accountable for their violations. Indeed this is a necessary step in stopping sexual torture and aiding in the healing of the wounds of those victimized by it.
May 24, 2011

Baha’i Targeted

Baha'i educational programme targeted in raids 22 May 2011GENEVA — A coordinated series of raids have been carried out on the homes of several Iranian Baha'is, active in a community initiative to provide a higher education programme for young members who are barred from university.Reports indicate that raids took place on Saturday 21 May on as many as 30 homes in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz. It is now understood that some 14 Baha’is have been arrested."All of the targets were homes of individuals closely involved with the operations of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education," said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.
May 18, 2011

Urgent action: Stop the Execution of Iranian-Kurdish Student

United4Iran is calling on people to send letters to protest the planned execution of the Iranian-Kurdish student Habibah Latifi. Click here to participate in the campaign.
Habibollah Latifi is a 29-year-old university student from Kurdistan who has been sentenced to death on charge of Moharebeh (enmity with God). He is currently imprisoned at the Sanandaj Prison. Several sources have reported that Latifi has suffered from various illnesses, including an intestinal infection, heart problems, and kidney failure. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has also noted that it believes the same intelligence-security forces are moving towards large scale politically motivated executions. Another young Kurdish man, Shirkoo Moarefi, also faces the risk of execution. In the past week, some 18 people have been executed. The frequency and number of executions in Iran has become increasingly of grave concern for activists.
May 16, 2011

As Strong as Our Signal

This week's featured post from the Civil Society Zine is Mana Mostatabi's As Strong as Our Signal, which looks at the clicktivism phenomenon. Online petitions and letter writing campaigns make it easier for more people to take action in support of a cause, but what's next? The author asks us all to think of ways of transforming clicktivists to sticktivists. Social movements can last lifetimes no matter how clear the justice of a particular cause may be. How do we do what it takes to sustain movements?
May 16, 2011

Ahmadinejad Under a Spell?

Hardline cleric Mesbah Yazdi claims that Ahmadinejad's closest adviser has bewitched him, the Washington Post reports.
The cleric said Ahmadinejad’s top adviser, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, has used has hypnotism, spells or charms to take control of Iran’s elected leader. “I am almost certain that he has been bewitched,” Yazdi said.
May 4, 2011

Islamic Republic of Iran Forcefully Targets Civic and Democratic Organizations

Arseh Sevom, 3 May 2011- In a deliberate move to attack democratic organizations, the Iranian Parliament’s joint commission has simultaneously approved a bill requiring supervision over Members of Parliament, and is considering a restrictive bill to reform the Political Parties Law. This is happening despite the fact that, due to pressures resulting from the opposition of Iranian civic organizations, the Iranian Parliament has suspended its review of the proposed bill on the Establishment and Supervision of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) for a period of three months.These efforts collectively show that the Islamic Republic has made an organized attempt to eliminate all civic and democratic organizations in Iranian society. Arseh Sevom warns that these policies will lead to the destruction of the remnants of civic and semi-democratic organizations through the creation of supervisory committees. Arseh Sevom urges Representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly to remove from its agenda the bill for reforming the Political Parties Law and the bill for supervision over Members of Parliament. They should do so to defend of the right to freedom of association and assembly, the right of representation, and to protect the legal immunity of Members of the Iranian Parliament in fulfilling their role as representatives.
April 28, 2011

In the news…

Arseh Sevom in the news during the month of April:



April 26, 2011

Reform, Revolution, and Change

What does it take to make change? On Monday, April 18th, The University of Amsterdam, IKV Pax Christi, and Hivos sponsored a day-long seminar, Middle Eastern Perspectives on the Revolutions, on the recent events in the Arab world. In a series of short posts, Arseh Sevom will summarize some of the discussion that occurred that day. We will look at specific themes such as women’s involvement and the struggle for women’s rights, involvement of trade unions, and the struggles of ethnic and religious minorities.