News Update - April 13, 2010

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At night, when you close your eyes, think of a woman who never sleeps.

A Letter of Suffering by Bahareh Maghami, A Victim of Prison Rape

Anti-Censorship Software Licensed by US Govenment for Export to Iran

Detained One Million Signatures Campaign Member Mahboubeh Karami Meets with Brother

Anonymous Prisoners and the Charge of Relations with MKO

Akbar Ganji Receives Milton Friedman

Administration Supporters Worry About Rafsanjani’s Participation at Friday Prayers

Iranian professors fired from universities

Jahanbakhsh Khanjani’s Leave not Extended

Seven Publications Received Admonition

Two IUST Professors Expelled

From Twitter

1/14) Translation from Taoon Blog: I have decided to write about one of the un-known political prisoners

2/14) His name is Majid Moghimi. I along with one of the committee members went to Moghimi's home last month

3/14) They have a very simple life, Majid's 60 year old mother talked about how on July 28 they went to their home

4/14) Blindfolded & arrested Majid. His 10 year old son came out of a room, with a polite smile & beaming eyes

5/14) Majid's wife was sitting in a corner & listning to us. Majid's mother said they agents had found a picture

6/14) in his cell phone. In that picture Majid was standing next to a burning motorcycle with his arms up.

7/14) They used that picture in court as evidence, the media published the picture also.

8/14) Majid like the others confessed in court & apologized (He was tried in one of the televised show trials)

9/14) For 12 days they kept him at Gisha Intel center beating him so bad that his body was bruised for long time

10/14) His ribs were also hurting for long time after that. Than they took him to Evin, there, the beatings continued

11/14) At Evin they forced him to sign a pre written confession. Entire time during his interrogation session

12/14) a camera was filming. During the interrogations he was physically & mentally tortured

13/14) Majid was threatened with harm to his family. My Note: Majid was the only income earner for the family

14/14) A blue-collar worker with modest life style, his family has endured financial hardship since his arrest

Abtin Ghafari was tried & sentenced to 3 years in a 2-minute trial without presence of a lawyer. His case is being appealed.

Mousavi & his wife did go to Memeni's home for visit on Thur 4/8 & on 4/12 they took Momeni back to Evin.

One of the instructions interrogators gave Momeni was not to allow Mousavi in his home.

Momeni's wife says they called constantly while he was home on leave asking him for various things.

They arrested Momeni on Mon before his leave on $800,000 bail was up. Momeni is in Evin 209 again.

Abdollah Momeni's wife says they called him 9 AM Mon & asked him to go to court to discuss extending his leave.

Tehran Governor now denies the earlier reports that there was a permit issued for last June 15 rally

1/12) 3 political prisoners in ward 2-A Sepah have written a letter to Judge Salavati with cc to Armed Forced judiciary

2/12) In their letter the 3 prisoners have detailed the torture methods used & the resulting injuries

3/12) Saied Malekpour, Shahrooz Vaziri & Vahid Asghari are the three men that have signed the letter to Salavati

4/12) Saied Malekpour says he suffered fractured skull, broken nose, nose bleed, bleeding in the mouth

5/12) Malekpour also suffered broken vertebra in his back & neck, cuts & bruises on his arms & legs

6/12) Torture methods used: Hitting, & kicking the prisoner, hitting the prisoner w batons, water hose, lashings

7/12) Hanging the prisoner upside down tied to a pole & hitting & kicking the prisoner

8/12) Putting the prisoner in a cabinet with insects, placing prisoner in a bathtub handcuffed & shackled

9/12) Malekpour says they made him sign & give false confession by kicking him, hitting him, lashing him

10/12) While wearing boxing gloves hitting him on his sides, stomach, putting knife on his throat & on his wrist

11/12) They threatened Malekpour with killing him. He was also threatened with gang rape

12/12) The 3 who have signed the letter say they are willing to testify in court & say all their confession were forced.

Reports were Mahmoudian beaten badly by prison guards on 1/16. Currently his is suffering from severe long infection.

Ali Beekas is in desperate need of dental work not available in Evin. Authorities will not give him med leave

Ali Beekas holds a PHD in history & was a Mousavi camp activist, he was arrested Jun 14 & is sentenced to 7 years.

Political activist Heshmatolah Tabarzadi in solitary 4 months, still being interrogated & physically tortured

Last night for the second time plainclothes raided home of Journalist&HR activist Hesamedin Bahmanabadi

In a previous raid of Bahmanabadi (March 2), they confiscated his computer, CDs & documents.

Plainclothes attempt to arrest journalist & HR activist Hesamedin Bahmanabadi failed again. He wasn't home.

1/2) On April 6 the campus security at Ghazvin International U interrupted meeting of Reformist Students Group

2/2) Campus security confiscated the student IDs of those in the meeting & locked & sealed their office.

7 newspapers & publications have received warning notices & 1 was banned from publishing.

Former Interior Min official Jahanbakh Khanjani is going back to Evin.He was out on bail & His leave not extended.

Advar Spokesman Abdollah Momeni who was out on $800,000 bail was summoned to court today & rearrested.