EU sanctions five Iranians over Saudi ambassador plot; Ashton says Iran nuclear talks could resume soon
The European Union on Friday targeted five Iranians with anti-terrorist sanctions relating to an alleged failed bid to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in the United States, as major powers expressed willingness to meet with Iran if Tehran was prepared to “engage seriously in meaningful discussions” over its nuclear program.
“Following the foiled plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., the Council today subjected five persons to EU restrictive measures aimed at combating terrorism,” the EU said in a statement.
Diplomats said the five were all of Iranian origin, according to AFP.
The EU statement did not name those targeted or state their nationalities but said “their financial assets in the EU will be frozen and that no funds may be made available to them.”
Diplomats named the five as Manssor Arbabsiar, who is in custody in the United States, Gholam Shakuri, who has been indicted in New York but is at large, Qasem Slaimani, Hamed Abdollahi and Abdul Reza Shahlai.
A grand jury in New York on Thursday indicted Arbabsiar and Shakuri with plotting to hire Mexican gangsters to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.
Iran has strongly denied any involvement in what the United States says was a plot by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds force to kill the ambassador by hiring assassins from a Mexican drug cartel for $1.5 million.
Also on Friday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said in a letter to Tehran that major powers were willing to meet with Iran within weeks if Tehran was prepared to “engage seriously in meaningful discussions” on its disputed nuclear program.
“When moving to continuation of our talks, it is crucial to look for concrete results,” Catherine Ashton said in the letter addressed to Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
“We have to ensure that when we meet again we can make real progress on the nuclear issue so that both sides can draw concrete benefits,” said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
Ashton has been handling contacts with Iran on behalf of six powers, which include the United States, Britain, France and Germany as well as non-Western states Russia and China.
“Following the foiled plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., the Council today subjected five persons to EU restrictive measures aimed at combating terrorism,” the EU said in a statement.
Diplomats said the five were all of Iranian origin, according to AFP.
The EU statement did not name those targeted or state their nationalities but said “their financial assets in the EU will be frozen and that no funds may be made available to them.”
Diplomats named the five as Manssor Arbabsiar, who is in custody in the United States, Gholam Shakuri, who has been indicted in New York but is at large, Qasem Slaimani, Hamed Abdollahi and Abdul Reza Shahlai.
A grand jury in New York on Thursday indicted Arbabsiar and Shakuri with plotting to hire Mexican gangsters to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.
Iran has strongly denied any involvement in what the United States says was a plot by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds force to kill the ambassador by hiring assassins from a Mexican drug cartel for $1.5 million.
Also on Friday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said in a letter to Tehran that major powers were willing to meet with Iran within weeks if Tehran was prepared to “engage seriously in meaningful discussions” on its disputed nuclear program.
“When moving to continuation of our talks, it is crucial to look for concrete results,” Catherine Ashton said in the letter addressed to Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
“We have to ensure that when we meet again we can make real progress on the nuclear issue so that both sides can draw concrete benefits,” said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
Ashton has been handling contacts with Iran on behalf of six powers, which include the United States, Britain, France and Germany as well as non-Western states Russia and China.
رئیس جمهور منتخب از قایق نظام پیاده می شود
با مصاحبه ای که علی لاریجانی، روز گذشته با خبرگزاری مهر کرده و در آن از انتخاب رئیس جمهور توسط مجلس و یا حتی نخبگانی از مجلس حمایت کرد، مشخص شد که آنچه علی خامنه ای در سفر کرمانشاه مطرح کرد، طرحی است از پیش تدارک دیده شده که بدنبال زمینه اجرای آن می گردند. بدین ترتیب، سخنان دو روز پیش احمد ناطق نوری، عضو داش مشدی هیات رئیسه مجلس نیز بی پایه و اساس نبوده، او، همین حرف علی لاریجانی را به زبانی غیر سیاسی و پوست کنده تر مطرح کرده بود. اگر حرف ناطق نوری و پیش از همه، “کاتوزیان” نماینده مجلس را می شد از این گوش گرفت و از آن گوش دیگر بیرون کرد، حالا دیگر حرف لاریجانی را نمی توان از گوش بیرون کرد!
ظاهرا نظام که بقول کروبی خلاصه شده در یک “قایق” که هدایتش با علی خامنه ایست، به این نتیجه قطعی رسیده که دیگر توان برگزاری یک انتخابات ریاست جمهوری را ندارد. زیرا اگر بخواهند مردم را پای صندوق بیآورند باید نامزدی در کنار نامزدهای حکومتی قرار گیرد که مردم بخواهند به او رای بدهند و کسی که با رای مردم رئیس جمهور شود موی دماغ سیاست های رهبر جمهوری اسلامی می شود. ضمنا، اگر یک خودی را هم مانند احمدی نژاد با زور تبلیغات و بسیج و سپاه رئیس جمهور کنند و حتی برای نگهداشتن او برای چهار سال دیگر، برایش کودتای نظامی کنند، آنگاه که اسبش رم کرد، برداشتن و عوض کردن او دشوار است. یعنی همین وضعی که اکنون گرفتار آن شده اند و می کوشند به هر جان کندنی شده احمدی نژاد را تا پایان چهار سال دوم تحمل کنند و پس از او، برای همیشه از شر “رئیس جمهور منتخب مردم” خلاص شوند.
ششم شهریور ماه سال 1388 فرمانده کل سپاه با صراحت گفته بود که انتخابات ریاست جمهوری برای نظام تبدیل به یک خطر شده و باید فکری برای آن کرد.(این سخنرانی فرمانده سپاه را اگر هنوز نخوانده اید، حتما بخوانید. همچنان در صفحه اول پیک نت قابل دسترسی است)
بنابراین، این طرح از آن تاریخ در میان سرنشینان قایق مطرح بود و حالا تقریبا قطعی شده و بعنوان مهندسی نظام (به قول آقای خامنه ای) می خواهند آن را اجرا کنند. یعنی مجلس یک یا دو و یا سه نفر را تائید و رهبر تنفیذ کند تا رئیس جمهور اعلام شود. همان مسیری که در زمان شاه و در نظام سلطنتی طی می شد. برای آنکه جمهوری اسلامی مسخره تر از آن نشود که هست، نام منتخب مجلس را نمی گذارند نخست وزیر، بلکه او را رئیس جمهور صدا می کنند. رئیس جمهوری که عزل و نصبش هزینه برکناری یک رئیس جمهور منتخب مردم را ندارد.
در تدارک چنین مسیری است که انتخابات مجلس آینده آنقدر اهمیت پیدا کرده که حتی یک اصطلاح طلب و منتقد را نمی خواهند اجازه بدهند به آن راه یابد. این همان نکته ایست که احمد ناطق نوری دو روز پیش با زبانی ساده گفت و تاکید کرد که مجلس آینده باید برای چنین هدفی تشکیل بشود.
مصاحبه احمد ناطق نوری همچنان در صفحه اول پیک نت امروز و شماره دیروز قابل دسترسی است. سخنان علی لاریجانی را نیز در همین شماره پیک نت می خوانید.
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ظاهرا نظام که بقول کروبی خلاصه شده در یک “قایق” که هدایتش با علی خامنه ایست، به این نتیجه قطعی رسیده که دیگر توان برگزاری یک انتخابات ریاست جمهوری را ندارد. زیرا اگر بخواهند مردم را پای صندوق بیآورند باید نامزدی در کنار نامزدهای حکومتی قرار گیرد که مردم بخواهند به او رای بدهند و کسی که با رای مردم رئیس جمهور شود موی دماغ سیاست های رهبر جمهوری اسلامی می شود. ضمنا، اگر یک خودی را هم مانند احمدی نژاد با زور تبلیغات و بسیج و سپاه رئیس جمهور کنند و حتی برای نگهداشتن او برای چهار سال دیگر، برایش کودتای نظامی کنند، آنگاه که اسبش رم کرد، برداشتن و عوض کردن او دشوار است. یعنی همین وضعی که اکنون گرفتار آن شده اند و می کوشند به هر جان کندنی شده احمدی نژاد را تا پایان چهار سال دوم تحمل کنند و پس از او، برای همیشه از شر “رئیس جمهور منتخب مردم” خلاص شوند.
ششم شهریور ماه سال 1388 فرمانده کل سپاه با صراحت گفته بود که انتخابات ریاست جمهوری برای نظام تبدیل به یک خطر شده و باید فکری برای آن کرد.(این سخنرانی فرمانده سپاه را اگر هنوز نخوانده اید، حتما بخوانید. همچنان در صفحه اول پیک نت قابل دسترسی است)
بنابراین، این طرح از آن تاریخ در میان سرنشینان قایق مطرح بود و حالا تقریبا قطعی شده و بعنوان مهندسی نظام (به قول آقای خامنه ای) می خواهند آن را اجرا کنند. یعنی مجلس یک یا دو و یا سه نفر را تائید و رهبر تنفیذ کند تا رئیس جمهور اعلام شود. همان مسیری که در زمان شاه و در نظام سلطنتی طی می شد. برای آنکه جمهوری اسلامی مسخره تر از آن نشود که هست، نام منتخب مجلس را نمی گذارند نخست وزیر، بلکه او را رئیس جمهور صدا می کنند. رئیس جمهوری که عزل و نصبش هزینه برکناری یک رئیس جمهور منتخب مردم را ندارد.
در تدارک چنین مسیری است که انتخابات مجلس آینده آنقدر اهمیت پیدا کرده که حتی یک اصطلاح طلب و منتقد را نمی خواهند اجازه بدهند به آن راه یابد. این همان نکته ایست که احمد ناطق نوری دو روز پیش با زبانی ساده گفت و تاکید کرد که مجلس آینده باید برای چنین هدفی تشکیل بشود.
مصاحبه احمد ناطق نوری همچنان در صفحه اول پیک نت امروز و شماره دیروز قابل دسترسی است. سخنان علی لاریجانی را نیز در همین شماره پیک نت می خوانید.
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Iranian-Canadian banker under investigation
Toronto Sun - Canadian authorities have opened an investigation into suspected citizenship fraud involving the former head of Iran’s biggest bank, state-owned Bank Melli.
A QMI Agency source has confirmed the investigation involves Mahmoud Reza Khavari, who has been a Canadian citizen since 2005.
Khavari resigned from his position at Bank Melli late last month amid a $2.6 billion financial fraud in Iran that has shaken the regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
It’s believed Khavari then left Iran and sought refuge in Toronto, where a luxurious $2.9-million home in the city’s Bridle Path neighbourhood is registered to him.
Khavari’s reported presence in Canada has caused fury among Canadians who’ve escaped Iran’s Islamic theocracy.
“We want to know whether Mr. Khavari has committed any crime in Canada,” said human rights advocate Shabnam Assadollahi. “We want to know where (his) money has come (from) and how he bought this $3-million house. Did he pay cash, and also did he fabricate (his) story about being in Canada during the time he was supposed to be (here) for his citizenship?”
Assadollahi also questions whether Khavari’s work with the Ahmadinejad regime squares with the oath of loyalty to Canada and the Queen that all new citizens must swear.
In a drive to block funding for Iran’s nuclear weapons program and the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Canada banned financial dealings with Bank Melli and hundreds of other Iranian entities in 2010.
The United States slapped sanctions on Bank Melli in 2007, accusing it of helping fund the Revolutionary Guard.
Washington says, with 125,000 members and extensive financial concerns, the Revolutionary Guard helps pay for Iran’s nuclear program and provide “material support” for the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hamas in the Palestinian Territories, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
There’s no word on when the investigation involving Khavari will conclude.
A QMI Agency source has confirmed the investigation involves Mahmoud Reza Khavari, who has been a Canadian citizen since 2005.
Khavari resigned from his position at Bank Melli late last month amid a $2.6 billion financial fraud in Iran that has shaken the regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
It’s believed Khavari then left Iran and sought refuge in Toronto, where a luxurious $2.9-million home in the city’s Bridle Path neighbourhood is registered to him.
Khavari’s reported presence in Canada has caused fury among Canadians who’ve escaped Iran’s Islamic theocracy.
“We want to know whether Mr. Khavari has committed any crime in Canada,” said human rights advocate Shabnam Assadollahi. “We want to know where (his) money has come (from) and how he bought this $3-million house. Did he pay cash, and also did he fabricate (his) story about being in Canada during the time he was supposed to be (here) for his citizenship?”
Assadollahi also questions whether Khavari’s work with the Ahmadinejad regime squares with the oath of loyalty to Canada and the Queen that all new citizens must swear.
In a drive to block funding for Iran’s nuclear weapons program and the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Canada banned financial dealings with Bank Melli and hundreds of other Iranian entities in 2010.
The United States slapped sanctions on Bank Melli in 2007, accusing it of helping fund the Revolutionary Guard.
Washington says, with 125,000 members and extensive financial concerns, the Revolutionary Guard helps pay for Iran’s nuclear program and provide “material support” for the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hamas in the Palestinian Territories, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
There’s no word on when the investigation involving Khavari will conclude.
بازداشت و تفتیش منزل یک شهروند بهائی در امیدیه
روز دوشنبه ۲۵ مهرماه ماموران اطلاعات و نیروی انتظامی با مراجعه به منزل شکرالله عزیزی، شهروند بهائی ساکن امیدیه واقع در استان خوزستان، ضمن تفتیش منزل، همسر وی، نسرین شاعرزاده را بازداشت کردند.
به گزارش «خانه حقوق بشر ایران»، ماموران در ابتدا اعلام کردند که حکم تفتیش خانه را دارند و طبق گفته ی ماموران این حکم بنام نسرین شاعرزاده، بوده. ماموران در ساعت ۳۰:۹ صبح روز دوشنبه به محل کار نسرین شاعرزاده رفته و از ایشان می خواهند که همراه آنها به منزل برود و این که آنها حکم تفتیش خانه را دارند.
بعد از ممانعت ایشان و اعلام اینکه “تا همسرم نباشد با شما جایی نمی آیم.” ماموران با موبایل وی با همسرشان تماس می گیرند و می گویند “ما منزل شما هستیم بیا.”
هنگامی که همسر نام برده به منزل می رسد متوجه می شود که ماموران از دیوار به داخل حیاط رفته اند و ایشان را مجبور به باز کردن درب ورودی ساختمان می کنند. نسرین شاعرزاده هم به همراه ماموران به منزل می روند اما ماموران زن و شوهر را در داخل حیاط نگاه می دارند و خودشان به تفتیش منزل می پردازند.
لازم به ذکر است که ماموران کل خانه را به هم ریخته و به طرز وحشیانه ای به جستجو و تفتیش خانه پرداخته بودند. کامپیوتر خانگی، کلیه کتب مذهبی، تعدادی قاب، کلیه سی دی ها اعم از خانوادگی و از جمله تجهیزات ماهواره ای را ضبط کردند و با خود بردند. البته ماموران در ابتدا حکمی نشان ندادند و در پایان به اصرار شکرالله عزیزی حکم خود را نشان داده که بسیار ناخوانا بوده و نام فرد خاصی نیز در آن ذکر نشده بود.
پس از گذشت ۱ ساعت از تفتیش منزل با موبایل شکرالله عزیزی تماس گرفته می شود و از وی می خواهند که همسرش را به اداره اطلاعات تحویل بدهد. در پی خودداری ایشان از این کار ماموران با سماجت به درب منزل وی رفته و ایشان را می برند. این در حالی است که حکمی برای جلب نسرین شاعرزاده در دست نداشتند.
پس از چند ساعت بازجویی با وثیقه، جواز کسب، ایشان را آزاد می کنند تا روز بعد که به دادگاه احضار می شوند. اتهام نسرین شاعرزاده “تبلیغ علیه نظام جمهمری اسلامی” و “داشتن تجهیزات ماهواره ای” است. نسرین شاعرزاده فعلا به قید وثیقه آزاد و منتظر روز دادگاه هستند.
به گزارش «خانه حقوق بشر ایران»، ماموران در ابتدا اعلام کردند که حکم تفتیش خانه را دارند و طبق گفته ی ماموران این حکم بنام نسرین شاعرزاده، بوده. ماموران در ساعت ۳۰:۹ صبح روز دوشنبه به محل کار نسرین شاعرزاده رفته و از ایشان می خواهند که همراه آنها به منزل برود و این که آنها حکم تفتیش خانه را دارند.
بعد از ممانعت ایشان و اعلام اینکه “تا همسرم نباشد با شما جایی نمی آیم.” ماموران با موبایل وی با همسرشان تماس می گیرند و می گویند “ما منزل شما هستیم بیا.”
هنگامی که همسر نام برده به منزل می رسد متوجه می شود که ماموران از دیوار به داخل حیاط رفته اند و ایشان را مجبور به باز کردن درب ورودی ساختمان می کنند. نسرین شاعرزاده هم به همراه ماموران به منزل می روند اما ماموران زن و شوهر را در داخل حیاط نگاه می دارند و خودشان به تفتیش منزل می پردازند.
لازم به ذکر است که ماموران کل خانه را به هم ریخته و به طرز وحشیانه ای به جستجو و تفتیش خانه پرداخته بودند. کامپیوتر خانگی، کلیه کتب مذهبی، تعدادی قاب، کلیه سی دی ها اعم از خانوادگی و از جمله تجهیزات ماهواره ای را ضبط کردند و با خود بردند. البته ماموران در ابتدا حکمی نشان ندادند و در پایان به اصرار شکرالله عزیزی حکم خود را نشان داده که بسیار ناخوانا بوده و نام فرد خاصی نیز در آن ذکر نشده بود.
پس از گذشت ۱ ساعت از تفتیش منزل با موبایل شکرالله عزیزی تماس گرفته می شود و از وی می خواهند که همسرش را به اداره اطلاعات تحویل بدهد. در پی خودداری ایشان از این کار ماموران با سماجت به درب منزل وی رفته و ایشان را می برند. این در حالی است که حکمی برای جلب نسرین شاعرزاده در دست نداشتند.
پس از چند ساعت بازجویی با وثیقه، جواز کسب، ایشان را آزاد می کنند تا روز بعد که به دادگاه احضار می شوند. اتهام نسرین شاعرزاده “تبلیغ علیه نظام جمهمری اسلامی” و “داشتن تجهیزات ماهواره ای” است. نسرین شاعرزاده فعلا به قید وثیقه آزاد و منتظر روز دادگاه هستند.
Iran’s assassination plot compels a tough response
The US knows Tehran is a terror sponsor that ignores sanctions. So only military action can stop its nuclear weapons programme.
Iran’s assassination plot against Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington has produced widely varying reactions. Curiously, some US “experts” on Iran questioned the veracity of the Obama administration’s statement of the case, arguing it was uncharacteristic for Tehran to use intermediaries like Mexican drug cartels rather than old standbys like Hezbollah.
Apparently, under this sceptical view, the official terrorist rule book prohibits creativity and innovation. And at least some intelligence community denizens were miffed that DEA and FBI gumshoes uncovered the conspiracy, not “real” intelligence professionals. In reality, the sceptics are simply revealing their own blindness to Tehran’s maliciousness.
In fact, for the Tehran regime, the idea of killing a senior Saudi official, humiliating America by doing so on our own soil, and throwing us off balance by using an extensive foreign criminal network we have been unable to neutralise, is par for the course. The only surprise is who in Washington was surprised by Iran’s increasing brazenness.
Administration officials, for example, reacted with incredulity to potential violations of international norms protecting diplomats. Iran’s nuclear weapons program, its deadly attacks on US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and its role as the world’s central banker of terrorism had not persuaded President Obama to take strong and decisive action against Tehran, but threatening diplomats raised his pulse rate.
Nonetheless, precisely because it was this president who believed the evidence so overwhelming that criminal prosecutions ensued, we must consider these allegations to be truly serious. Career justice department prosecutors, for whom professional integrity and ethics – not to mention their conviction records – are at stake, believe they can prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is not a Mad Magazine “Spy v Spy”story.
Having previously given Iran the benefit of every doubt, Obama is now making the public case, a most unlikely scenario unless the evidence was overwhelming (not only what is already public but that which remains undisclosed). If this prosecution were to collapse, it would be politically devastating for Obama.
Ironically, therefore, his policy response betrays the same blindness of those sceptical of the plot itself. The troubling but unavoidable reality is that Iran’s regime is increasingly brazen because it sees the United States, under current management, as weak, fickle and inattentive. Unfortunately, the mullahs may be on the verge of being proven correct, yet again, by the president’s flaccid response to this diplomatic version of Chicagoland’s St Valentine’s Day massacre.
President Obama’s threat to “apply the toughest sanctions”, to Iran will simply convince Tehran of his lack of real seriousness. First, additional sanctions by just Washington and Brussels will cause only incremental increases in Tehran’s costs of doing business, and will be evaded just as existing sanctions already are, with assistance from Russia, China, Venezuela and others. Second, the likelihood of obtaining truly significant new sanctions from the UN security council is doubtful. Expect pious pronouncements from Moscow and Beijing, centers of refined due process and independent judiciaries, about the rights of defendants and presumptions of innocence. Time enough for sanctions, they are rehearsing to say, once the judicial process has concluded, and one or more defendants are actually found guilty. Good luck waiting for that.
In fact, by focusing so intensively on just the assassination plot, Obama is ignoring the overwhelming broader implications. Iran’s scheme is far more important for what it reveals about the nature and character of Tehran’s rulers than the particulars of one gambit, however abhorrent. A terrorist-sponsoring regime capable of putting the occasional ambassador in mortal peril is sufficiently rabid that its likely acquisition of nuclear weapons in the very near future will magnify its threat to truly existential proportions, at least for small countries nearby. And it is the nuclear weapons that should truly concentrate our attention, since they will put us all in mortal peril.
We must abandon the mirages, to which Obama still clings, that Iran might negotiate an acceptable “solution” to its nuclear weapons program, or merely that economic sanctions will somehow force Iran to negotiate. No wonder the Iranian regime mocks us for weakness and willful blindness. Even a threatened attack on our soil, which could have killed hundreds of Americans, has not been enough to spur Obama into decisive action.
The unpleasant reality is that the only alternative to a nuclear Iran is to break Tehran’s program through the targeted use of military force, either by Israel, the United States or both. This is, to be sure, a risky, unpleasant and unattractive option. It is, nonetheless, far preferable to the only existing – and rapidly approaching – alternative, which is Iran with nuclear weapons. Although unwilling to say so publicly, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states have long privately hoped for leveling Iran’s nuclear program. With the Iranian assassination plot now public, they might even smile publicly.
Iran’s assassination plot against Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington has produced widely varying reactions. Curiously, some US “experts” on Iran questioned the veracity of the Obama administration’s statement of the case, arguing it was uncharacteristic for Tehran to use intermediaries like Mexican drug cartels rather than old standbys like Hezbollah.
Apparently, under this sceptical view, the official terrorist rule book prohibits creativity and innovation. And at least some intelligence community denizens were miffed that DEA and FBI gumshoes uncovered the conspiracy, not “real” intelligence professionals. In reality, the sceptics are simply revealing their own blindness to Tehran’s maliciousness.
In fact, for the Tehran regime, the idea of killing a senior Saudi official, humiliating America by doing so on our own soil, and throwing us off balance by using an extensive foreign criminal network we have been unable to neutralise, is par for the course. The only surprise is who in Washington was surprised by Iran’s increasing brazenness.
Administration officials, for example, reacted with incredulity to potential violations of international norms protecting diplomats. Iran’s nuclear weapons program, its deadly attacks on US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and its role as the world’s central banker of terrorism had not persuaded President Obama to take strong and decisive action against Tehran, but threatening diplomats raised his pulse rate.
Nonetheless, precisely because it was this president who believed the evidence so overwhelming that criminal prosecutions ensued, we must consider these allegations to be truly serious. Career justice department prosecutors, for whom professional integrity and ethics – not to mention their conviction records – are at stake, believe they can prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is not a Mad Magazine “Spy v Spy”story.
Having previously given Iran the benefit of every doubt, Obama is now making the public case, a most unlikely scenario unless the evidence was overwhelming (not only what is already public but that which remains undisclosed). If this prosecution were to collapse, it would be politically devastating for Obama.
Ironically, therefore, his policy response betrays the same blindness of those sceptical of the plot itself. The troubling but unavoidable reality is that Iran’s regime is increasingly brazen because it sees the United States, under current management, as weak, fickle and inattentive. Unfortunately, the mullahs may be on the verge of being proven correct, yet again, by the president’s flaccid response to this diplomatic version of Chicagoland’s St Valentine’s Day massacre.
President Obama’s threat to “apply the toughest sanctions”, to Iran will simply convince Tehran of his lack of real seriousness. First, additional sanctions by just Washington and Brussels will cause only incremental increases in Tehran’s costs of doing business, and will be evaded just as existing sanctions already are, with assistance from Russia, China, Venezuela and others. Second, the likelihood of obtaining truly significant new sanctions from the UN security council is doubtful. Expect pious pronouncements from Moscow and Beijing, centers of refined due process and independent judiciaries, about the rights of defendants and presumptions of innocence. Time enough for sanctions, they are rehearsing to say, once the judicial process has concluded, and one or more defendants are actually found guilty. Good luck waiting for that.
In fact, by focusing so intensively on just the assassination plot, Obama is ignoring the overwhelming broader implications. Iran’s scheme is far more important for what it reveals about the nature and character of Tehran’s rulers than the particulars of one gambit, however abhorrent. A terrorist-sponsoring regime capable of putting the occasional ambassador in mortal peril is sufficiently rabid that its likely acquisition of nuclear weapons in the very near future will magnify its threat to truly existential proportions, at least for small countries nearby. And it is the nuclear weapons that should truly concentrate our attention, since they will put us all in mortal peril.
We must abandon the mirages, to which Obama still clings, that Iran might negotiate an acceptable “solution” to its nuclear weapons program, or merely that economic sanctions will somehow force Iran to negotiate. No wonder the Iranian regime mocks us for weakness and willful blindness. Even a threatened attack on our soil, which could have killed hundreds of Americans, has not been enough to spur Obama into decisive action.
The unpleasant reality is that the only alternative to a nuclear Iran is to break Tehran’s program through the targeted use of military force, either by Israel, the United States or both. This is, to be sure, a risky, unpleasant and unattractive option. It is, nonetheless, far preferable to the only existing – and rapidly approaching – alternative, which is Iran with nuclear weapons. Although unwilling to say so publicly, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states have long privately hoped for leveling Iran’s nuclear program. With the Iranian assassination plot now public, they might even smile publicly.
بازجویی و تهدید محمد داوری، روزنامهنگار زندانی
محمد داوری، روزنامه نگار زندانی، برای چندمین بار در یک سال اخیر به دادسرای اوین فراخوانده و از سوی مسوولان قضایی بازجویی و تهدید شد.
به گزارش خبرنگار کلمه، این زندانی سیاسی که اکنون در بند ۳۵۰ زندان اوین به سر می برد، به دلیل نوشتن نامه ای درباره وضعیت بازداشتگاه کهریزک، به دادسرا فراخوانده و بازجویی شد. بازجویان در جریان این بازجویی، او را به تشدید حکم زندان تهدید کرده اند.
محمد داوری، روزنامه نگار، سردبیر وب سایت سحام نیوز و عضو ستاد انتخاباتی مهدی کروبی، بیش از دو سال است که بدون بهره مندی از حق مرخصی، در زندان اوین به سر می برد.
وی در آن نوشته از فعالیت های خود در دفتر مهدی کروبی و همچنین ملاقات و مصاحبه با شکنجه شده های زندان کهریزک و کسانی که در این زندان و دیگر زندان ها مورد تجاوز جنسی قرار گرفته اند، پرده برداشته و تاکید کرده بود که طی بازجویی ها و بیش از دو سال زندان، هیچ یک از مقامات مسوول نتوانسته اند صحت این مستندات را زیر سوال ببرند.
داوری در ۷۳۰ امین روز بازداشت خود، در نوشته ای مفصل که از زندان اوین ارسال کرد، بخشی از وقایع دو سال بازداشتش را بازگو کرد. او در بخشی از نامه اش نوشت: اگر خلاف مستندات ما ثابت شده بود، تا به حال آنها مستندهای تلویزیونی بسیاری درباره آنها پخش می کردند؛ در حالی که تنها سکوت کرده اند و هرگز نتوانسته اند اساس گفته های کسانی را که از شکنجه و تجاوز در زندان ها گفته اند، زیر سوال ببرند..
داوری همچنین در همان نوشته تاکید کرد که هرگز در زندان تقاضای عفو و بخشش نمی کند، چرا که به عقیده ی او، این مسوولان متخلف هستند که بی گناهان را به زندان انداخته اند و آنها باید از این زندانیان تقاضای بخشش کنند؛ زیرا ظالم است که نیازمند عفو است و نه مظلوم.
دستگاه قضایی در دو سال اخیر بارها شاکیان را به جای متهمان محاکمه کرده و این موضوع به رویه ای در سیستم قضایی تبدیل شده است. همچنین مدتی است وقتی زندانیان مظلوم از ظلم هایی که بر آنها رفته شکایت می کنند، خود به جای متهمان به دادگاه احضار، تهدید و بازجویی می شوند.
محمد داوری که ابتدا به ۵ سال حبس متهم شده بود، پس از یک سال زندان به یک سال حبس دیگر هم محکوم شد که به این ترتیب میزان حبس او به شش سال افزایش یافت. اکنون او به خاطر افشای ظلم هایی که تحمل کرده، توسط ماموران امنیتی و قضایی به تشدید مجازات تهدید شده است.
به گزارش خبرنگار کلمه، این زندانی سیاسی که اکنون در بند ۳۵۰ زندان اوین به سر می برد، به دلیل نوشتن نامه ای درباره وضعیت بازداشتگاه کهریزک، به دادسرا فراخوانده و بازجویی شد. بازجویان در جریان این بازجویی، او را به تشدید حکم زندان تهدید کرده اند.
محمد داوری، روزنامه نگار، سردبیر وب سایت سحام نیوز و عضو ستاد انتخاباتی مهدی کروبی، بیش از دو سال است که بدون بهره مندی از حق مرخصی، در زندان اوین به سر می برد.
وی در آن نوشته از فعالیت های خود در دفتر مهدی کروبی و همچنین ملاقات و مصاحبه با شکنجه شده های زندان کهریزک و کسانی که در این زندان و دیگر زندان ها مورد تجاوز جنسی قرار گرفته اند، پرده برداشته و تاکید کرده بود که طی بازجویی ها و بیش از دو سال زندان، هیچ یک از مقامات مسوول نتوانسته اند صحت این مستندات را زیر سوال ببرند.
داوری در ۷۳۰ امین روز بازداشت خود، در نوشته ای مفصل که از زندان اوین ارسال کرد، بخشی از وقایع دو سال بازداشتش را بازگو کرد. او در بخشی از نامه اش نوشت: اگر خلاف مستندات ما ثابت شده بود، تا به حال آنها مستندهای تلویزیونی بسیاری درباره آنها پخش می کردند؛ در حالی که تنها سکوت کرده اند و هرگز نتوانسته اند اساس گفته های کسانی را که از شکنجه و تجاوز در زندان ها گفته اند، زیر سوال ببرند..
داوری همچنین در همان نوشته تاکید کرد که هرگز در زندان تقاضای عفو و بخشش نمی کند، چرا که به عقیده ی او، این مسوولان متخلف هستند که بی گناهان را به زندان انداخته اند و آنها باید از این زندانیان تقاضای بخشش کنند؛ زیرا ظالم است که نیازمند عفو است و نه مظلوم.
دستگاه قضایی در دو سال اخیر بارها شاکیان را به جای متهمان محاکمه کرده و این موضوع به رویه ای در سیستم قضایی تبدیل شده است. همچنین مدتی است وقتی زندانیان مظلوم از ظلم هایی که بر آنها رفته شکایت می کنند، خود به جای متهمان به دادگاه احضار، تهدید و بازجویی می شوند.
محمد داوری که ابتدا به ۵ سال حبس متهم شده بود، پس از یک سال زندان به یک سال حبس دیگر هم محکوم شد که به این ترتیب میزان حبس او به شش سال افزایش یافت. اکنون او به خاطر افشای ظلم هایی که تحمل کرده، توسط ماموران امنیتی و قضایی به تشدید مجازات تهدید شده است.
UN Report Highlights Iran’s Secret Executions
UNITED NATIONS — The UN report has accused Tehran of conducting more than 300 secret executions at a prison in the country’s second-largest city without the knowledge, or presence, of the detainees’ families or lawyers. The report, the first by the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, alleges that the executions took place at Vakilabad prison in the city of Mashhad in 2010.
The 21-page document details judiciary abuses, unauthorized detentions of political dissidents for prolonged periods, persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, extensive use of the death penalty even for crimes that would not warrant such hard punishment, and targeting of journalists who report critically on the Iranian government.
According to the report, more than 200 executions have taken place in Iran so far in 2011, including 83 in January alone. Shaheed highlighted “reports of multifarious and systemic deficits in the administration of justice.”
He said, they included “certain practices that amount to torture, cruel or degrading treatment of detainees, the imposition of the death penalty in the absence of proper judicial safeguards, the denial of reasonable access to legal counsel and adequate medical treatment.”
He said he was also concerned with “the employment of capital punishment in juvenile cases.”
Second-Hand Information
Ahmed Shaheed’s report was officially released on October 17 but the diplomat — who was not allowed access to Iran during his investigation — called it an “interim” report. A final version will be presented next March, one year after Shaheed’s appointment by the UN Human Rights Council.
Shaheed had less than three months to prepare his report and said his findings are based on the accounts of hundreds of witnesses inside Iran, official documents, Internet research, and other verifiable data. Despite having to rely on second-hand information, he insists his findings are accurate.
“I had a very short time frame to prepare that report and my main focus was to respond to Iran’s — the authorities’ claim that they will not cooperate with me and that there was a need to cooperate with me,” Shaheed told reporters on October 20.
He said the situation was worsening for journalists in Iran.
“There have been very severe sentences for bloggers, for example, and reports of Internet censorship that limits communications using the Internet. So it is a very serious area of concern,” Shaheed said.
Iran Denials
Iranian officials have dismissed Shaheed’s findings as “lies” and “fabrications.”
Iran’s Deputy UN Ambassador Eshagh al-Habib said the report’s conclusions were the result of manipulations by the United States and its European allies.
“By not reflecting faithfully the actual situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, [but] rather assembling a catalogue of poorly researched, exaggerated, and outdated allegations, the presentation of this report we believe is a very conspicuous manipulation of the United Nations human rights system and its content is absolutely unjustified, unwarranted, and unacceptable for my country,” al-Habib said.
The 21-page document details judiciary abuses, unauthorized detentions of political dissidents for prolonged periods, persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, extensive use of the death penalty even for crimes that would not warrant such hard punishment, and targeting of journalists who report critically on the Iranian government.
According to the report, more than 200 executions have taken place in Iran so far in 2011, including 83 in January alone. Shaheed highlighted “reports of multifarious and systemic deficits in the administration of justice.”
He said, they included “certain practices that amount to torture, cruel or degrading treatment of detainees, the imposition of the death penalty in the absence of proper judicial safeguards, the denial of reasonable access to legal counsel and adequate medical treatment.”
He said he was also concerned with “the employment of capital punishment in juvenile cases.”
Second-Hand Information
Ahmed Shaheed’s report was officially released on October 17 but the diplomat — who was not allowed access to Iran during his investigation — called it an “interim” report. A final version will be presented next March, one year after Shaheed’s appointment by the UN Human Rights Council.
Shaheed had less than three months to prepare his report and said his findings are based on the accounts of hundreds of witnesses inside Iran, official documents, Internet research, and other verifiable data. Despite having to rely on second-hand information, he insists his findings are accurate.
“I had a very short time frame to prepare that report and my main focus was to respond to Iran’s — the authorities’ claim that they will not cooperate with me and that there was a need to cooperate with me,” Shaheed told reporters on October 20.
He said the situation was worsening for journalists in Iran.
“There have been very severe sentences for bloggers, for example, and reports of Internet censorship that limits communications using the Internet. So it is a very serious area of concern,” Shaheed said.
Iran Denials
Iranian officials have dismissed Shaheed’s findings as “lies” and “fabrications.”
Iran’s Deputy UN Ambassador Eshagh al-Habib said the report’s conclusions were the result of manipulations by the United States and its European allies.
“By not reflecting faithfully the actual situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, [but] rather assembling a catalogue of poorly researched, exaggerated, and outdated allegations, the presentation of this report we believe is a very conspicuous manipulation of the United Nations human rights system and its content is absolutely unjustified, unwarranted, and unacceptable for my country,” al-Habib said.
ممانعت از آزادی رضا جوشن، زندانی سیاسی
خبرگزاری هرانا – علی رغم اتمام محکومیت رضا جوشن ماموران وزارت اطلاعات از آزادی این زندانی سیاسی جلوگیری کردند.
بنا به اطلاع گزارشگران هرانا، ارگان خبری مجموعه فعالان حقوق بشر در ایران، این زندانی سیاسی که از ۴۵ روز پیش به انفرادی بند ۲۰۹ زندان اوین منتقل شده است محکومیت دو سالهاش امروز به پایان رسیده است.
روز دوشنبه ماموران وزارت اطلاعات این زندانی را برای تمدید قرار بازداشت به دادگاه منتقل کردند.
بنا به اطلاع گزارشگران هرانا، ارگان خبری مجموعه فعالان حقوق بشر در ایران، این زندانی سیاسی که از ۴۵ روز پیش به انفرادی بند ۲۰۹ زندان اوین منتقل شده است محکومیت دو سالهاش امروز به پایان رسیده است.
روز دوشنبه ماموران وزارت اطلاعات این زندانی را برای تمدید قرار بازداشت به دادگاه منتقل کردند.
Double punishment for jailed human rights defenders
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), denounces the policy of subjecting jailed human rights defenders to discriminative punitive measures in prison, while the sentencing of journalist Abdolreza Tajik to six years of imprisonment has been upheld in appeal. In Iran, the authorities have continued to target human rights lawyers as an attempt to reduce the number of those who are prepared to defend victims of the overtly flawed judicial system, in particular human rights defenders and women’s rights activists, trade unionists and student activists, effectively criminalising human rights legal representation. Lawyers are not only subjected to judicial harassment and unfair prison sentences, but they are also subjected to punitive measures in jail aimed at silencing them and sanctioning their legitimate activities. On October 20, 2011, Mr. Abdolreza Tajik, journalist, a member of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) and winner of the 2010 Freedom of Press Award of Reporters without Borders, was sentenced in appeal to six years of prison on charges of “propaganda against the system”, “acting against the national security”, “cooperation with the DHRC”, and “collaboration with opposition groups”. Since the disputed June 2009 presidential election, he has been arrested three times. The third time he was detained during over six months. He remains free on bail but is at risk of arbitrary arrest anytime.
Another recent case is that of human rights lawyer Ms. Nasrin Sotudeh, known for defending juveniles facing death penalty, prisoners of conscience, human rights activists and children victims of abuse, serving a six year prison term in Section 350 of Evin prison, who has been banned from having family visits for three weeks as of October 16, 2010, on the pretext that she refuses to wear the chador, although there are no laws requiring the prisoners to wear the chador. In addition, she has not been denied the right to have meetings in person for over three months, contrary to prison rules according to which prisoners may meet their family members in person once a month.
Besides, human rights lawyer Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, a founding member of the DHRC, who was arrested on September 10, 2011, was recently threatened by his interrogator of a prison sentence of 20 years on charges of “participation in founding the Defenders of Human Rights Centre”, “propaganda against the system”, “assembly and collusion against national security”, and “earning illegitimate assets” through receiving the Nuremberg City’s Human Rights Prize in 2009. Following his arrest, he has been held incommunicado in Section 209 of the Ministry of Intelligence within Evin Prison’s premise. Last week his family was allowed to visit him for the first time. The investigation is closed and under such conditions, Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani should have been released on bail pending trial and a final decision. Nevertheless, Mr. Soltani’s detention order was extended for another month in late September.
Finally, Mr. Amir Eslami, a member of the Human Rights Commission of the Iranian Bar Association and a lawyer of Gonabadi Dervishes, who has been in solitary detention since September 4, was recently transferred to Evin Prison’s clinic owing to serious health problems. Other imprisoned lawyers of Dervishes are Messrs. Farshid Yadollahi, Omid Behroozi, Afshin Karampour, Reza Entessari and Hamidreza Moradi and are being held in Section 209 of the Ministry of Intelligence within Evin Prison’s premises. The latter is also reported to have heart ailment. None of them have been granted access to their families or lawyers since they were detained.
The Observatory firmly denounces the policy of harassment of human rights defenders through arbitrary detention, judicial harassment and punitive measures in prison, which only aim at sanctioning their legitimate human rights activities. It also urges the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those detained, and more generally to conform to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights instruments ratified by Iran.
Another recent case is that of human rights lawyer Ms. Nasrin Sotudeh, known for defending juveniles facing death penalty, prisoners of conscience, human rights activists and children victims of abuse, serving a six year prison term in Section 350 of Evin prison, who has been banned from having family visits for three weeks as of October 16, 2010, on the pretext that she refuses to wear the chador, although there are no laws requiring the prisoners to wear the chador. In addition, she has not been denied the right to have meetings in person for over three months, contrary to prison rules according to which prisoners may meet their family members in person once a month.
Besides, human rights lawyer Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, a founding member of the DHRC, who was arrested on September 10, 2011, was recently threatened by his interrogator of a prison sentence of 20 years on charges of “participation in founding the Defenders of Human Rights Centre”, “propaganda against the system”, “assembly and collusion against national security”, and “earning illegitimate assets” through receiving the Nuremberg City’s Human Rights Prize in 2009. Following his arrest, he has been held incommunicado in Section 209 of the Ministry of Intelligence within Evin Prison’s premise. Last week his family was allowed to visit him for the first time. The investigation is closed and under such conditions, Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani should have been released on bail pending trial and a final decision. Nevertheless, Mr. Soltani’s detention order was extended for another month in late September.
Finally, Mr. Amir Eslami, a member of the Human Rights Commission of the Iranian Bar Association and a lawyer of Gonabadi Dervishes, who has been in solitary detention since September 4, was recently transferred to Evin Prison’s clinic owing to serious health problems. Other imprisoned lawyers of Dervishes are Messrs. Farshid Yadollahi, Omid Behroozi, Afshin Karampour, Reza Entessari and Hamidreza Moradi and are being held in Section 209 of the Ministry of Intelligence within Evin Prison’s premises. The latter is also reported to have heart ailment. None of them have been granted access to their families or lawyers since they were detained.
The Observatory firmly denounces the policy of harassment of human rights defenders through arbitrary detention, judicial harassment and punitive measures in prison, which only aim at sanctioning their legitimate human rights activities. It also urges the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those detained, and more generally to conform to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights instruments ratified by Iran.
دستگیری دو دانشجو در جریان تجمعی صنفی در کوی دانشگاه تهران
خبرگزاری هرانا – دانشجویان ساکن در کوی دانشگاه تهران، شب گذشته، ٣٠ مهرماه، در اعتراض به مشکلات صنفی تجمع کردند که در پی این تجمع دو تن از دانشجویان نیز بازداشت شدند.
به گزارش جرس، حدود پانصد تا هفتصد نفر از دانشجویان که به کیفیت پایین غذا، افزایش بی سابقه نرخ غذا و هزینه خوابگاه، سخت گیری بیش از حد به عدم اسکان دانشجویان سنواتی، سرعت بسیار پایین اینترنت، نامناسب بودن امکانات رفاهی و از همه مهمتر عدم پاسخگویی شفاف مسئولین دانشگاه اعتراض داشتند، دست به تجمع زدند.
این تجمع که از ساعت هشت و سی دقیقه آغاز شد، با دخالت مسئولین پر تعداد حراست دانشگاه پس از یک ساعت با وعده حضور مسئولین در کوی دانشگاه در روز یکشنبه با خواندن یار دبستانی پایان داده شد.
بنا به گزارش مذکور، ده ها تن از لباس شخصی ها و نیروهای حراست که وارد کوی شده بودند، اقدام به گرفتن کارت دانشجویی متحصنین و فیلمبرداری از آنان و درگیری های لفظی با دانشجویان کرده و شدیدا از گسترش تجمع و سیاسی شدن تحصن آنها ممانعت بعمل آوردند.
گفته می شود، دو تن از دانشجویان دانشکدۀ فنی، به دلیل فیلمبرداری از تحصن و حضور ماموران، با ضرب و شتم توسط نیروی های حراست دستگیر و به محلی نامعلوم منتقل شدند.
دانشجویان کوی اعلام کرده اند تا تحقق خواسته هایشان هر شب در میدان کوی دانشگاه تجمع خواهند کرد.
هفته گذشته نیز، در ادامه اعتراض های صنفی دانشجویان سراسر کشور، نامه ای با امضای بیش از هزار نفر از دانشجویان دانشگاه مازندران به شورای صنفی این دانشگاه تقدیم گردید تا خواستار تغییر در وضعیت صنفی- رفاهی خود شوند.
به گزارش جرس، حدود پانصد تا هفتصد نفر از دانشجویان که به کیفیت پایین غذا، افزایش بی سابقه نرخ غذا و هزینه خوابگاه، سخت گیری بیش از حد به عدم اسکان دانشجویان سنواتی، سرعت بسیار پایین اینترنت، نامناسب بودن امکانات رفاهی و از همه مهمتر عدم پاسخگویی شفاف مسئولین دانشگاه اعتراض داشتند، دست به تجمع زدند.
این تجمع که از ساعت هشت و سی دقیقه آغاز شد، با دخالت مسئولین پر تعداد حراست دانشگاه پس از یک ساعت با وعده حضور مسئولین در کوی دانشگاه در روز یکشنبه با خواندن یار دبستانی پایان داده شد.
بنا به گزارش مذکور، ده ها تن از لباس شخصی ها و نیروهای حراست که وارد کوی شده بودند، اقدام به گرفتن کارت دانشجویی متحصنین و فیلمبرداری از آنان و درگیری های لفظی با دانشجویان کرده و شدیدا از گسترش تجمع و سیاسی شدن تحصن آنها ممانعت بعمل آوردند.
گفته می شود، دو تن از دانشجویان دانشکدۀ فنی، به دلیل فیلمبرداری از تحصن و حضور ماموران، با ضرب و شتم توسط نیروی های حراست دستگیر و به محلی نامعلوم منتقل شدند.
دانشجویان کوی اعلام کرده اند تا تحقق خواسته هایشان هر شب در میدان کوی دانشگاه تجمع خواهند کرد.
هفته گذشته نیز، در ادامه اعتراض های صنفی دانشجویان سراسر کشور، نامه ای با امضای بیش از هزار نفر از دانشجویان دانشگاه مازندران به شورای صنفی این دانشگاه تقدیم گردید تا خواستار تغییر در وضعیت صنفی- رفاهی خود شوند.