June 12 will mark one year since Iran’s flawed elections and a year of crackdowns and arrests. United4Iran is partnering with a number of organizations to publicize the plight of prisoners of conscience in Iran. In Amsterdam, you can join “Cycle for a Free Iran,” a bicycle ride sponsored by Iran Progressive Youth. For more information, check out their site.

7 Baha'i Leaders imprisoned in Iran

A manifestation to protest the persecution of the Baha’i in Iran is also being planned for the same date. Check back here for more information.

For more information about events worldwide, check out 12june.org.

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Today, we sent this letter to the Dutch Foreign Minister, Maxime Verhagen. Feel free to add your voice to the letter by printing it out and mailing it or by tweeting this link: http://bit.ly/a8eUiE to @maximeverhagen. Sample tweet: Pls RT @maximeverhagen Oproepen Iraanse Diplomaten http://bit.ly/a8eUiE #united4iran

If you are going to mail it, here is the address:
Postbus 20061
2500 EB Den Haag

There is an English template of the letter available at United4Iran.

2 februari, 2010
Amsterdam

Geachte Minister Verhagen:

Deze brief stelt een verzoek voor om Iraanse diplomaten op te roepen ten einde een sterke klacht te uiten met betrekking tot ernstige schendingen van de mensenrechten.

De regering van Iran, die een van de hoogste getallen van executie ter wereld heeft, heeft doodstraffen opgevoerd voor daden waar geen doodstraf op staat (‘non capital crimes’). De international campagne voor mensenrechten meldt dat de aanklacht van Mohareb (“vijand van God”) wordt aangehaald om dissidenten, demonstranten en de oppositie te intimideren. Dit is vooral spoedeisend op dit moment, aangezien het Iraanse volk zich voorbereidt om haar stempel te drukken op de 31ste verjaardag van de revolutie tegen de sjah op 11 februari. Er heerst een wijdverbreide zorg dat er de komende dagen meer executies zullen plaatsvinden als waarschuwing aan de demonstranten om zich noch te verzamelen noch hun verlangen naar burger- en mensenrechten te uiten.

Sinds de betwiste verkiezing van Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in juni 2009, zijn gedaagden geëxecuteerd zonder toegang te hebben gehad tot een eerlijk proces of ontmoetingen met advocaten. Deze executies zijn, in feite, niets anders dan moorden. De rechterlijke macht in Iran verzint de regels en aanklachten ter plaatse. Dergelijke aanklachten schenden fundamentele mensenrechten, zoals opgesomd in de Universele Verklaring van de Rechten van de Mens, waarvan Iran een ondertekenaar is. (De artikelen die in het bijzonder zijn geschonden zijn de artikelen 10, 18, 19, and 20)

Gevaar van massa-executies

Voor velen binnen en buiten Iran, liggen de massa-executies van eind 1980 nog vers in het geheugen. Duizenden mensen werden geëxecuteerd wegens valse verzinsels, sommige van hen na bijna hun gevangenisstraf volledig te hebben uitgezeten voor overtredingen waar geen doodstraf op staat (‘non-capital offenses’). Er dreigt een duidelijk gevaar dat de geschiedenis zich zal herhalen. Het verschil is deze keer echter dat de wereld toekijkt. Het is noodzakelijk dat de Nederlandse regering haar afkeuring op sterke wijze laat blijken.

Op 29 januari, één dag nadat twee politieke gevangenen (Arash Rahmani Pour en Mohammad Ali Zamani) waren opgehangen, verwelkomde de hardline geestelijke en lid van de Raad van Hoeders, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, deze executies. Gezien zijn prominente positie onder de heersende elites hardline partij, wordt zijn verklaring geïnterpreteerd als een groen licht voor verdere politieke executies. Hij heeft expliciet verklaard dat als wijdverbreide executies meteen plaats hadden gevonden na de post verkiezing onrust, de protesten niet zouden zijn gerekt. Zich richtend tot het hoofd van de rechterlijke macht, zei Jannati bij het vrijdag gebed in Teheran: “Om Godswil, net zoals u deze twee executies bespoedigde, zet door als een man en bravo voor deze acties.”

Oproepen Iraanse Diplomaten

Wij dringen aan bij het Nederlandse Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken om de Iraanse diplomaten op te roepen en een fel protest te uiten tegenover de acties van de Iraanse rechterlijke macht en regering. Wij verzoeken om oproepen voor de Iraanse regering om de internationaal erkende rechten van het Iraanse volk op vrijheid van vereniging, expressie en pers. Laat de regering van Iran weten dat we een onmiddellijk einde willen zien van de berechtingen van demonstraten die momenteel aan de gang zijn en bovendien de vrijlating eisen van alle politieke gevangenen.

Dreigende executie van politieke gevangenen

Het aantal ter dood veroordeelde politieke gevangenen en dissidenten neemt dagelijks toe. Gedurende de afgelopen maand alleen al zijn vier politieke gevangenen geëxecuteerd: Ehsan Fattahian, Fasih Yasmian, Arash Rahmani Pour, and Mohammad Ali Zamani. Hoewel hun namen niet bekend zijn gemaakt, zijn er volgens de Iraanse rechterlijke macht minstens negen post verkiezing demonstranten ter dood veroordeeld.

Vier leden van de studenten vereniging Daftar-e Tahkim (Kantoor ter bevordering van de eenheid) en zeven leden van het Committee of Human Rights Reporters, evenals velen gewone alledaagse gevangen demonstranten, komen te staan tegenover de aanklacht van Mohareb, of vijand van God, welke de doodstraf tot gevolg heeft. Geen van deze gevangen heeft toegang tot een advocaat, en volgens korte telefoontjes die ze hebben gepleegd naar hun familie, staan zij onder zware druk om valse bekentenissen af te leggen.

Minstens twintig Koerdische politieke gevangenen lopen het gevaar van aanstaande executies: Shirin Alam Holi, Zeinab Jalilian, Farzad Kamangar, Habibollah Latifi, Shirkoo Moarefi, Farhad Vakili, Ali Heidarian, Hussein Khazri, Rostam Arkia, Mostafa Salimi, Anvar Rostami, Rashid Akhkandi, Mohammad Amin Agooshi, Ahmad Pooladkhani, Seyed Sami Husseini, Seyed Jamal Mohammadi, Hasan Talei, Iraj Mohammadi, Mohammad Amin Abollahi and Ghader Mohammadzadeh.

Wij verzoeken u dringend sterke actie te ondernemen en uw collega’s aan te moedigen hetzelfde te doen.

Hoogachtend,

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Amsterdam supports Majid Tavakoli, the student leader who was arrested on Iran Student Day, December 7. To shame him, state-run news sources claimed that he was arrested while wearing women’s clothing. In order to support him, men all over the world are photographing themselves with scarves on their heads. This video features footage from Arts United4Iran in Amsterdam.

YouTube videos in support of Majid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNgN1rbXjLc&feature=related

From Amsterdam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tcneJXG0JM
Free Majid Tavakoli website

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United4iran-nl wants to thank all of the artists, musicians, speakers, djs, vjs, filmmakers, designers, performers, and volunteers who worked so hard on this program. The admission fee was to cover the costs of the space at Studio /K and a portion of the travel costs. Not one penny has been spent on staff or design work. It’s not too late to donate. United4iran-nl also wants to thank the generous people who supported the event.

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The following photos are from a series called “Missing Son” by Kamran Ashtary. Majid Tavakoli, a student leader in Iran, was arrested last December 7. In order to shame him, state-run news claimed that he had been arrested in women’s clothing. Men all over the world are dressing in headscarves to show solidarity with the student leader.

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LAST MINUTE UPDATE! Tonight we got confirmation that Branko’s great band Skakavac Orkestar is giving a show, as well as the Greek Violinist Stefanos Sekeroglou: the guy who’s banned from playing in three different countries because the sound of his violin breaks too many hearts.

See a clip on youTube.

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PRESS RELEASE
Arts United 4 Iran
A global initiative to celebrate the Civil Rights Movement in Iran
Netherlands Edition

Contact: European Coordinator for United4Iran, Kamran Ashtary
kamran@united4iran-nl.org
Tori Egherman tori@united4iran-nl.org

IRAN THROUGH THE EYES OF OTHERS
Documentary: Letters to the President, followed by a discussion with the director

For Immediate Release

AMSTERDAM, December 10, 2009. On Saturday December 12th, 2009, United4Iran-NL, an affiliate of United4Iran, an organization dedicated to civil rights and democracy, will join a global day of action in solidarity with the civil and human rights movement in Iran. “Arts United 4 Iran” will be from 16:30 – 02:00 at Studio /K in Amsterdam.

Journalist Angus McDowall, who spent more than four years reporting from Iran for the Economist and the Independent, will lead a discussion with Petr Lom, the director of the provocative documentary, Letters to the President. This should be a lively discussion as the two compare and contrast their experiences working and traveling in Iran.

The film, Letters to the President, will be shown at 18.10 and the discussion will follow at 19.40. Petr Lom was granted unparalleled access to the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as he traveled throughout Iran’s many provinces, visiting small towns and villages that other officials had ignored. In some towns, he is met with adoring crowds that shower him and his team with letters, most of which request loans. In others, crowds complain about unfinished public works projects.

What we see in this film is the desperation of people who want reasonable loans in order to stay above water. In a heartbreaking scene, we watch as a man begs for money to buy sheep. He tells the bureaucrat that he is so desperate that he might have to sell his daughter and wife. The bureaucrat responds with a simple, “There is no money in the banks.”

The film also presents an undercurrent of the tension surrounding speaking with the press in Iran. Often, bystanders urge others “don’t speak to the foreigner.” A mural painter expresses surprise that the filmmaker and his crew have not been arrested. “We heard that you had been arrested,” he tells them. The film is entertaining, distressing, and thought-provoking. The conversation following the film should be equally so.

For more information about the other programs, visit united4iran-nl.org.

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Text version of the program here.

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PRESS RELEASE

Reporting from the “world’s biggest prison for journalists”

A discussion with New York Times correspondent, Nazila Fathi

Contact: European Coordinator for United4Iran, Kamran Ashtary kamran@united4iran-nl.org
Tori Egherman tori@united4iran-nl.org

New York Times reporter, Nazila Fathi, speaks about her experiences reporting from Iran with writer and journalist Chris Keulemans as part of Arts United 4 Iran on December 12, 2009.

Date: December 12, 2009
Time: 16:30
Location: Studio /K, Amsterdam
This discussion is part of full program of films, discussion, arts, and music at Studio /K. Price, Doors open at 16:00 and close at 02:00.

December 7, 2009. Amsterdam. The Western media is often blamed for misleading coverage on Iran, but reporting within Iran can be a daunting task. Reporters need to get permission to travel outside of Tehran and a few other “safe” locations. People are often hesitant to speak on the record and once they do will claim that they were misquoted or misunderstood. Iranians who report from inside Iran can find themselves without the support or security to do their jobs effectively and safely. Reporters without Borders calls Iran the “world’s biggest prison for journalists.” Still, Iran is filled with people who long to tell their stories to the rest of the world, as we have seen via blogs, youTube, and Twitter. Until recently, Nazila Fathi reported for the New York Times in Iran. (Read Roger Cohen’s article about Iranians in Exile here.) She will be joining journalist and writer Chris Keulemans at Studio /K on December 12 for a discussion about the challenges of reporting from Iran.

Until a few months ago, Nazila Fathi was reporting from her hometown of Tehran, where she lived with her husband and two children. Occasionally she was called in for questioning by Intelligence, as were most independent reporters in Iran: foreign and local. About a year after the election of Ahmadinejad, the hardline newspaper Keyhan, started quoting from fabricated New York Times stories and attributing them to Nazila Fathi. Sometime after that, her family began to be harassed by unidentified and unknown intelligence operatives. “They started going to my inlaws, to our neighbors. They would ask about us and told them that they were looking for drug smugglers,” Fathi said.

Fathi speculated that she was caught up in competing intelligence interests a few months before the elections of June 12, 2009 around the time that the American journalist, Roxana Saberi was in prison in Iran. Her home came under 24-hour surveillance. “The guys that were in front of our home were very disheveled, clearly not professionals,” she said. At one point, both the local police and the unknown Intelligence officers were facing down each other in front of her house. “ The local police told us, ‘Never talk to them again. Don’t open the door on them again.’”

During campaigning for the elections, there were many foreign reporters in Iran including columnists and reporters for the New York Times where Fathi worked. No one expected the post-election demonstrations and Fathi thought she should postpone a long-planned vacation in order to continue covering the unfolding drama. Before she could change her tickets, however, she found herself under a de facto house arrest. 16 men had camped out a few meters from their house and were clearly keeping watch. Many of Fathi’s colleagues, sources, and friends had been arrested in the preceding days and weeks, and she was concerned that she would be next.

Fathi decided not to postpone her vacation but called the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance, Ershad, to ask if there were plans to arrest her or prevent her from leaving the country. “It was very emotional. I called Ershad and said, ‘If they want to arrest me, come and arrest me. I do not want to be dragged away in front of my kids.’ I told them I was traveling and I did not want to be taken off the plane in front of my kids.” Contacts there told her that they had heard nothing of plans to prevent her from leaving the country. “Later Maziar [Bahari, the Newsweek journalist who was imprisoned in Tehran for 118 days] told me that the interrogators told him that they had planned to arrest me, but that I had gotten away.”

On December 12, Nazila Fathi will be in conversation with the Dutch journalist and writer Chris Keulemans at Studio /K in Amsterdam. She will be available for interviews from members of the press on Saturday.

There is more information at united4iran-nl.org. The discussion will focus on Fathi’s experiences reporting from Iran and specifically on the challenges of reporting on the recent elections. This discussion is part of full program of films, discussion, arts, and music at Studio /K. Price, 17 euros. Doors open at 16:00 and close at 02:00.

*New York Times reporter, Nazila Fathi, available for interviews while she is in the Netherlands.*

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