SOBHANI: Baha'is on trial

America's Iran policy must include religious freedom

washingtontimes

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

S. Rob Sobhani

...But the Baha'is are not the only ones facing persecution in Iran. Since the establishment of the Islamic republic, the regime has acted as an equal-opportunity persecutor, arresting and violating the basic rights of Christians, Jews, Sunni Muslims, ethnic minorities, students, human rights activists and journalists, to name a few. While the human rights violations that intensified during the Islamic revolution in 1979 subsided somewhat in the 1990s, they have spiked since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his allies in the Revolutionary Guards stole the election in 2009. Even Ayatollah Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi - outspoken in his opposition to the Islamic republic and an advocate of the separation of Islam from politics - has been arrested and held in solitary confinement...

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Know more about one of the appalling sections of Evin prison!

The special section for clergy in Evin prison contains two parts and is directly controlled by the Special Court for Clergy and Ministry of Information. This section is run under some particular controls and limitations as not only international observers don’t have permission to survey it but the authorities of the government and control and judicial systems don’t too.

Ayatollah Boroujerdi is exposed to silent tortures

Unusual increasing in the number of prisoners and the lack of enough space for their settlement in Evin prison has caused many acute health and other problems and this matter has brought nervous and mental tortures for the prisoners.

Some problems in the prison like the lack of hot water to take a bath has occasioned Mr. Boroujerdi’s severe bone pains as the pains from lash and cable is much tolerable than taking bath with cold water in the cold winter of Evin!

A look at the 17th statement of Mr. Mousavi and what should be done

...If we are supposed to have religious views amongst us within this round it should be people like ayatollah Borojerdi Whom is imprisoned by the government now whom is much closer to the secular movement rather than the pro-Khomeini ayatollahs’ whom stand for the principles and ideas as their beloved Imam.

Ayatollah Borojerdi has the courage to stand up for a non-political Islam and the separation of religion and government, for this reason this executioner regime has incarcerated him.

The ridiculous show of regime to torture Ayatollah Boroujerdi

This morning Jan 13, 2010, government officials beat and violated Mr. Boroujerdi who is suffering from physical weakness and acute heart problem once again, by making a forged fight. On the track of this action, Mr. Boroujerdi sent a letter to Mr. Salimi, the public prosecutor of Special Court for clergy, by the help of prison authorities and letter announced that he will go on hunger strike if this condition doesn’t be considered immediately. In spite of the end of his period condemnation, this political and ideological prisoner is being kept in a very bad food and health condition with no hot water in an appalling cell underground.
Arranging forged fights is one of the invisible and smart methods in Iran prisons to ruin or attempt up on the life of the well-known opponents of the government. Before this event in the last winter in Yazd Central prison the government acting had hurt Mr. Boroujerdi by forged fights too.

Increasing in detentions and intensification of crisis in regime prisons

According to the report received from Evin prison, Mr. Boroujerdi’s limited phone communications has been stopped since Thursday Dec 31, 2009. The relevant authorities have presented nothing on this matter.

Ayatollah Boroujerdi’s life is in danger, help him out please

On Monday Dec 21, at 6Am, Mr. Boroujerdi lost his balance coming down his bed, fell down the ground and his hand and foot hurt as his foot has swollen and become black.

It is about 40 months that Mr. Boroujerdi has been kept in an intolerable and inhuman situation and now he is suffering from various diseases and chronic pain in his foot because of that, in spite of this the prison authorities have made him use the upper floor of bed. They have explicitly said in reply to his protests that the reason of such these decisions is putting him in much more pressures!

It is necessary to say that his acts and relationships with other prisoners and also the phone conversations of this political and ideological prisoner in Special section for clergy in Evin prison are under constant control.

Union of Persian Students and Human Rights Activists in Exile

In the name of freedom

DEC.19.2009

To: Human Rights Watch

Subject: the grave condition of prisoner of conscience in Iran, Mr. Seyed Hossein Kazemeini Boroujerdi

Honourable authorities of Human Rights Watch

We would like to inform you that Mr. Boroujerdi has been detained since Oct 8, 2006 for more than three years. He is suffering from heart, eye, tooth, respiratory, bone, kidney problems and Parkinson’s disease. These diseases that are because of deprival of access to necessary medical facilities and unsuitable condition of health and food in prison, have caused his weakness and losing weight as he has not balance in standing and walking. He has recently fallen down and hurt several times, for example on Oct 10, Oct 12, Nov 17 and was in coma for minutes.

The important statement of the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran:

“Each day in solitary confinement must be counted equal to 10 days in general section at least “

Mr. Khamenei the leader of the Islamic Republic, has announced in reply to the chairmen of his office about some judicial matters, that trial judges must pay special and more attention to solitary confinement and they must count each day in solitary confinement as 10 days in general section at least.

Attempt up on Ayatollah Boroujerdi’s life in Evin prison

On Dec 13, 2009, at 3 PM when Mr. Boroujerdi went to the telephone cabin in the yard of the prison to phone his family, suddenly a big cement block of the high wall of the region fell down and shattered beside his feet. This event was so unusual and strange that all prisoners in special section for clergy came out and gathered in the region and even the prison authorities came out in surprise. In reply to the prisoners’ protest, the authorities only sufficed to call that as an unexpected event.

Dec 10, 2009 is maybe a prologue to save Human Rights!

Human Rights world anniversary is a pretext for hearing and saying about an ideal world and a clear future!
And I wish it would be a pretext for thinking of human’s world a little. There is no doubt that the world around us is full of violence and cruelty, but what should we do? This is the question that each aware mind and each pure conscience should answer.

The critical condition of Ayatollah Boroujerdi in prison

Dec 8,2009
According to the news received, Mr. Boroujerdi is spending very difficult condition in a very small cell with dimensions 1x2 in the special section for clergy in Evin prison. Although the condemnation period of this prisoner hostage has recently come to end, but he has neither been released nor permitted to have sick leave.
It is necessary to say; the section mentioned is composed of tens of small, dark and damp cells under the ground that each cell is counted as a solitary confinement and only one person must be detained in, but because of the increase in prisoners’ number, there are two or three people in each one!
Moreover there is only one telephone in the small yard of this section as the prisoners have to use it only in some defined and limited hours in the too cool weather of Evin to make call with their concerned family.