Responses to Human Rights Abuses in Iran
1. The Belgium Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders on behalf of the Belgium government and EU countries, showed their support in a letter for the continuous work done by the special reporter for Iran ‘Dr Ahmad Shaheed’. They also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the dervishes who are imprisoned in different cities of Iran.
2. On Saturday the 20th of April, the Stockholm branch of the ‘International Organization to Preserve Human Rights in Iran’ organised a gathering in the centre of the Swedish capital to show their support for the imprisoned dervishes in Iran.
3.40 workers from the Farsit factory in the city of Doroud, in the west of Iran, protested in front of the governor’s building and demanded changes to their current working conditions.
4. Since Saturday the 20th of April, the Ironmongery market has gone on strike in protest against the instability of VAT and the exchange rate.
5. Dr Mohammad Malaki, an international political and religious activist, has written a letter, addressed to the Tehran Revolutionary Court about Roueen Outofat, a cultural activist, who has been detained for two months in prison, and has asked them to put an end to cases against the innocent people with different beliefs.
6. On Friday the 19th of April, an annual report by the US Foreign Department of States included a section on Iran in which it described the human rights situation in Iran as “critical”.
7. On Thursday the 18th of April, a number of shoppers gathered in front of the entrance of Iran Khodro in the city of Tabriz, with documents relating to the delay in delivery of their vehicles and criticized the company for their lack of customer service.
8. A new organisation called ‘The International Campaign for Protecting the Rights of Iranian Workers’ announced the start of their activities, with the support of different organisations and human rights activists.
9. A number of political prisoners in Rajaei Shahr Prison have said that they will go on a hunger strike for three days, due to the special guards having invaded their privacy by inspecting their belongings.
10. On Wednesday the 24th of April Rahele Zokaei, an exiled prisoner, detained in the Gharchak prison in Varamin, started her indefinite hunger strike in order to protest against the fact that she was not transferred to Evin prison.
11. On Saturday the 20th of April, supporters of the International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights in Iran continued their protests in the city of Hanover, requesting an unconditional release of political prisoners and prisoners detained because of their religious beliefs.

Women’s Rights
1. On Friday the 19th of April, Zeinab Bayazidi, a Kurdish former prisoner, who was detained for four and a half years due to her religious beliefs, was released from Maragheh prison. She has reported that over the past few days, she has been receiving threatening phone calls from unknown numbers, and that she was clearly followed by a few suspicious cars. During these phone calls the ‘unknown callers’ have said that they are aware of her secret activities since her release from prison and that they will not allow her to continue with these activities.

University and academics
1. Security authorities of Bahonar University declined the request of Kurdish academics in Kerman to establish a cultural centre. Also the governors of the University of Kerman have put the Kurdish academics under pressure and have threatened them that, if such a centre were to be established, they will be expelled from the university.

The Sentences: Execution Flogging, amputation, imprisonment and custody
1. It has been reported that on Wednesday 17th April, at least 2 prisoners, who were accused of murder, were executed by hanging in Rajayi Prison, in the City of Karaj.
2. On Saturday 20th April, following the injunction by the second and third branches of the Kerman Revolutionary Court, 4 prisoners accused of drug trafficking were hanged in the yard of the central prison of Kerman.
3. Ahmad Karimi, the political prisoner who was exiled to Gonbad Kavous Prison and was sentenced to 15 years and 3 months, was given an extra year of imprisonment following the appearance of a new case against him.
4. On Sunday 21 April, 2 young Afghani citizens, who were accused of rape, were hanged in the central prison of Mashhad.
5. On Thursday 18 April, Mr Kamal Abdolahi, an Azeri citizen, from Maghanjough Village in the city of Salman, while returning home from his farm, was shot dead by Basiji forces and died immediately.
6. On Sunday 21st April, in a trial held in the Revolutionary Court of the city of Sanandaj, Sirvan Hussein-Panahi and Shirzad Hussein-Panahi, 2 civil rights activists from kurdestan were accused of propaganda against the regime and having an affiliation with the Kurdish opposition parties.
7. In spite of the fact that Hasan Ark (Ali Haj Abolo), a political prisoner in Tabriz Prison is suffering from a slipped disc, the prison authorities carried out his sentence of lashing.
8. On Monday 22nd of April, two women and two men who were charged with drug trafficking were hanged in Dizelabad Prison in the city of Kermanshah.
9. On Monday 22nd of April, intelligence officers raided the house of Peyman Aref, a journalist and former student activist and after his house was searched, he was taken away along with some of his personal belongings, such as his laptop.

Workers and vulnerable communities in Iran
1. Ali Azadi, a labour activist who has spent the last 45 days in custody at the Sarandaj Intelligence Service, continues to be held without any legal reason. Following a telephone conversation with his wife she stated that; the interrogation has been completed but the continuation of his arrest is illegal.
2. Last week the Deputy of the Isfahan Shoemakers Union announced that in 2012 more than 500 shoemaking workshops were shut down in Isfahan.
3. On Sunday the 21st of April in conjunction with Ahmadinejad’s visit to Ahvaz, workers of the sugar factory in the city of Ahvaz gathered in front of the Khuzestan Governors Building in a protest.
4. On Sunday the 21st of April Seyed Jalal Malaki, the Tehran Municipality spokesman for the fire department and safety services, announced the death of a construction worker who was originally a citizen of Afghanistan. The cause of his death was due to the collapse of the building.
5. On Sunday the 21st of April, one hundred workers who had been fired from Pipe Safa Navard Factory re-entered the factory in a protest against their dismissal and unpaid wages and who were then joined by the remaining employees and they brought production within the factory to a stop.
6. It was recorded in court that workers have complained against the ‘Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare Council’ in relation to the decision to increase the minimum wages of the current year by only 25 percent, a low figure in comparison to the rate of inflation.
7. There have been reports of a strike amongst the ironmongers in Tehran market since the beginning of the week, to protest against the increased VAT received and exchange rate volatility. The Ironmongers of 15 Khordad Square and the Market “ShadAbad” are also involved in the strike.

Other human rights violations
1. Hamid Rohynejad, the political prisoner who was exiled to Zanjan Prison and is suffering from MS and poor vision, has been denied from medical leave.
2. FIFA has warned the Iranian football federation of executing people in sport stadiums. Following that, Ali Kaffashian has requested the Iranian football federation to explain why the ceremony of hanging should have happened in one of the Sabzavar’s Sport stadium.
3. Forensic investigation into death of 5 patients indicates that the cause of death was due to usage of Chinese penicillin.
4. Mohammad Khodai a member of Human Right activis in Iran and Mohammad Daavari the main editor of “Saham News” website returned to ward 350 Evin prison as they were denied to have an extended leave.
5. According to the recent reports, three children were killed due to mortar explosion which took place in Maarei Village, part of city of Soosangerd. Last winter 2 children were also killed in a mine explosion in Larak Island.
6. Morteza Reyesi Head of Renovation of Schools Organization stated that “there are 50,000 classrooms across the country which are built with sun-dried mud and hence lack all safety standards”.
7. Recent News indicates that Yousef Noori, Head of Statistics and ICT Department of Ministry of Education have announced that: “141 thousand children are deprived of education in the country who are in the age group range of 6 to 11 years old and do not go to school”.
8. Ismail Ismaili, deputy chief of Operational Security of Zanjan region on Wednesday 24 April said: “Over the past year, 16 thousand 800 satellite-base units have been confiscated in the state of Zanjan”.
9. Kaveh Taheri, the imprisoned blogger of Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz and other political and intellectual prisoners are facing lots of pressures and constraints. Personalized Books of Kaveh Taheri and other political and intellectual prisoners have been confiscated by Prison authorities. Prison authorities have even taken the Prison library books from them and have banded them from using any other kind of books.
10. on Wednesday 24 April Sadegh Larijani , in response to the America annual report on human rights which also mentions cases in Iran, has categorically rejected the existence of political executions in Iran and called it an “absolute lie”.
11. The pressure of costs of treatment borne by the public has increased on daily basis. In recent years, the number of households that have gone below the poverty line has been rising.