در تمام مدتي كه من در انگليس اقامت دارم ايان پيزلي و جري ادمز دو دشمن خوني بودند. يادمه هر موقع كه با جري ادمز مصاحبه اي ميشد صدايش را سانسور و دوبله مي كردند و در عوض ايان پيزلي با اون صداي نكره اش و با فرياد هاي خشمگين گويي كه با هر دو دستانش همانجا مي خواهد جري ادمز كه عضو شوراي رهبري شاخه سياسي گروه تروريستي آي آر اي بود را خفه كند را مستقيم بدون سانسور پخش مي كردند. حال بعد از چندين ماه رايزني دو گروه به يك موافقت تاريخي رسيده اند كه با يكديگر براي تشكيل دولت در ايرلند شمالي همكاري كنند. جري و ايان در كنار يكديگر و تقسيم قدرت! چند سال پيش چنين تصوري را هيچ كس در رويا هاي خودش هم نمي ديد. اين تحول شايد بيشتر بخاطر درك دو گروه بوده كه در دنياي آزاد و دمكراتيك حذف گروه هاي دگر انديش نه تنها شايسته نيست بلكه امكان پذير هم نيست و اين تحول در اين دو گروه و دو رهبر بلاخره سرانجامش همين ائتلاف با شكوه تاريخي بود. حال سئوالي كه براي من پيش مي ايد اين است كه آيا روزي مي رسد كه گروه هاي دگر انديش ايراني هم بتوانند تحولاتي را در خود انجام دهند تا به يك توافق تاريخي براي خاطر دمكراسي و حقوق بشر در ايران با يكديگر برسند؟ چندين ماه پيش پيشنهاد كردم گروه هاي محبوب و معروف ايراني كه پايگاه هاي مردمي دارند بخصوص مشروطه خواهان و مجاهدين و جبهه ملي بايد براي بوجود آوردن يك چهارچوب دمكراسي بايكديگر به تفاهم و توافق برسند. بعضي از دوستان من با ايميل به من خاطر نشان كردند كه من تنها كسي هستم كه چنين تفكراتي دارد و صد هزار سال سياه هم امكان ندارد كه مجاهدين با مشروطه خواهان به تفاهم و توافق برسند. شنيدن چنين واقعيتي براي من دردناك بود و هست. آي آر اي ايرلند شمالي نه تنها جمهوري خواه است بلكه واقعن يك گروه تروريستي بود . آنها دائمن مردم بيگناه را با بمب گذاري در اماكن عمومي ترور مي كردند و حال مي بينيم كه گروه وفادار به نظام مشروطه بريتانيا با يك گروه تروريستي جمهوري خواه با كارنامه اي واقعن سياه و پر از جنايت ائتلاف مي كند و قدرت را تقسيم مي كند. چه گونه است كه چنين ائتلافي امكان پذير مي شود؟ خوشبختانه هيچ كدام از گروه هاي ايراني كارنامه اي به سياهي آي آر اي ندارند. هيچ كدامشان مردم بي گناه را ترور نكردند اما تنفري كه ما ايرانيان نسبت به يكديگر در دل مي پرورانيم آنقدر زياد است كه حتي تصور اينكه روزي بتوانيم گذشته ها را فراموش كنيم و فقط به آينده بنگريم برايمان نا ممكن است..
چند ماه پيش خوش بين بودم و از هر زاويه كه به قضيه نگاه مي كردم مشكلي ناگشودني نمي ديدم. اما حالا واقعيت را بهتر مي بينم. ائتلاف بين اين سه گروه زماني ميسر ميشود كه اين سه گروه در خود تحولاتي را انجام دهند تا زمينه براي رسيدن به يك ائتلاف گسترده ملي فراهم شود. در غير اينصورت بعد ازسقوط جمهوري اسلامي دمكراسي واقعي در ايران بوجود نخواهد آمد و حقوق بشر همچنان پايمال خواهد شد و آزادي ها يكي پس از ديگر سلب. چرا ما ايرانيان نمي توانيم راه چاره اي براي خود پيدا كنيم؟ چرا نمي توانيم سيستمي را طراحي كنيم كه در آن همه ايرانيان به خواسته خود برسند و حقوقشان تامين شود؟ مگر دمكراسي و حقوق بشر و سكولاريسم مهمترين خواسته هاي ايرانيان نيست؟ اگر اينچنين است چه اهميتي دارد سيستم حكومتي چه باشد؟ سيستم مي تواند سيستم سگ و گربه باشد بشرطي كه قابل اجرا باشد و كارايي داشته باشد و حقوق بشر را تاميين كند ودمكراتيك و سكولار باشد. واقعيت سياست ايراني اين است كه ما دو طيف جمهوري خواه و مشروطه پادشاهي داريم كه طبيعتن از نظر سيستمي با يك ديگر زمين تا آسمون فرق مي كنند. اما به نظر من هيچ چيزي نا ممكن نيست. مي توانيم سيستمي را بوجود بياوريم كه در آن هم پادشاه داشته باشيم و هم رئيس جمهور. اين سيستم كه فعلن هم برقراره . پس از نظر تكنيكالي قابل اجراست. تصور كنيد كه همين رهبر فردي بود كه هيچ قدرتي نداشت و سيستم هم سكولار بود و آزادي ها و حقوق بشر هم همه با احترام سر جاي خود بودند. اگر اينچنين بود ما ديگر مشكلي نداشتيم. پس رضا پهلوي بعنوان شاه سمبليك كه براي بعضي از ما ايرانيان مثل اينكه از نون شب هم واجبتره مي تواند انتخاب شود و مي توانيم تمام اختيارات وقدرت سياسي را از او سلب كنيم و رئيس جمهور منتخب مردم هم مي شود مجري دولت. در اينصورت همه ايرانيان به آرزوي خود مي رسند. اينچنين نيست؟
من اميدوارم كه توافق شگفت انگيز بين شين فين و اتحاد خواهان راه ائتلاف و توافق را به گروه هاي اصلي ايراني نشان داده باشد.
25 March 2007
Khamenei warned last week that if the UN passes another resolution against the Islamic regime, which he announced as illegal, the Islamic regime would resort to illegal activities too. Taking the 15 British navy personnel as hostages is no surprise then. Is it? Illegal it is as they were taken from the Iraqi waters. More illegal activities will no doubt follow. But as for the 15 hostages, they will probably remain in custody for a long time to come as the Islamic regime’s modus operandi is hostage taking when it has nothing else to bargain with. This incident is far more serious than last time when the Islamic regime arrested 8 British servicemen in 2004 but released them after a few days.
The Islamic regime needs bargaining chips and what better than British or American or indeed any European hostages and now that sanctions are imposed, it has nothing to lose by hunting down any American or European and taking them as hostages. The regime’s behaviour will become more and more irrational as the regime prepares for the final showdown with the international community.
متاسفانه بدلیل گرفتاری کاری نتونستم در مورد چهارشنبه سوری مطلبی بنویسم و یا حتی این جشن را به دوستانم تبریک بگویم از این بابت پوزش می طلبم.
سال نو را به همه دوستانم تبریک می گویم و امیدوارم سال نو, سال آخر این رژیم ضد ایرانی و ضد بشری باشه این ارزو فکر می کنم آرزوی همه ما است
خیلی دنبال یک تصویری درست حسابی از عمو نوروز خودمون تو اینترنت گشتم اما متاسفانه پیدا نکردم. بهترین تصویر تصویری است که در این داستان عمو نوروز پیدا کردم.
پ.ن - راستش این تصویر با تصویری که من در ذهنم در دوران بجگی داشتم فرق مبکنه. شاید بخاطر تاثیرات پاپا نوئل بوده و اونم بخاطر همسایگی با هممیهنان ارامنه بوده؟ شما عمو نوروزو چگونه تصور می کردید با می کنید؟
يكي بود, يكي نبود. پير مردي بود به نام عمو نوروز كه هر سال روز اول بهار با كلاه نمدي, زلف و ريش حنا بسته, كمرچين قدك آبي, شال خليل خاني, شلوار قصب و گيوة تخت نازك از كوه راه مي افتاد و عصا به دست مي آمد به سمت دروازة شهر.
بيرون از دروازة شهر پيرزني زندگي مي كرد كه دلباختة عمو نوروز بود و روز اول هر بهار, صبح زود پا مي شد, جايش را جمع مي كرد و بعد از خانه تكاني و آب و جاروي حياط, خودش را حسابي تر و تميز مي كرد. به سر و دست و پايش حناي مفصلي مي گذاشت و هفت قلم, از خط و خال گرفته تا سرمه و سرخاب و زرك آرايش مي كرد. يل ترمه و تنبان قرمز و شليتة پرچين مي پوشيد و مشك و عنبر به سر و صورت و گيسش مي زد و فرشش را مي آورد مي انداخت رو ايوان, جلو حوضچة فواره دار رو به روي باغچه اش كه پر بود از همه جور درخت ميوة پر شكوفه و گل رنگارنگ بهاري و در يك سيني قشنگ و پاكيزه سير, سركه, سماق, سنجد, سيب, سبزي, و سمنو مي چيد و در يك سيني ديگر هفت جور ميوة خشك و نقل و نبات مي ريخت. بعد منقل را آتش مي كرد و مي رفت قليان مي آورد مي گذاشت دم دستش. اما, سر قليان آتش نمي گذاشت و همانجا چشم به راه عمو نوروز مي نشست.
چندان طول نمي كشيد كه پلك هاي پيرزن سنگين مي شد و يواش يواش خواب به سراغش مي آمد و كم كم خرناسش مي زفت به هوا.
در اين بين عمو نوروز از راه مي رسيد و دلش نمي آمد پيرزن را بيدار كند. يك شاخه گل هميشه بهار از باغچه مي چيد رو سينة او مي گذاشت و مي نشست كنارش. از منقل يك گله آتش برمي داشت مي گذاشت سر قليان و چند پك به آن مي زد و يك نارنج از وسط نصف مي كرد؛ يك پاره اش را با قندآب مي خورد. آتش منقل را براي اينكه زود سرد نشود مي كرد زير خاكستر؛ روي پيرزن را مي بوسيد و پا مي شد راه مي افتاد.
آفتاب يواش يواش تو ايوان پهن مي شد و پيرزن بيدار مي شد. اول چيزي دستگيرش نمي شد. اما يك خرده كه چشمش را باز مي كرد مي ديد اي داد بي داد همه چيز دست خورده. آتش رفته سر قليان. نارنج از وسط نصف شده. آتش ها رفته اند زير خاكستر, لپش هم تر است. آن وقت مي فهميد كه عمو نوروز آمده و رفته و نخواسته او را بيدار كند.
پير زن خيلي غصه مي خورد كه چرا بعد از آن همه زحمتي كه براي ديدن عمو نوروز كشيده, درست همان موقعي كه بايد بيدار مي ماند خوابش برده و نتوانسته عمو نوروز را ببيند و هر روز پيش اين و آن درد دل مي كرد كه چه كند و چه نكند تا بتواند عمو نوروز را ببيند؛ تا يك روزي كسي به او گفت چاره اي ندارد جز يك دفعة ديگر باد بهار بوزد و روز اول بهار برسد و عمو نوروز باز از سر كوه راه بيفتد به سمت شهر و او بتواند چشم به ديدارش روشن كند.
پير زن هم قبول كرد. اما هيچ كس نمي داند كه سال ديگر پيرزن توانست عمو نوروز را ببيند يا نه. چون بعضي ها مي گويند اگر اين ها همديگر را ببينند دنيا به آخر مي رسد و از آنجا كه دنيا هنوز به آخر نرسيده پيرزن و عمو نوروز همديگر را نديده اند.
عليرغم همه تلاشها و دستگيري هايي كه دولت براي جلوگيري از برگزاري برنامه 8 مارس (روز جهاني زن) كرد, براي اعتراض به وضعيت وخامت بار اجتماعي زنان در ايران و براي همبستگي با اعتراض معلمان شريف كه ديروز و امروز براي اعتراض در جلوي مجلس جمع شده بودند, برنامه روز جهاني زن نيز جلوي مجلس برگزار ميشود. از همه آزاديخواهان و انجمن هاي دفاع از حقوق بشر و بويژه دفاع از حقوق زنان و همه اقشار جامعه دعوت ميكنيم كه در اين برنامه شركت كرده و همبستگي خود را با اين تجمع اعلام كنند.
مكان : جلوي ساختمان مجلس(ميدان بهارستان - تهران)
زمان: پنجشنبه ساعت 14.00
انجمن جوانان وبلاگ نويس در تهران-85
gholeh501z@yahoo.com
http://javanan-weblognevis.blogfa.com The Association of Iranian Blog-writers (Penlog) celebrates the International Women's Day on 8th March and supports the women's struggle for equality and their fight against oppression and discrimination, particularly in Iran.
The AIB (Penlog) marks this day and brings to the attention of all human rights organisations and activists the continuous violation of Iranian women's rights and calls for their help to end violence against women and abolition of all gender discrimination laws in Iran.
Thirty-three Iranian women activists including Blog-writers Parastoo DoKohi and Asieh Amini have been arrested at a peaceful gathering, which was violently attacked by the regime's forces in front of the Revolution Court in Tehran. They had gathered there to protest the re-arrest and unfair trial of women activists who had previously protested against the state oppression of women; the discriminatory and anti-women laws of the Islamic Republic; and violence by the regime's forces.
The violence against women is a global tragedy and the murdering of the Pakistani minister for not wearing the Islamic Hijab and the rapes of Iraqi women in Iraqi prisons by the state forces are some examples of state-sanctioned and sponsored violence against women in the world today.
Penlog condemns all violence and discriminations against women and demands the immediate release of the thirty-three arrested women in Iran.
Amnesty International today called for the immediate and unconditional release of over 30 women activists who were arrested on Sunday, 4 March while staging a peaceful demonstration in Tehran. The organization believes the arrests may be intended to deter activists from organizing events to mark International Women's Day on 8 March.
The women were arrested outside Tehran's Revolutionary Court, where they had gathered to protest at the trial of five women charged in connection with a demonstration held on 12 June 2006 to demand that women be given equal rights with men under the law in Iran. The June demonstration was violently dispersed by security forces, who arrested at least 70 people.
"Rather than arresting peaceful demonstrators, the Iranian authorities should be taking seriously women's demands for equality before the law and addressing discrimination against women wherever it exists in the Iranian legal system," said Irene Khan, Amnesty International's Secretary General. "We worry that the women detained yesterday may be kept in detention until after 8 March, a day on which they were planning to campaign for their internationally recognized right to equality."
Those arrested on Sunday, who included at least four of the five on trial, were taken to the Vozara Department for Social Corruption, a detention centre usually used for people accused of minor crimes, such as violations of the dress code. Family members of those detained are said to have gone to the Vozara Building in an attempt to gain access and secure the release of their relatives, without success. According to reports, all the women were later transferred to Section 209 of Evin Prison, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence and is outside the control of Iran's prison service.
Background Those arrested in the 12 June 2006 demonstration include Fariba Davoodi Mohajer, Shahla Entesari, Noushin Ahmadi Khorassani, Parvin Ardalan and Sussan Tahmasebi. All had been summoned to appear before Branch 6 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on charges of "propaganda against the system", "acting against national security" and "participating in an illegal demonstration".
Others have also been charged in connection with the 12 June demonstration, but have not yet been summoned to court. Another, Zhila Bani Ya'qoub, a journalist who was among those arrested on 4 March, was tried and acquitted in January 2007 on a charge of participating in an illegal demonstration relating to the 12 June demonstration.
In August 2006, Iranian women's rights activists launched a "Campaign for Equality", aimed at collecting a million signatures from Iranians in support of changes to the law to end legalised discrimination against women. The campaign's website has been filtered by the Iranian authorities on several occasions in recent weeks, making it difficult for people in Iran to access information about the campaign. Amnesty International is supporting this campaign and will issue a joint statement calling for equal rights for women in Iran on International Women's Day with Iranian lawyer and prominent human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Defender Alert
Help Free Iranian Women's Rights Leaders: Campaigning for Equality is Not a Crime
On Sunday, March 4, Iranian police arrested and jailed 33 women gathered in front of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The women were peacefully supporting five women scheduled to be tried for organizing a demonstration last year. Eight of the women detained outside the court were released on Tuesday, March 6, but 25 women remain in Tehran's Evin Prison.
We are concerned that more arrests could take place on March 8, International Women's Day.
Authorities violently broke up a peaceful gathering in support of women's equality before Iranian law in June 2006, arresting dozens. Five of those arrested are being prosecuted for exercising their basic rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
With your help, we can add to mounting international pressure on the Iranian government to release the 25 activists immediately and to stop arresting peaceful human rights defenders.
On June 12, 2006, a coalition of hundreds of women and men gathered peacefully in a downtown square to protest the discriminatory laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Repeating the violence that has been used to quell dissent in previous years, about 100 police officers attacked the demonstrators, using pepper spray and batons, seriously injuring one woman. Witnesses claimed that women were dragged along the ground by their hair and savagely beaten.
According to the Minister of Justice, 42 men and 28 women were arrested for having organized an "illegal" gathering. Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoini, head of the Alumni Association of Iran, a former student leader and Member of Parliament who has been a leading critic of the government's human rights practices for several years, was held for more than four months.
In addition, five women activists were charged with endangering national security, issuing propaganda against the state, and taking part in an illegal gathering: Sousan Tahmasbi, Parvin Ardalan, Nooshin Ahmadi Khorasani, Fariba Davoodi Mohajer, and Shahla Entesari. Fariba Davoodi Mohajer is currently outside of Iran.
On Sunday, March 4, 2007, they were scheduled to appear in court for a hearing in the case. To protest the prosecution, dozens of women gathered outside the Islamic Revolutionary Court, carrying banners demanding their rights to assemble peacefully and showing solidarity with the five defendants in the criminal trial. Police once again broke up the gathering and arrested 33 women, including well known advocates for women's rights in Iran. The arrests come just before a larger rally commemorating International Women's Day (the U.N. Day for Women's Rights and International Peace) that is planned to take place on March 8 in Tehran.
Eight of the women were released on March 6. Among the 25 who remain in detention are Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, Shadi Sadr, Nooshin Ahmadi Khorasani, Parvain Ardalan, Nahid Keshavarz, Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh, Maryam Mirza, Mariam Hossein Khah, Nahid Jafari, Minoo Mortezayee Langroodi, Fatemeh Govarayee, Shahla Entesari, Soosan Tahmasabi, Azadeh Forghani, Jila Bani Yaghoub, Saghar Laghaee, Elnaz Ansari, Jelveh Javaheri, Zara Amjadian, Zeinab Peyghambarzadeh, Nasrin Afzali, Asieh Amini, Mahnaaz Mohammadi, Somayeh Farid, Farideh Entesari, Sarah Loghmani, and Rezan Moghaddam. Those arrested were transferred to Evin Prison's 209 Block. According to the recently released women, Shahla Entesari is being held in solitary confinement.
Iranian advocates for women's equality are pressing for reform of laws that discriminate against women in the areas of marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance, among others. In August 2006 they launched the "One Million Signatures Campaign Demanding an End to Discrimination against Women." Their peaceful efforts to call attention to the campaign and to gather support in Iran have been met with mounting repression. Iranian women also face brazen discrimination in other areas of the law; criminal harm suffered by a woman is less severely punished than that suffered by a man, for example, and the evidentiary value of women's testimony in court cases is half of that of a man.
The rights enshrined in the 1998 Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which applies to all U.N. member states, include freedom of assembly and expression. Iran is also bound by Article 21 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which protects the right to peaceful assembly, and Article 19, which protects the freedom of expression. Therefore, the recent arrests of women's rights activists are violations of Iran's obligations under international law.
مبرا شدن از مجازات قاتلی که در سینما بهمن مرتکب قتل یک هم میهن و مجروح کردن دیگری شده است تعجب آور نیست! این قاتل بر اساس امر به معروف و نهی از منکر مرتکب این جنایت شده و رژیم با اعلام کردن دیوانه بودن, این جانی را از مجازات تبرئه می کند. در دنیای پیشرفته و متمدن امروز, عاملان یک جنایت کسانی شناخته می شوند که به هر نحوی در عمل جنایت دخالت داشته باشند. یعنی کس یا کسانی که جرم را کمک, تشویق و ترغیب کرده باشند و هم کس و یا کسانی که جرم را مرتکب شده باشند. دستور امر به معروف و نهی از منکر تشویق و ترغیب به جنایت است و در این جنایت اخیر اسلام و بزرگان اسلام نه تنها شریک جرمند بلکه چنانچه قاتل واقعن دیوانه باشد مجرم اصلی هستند زیرا دیوانه را ترغیب به ارتکاب عمل جرم کرده اند.
مجازات دیوانه جایز نیست. دیوانه بیمار روانی است و به مداوا نیاز دارد. اما ابله بیمار روانی نیست و به اگاهی نیاز دارد. مسئولیت مداوای بیمار روانی بر دوش دستگاه های دولتی است اما مسئولیت اگاهی افراد بر دوش خود افراد است. بنابراین ابلهی که اگاهی ندارد و مرتکب جرم می شود مجازات می شود. اما رژیم از یک سو با این حکم نمی خواهد دست ابلهان آمران به معروف و ناهیان از منکرات را ببندد و از سوی دیگر شریک جرم شمرده نشود. همه ما میدانیم که بزرگان اسلام در لوای امر به معروف و نهی از منکر هم مستقیم و هم غیر مستقیم چه جنایات عظیمی را در طول تاریخ مرتکب شده و در همین لوا چه دستوراتی را تجویز کرده اند. در زیر چکیده ای از دریای بی کران احکام و دستورات دینی ملایان و بزرگان اسلام در باب امر به معروف و نهی از منکر را می آورم .
«امر»یعنی فرمان،«نهی»یعنی باز داشتن،جلوگیری کردن.اما این فرمان یعنی چه؟آیا مقصود از این فرمان،فرمان لفظی است؟آیا امر به معروف و نهی از منکر فقط در مرحله لفظ است؟ فقط باید با زبان،امر به معروف و نهی از منکر کرد؟خیر،امر به معروف و نهی از منکر در مرحله دل و ضمیر هست،در مرحله زبان هست،در مرحله دست و عمل هم هست.تو باید با تمام وجودت آمر به معروف و ناهی از منکر باشی.
ملا مشکینی آیت الله مشکینی امر به معروف و نهی از منکر را روح همه واجبات ذکرکرد و گفت: وجوب فریضه امر به معروف و نهی از منکر هم عقلی و هم نقلی است و این فریضه از وظایف انبیای الهی میباشد که امروز مؤمنین آن را برعهده گرفتهاند.
1-In the past few years, the Islamic regime has been stirring the nation’s pride in order to get the nation’s support. The regime has been announcing its successes, though overblown and often false, in all areas such as nuclear technology, medicine, homemade military arsenal, space rockets, and promises such as two tier roads etc. Every now and then the regime announces good news or promise of good news! The regime knows its survival depends hugely on the support of the nation. They know Iranians are the only ones who can change them. In fact, a regime change without the participation of the people is impossible in Iran.The regime offers the nation carrots by the sackful. The regime’s rhetoric for the last couple of years to get the people’s support behind it has been the “nuclear technology is our definite right” slogan. They do this to give the nation a false sense of hope to stop them from rising up against them or even support them in case of an allied forces attack on their nuclear sites, despite the fact that over 80% of the population is against the Islamic regime. The Iranian people element in a regime change is one of the most powerful ones, yet it is ignored by those who want to help Iran free itself from the clutches of tyranny and become democratic. The opposition is ignored; Iranian views are hardly addressed; and they are not directly spoken to. I am not suggesting that Iranians should be encouraged to pour out on to the streets to be killed or arrested but the fact is that the regime is trying to pacify the people and by doing so reducing its front lines in the battlefields to come.The West should adopt the same policy of offering Iranians carrots in order to discourage them from supporting the regime or remaining indifferent and inactive when the opportunity to topple the regime arises. This is what the regime is doing and they know Iranians better than anyone else.
2 - In our societies (the free and advanced democracies) we encounter fewer acts of terrorism because we have sophisticated control systems supplemented by the people’s ownership of responsibility for their democracies and communities. We can, in the majority of the cases, nip in the bud any act of terrorism. Those that escape through the net and finally mange to carry out their atrocities are far and few in between. In countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan where democracy is in its infancy, the system is far from being capable of implementing total security and the people’s ownership of responsibility is absent for the time being. Therefore, more atrocities by the terrorists can be expected in those countries. The terrorism in those countries will gradually vanish if only persistence in the fight on terrorism is sustained and the Afghanis and Iraqis are given the chance to learn and live democracy. This will take a good few years if not a few decades. The allied forces should remain in Iraq and Afghanistan until their governments and institutions are capable of protecting their fledgling democracies. Withdrawing the liberation forces now from the two said countries where the West has pledged to establish democracy will be quite devastating as these countries are at their most vulnerable state right now. The Americans and British made a costly decision to bring democracy to the region and free the region from radical Islamic Fascism. This is a great move and the world should support what it will benefit from in years to come, once the fascist and subhuman ideologies are eradicated. I hope both the Americans and British have the resolve to withstand the pressures on them to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, which are as vulnerable as ever to becoming breeding grounds for Islamic Fascism and terrorist groups.
PLEASE HELP SAVE REZA ALINEJAD FROM EXECUTION!He is scheduled to be executed in ONE MONTH.
In direct violation of international laws and established human rights standards, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has condemned yet another minor to death by public hanging.
Reza Alinejad is in imminent risk of execution by hanging for accidentally killing a man in self-defense when he was only 17 years old. Based on the evidence presented, as well as the reasons explained below, we hereby object vehemently to Reza's death sentence and declare that the sentence of death issued in this case not only flies in the face of international laws but that it violates established norms of civilized societies.
In December 2002, when Reza was only 17 years old, he, along his friend Hadi, was visiting a market where the two boys had purchased and were eating some food when a group of men approached them and began to verbally assault and abuse the two teenagers.The boys were soon engaged in a verbal altercation with the men when one of the attackers, Ismaeel, pulled out a weapon and began to beat both Reza and Hadi with it.Reza, who, at this point was terrified of what was happening, felt that he needed to defend himself and his friend from the devastating blows.In an attempt to scare and fend off his attackers, Reza pulled out a pocket knife and, while covering his face and eyes from the blows with his left hand, he attempted to ward off his attackers with the knife in his right hand.As Reza struggled with his attackers in this manner, he accidentally stabbed Ismaeel with the knife.The stabbing ultimately led to Ismaeel's death and Reza was arrested on charges of murder and imprisoned accordingly.
During the initial investigation of this case, certain exculpatory evidence was established for the record, including the testimony of the decedent's own friend, Mohammad, who was present when the aforementioned altercation took place.Mohammad admitted that he and Ismaeel had in fact started the fight and had, without provocation, attacked the two teenagers with their weapons.He conceded that their actions were so aggressive that he could indeed understand why the two boys had acted as they had in self-defense.According to Mohammad's own account, the teenagers did not have any way of escaping as they were surrounded and overpowered.In fact, the teenagers suffered serious injuries during the attack and had to be hospitalized.
Another eyewitness -- who was not a participant in the altercation-- confirmed Mohammad's account of the events.His testimony left no doubt about the fact that Reza was not only engaged in self-defense during the altercation, but that he had no choice but to use the type of force that he used in order to save his own life as well as that of his young friend.
Despite overwhelming evidence establishing that young Reza was acting in self-defense when he stabbed Ismaeel, as well as evidence proving that Reza had not intended nor planned to kill Ismaeel, and despite the fact that Reza was a minor at the time of the incident, a criminal court near city of Shiraz sentenced Reza to death by public hanging.
On appeal, the court approved this ruling, opining that: (a) Reza should have retreated from the scene of the fight; and (b) he did not have to use a knife to defend himself.The appellate court's ruling defies the evidence in this case, which clearly establish that neither Reza nor Hadi had any way of escaping the scene of the fight and that Reza would have been beaten to death with a deadly weapon had he not attempted to ward off his attackers.
Without granting a full review of the case, Iran's Supreme Court upheld Reza's death sentence. The Supreme Court's ruling, as well as those of the lower courts before it, is in direct violation of international law, as well as established norms of civilized societies.As explained previously, at the time of the incident in question, Reza was a minor.Article 37 of the Covenant on the Right of the Child, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a signatory, prohibits the execution of individuals for acts or crimes committed before the age of majority.Because the IRI has accepted to abide by the governing international rules and treaties, it is prohibited from sentencing Reza to death for acting in self-defense when he was only 17 years old.The fact that Reza has reached the age of majority during his imprisonment is irrelevant.The controlling date for the purposes of this international law is the date when the incident at issue occurred.In this case, the incident occurred when Reza was a teenager and a minor.As such, Reza's impending execution is in direct violation of international law. Additionally, such an execution would establish the IRI's disregard for its obligations to the international community as well as to universal principles of human rights.
