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Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)

October 22, 2010

An Israeli grandmaster has taken the Guinness record for simultaneous chess games away from the previous holder, who is Iranian.

Alik Gershon, 30, is now the record holder after winning 454 of 523 games he played against opponents over the course of nearly 20 hours.

The previous record holder was Morteza Mahjoob, who won 397 of 500 games against opponents in August 2009.

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By Fereshteh Ghazi

Source: Rooz Online

October 20, 2010

The fourth session of Saeed Malekpour’s trial is scheduled for 26th October, but his wife says, “Judge Moghise has told Saeed’s defense attorney that his sentence is death.” Saeed Malekpour is a metallurgy engineering graduate from Sharif Industrial University and a resident of Canada who came to Iran about two years ago and was arrested in relation to a case known as the Mozlin 3 case related to Internet “crimes.”

Gerdab website belonging to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) accused Malekpour of being a member in several “corrupt Internet sites” and then labeled him to be anti religious and a threat to the national security because he was the manager of the largest unethical Internet site.

Earlier, Malekpour had described in detail the tortures and the way he had been mistreated while in prison to the judge, adding that he had been forced to make false confessions. His wife Mrs. Eftekhari spoke with Rooz and said that about two weeks ago judge Moghise had told their attorney that her husband’s sentence was death, which shows that the sentencing had already been done without him having a chance to defend himself. Read on for the details of the interview.

Rooz: Please tell us what is the latest news from your husband and how is he doing?

Mrs. Eftekhari: Saeed is in ward 350 of Evin and his family meets with him every week through the glass cabins. I used to have telephone conversations with him lasting about 2 or 3 minutes until about three months ago before he was moved to ward 350, after which the calls ended. Saeed’s morale is good and I commend him for withstanding the pressures of solitary confinement for one year and being in limbo for two years.  His family says that his morale is strong and well.

Rooz: As far as we know, his third trial session was supposed to take place in June or July; can you tell us about developments on that issue?

Mrs. Eftekhari: He has had three court sessions till now. In reality these were not trials and judge Moghise behaved like an interrogator, rather than a fair and an independent judge. The judge seems to completely accept what the intelligence reports have written about Saeed and therefore does not seem to need to investigate the charges against him and has ignored Saeed’s defenses. During the first trial session, Saeed was not allowed to have a defense attorney, and even though they had said that there was not going to be a session, Saeed was taken to a court session. His second trial session lasted on 15 minutes and the third session was not held because the interrogators did not show up. We now await the fourth session scheduled for October 26, 2010. But we have no hope that this will be a fair trial.

Rooz: Why do you not have hope that it will be fair?

Mrs. Eftekhari: You see, the judge officially plays the role of the interrogator and does not pay any attention to any of my husband’s defenses or requests.  Saeed has requested that he be sent to the coroner’s office so that his claims can be examined, but the judge has refused to implement this. Saeed has torture marks till today and when he speaks, he feels sharp pain in his jaw, which is the result of the tortures he has been subjected to. He has also had a mild heart attack while in prison and half his body was temporarily paralyzed. He has explained all the tortures he was subjected to and till today the signs of those tortures are apparent on his body. Saeed has also requested that specialists from the justice department review his dossier, but the judge denies this as well. The judge has no knowledge about Internet or IT issues. In the 15 minutes court session, the judge told him that they had found a weblog in his house. Judge for yourself, what kind of a statement is this? They did not allow Saeed to even look at his own dossier. They also denied him access to a defense attorney. The trial is just a formality, a show and it does not help him in any way. The state of limbo in which we all are is also torturous.

Rooz: Many accusations have been made against Saeed, what is the key charge against him?

Mrs. Eftekhari:  It is an assortment of accusations. If they had simply said that he was the manager of an immoral website, then things would be clear and he would know how to defend himself. But every time they see him, they raise a new charge. At one point the judge told him that he had been in contact with 10 to 12 groups inimical to the regime. And when Saeed asked which groups, the judge replied that you know better. So what is there to defend? It seems that they simply want to find some excuse and pretext to find him guilty. One day they said he had relations with foreigners then on another occasion they said he operated immoral web sites. Kayhan newspaper even wrote that Saeed worked for Canadian military projects, which is just pure fabrication. From a legal perspective how could someone who was not born in Canada, is not a Canadian citizen and was even not born there work on military projects? In fact, Saeed does not truly know what is the charge against him so that he can focus his defense on that.

Rooz: Aside these, what specific charges were read out to him in court?

Mrs. Eftekhari: Propaganda against the regime, operating immoral web sites, insulting divine principles, insulting the president, relations with groups that oppose the regime, being contact with foreigners. In general, these are known as the “corrupt on the earth.”

Rooz: These charges are political whereas the government media say that your husband was operating immoral and porno websites.

Mrs. Eftekhari: This accusation of operating porno sites is a complete lie. Saeed was not operating any web site and had nothing to do with any such sites. Anyone who knows Saeed, from Sharif University to those in Canada will attest that he has nothing to do with such sites. The same charges were also aired against Hossein Derakhshan who is a well known blogger and nobody believed those either. Saeed has no record in writing for web blogs or being a human rights activist. When I was interrogated they kept shouting at me that I was in contact with foreigners! And I told them I lived in a foreign country so what did they mean by that. Then they said that I had been in contact with the US embassy. The fact is neither my husband nor I belonged to any political group and have not engaged in political activities and do not claim to be political. But the charges that they are raising are political and the way they are treating him and his case indicates that the whole issue is a scenario which they are promoting to make political use of his situation.

Rooz: Why did they choose your husband for their scenario? What was his job?

Mrs. Eftekhari: Because we are completely unknown and people who are not popular or know are most vulnerable. What Kayhan wrote about my husband helped me understand how these security agents view things and why my husband was chosen for their dirty goals. I the past, they had focused on this issue of “cultural invasion by the West.” We had lived for years in Canada. Politically we were not even known to anyone. They were looking for a victim for their Internet problems. Saeed was a web designer and worked for the site Freelancer Account. He received requests for websites there, as did others who were also listed on the website. As a freelancer he presented proposals to website development requests and if they were accepted, he would take up the work and receive a fee for it. The intelligence officers in Iran wanted to denounce the Internet and tell people that it was a dangerous thing. This is why they forced Saeed to make false confessions and then showed this on national television. They even tried to say that Saeed used his webcam to video people’s bedroom. This was done to create panic and fear among people about the Internet. They had told Saeed to say that he had purchased software from Britain that could be used to video a room even if the computer was shut. This is not technically possible to do, but these gentlemen wanted to send that message. My husband is merely a victim of the plans of these people.

Rooz: What do you think of the televised confessions?

Mrs. Eftekhari: They have aired his so called confessions several times while he still remains only a suspect. But they treat him as if he is a criminal. His sentence has already been passed in their minds, which is why they allow themselves to air someone’s so called confessions before the person has even had a chance to defend himself and no sentence has been passed on him. These confessions were all made under duress and torture and have no validity. Saeed has said this in court. My question is how come you can air these so called confession on national television, but when it comes to Saeed’s defense you close the court session to the public.

Rooz: You had earlier said that that your husband’s family was under intense pressure from security apparatus. Is this still true? What kind of pressure?

Mrs. Eftekhari:  Yes, both my parents and the family of my husband are under pressure. Threatening telephone calls are made and they formally and explicitly told us that if we gave any interviews, Saeed’s case would become worse. We have no place to express our protests. And so when we talk, they pressure my husband. They air his so called confessions again. They broadcast them again just two weeks ago. After Saeed’s letter was published, they took him back into solitary confinement and told him a lie that his sister had been arrested. When he came out of the solitary confinement he was wrecked. He was willing to accept anything they wanted so long as they released his sister and stopintimidating his family.

Rooz: You have decided to give an interview now; what was holding back before?

Mrs. Eftekhari: They used to promise me regularly in the past that if I did not give any interviews Saeed would be released quickly. And for three months we did not know where Saeed was being kept and they would not tell us. Then on the anniversary of his father’s death, they broadcast his so called confessions on national television, which is when we learned that they had been lying to us. So we decided to talk to the media etc. I will not remain silent now and will do everything I can so that the public knows that none of the accusations against my husband are true and that they are all lies. Perhaps public pressure will result in a fair trial.

Rooz: What is it that you want concerning your husband’s case?

Mrs. Eftekhari: We are not even asking them to just release Saeed. All we want is a fair trial. An open and fair trial where he has the opportunity to defend himself. We are not requesting the trial be aired because he is innocent. We want them to respect the current laws of the country and stay neutral in the case and let those who know these technical issue be the judge.

Rooz: Your last words?

Mrs. Eftekhari: The judge has already sentenced Saeed to death. We are deeply concerned. Do not forget about us. Even the defense attorney is under pressure and has been threatened. Do not forget about my husband and help us. He is really innocent.

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By Roozbeh Mirebrahimi

Source: Rooz Online

October 21, 2010

Years ago whenever family friends and my acquaintances got together with me, because I was a journalist, I would always be asked questions related to issues of the day. Most of these individuals were busy with their normal lives and showed little interest in following the daily ups and downs of the political issues of the day.

But I was interested in the political issues of the day and being a journalist followed what was going on. Because of these, they always viewed me to be knowledgeable about what was going on, even events behind the scene. So every time we met, questions followed one after another.

But the most basic question that everybody would ask was “Who is running the regime” or “Who is responsible, who is guiding, and which agency is in charge?”

Everybody wanted to know how the different agencies and political bodies worked and where did open and hidden power really reside. The majority of people of course were not that interested or would say that “they are all alike,” and simply stay aloof. Even today of course there are those inside and outside Iran who look at things this way.

What was interesting for me was that outside Iran and even among foreigners these very questions were important, and had remained unanswered. Every time I would meet someone, invariably the first question always was, “Who is really in charge in the Islamic republic?”

Well, if the response to this question was simple, then we would not be talking about the Islamic republic. The combination of these two terms, Islamic and republic, is indicative of the complexity which only becomes deeper as time passes.

I will try to explain the power structure in the Islamic republic from my perspective. But since this is a big topic, I will only write about the changes in the power/political structure of Iran that have taken place since the controversial and disputed 2009 presidential election.

I believe that the history of the Islamic republic is now highlighted with what it was before 2009 and what it is now, i.e., since the June 2009 election. Prior to the election, the structure looked like this:
The Leader of the Islamic regime was on top of all the institutions
The Guardians Council, the Majlis
The government
The judiciary branch
Assembly of Experts on Leadership
Military and security forces
The Expediency Council
The national radio and television network, and,
Economic foundations and institutions.

This is the list of the most important institutions exercising power and authority in the Islamic republic. And while legally, all of the institutions operated under the Leader, the fact that some of them had popularly elected individuals made it possible that some critics too would become part of this state machinery.

Still, the structure was such that ultimate authority rested with the leader.

The events of the reform period (i.e., when Mohammad Khatami was president between 1997-2005), was the period when the power struggle demonstrated the extent of flexibility this state machinery had. Prior to the 2009 election, the leader of the Islamic state strived to present himself as above factional fighting and to be neutral in such conflicts. He avoided entering the fields on the side of one contender. He was of course not always successful in this goal and on occasions did intervene on behalf of a group or a person. At times, he would also dole out benefits to both opposing and battling factions. For example, he issued the order to eliminate the press law during the sixth Majlis that was being advanced by the moderates. Soon after that, he vetoed the Guardians Council’s annulment of mayoral elections in Tehran. In view of the victories of the reformist in those days, the Guardians Council had intended to annul the elections in Tehran in which the reformist had taken the upper hand. On another occasion, the leader ordered the review of seventh Majlis candidates which had been disqualified by the Guardians Council (despite the disregard for this by the Guardians Council). On still another occasion, he ordered the suspension of Majlis’ efforts to impeach those cabinet ministers in Mohammad Khatami’s administration who had resigned en masse. And finally, during ninth presidential elections, when the Guardians Council had disqualified a candidate (Mostafa Moin), he intervened to annul his disqualification, which resulted in his return to the candidacy.

From my perspective, all of these measures were merely to portray the façade of the neutrality of the leader, because his orders were in fact not followed up on the ground.

Prior to the elections, some institutions such as the judiciary and the legislature, tried, like the leader, to display some form of independence. For example even though power was wielded in influencing the outcome of certain court cases, the effort continued to show that whatever actions were taken were based on law and followed legal procedures. Prior to the elections, there were many cases that demonstrated that political influencing continued in the judiciary, but there were also measures to make things appear to be legal. In general, international and political costs of intervention were considered and calculated.

While the Majlis had become more limited in its scope when compared to the reform period, its position of being the legislative body was never challenged or damaged. Differences about the qualifications and the election procedures existed, but these did not touch on the authority or power of the Majlis.

Prior to the 2009 election, the armed forces, and the security forces, particularly the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) strived to remain behind the scenes. And while in recent years, these had expanded their economic activities and relationships, they never officially intervened or took power into their hands. The para-military forces had from years before started their encroachment into the election process to take over its control and when these were publicly protested (by some such as Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mehdi Karoubi and seyed Hassan Khomeini), they completely negated their attempts.

The State Expediency Council which played a greater role during Mohammad Khatami’s presidency, lost its impact during Ahmadinejad’s administration. This institution was led by Hashemi Rafsanjani right from the day of its creation, during his presidency. Ayatollah Khamenei used this institution for his own purposes. During Khatami’s years other parallel organizations were formed and after Ahmadinejad came to power the powers and role of this agency were reduced to a ceremonial position.

Assembly of Experts too has turned into a ceremonial institutions in the Islamic republic, while legally its remains the most powerful body that can control and direct the whole system.

So prior to the 2009 election, in the Islamic republic there were always openings for critics and reformers to play some limited role in the political system.

After the 2009 Election
Since the 2009 presidential election, the Islamic republic has undergone a dramatic change. There is a deep difference between the role of political institutions in it.

Its political and economic bodies have undergone a change in their nature. In short, the Islamic republic has removed its mask it wore in the past and has therefore actually become more transparent in the sense that what you see is exactly what the real intentions and roles are. This transparency has been for greater more right-wing activities.

The IRGC, which was a military organization, has now turned into a powerful economic cartel and expanded its activities in all political spheres of the Islamic republic. The largest economic and business groups are gradually falling under the control of the IRGC.

Regarding the Majlis, not only has the legislature become void of real representatives of the people, but is whole raison d’être has come into question. After the election, its two main functions that of passing laws and monitoring the management of the country have been sidelined by the indirect or direct actions of the leader, or one of his subordinate bodies.

The State Expediency Council which at one time was the arm of the leader, has turned into a nuisance for him and its powers have been taken away from it. It plays no role in the current power structure.

The Judiciary has for all practical purposes turned into a tool in the hands of the IRGC. The attempts to present the branch as an independent one have all gone. The branches and courts across the country have no qualms in presenting themselves as mere tools of the Guards.

The Assembly of Experts on Leadership continues to be a ceremonial body. And while some of its members express some criticism over some issues, in reality this body has no role in the current power structure.

So the actual players in the field have diminished since the presidential race of 2009. The leader is now associated to be affiliated to one battling faction in the on-going power competition and battles. The IRGC is now the main arm of the leader in running the country. This monolith is what will in fact shorten the life of the Islamic regime.

The answer to the often asked question, therefore, is now easier to respond to.  When a political structure becomes so hierarchical and single-factional, it is easier to comprehend its workings.

I view the change to this monolith be an indication of the power of Iran’s green movement. To implement any meaningful change in meeting the rights of people prior to the election, it was necessary to disrupt the existing political super structure. Since the elections, the balance has been disrupted. Today, no decision in the country can be taken without considering the green movement, whether they be international or at the daily level.

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By Moahammad Reza Yazdanpanah

Source: Rooz Online

October 21, 2010

While state-run media are boasting a historic reception for ayatollah Khamenei in his visit to Qom, an informed source who participated in the welcome ceremony told Rooz that the Islamic republic supreme leader’s reception was “much less” than compared to previous visits.

He added that, as it can been seen on numerous official photographs from the ceremony, many of the participants in the ceremony as well as during Mr. Khamanei’s speech were African and Arab immigrants residing in Qom, particularly immigrants from Iraq many of whom are supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shiite Iraqi cleric currently residing in Qom.

As noted by this informed source, none of the official photographs appearing on state-run media outlets show an aerial view of the street where the welcome ceremony was held. Almost all of the released photographs are taken from close range or with wide camera lenses. The aerial photographs released are taken either from very far away or very close to the ground and do not reveal any conclusive information.

Rooz’s eyewitness source also stated that none of the grand ayatollahs residing in Qom, even those who are known for supporting the Islamic republic supreme leader, attended the welcome ceremony or subsequent meetings with the Islamic republic supreme leader.

Previous reports had revealed intense pressure on grand ayatollahs to coerce them into attending Mr. Khamenei’s welcome ceremony.

Only three out of the ten grand ayatollahs currently residing in Qom made remarks in support of ayatollah Khamenei’s visit. However, neither these three grand ayatollahs nor the remaining seven attended Mr. Khamenei’s welcome ceremony.

One informed source who attended Mr. Khamenei’s welcome ceremony told Rooz, “Yesterday’s reception of Mr. Khamenei was the coldest and least passionate reception of the Islamic republic supreme leader compared to all his previous visits.”

According to him, “At most, thirty to forty thousand people attended the ceremony, which is les than five percent of Qom’s more than one million inhabitants.”

He added, “The planning and intense organizing of Mr. Khamenei’s reception was in effect carried out by three military-security organizations: Jaish al-Mahdi, the Qods Army and Mr. Khamenei’s personal security team.”

While in Qom, the Islamic republic supreme leader delivered a fiery speech, noting, “Last year’s sedition actually vaccinated the country against microbes, which can be political or social microbes,” adding, “The post-election sedition, contrary to the enemy’s expectation, increased the insight of the Iranian people.”

Mr. Khamenei’s office has announced that the supreme leader will visit Qom for nine days. None of the supreme leader’s previous official visits to Qom lasted longer than three days.

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By Mohammad Reza Yazdanpanah

Source: Rooz Online

October 21, 2010

At the end of the second day of ayatollah Khamenei’s visit to Qom, some clerical leaders and senior ayatollah’s visited the office of Iran’s leader in this holy city and held discussions with him. While the official news site of the leader of the Islamic republic wrote that Jaafar Sobhani, Makarem Shirazi and Shobeiri Zanjani were the three clerics who along with other “teachers and clerics of Qom Theological Center” visited Khamenei on his second day in the city, semi-state Fars news agency reported that in addition to the three clerics mentioned above, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, Ibrahim Amini, seyed Ahmadi Khatami and Abbas Kaabi also met with the Khamenei.

Neither the news website of ayatollah Khamenei’s office nor Iran’s official radio and television network, along with other official news agencies, have reported on the contents of these meetings. But an analysis of the photos and images from the meetings, it is clear that these engagements were public with no private meetings between Khamenei and the senior clerics.

In the absence of such news, it is not clear what discussions may have been held between the clerics and the leader. All that has been reported is that the exchanges between them were confined to pleasantries and formalities, commonly known as taarofate akhoondi,” i.e., clerical pleasantries, in Persian.

Meeting with the Critical Clerics

On the fist night of ayatollah Khamenei’s visit to Qom, two senior clerics ayatollahs Noori Hamedani and Javad Amoli, met with the regime’s leader. But as in the earlier visits and meetings till now, no press releases or any news coverage of the contents of these meetings have emerged or been provided to the media. It should be noted that some of the senior clerics who did meet ayatollah Khamenei are known to be critical of the policies and practices of the regime, particularly post-2009-election.

Ayatollah seyed Mousa Shobeiri Zanjani is the most prominent cleric critical of the regime residing in Qom and he did meet with ayatollah Khamenei on Wednesday. It should be noted that Shobeiri Zanjani was elevated to his senior position in 1993 after ayatollah Araki died, putting him at the level of the other six Shiite grand ayatollahs. But despite this senior cleric’s criticism of the regime’s policies and the behavior of its senior leaders, a view he acquired because of the influence of Najaf’s (in Iraq) interpretation of Shia Islam and the views of senior ayatollah Abolghasem Khoi, he enjoys extraordinary respect in Khamenei’s office and household because he happens to be the teacher of the leader’s three sons.

It is because of this proximity that ayatollah Shobeiri Zanjani played a successful role in ending the official cordoning of the late ayatollah Montazeri’s residence. In his 777-page memoirs, Montazeri references a letter that ayatollah Zanjani had written and sent to ayatollah Khamenei protesting the blocking of his (Montazeri’s) house.

Following the announcement of the June 2009 presidential election results, which led to massive, popular and unprecedented protests in the Islamic republic, followed by a violent government crackdown, ayatollah Shobeiri Zanjani engaged in extensive consultations with other senior ayatollahs in Qom and Najaf, including ayatollah Sistani (in Iraq), ayatollah Safi Golpaygani, ayatollah Montazeri and ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili with the purpose of ending the crisis that had erupted after the 2009 election. It is also reported that he wrote two strongly worded protest letters to ayatollah Khamenei in which he strongly criticized the oppressive tactics used by the security and military forces of the Islamic republic under his command.

At that time, Moj Sabz Azadi website wrote that during a meeting with ayatollah Safi Golpaygani, ayatollah Shobeiri Zanjani had even fallen into tears because of his unhappiness with the way protestors and people were killed in the streets after the elections. He is among those clerics who believed in ayatollah Montazeri’s views and following the latter’s death last year, conducted special prayers at his memorial. In the photographs that have been published on Khamenei’s current meetings with senior clerics in Qom, ayatollah Shobeiri Zanjani appears furthest from ayatollah Khamenei and at the end of a line of people.

Three Resigned Friday Prayer Leaders

Ayatollah Javadi Amoli and ayatollah Ibrahim Amini are also two senior clerics who after the official announcement of last year’s presidential election in which Ahmadinejad was announced as the winner, took a critical position on the post-election behavior of the regime, both of whom resigned from their Friday leader position in Qom after holding those posts for years.

After ayatollah Montazeri’s death last year, Najaf-born ayatollah Amini campaigned vigorously with senior and influential government authorities to calm down the memorial and burial ceremonies of Montazeri.

Ayatollah Reza Ostadi is another resigned Friday prayer leader of Qom who like ayatollah Amini and Javadi Amoli is a senior member of the Qom Seminary Teachers Association who supported Mohsen Rezai’s presidential bid in 2005. He met with ayatollah Khamenei on the latter’s current visit to Qom.

Khamenei: Martyrdom is an Established Issue for Iranians

Aside the absence of any published news on the contents of the meetings that ayatollah Khamenei has had with the senior clerics in Qom, the leader delivered a speech to the family members of martyrs and war veterans. According to the official news site of the office of ayatollah Khamenei, the leader praised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent trip to Lebanon. He said the people’s welcome of Ahmadinejad was “enthusiastic and extensive,” and also “worthy of review and analysis.”

According to Khamenei, “These realities” are indicative of the attraction and grandeur of the Iranian nation in the eyes of the nations of the world.”

The leader of the Islamic regime also asserted that the issue of martyrdom had been settled and clear for the Iranian nation, adding, “We must ponder about this central question that why has the Iranian nation become so popular in the eyes of nations and also so influential in the various events of the world while it lacks the complex and advanced military and propaganda instruments.”

He mentioned the “numerous” plots of the enemy against the Iranian people after the death of ayatollah Khomeini and said, “Opponents of the Iranian nation have got nothing other than failure through those plots and from now on too will not attain any [positive] results.”

Ayatollah Khamenei’s visit to Qom has been announced to take nine days.

Meeting With Foreigners

Unofficial news reports wrote that the German parliamentary delegation that is currently visiting the Islamic republic to consult with them over the release of two German reporters held in Iran secretly met ayatollah Khamenei in Qom.

While this delegation’s visit of Qom and meetings with some clerics in the city have been confirmed, no confirmation has come to support the assertion that the German group met with ayatollah Khamenei as well.

While Iranian news sources had reported earlier that visiting Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez had also met with ayatollah Khamenei on Wednesday, this visit of Qom never took place and Chavez was seen off in Tehran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and flew to Damascus, Syria.

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Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)

October 20, 2010

Blogger “The Writings from the Heart of a Citizen Journalist” writes about a young boy he saw in central Tehran who was forced to work to help his family make ends meet:

Today I went to the Revolution Square to buy books, and there I saw a heartrending scene. An 8- or 9-year-old boy was making some money with a scale he had while at the same time doing his homework. He was also selling a few toys.

I asked the boy what his father was doing. He said he sells vegetables at Emamzadeh Hassan [a bazaar in southern Tehran], and he said he’s forced to work to help with the expenses. I gave him a 1,000-tuman [about $10] bill to try to make him happy and also make a contribution even though small.

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One women's rights activist says the new official figures suggest that efforts by Iran "to eliminate women from universities" have been successful.

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)

October 20, 2010

The head of Iran’s Research and Planning Organization of Higher Studies has said that the number of male and female students in the Islamic republic is now equal.

Massoud Hadian Dehkordi has said that there are currently 3,790,859 students in the country, of which he said about 50.5 percent are men and about 49.5 percent women.

Previously it had been reported, based on official figures, that women made up 60-65 percent of university entrants.

Some Iranian officials had expressed worry over the rising numbers of women at universities, and said that it represented a threat to traditional values and that it would limit women’s marriage opportunities.

In 2008, the Research Center of the Iranian parliament expressed concern over the trend, which it described as “alarming” and called on the government to stop it.

The center said that over the last two decades there’d been a 23 percent increase in the number of girls taking university entrance exams, with the number of girls who passed the tests nearly doubling — to 65 percent — over the same period.

The government had proposed measures to stop the trend, including through the implementation of quotas for enrollment in some fields including medicine, where women were reportedly outnumbering men.

Women’s rights activist Shadi Sadr says the new official figure of female students seems to suggest that efforts by Iran “to eliminate women from universities” have been successful.

“The most important policy is the policy of gender quota that has been implemented in the last five years in some fields, including medicine and engineering,” Sadr told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.

“A limit is being imposed on the number of women who want to study in fields that are considered manly or the government believes that it is more [important] for men to study these courses than women.”

Another policy that has been promoted, Sadr said, is pushing women to study at universities in their hometowns in provinces and smaller cities.

Officials have said in the past that the measures were not discriminating against women .

But women’s rights activists have long protested against the moves, which they believe is a continuation of state repression of women and efforts aimed at keeping them at home.

– Golnaz Esfandiari

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Iranian women's cycling team

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)

October 20, 2010

The new police chief of the Iranian city of Esfahan says it is a crime for women to cycle or roller-skate in public, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.

The two were among a range of women’s activities deemed criminal by Hassan Karami in an announcement on October 18.

Further criminal activities include singing near Esfahan’s famous Khajoo Bridge and playing volleyball in public. Karami also said that it is a crime for either sex to play cards in public parks.

Karami said police will “severely prosecute” offenders. He added that the number of police stations and patrols in Esfahan should be increased in order to combat crime in the city.

Tehran-based lawyer Ahmad Bashiri told Radio Farda on October 19 that for an act to be considered a crime, there must be a defined punishment under the law, so that the crime can be prosecuted.

“Singing is not in itself a crime,” Bashiri said. “But if it inconveniences the public, or if the song contains obscene words, then it can be considered a crime.”

By contrast, playing cards or gambling in public is considered a crime under Iranian law, Bashiri added.

Whether women should be permitted to ride bicycles has been a controversial issue in Iran for a long time. One month ago, Tehran Friday Prayers leader Ahmad Khatami said he had received “worrying news” about women riding bicycles on the streets of Tehran. Following his statement, Tehran police began confronting women cyclists.

Bashiri said that when someone says it is a crime for a woman to ride a bicycle, he should explain the legal basis for that statement. The police have no right to make arbitrary decisions based on their own interpretation of the law, Bashiri claimed.

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Ahmad Ghabel (file photo)

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)

October 21, 2010

Jailed Iranian religious scholar Ahmad Ghabel has appeared in court where he again denied charges of acting against national security, his wife has told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.

Ghabel was arrested in December on his way to the funeral of senior dissident cleric Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. He spent six months in jail before being released on bail, then was rearrested last month in Mashhad, northeastern Iran.

His wife, Marzieh Pasdar, said the October 20 hearing was held in branch five of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad in the presence of Ghabel’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, and family members.

Pasdar said there was no representative for the prosecutor present at the session.

“Ahmad Ghabel was only questioned about his intentions behind [the charge of] acting against national security, in response to which he denied the charges completely and emphasized that he had in fact acted against those who act against the principles of Islam and law,” Pasdar told RFE/RL.

Pasdar said Ghabel’s actions were more in favor of national security and the government than against them.

“The judge postponed the case for another 10 days due to the absence of the representative of the prosecutor and the objection of Ghabel’s lawyer regarding that matter,” she said, adding that he has been asked to submit his defense in writing to the court by then.

A critic of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ghabel was also arrested in 2001 after writing an open letter critical of him. Ghabel then spent 125 days in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison.