Tweet
RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 37, 9 October 2006
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
******************************************** ****************
HEADLINES:
* U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN STRENGTHENED
* WASHINGTON, EU RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE WITH IRAN
* FORMER PRESIDENT KHATAMI ADVOCATES NUCLEAR TALKS
* PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES BEGIN REGISTERING FOR DECEMBER ELECTIONS
* FREEDOM HOUSE CALLS IRAN 'NOT FREE'
* DETAINED CHRISTIAN COUPLE'S FAMILY SEEKS ANSWERS
* MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS
* WARNING SIGNS
* OFFICIAL HARASSMENT?
* 'THEY CANNOT FULLY LIVE THEIR LIVES'
* GOVERNMENT PRESSURES STUDENT ACTIVISTS
* BAD STARS
* PLEDGING NOT TO PROTEST
* A NEW 'CULTURAL REVOLUTION'?
* LEGISLATURE APPROVES FUNDS FOR GASOLINE IMPORTS
* ISFAHAN: CSI HELPS REDUCE CRIME RATE
* IRANIAN WEIGHTLIFTERS SUSPENDED OVER FAILURE TO PAY DOPING FINE
* IRAN APPOINTS NEW VETERINARY HEAD
********************************************* ***************
U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN STRENGTHENED. U.S. President George W.
Bush signed into law the Iran Freedom Support Act on October 1 to
discourage major investments in the Iranian energy sector, the
"International Herald Tribune" reported. The law was passed by the
Senate on September 30 and the House of Representatives earlier in
the week, and is based on the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. The act
authorizes the imposition of sanctions on firms or individuals
responsible for proliferating weapons of mass destruction. "My
administration is working on many fronts to address the challenges
posed by the Iranian regime's pursuit of weapons of mass
destruction, support for terrorism, efforts to destabilize the Middle
East, and repression of the fundamental human rights of the citizens
of Iran," Bush said.
The Iranian legislature's National Security and Foreign
Policy Committee denounced the Iran Freedom Support Act on October 1,
the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. The committee's
statement said the new U.S. law is in violation of the UN Charter and
the so-called Algiers Accord of 1975. The statement did not explain
what the recent U.S. legislation has to do with a 1975 agreement
between Iran and Iraq that was meant to resolve border disputes,
demarcate river boundaries, and arrange for noninterference in
domestic affairs.
Kazem Jalali, rapporteur for the National Security and
Foreign Policy Committee, said on October 1 that Iranian Foreign
Ministry officials will discuss the new U.S. law with that committee
on October 3, IRNA reported. Jalali described the Iran Freedom
Support Act as a sign of U.S. hostility, and he added that Iran's
legislature will make it a priority to approve a law for
fingerprinting Americans who seek to visit Iran. (Bill Samii)
WASHINGTON, EU RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE WITH IRAN. Recent statements
by U.S. and European officials have revealed a heightened sense of
frustration with Iranian on the nuclear issue. They want Iran to stop
all nuclear activities so multilateral talks can begin, while the
Iranians want talks to begin before they cede anything. But
international frustration with Iran could be misplaced, since Tehran
has made it clear that it has no plans to halt uranium enrichment.
The latest statements from Iranian President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad on October 9 signal continued intransigence. Ahmadinejad
vowed to counter with Iranian sanctions -- against the international
community -- if the UN Security Council tries to punish Tehran for
its nuclear activities, according to AFP, which cited state media.
Iranian officials have made little secret of their desire to
use the drawn-out negotiating process in order to buy time to
complete nuclear projects. Iranian officials have admitted that they
used earlier negotiations to wrest concessions from the Europeans.
Foreign ministers from the P+1 grouping -- China, France,
Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Germany --
met in London on October 6 to discuss the Iranian nuclear stalemate.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett emerged citing "deep
disappointment" that "Iran is not prepared to suspend [the]
enrichment-related and reprocessing activities" as called for by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and UN Resolution 1696, AFP
reported. She said a debate over possible sanctions is next,
prompting Ahmadinejad's defiant counterthreat on October 9.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned during a
visit to the West Bank on October 4 that "months of negotiations" had
failed to convince Iran to suspend its enrichment activities. She
said the international community's "patience" was running out,
Radio Farda reported.
Rice said such patience could be traced to the Paris
agreement of November 2004, and she urged Iran to act. Repeating a
point that President George W. Bush has made on several occasions,
Rice warned that the time has come "when the Iranians have to make
their choice and the international system has to act accordingly."
The same day as Rice's comments, EU High Representative
for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana sounded a note
of frustration. Solana has held numerous meetings with Iranian
officials since June, but he conceded that his "dialogue [with
Iran]...cannot last forever." He said it was "up to the Iranians now
to decide whether the time has come to an end." If so, Solana warned
in a reference to the sanctions debate, the international community
would "have to begin to follow the second track by the five
[permanent] members of the [UN] Security Council," Radio Farda
reported.
Back in Iran, President Ahmadinejad has been standing his
ground. He told an audience at Tehran University on October 1 that --
beyond resisting pressure to forego uranium enrichment -- the country
intends to expand its enrichment capacity, Fars News Agency reported
on October 2.
The president also said Iran hopes to install up to 100,000
centrifuges to enrich nuclear material. The president of the
Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) in
Washington, David Albright, had predicted to Radio Farda in February
that it would take 10-20 years to install even half that many
centrifuges. Albright said Iranian scientists "don't even know
how to put 100 [centrifuges] together and operate them successfully,
let alone build that number."
Ahmadinejad suggested to a domestic audience on October 4 in
Savojbolagh in Tehran Province, according to state television, that
unnamed representatives of the great powers had told him that Iran
could become a "role model for other nations" through major
scientific advances. Ahmadinejad contended that those same
representatives "explicitly said that if the Iranian nation acquires
developed technologies and sciences, it [would] become the greatest
world power very quickly."
Ahmadinejad also dismissed Western claims of opposition to
nuclear weapons, citing the existence of weapons stockpiles in other
countries and their testing of such weapons. He called the global
powers' claims of backing nonproliferation lies and accused them
of opposing Iran's progress. He said that if those countries were
serious about nonproliferation, they "would not have armed" what he
described as "fake and rootless regimes in [the] region with
[nuclear] weapons."
Tehran has consistently sought to create divisions among
Security Council members.
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali
Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Solana held two days of talks in
Berlin on September 27-28. Larijani met separately with Russian
Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov in Tehran on October 3, again
to discuss the nuclear issue.
Moscow is concerned about the Iranian nuclear issue not
merely because it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council
and thus a major participant in the sanctions debate. Russian
engineers are building a nuclear power plant at Bushehr in
southwestern Iran. Iran's vice president for atomic energy, Qolam
Reza Aqazadeh-Khoi, was in Moscow in early October to warn that if
the Russians do not finish the project on time -- the scheduled
commissioning date is September 2007 -- the Iranians can complete the
job. Russia already intends to supply Bushehr with fuel, and it has
offered a joint uranium-enrichment venture with Iran on Russian
territory. Tehran has already dismissed that Russian overture.
Iranian officials have countered with an offer that could
well have been aimed at throwing the international community
off-balance. Mohammad Saidi, deputy director of Iran's Atomic
Energy Organization, said on October 3 that his country has proposed
French participation in its uranium-enrichment program, France Info
radio reported. Saidi said the participation of France's Areva
nuclear company -- through subsidiary Eurodif -- would enable French
monitoring of Iranian enrichment activities. Eurodif enriches uranium
for use in roughly 100 reactors in France and abroad.
Paris appeared to reject the unexpected Iranian proposal. A
French Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jean-Baptiste Mattei, said such
dialogue would have to go through the European Union, AFP reported on
October 3. But he also stressed that it was up to Tehran to suspend
its enrichment activities. "It is on this point," Mattei said, that
the international community "awaits an Iranian response." Mattei
opened to the door to possible "negotiations where each party will be
free to bring to the table the proposals they want" if Tehran halted
enrichment.
Russia's Atomic Energy Agency head, Sergei Kiriyenko,
said on October 4 that Moscow's offer to host a joint
uranium-enrichment project remained on the table if Iran abandoned
domestic uranium enrichment, RIA-Novosti reported. He stressed that
the Russian proposal should be seen in the context of international
efforts to defuse tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
But he cautioned Tehran against thinking it could pick and
choose among aspects of international cooperation on the nuclear
issue, however. Kiriyenko said the joint enrichment scheme "does not
work individually -- it works only as a package...and should not be
snapped out of the package like raisins teased out of a muffin."
(Bill Samii)
FORMER PRESIDENT KHATAMI ADVOCATES NUCLEAR TALKS. Hojatoleslam
Mohammad Khatami, who served as president from 1997-2005, said in an
October 2 speech that the country's officials should employ tact
when discussing the nuclear issue, IRNA reported. He added, "We
should negotiate Iran's nuclear issue, and if certain parties say
they [the foreigners] cannot be trusted, this will become evident
during the negotiation." Khatami and several other senior officials,
such as former Supreme National Security Council Secretary
Hojatoleslam Hassan Rohani, have decried the Ahmadinejad
administration's foreign policy as excessively confrontational
and ultimately unproductive. (Bill Samii)
PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES BEGIN REGISTERING FOR DECEMBER ELECTIONS.
Prospective candidates for the Assembly of Experts election, which is
scheduled for December 15, began registering on October 5.
Registration will continue until October 11.
Just one person signed up in Khuzestan Province, Ahvaz
Governor Abdul Aziz Fadami said, before adding that this is normal
because most people wait until the last day, provincial television
reported. Nationally, 25 people had registered by the end of the
first day, state television reported.
In a related development, Interior Minister Hojatoleslam
Mustafa Purmohammadi appointed the new deputy interior minister for
political affairs, Mujtaba Samareh-Hashemi, as head of the Election
Headquarters, and deputy interior minister for legal and
parliamentary affairs Mohammad Hussein Musapur as head of the
Elections Supervision Headquarters. (Bill Samii)
FREEDOM HOUSE CALLS IRAN 'NOT FREE.' Freedom House assigned
Iran "not free" status -- with scores of 6 (7 is worst) in the
"Political Rights" and "Civil Liberties" categories -- in its annual
assessment of political rights and civil liberties in 192 countries
on September 29, called "Freedom in the World 2006." In the
subcategories for political rights, Iran rated 3 in the categories of
"Electoral Process," "Political Pluralism and Participation," and
"Functioning of Government." In the civil-liberties subcategories,
Iran rated 5 for "Freedom of Expression and Belief," 4 for "Personal
Autonomy and Individual Rights," 3 for "Associational and
Organizational Rights," and 3 for "Rule of Law"; Freedom House said
these ratings represent a person's ability to participate in the
political process unhindered, to vote in legitimate elections, and to
have accountable political representatives. The ratings also are
based on an individual's right to express him/herself freely,
assemble or associate with others freely, participate in an equitable
legal system, and enjoy equal access to economic opportunities.
An October 5 press release from the European Union's
Finnish presidency has expressed "grave concern" about press freedom
in Iran, noting specifically the closure of "Sharq" and other
publications in September
(http://www.eu2006.fi/news_and_documents /cfsp_statements/vko40/en_GB/
1160042302794/?u4.hi ghlight=Iran). The statement also decried
"continued harassment of journalists."
In Iran, international criticism has had no effect on the
government. Interior Minister Hojatoleslam Mustafa Pur-Mohammadi
announced on October 3 that his ministry intends to give greater
attention to countering counterrevolutionary media propaganda, Mehr
News Agency reported. Satellite receivers have been illegal since the
1990s, and the regime recently renewed its effort to confiscate the
equipment and block Iranians' access to outside media.
Brigadier Nabiullah Heidari, chief of police in Iran's
Markazi (Central) Province, announced on October 1 that helicopters
will be used in the campaign to spot and seize satellite-reception
equipment in the city of Arak, the Iranian labor News Agency (ILNA)
reported. Heidari said that in the year beginning March 21, police
have seized more than 2,000 satellite dishes in the province; this is
almost three times as many as in the previous year. Heidari said
satellite television leads to "decadence," including divorce and
extramarital relations.
The anti-satellite campaign is not working everywhere.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative in
Kurdistan Province, identified only as Hojatoleslam Musavi, noted
recently that an increasing number of satellite-television programs
are being broadcast into the province from abroad, alborznews.net
reported on October 3. Musavi reportedly attributed the development
to an absence from the airwaves of Iranian state-television programs.
Many provincial residents have installed satellite dishes to receive
Iranian television shows, and, according to alborznews.net, 550
provincial villages cannot receive state television.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television's plans to broadcast
an all-day English-language news program are progressing, with state
broadcasting's deputy head for external services, Mohammad
Sarfaraz, saying on October 4 that the service will be launched
within months, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported.
Sarfaraz said the 24-hour news channel -- called Press -- will use
presenters trained by the BBC and whose skills "surpass" those of BBC
or CNN presenters. He said the reason for creating the channel is to
present a different perspective on regional news.
In some cases, government bans on news outlets have only had
a temporary effect. "Sharq," the newspaper banned by the Iranian
government in mid-September, will be replaced by a new daily called
"Ruzegar," The new publication allegedly will have a different
editorial and journalistic perspective, according to the website, and
it will focus more closely on popular politics than on elite
politics. Although "Ruzegar" will pursue a different approach, the
editorial staff is largely the same as "Sharq," including Editor in
Chief Mohammad Quchani. The first issue is scheduled for October 7.
The Advar News website -- which is connected with the Office
for Strengthening Unity student group and was shut down in late
September -- resumed operations under a new name on October 4. The
new website is advarnews.us. (Bill Samii)
DETAINED CHRISTIAN COUPLE'S FAMILY SEEKS ANSWERS. The detention
of an Iranian Christian couple in eastern Iran from September
26-October 6 caused a great deal of concern among relatives.
Relatives say they were unable to meet with them, and
authorities refused to specify the charges against them. Fereshteh
Dibaj and her husband Reza Montazami -- known as Amir to family and
friends -- led an independent church in the city of Mashhad.
Plainclothes security agents arrested 28-year-old Dibaj and
35-year-old Montazami early on September 26 after searching their
home and confiscating the couple's computer, Christian books, and
other belongings.
One of the agents told Montazami's mother that her son
was being taken to a local police station. But when relatives went to
the police station, a policeman on duty said he was unaware of the
detentions.
After hours of search and inquiry, the family learned that
the Ministry of Intelligence and Security was holding the couple for
questioning.
More Questions Than Answers
Authorities refused to comment on the reason for the detentions or
the charges against the couple.
Fereshteh's brother, Issa Dibaj, lives in the United
Kingdom.
"In Iran they first arrest people, then they look for
charges," Issa Dibaj told RFE/RL shortly after the couple's
disappearance. "So far [authorities] have not announced charges
against them -- they said, 'We are investigating and questioning
them.' They let Amir make a short call to his family to say he is
well. But Fereshteh has not been allowed to telephone, and, since her
detention a week ago, we have had no news from her and we are very
concerned. They haven't even let her talk to Christine, her
6-year-old daughter."
Montazami converted to Christianity in his early 20s.
His wife, Fereshteh, was born into a Christian family. Her
father Mehdi Dibaj was a well-known priest of the Jamiat-i Rabbani
Church, the Iranian branch of the Assemblies of God. He spent more
than nine years in prison and was sentenced to death in 1993 for his
faith. He was freed in January 1994 in the face of an international
outcry. But a few months later, he was abducted and later found
murdered -- one of at least three priest killings that activists
blame on Iranian authorities.
Warning Signs
Issa Dibaj said the couple had received a warning in
connection with their religious activities.
"[Authorities] had told them that they should not have prayer
meetings in their house. But how is that possible?" he asked. "Just
as Muslims are free anywhere in the world to go and pray in a mosque,
Christians should have the same right -- this is a [fundamental]
right. Maybe one reason [for their arrest] is that they continued
having these sessions as before."
For some, the case highlights the plight of Christian
converts living in Iran.
Islamic law -- as applied in Iran -- says a Muslim who
converts to another faith can face the death penalty. In recent
years, there have been no reported cases of execution of converts.
But there are signs that pressure on Christians has
increased.
Official Harassment?
Several Christian converts have been arrested in
Iran in recent months before being freed on bail. There have also
been allegations by religious and rights groups of harassment and
intimidation targeting Christians.
In its annual report on religious freedoms in September, the
U.S. State Department accused the Iranian government of enforcing its
prohibition on proselytizing by evangelical Christians by closely
monitoring their activities, closing their churches, and arresting
converts.
The report said that in November 2005, unidentified attackers
killed a man, Ghorban Tori, who had converted to Christianity more
than 10 years earlier. Tori, a pastor at an independent house church
of converted Christians, had reportedly been receiving death threats.
Issa Dibaj said he thinks the recent pressure and persecution
of Christians is unprecedented since a string of killings of priests
in the mid-1990s.
"In the last two years, maybe with the coming to power of a
new president [Mahmud Ahmadinejad in 2005], pressures have increased
in an unprecedented way," he said. "We had not seen anything like
that since the chain killings that happened in 1994 and afterward --
Christians have lived relatively in peace. But in recent years,
pressure has increased. There are arrests, threats, and sometimes
they fire [Christians] from their jobs."
'They Cannot Fully Live Their Lives'
Prague Roman Catholic Bishop Vaclav Maly told RFE/RL after a
September trip to Iran that many of Iran's Christians are leaving
the Islamic republic because of restrictions -- and because "they
cannot fully live their lives as Christians."
"There is a danger that Christians could completely disappear
from Iran, which would be a great spiritual and cultural pity --
because Christians were on Iranian territory before Islam was, and
there are very old churches there whose histories go back to the
first century of Christianity," Maly said.
Religious and rights groups say the persecution of Iran's
Christians stepped up following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The number of Armenians, Iran's largest Christian
minority, has significantly declined.
There are no reliable figures on the number of Muslim-born
Iranians who convert to Christianity, and many practice their faith
clandestinely for fear of state persecution. Christian groups claim
the ranks of converts to Christianity is increasing nevertheless.
The perceived trend of official harassment is likely to add
to the mounting concerns as family and friends worry over the fate of
Fereshteh Dibaj and her husband. (Golnaz Esfandiari)
GOVERNMENT PRESSURES STUDENT ACTIVISTS. Student activists in Iran say
authorities have prevented dozens of students from studying by
refusing to enroll them for the new academic year. The students have
reportedly been involved in on-campus political and press-related
activities. Iranian Education Minister Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi says
claims that students are being kept out of school due to their
political activism are "lies" and that the government is tolerant of
such students.
There was a time when teachers in Iran's schools used to
give students golden paper stars to encourage them. Nowadays it seems
that stars are being given for punishment: the term "students with
stars" is used to describe students who have been expelled or
suspended from a university.
In recent months dozens of liberal university professors have
been forced into early retirement. Many student activists have been
summoned to court and several have been arrested.
Bad Stars
The term became prevalent after several students said
university officials had refused to register them for the new
academic year and told them that they have "two or three stars."
Student groups and activists say more than 100 students have
been affected.
Ali Nekunesbati is a spokesman for Iran's main reformist
student group, Daftar Tahkim Vahdat (the Office for Strengthening
Unity). He says many student activists and members of his group have
been marked with stars.
"Beside the names that were announced to the universities for
enrollment, there was another list in which individuals are marked
with either one star, two stars, or three stars," he said. "Who
grants these 'stars'? As the head of the admission committee
has said the Intelligence Ministry -is involved. We reiterate again
that these 'stars' exist."
Journalists Expelled
Earlier this week a student told the daily newspaper "Etemad"
that because of his past activities as the editor in chief of a
banned student publication he has been marked with two stars. He said
university authorities had told him that his enrollment will be
possible only with a letter from government officials.
Ali Azizi, the deputy head of the Islamic student association
at Amir Kabir University, says university students who -- according
to officials -- have "the potential to engage in future protests for
their rights" have been barred from classes.
"They include 73 students who had been involved in activities
such as press or political activities or even cultural activities and
other student-related activities," he said.
Peyman Aref is a well-known student activist who has been
expelled from the law faculty at Tehran University. He told Radio
Farda that many of his colleagues have received notice that they have
been suspended.
"There are other individuals who have not been registered for
undergraduate studies in the past 10 days," Aref said. "In addition,
more than 100 postgraduate students have been summoned to the
disciplinary committee in relation to student protests in May and
June. Harsh sentences have been issued to them."
Iranian Education Minister Mehdi Zahedi has, however, denied
that students are being prevented from studying because of their
activism. He said those who make such claims should publish a list of
names of such students.
Pledging Not To Protes
But activists are concerned that issuing such a list could aggravate
the situation and worsen the prospects for those banned students.
Authorities have reportedly told students with stars that
they should refrain from political activities in order to be able to
continue with their studies.
Morteza Nurbakhsh, the head of the Education Ministry's
admission committee, denied reports on September 19 that students
have to sign pledges not to engage in political activities. However,
he added that some students are being asked "not to act outside
norms, university laws, and conduct befitting a student." He said
some 50 to 60 students have committed themselves to this.
Several legislators have criticized the restrictions and said
its is against Iran's Constitution to prevent students from
studying because of their opinions.
Many say the move is a violation of a student's rights.
A New 'Cultural Revolution'?
Nekunesbati said he believes the government's move against student
activists is part of an increasing crackdown against critics.
"The government made some promises but it has not been able
to fulfill them in the least. Instead of overcoming its weaknesses it
has begun a crackdown on critics; and because students, professors,
and the student movement are among the most critical groups, it is
acting against them," he said. "The existence of students with stars
is the latest sign [of the pressure on students]."
The outspoken student group Daftar Tahkim Vahdat said in a
statement that the new crackdown coincided with remarks by Iranian
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who said on September 6 that
universities should be rid of liberal and secular influences from
professors. The group said that the comments mark the beginning of a
new "cultural revolution" with the aim of eliminating critics in
universities.
In recent months dozens of liberal university professors have
been forced into early retirement. Many student activists have been
summoned to court and several have been arrested.
There is growing concern over their health and general safety
in prison.
The concerns have increased following comments by former
legislator and student rights activist Ali Akbar Musavi Khoeini, who
said last week during a short prison leave that he's being
tortured to "repent." People who have seen him say there are bruises
on his neck and head. (By Golnaz Esfandiari; Radio Farda contributed
to this report.)
LEGISLATURE APPROVES FUNDS FOR GASOLINE IMPORTS. The legislature on
October 2 approved the withdrawal of $3.5 billion from the
country's foreign-exchange reserve to fund gasoline imports, IRNA
reported. The bill was passed with a vote of 136 in favor, 57
against, and 13 abstentions, and it must win approval from the
Guardians Council. Parliamentary talks on gasoline imports grew
heated on September 5, "Kayhan" reported the next day. Legislators
objected that gasoline is used excessively because it is sold very
cheaply at subsidized prices, and Management and Planning
Organization Director Farhad Rahbar said consumption would be limited
through the distribution of smart cards. Out of 202 legislators who
were present in the chamber, only 94 voted that the bill is urgent,
which would have moved it to the head of the queue. (Bill Samii)
ISFAHAN: CSI HELPS REDUCE CRIME RATE. Col Abbas Ali Mohammadian,
deputy chief of police in the city of Isfahan, announced on October 5
that the city enjoyed a 17 percent reduction in the crime rate over
the first five months of the Iranian year, which began on March 21,
compared to the same timeframe one year earlier, provincial
television reported. Seizures of illegal goods increased by 18
percent he added. The deputy police chief said using a crime lab
contributed to these developments. (Bill Samii)
IRANIAN WEIGHTLIFTERS SUSPENDED OVER FAILURE TO PAY DOPING FINE. The
International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has suspended Iran's
weightlifting federation for two years because it has not paid a
$400,000 fine for doping, Reuters reported. Last week in the
Dominican Republic, nine of 11 Iranian lifters tested positive when
tested for drugs before the world championships, and the team was
forced to withdraw. One of the athletes, Mohsen Davudi, is banned
permanently due to repeated failures of drug tests, as is the
team's Bulgarian coach, Georgy Ivanov. The IWF claims Ivanov is
the person most responsible for the athletes' drug abuse. (Bill
Samii)
IRAN APPOINTS NEW VETERINARY HEAD. Apparently as part of the shakeup
in the leadership of governmental bodies (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 3
October 2006), President Mahmud Ahmadinejad appointed Seyyed Mohammad
Aqamiri on October 3 to head the country's Veterinary
Organization, which is part of the Agriculture Jihad Ministry, IRNA
reported. The Veterinary Organization is the state entity contending
with a bird-flu outbreak in parts of Iran. (Bill Samii)
****************************************** ***************
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.
Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
For information on reprints, see:
http://www.rferl.org/about/content/request.as p
Back issues are online at http://www.rferl.org/reports/iran-report/
Technic al queries should be e-mailed to: [email protected]
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
Send an e-mail to [email protected]
HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE
Send an e-mail to [email protected]
NEWS BROADCASTS ONLINE
Listen to Radio Farda broadcasts daily on our website:
http://www.radiofarda.com
PERSIAN-LANGUA GE BROADCASTS. Local shortwave and mediumwave broadcast
frequencies are available on the Persian Service website:
http://www.radiofarda.com
_______________ ______________________________________________
RAD IO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 37, 9 October 2006
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
******************************************** ****************
HEADLINES:
* U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN STRENGTHENED
* WASHINGTON, EU RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE WITH IRAN
* FORMER PRESIDENT KHATAMI ADVOCATES NUCLEAR TALKS
* PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES BEGIN REGISTERING FOR DECEMBER ELECTIONS
* FREEDOM HOUSE CALLS IRAN 'NOT FREE'
* DETAINED CHRISTIAN COUPLE'S FAMILY SEEKS ANSWERS
* MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS
* WARNING SIGNS
* OFFICIAL HARASSMENT?
* 'THEY CANNOT FULLY LIVE THEIR LIVES'
* GOVERNMENT PRESSURES STUDENT ACTIVISTS
* BAD STARS
* PLEDGING NOT TO PROTEST
* A NEW 'CULTURAL REVOLUTION'?
* LEGISLATURE APPROVES FUNDS FOR GASOLINE IMPORTS
* ISFAHAN: CSI HELPS REDUCE CRIME RATE
* IRANIAN WEIGHTLIFTERS SUSPENDED OVER FAILURE TO PAY DOPING FINE
* IRAN APPOINTS NEW VETERINARY HEAD
********************************************* ***************
U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN STRENGTHENED. U.S. President George W.
Bush signed into law the Iran Freedom Support Act on October 1 to
discourage major investments in the Iranian energy sector, the
"International Herald Tribune" reported. The law was passed by the
Senate on September 30 and the House of Representatives earlier in
the week, and is based on the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. The act
authorizes the imposition of sanctions on firms or individuals
responsible for proliferating weapons of mass destruction. "My
administration is working on many fronts to address the challenges
posed by the Iranian regime's pursuit of weapons of mass
destruction, support for terrorism, efforts to destabilize the Middle
East, and repression of the fundamental human rights of the citizens
of Iran," Bush said.
The Iranian legislature's National Security and Foreign
Policy Committee denounced the Iran Freedom Support Act on October 1,
the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. The committee's
statement said the new U.S. law is in violation of the UN Charter and
the so-called Algiers Accord of 1975. The statement did not explain
what the recent U.S. legislation has to do with a 1975 agreement
between Iran and Iraq that was meant to resolve border disputes,
demarcate river boundaries, and arrange for noninterference in
domestic affairs.
Kazem Jalali, rapporteur for the National Security and
Foreign Policy Committee, said on October 1 that Iranian Foreign
Ministry officials will discuss the new U.S. law with that committee
on October 3, IRNA reported. Jalali described the Iran Freedom
Support Act as a sign of U.S. hostility, and he added that Iran's
legislature will make it a priority to approve a law for
fingerprinting Americans who seek to visit Iran. (Bill Samii)
WASHINGTON, EU RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE WITH IRAN. Recent statements
by U.S. and European officials have revealed a heightened sense of
frustration with Iranian on the nuclear issue. They want Iran to stop
all nuclear activities so multilateral talks can begin, while the
Iranians want talks to begin before they cede anything. But
international frustration with Iran could be misplaced, since Tehran
has made it clear that it has no plans to halt uranium enrichment.
The latest statements from Iranian President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad on October 9 signal continued intransigence. Ahmadinejad
vowed to counter with Iranian sanctions -- against the international
community -- if the UN Security Council tries to punish Tehran for
its nuclear activities, according to AFP, which cited state media.
Iranian officials have made little secret of their desire to
use the drawn-out negotiating process in order to buy time to
complete nuclear projects. Iranian officials have admitted that they
used earlier negotiations to wrest concessions from the Europeans.
Foreign ministers from the P+1 grouping -- China, France,
Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Germany --
met in London on October 6 to discuss the Iranian nuclear stalemate.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett emerged citing "deep
disappointment" that "Iran is not prepared to suspend [the]
enrichment-related and reprocessing activities" as called for by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and UN Resolution 1696, AFP
reported. She said a debate over possible sanctions is next,
prompting Ahmadinejad's defiant counterthreat on October 9.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned during a
visit to the West Bank on October 4 that "months of negotiations" had
failed to convince Iran to suspend its enrichment activities. She
said the international community's "patience" was running out,
Radio Farda reported.
Rice said such patience could be traced to the Paris
agreement of November 2004, and she urged Iran to act. Repeating a
point that President George W. Bush has made on several occasions,
Rice warned that the time has come "when the Iranians have to make
their choice and the international system has to act accordingly."
The same day as Rice's comments, EU High Representative
for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana sounded a note
of frustration. Solana has held numerous meetings with Iranian
officials since June, but he conceded that his "dialogue [with
Iran]...cannot last forever." He said it was "up to the Iranians now
to decide whether the time has come to an end." If so, Solana warned
in a reference to the sanctions debate, the international community
would "have to begin to follow the second track by the five
[permanent] members of the [UN] Security Council," Radio Farda
reported.
Back in Iran, President Ahmadinejad has been standing his
ground. He told an audience at Tehran University on October 1 that --
beyond resisting pressure to forego uranium enrichment -- the country
intends to expand its enrichment capacity, Fars News Agency reported
on October 2.
The president also said Iran hopes to install up to 100,000
centrifuges to enrich nuclear material. The president of the
Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) in
Washington, David Albright, had predicted to Radio Farda in February
that it would take 10-20 years to install even half that many
centrifuges. Albright said Iranian scientists "don't even know
how to put 100 [centrifuges] together and operate them successfully,
let alone build that number."
Ahmadinejad suggested to a domestic audience on October 4 in
Savojbolagh in Tehran Province, according to state television, that
unnamed representatives of the great powers had told him that Iran
could become a "role model for other nations" through major
scientific advances. Ahmadinejad contended that those same
representatives "explicitly said that if the Iranian nation acquires
developed technologies and sciences, it [would] become the greatest
world power very quickly."
Ahmadinejad also dismissed Western claims of opposition to
nuclear weapons, citing the existence of weapons stockpiles in other
countries and their testing of such weapons. He called the global
powers' claims of backing nonproliferation lies and accused them
of opposing Iran's progress. He said that if those countries were
serious about nonproliferation, they "would not have armed" what he
described as "fake and rootless regimes in [the] region with
[nuclear] weapons."
Tehran has consistently sought to create divisions among
Security Council members.
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali
Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Solana held two days of talks in
Berlin on September 27-28. Larijani met separately with Russian
Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov in Tehran on October 3, again
to discuss the nuclear issue.
Moscow is concerned about the Iranian nuclear issue not
merely because it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council
and thus a major participant in the sanctions debate. Russian
engineers are building a nuclear power plant at Bushehr in
southwestern Iran. Iran's vice president for atomic energy, Qolam
Reza Aqazadeh-Khoi, was in Moscow in early October to warn that if
the Russians do not finish the project on time -- the scheduled
commissioning date is September 2007 -- the Iranians can complete the
job. Russia already intends to supply Bushehr with fuel, and it has
offered a joint uranium-enrichment venture with Iran on Russian
territory. Tehran has already dismissed that Russian overture.
Iranian officials have countered with an offer that could
well have been aimed at throwing the international community
off-balance. Mohammad Saidi, deputy director of Iran's Atomic
Energy Organization, said on October 3 that his country has proposed
French participation in its uranium-enrichment program, France Info
radio reported. Saidi said the participation of France's Areva
nuclear company -- through subsidiary Eurodif -- would enable French
monitoring of Iranian enrichment activities. Eurodif enriches uranium
for use in roughly 100 reactors in France and abroad.
Paris appeared to reject the unexpected Iranian proposal. A
French Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jean-Baptiste Mattei, said such
dialogue would have to go through the European Union, AFP reported on
October 3. But he also stressed that it was up to Tehran to suspend
its enrichment activities. "It is on this point," Mattei said, that
the international community "awaits an Iranian response." Mattei
opened to the door to possible "negotiations where each party will be
free to bring to the table the proposals they want" if Tehran halted
enrichment.
Russia's Atomic Energy Agency head, Sergei Kiriyenko,
said on October 4 that Moscow's offer to host a joint
uranium-enrichment project remained on the table if Iran abandoned
domestic uranium enrichment, RIA-Novosti reported. He stressed that
the Russian proposal should be seen in the context of international
efforts to defuse tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
But he cautioned Tehran against thinking it could pick and
choose among aspects of international cooperation on the nuclear
issue, however. Kiriyenko said the joint enrichment scheme "does not
work individually -- it works only as a package...and should not be
snapped out of the package like raisins teased out of a muffin."
(Bill Samii)
FORMER PRESIDENT KHATAMI ADVOCATES NUCLEAR TALKS. Hojatoleslam
Mohammad Khatami, who served as president from 1997-2005, said in an
October 2 speech that the country's officials should employ tact
when discussing the nuclear issue, IRNA reported. He added, "We
should negotiate Iran's nuclear issue, and if certain parties say
they [the foreigners] cannot be trusted, this will become evident
during the negotiation." Khatami and several other senior officials,
such as former Supreme National Security Council Secretary
Hojatoleslam Hassan Rohani, have decried the Ahmadinejad
administration's foreign policy as excessively confrontational
and ultimately unproductive. (Bill Samii)
PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES BEGIN REGISTERING FOR DECEMBER ELECTIONS.
Prospective candidates for the Assembly of Experts election, which is
scheduled for December 15, began registering on October 5.
Registration will continue until October 11.
Just one person signed up in Khuzestan Province, Ahvaz
Governor Abdul Aziz Fadami said, before adding that this is normal
because most people wait until the last day, provincial television
reported. Nationally, 25 people had registered by the end of the
first day, state television reported.
In a related development, Interior Minister Hojatoleslam
Mustafa Purmohammadi appointed the new deputy interior minister for
political affairs, Mujtaba Samareh-Hashemi, as head of the Election
Headquarters, and deputy interior minister for legal and
parliamentary affairs Mohammad Hussein Musapur as head of the
Elections Supervision Headquarters. (Bill Samii)
FREEDOM HOUSE CALLS IRAN 'NOT FREE.' Freedom House assigned
Iran "not free" status -- with scores of 6 (7 is worst) in the
"Political Rights" and "Civil Liberties" categories -- in its annual
assessment of political rights and civil liberties in 192 countries
on September 29, called "Freedom in the World 2006." In the
subcategories for political rights, Iran rated 3 in the categories of
"Electoral Process," "Political Pluralism and Participation," and
"Functioning of Government." In the civil-liberties subcategories,
Iran rated 5 for "Freedom of Expression and Belief," 4 for "Personal
Autonomy and Individual Rights," 3 for "Associational and
Organizational Rights," and 3 for "Rule of Law"; Freedom House said
these ratings represent a person's ability to participate in the
political process unhindered, to vote in legitimate elections, and to
have accountable political representatives. The ratings also are
based on an individual's right to express him/herself freely,
assemble or associate with others freely, participate in an equitable
legal system, and enjoy equal access to economic opportunities.
An October 5 press release from the European Union's
Finnish presidency has expressed "grave concern" about press freedom
in Iran, noting specifically the closure of "Sharq" and other
publications in September
(http://www.eu2006.fi/news_and_documents /cfsp_statements/vko40/en_GB/
1160042302794/?u4.hi ghlight=Iran). The statement also decried
"continued harassment of journalists."
In Iran, international criticism has had no effect on the
government. Interior Minister Hojatoleslam Mustafa Pur-Mohammadi
announced on October 3 that his ministry intends to give greater
attention to countering counterrevolutionary media propaganda, Mehr
News Agency reported. Satellite receivers have been illegal since the
1990s, and the regime recently renewed its effort to confiscate the
equipment and block Iranians' access to outside media.
Brigadier Nabiullah Heidari, chief of police in Iran's
Markazi (Central) Province, announced on October 1 that helicopters
will be used in the campaign to spot and seize satellite-reception
equipment in the city of Arak, the Iranian labor News Agency (ILNA)
reported. Heidari said that in the year beginning March 21, police
have seized more than 2,000 satellite dishes in the province; this is
almost three times as many as in the previous year. Heidari said
satellite television leads to "decadence," including divorce and
extramarital relations.
The anti-satellite campaign is not working everywhere.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative in
Kurdistan Province, identified only as Hojatoleslam Musavi, noted
recently that an increasing number of satellite-television programs
are being broadcast into the province from abroad, alborznews.net
reported on October 3. Musavi reportedly attributed the development
to an absence from the airwaves of Iranian state-television programs.
Many provincial residents have installed satellite dishes to receive
Iranian television shows, and, according to alborznews.net, 550
provincial villages cannot receive state television.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television's plans to broadcast
an all-day English-language news program are progressing, with state
broadcasting's deputy head for external services, Mohammad
Sarfaraz, saying on October 4 that the service will be launched
within months, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported.
Sarfaraz said the 24-hour news channel -- called Press -- will use
presenters trained by the BBC and whose skills "surpass" those of BBC
or CNN presenters. He said the reason for creating the channel is to
present a different perspective on regional news.
In some cases, government bans on news outlets have only had
a temporary effect. "Sharq," the newspaper banned by the Iranian
government in mid-September, will be replaced by a new daily called
"Ruzegar," The new publication allegedly will have a different
editorial and journalistic perspective, according to the website, and
it will focus more closely on popular politics than on elite
politics. Although "Ruzegar" will pursue a different approach, the
editorial staff is largely the same as "Sharq," including Editor in
Chief Mohammad Quchani. The first issue is scheduled for October 7.
The Advar News website -- which is connected with the Office
for Strengthening Unity student group and was shut down in late
September -- resumed operations under a new name on October 4. The
new website is advarnews.us. (Bill Samii)
DETAINED CHRISTIAN COUPLE'S FAMILY SEEKS ANSWERS. The detention
of an Iranian Christian couple in eastern Iran from September
26-October 6 caused a great deal of concern among relatives.
Relatives say they were unable to meet with them, and
authorities refused to specify the charges against them. Fereshteh
Dibaj and her husband Reza Montazami -- known as Amir to family and
friends -- led an independent church in the city of Mashhad.
Plainclothes security agents arrested 28-year-old Dibaj and
35-year-old Montazami early on September 26 after searching their
home and confiscating the couple's computer, Christian books, and
other belongings.
One of the agents told Montazami's mother that her son
was being taken to a local police station. But when relatives went to
the police station, a policeman on duty said he was unaware of the
detentions.
After hours of search and inquiry, the family learned that
the Ministry of Intelligence and Security was holding the couple for
questioning.
More Questions Than Answers
Authorities refused to comment on the reason for the detentions or
the charges against the couple.
Fereshteh's brother, Issa Dibaj, lives in the United
Kingdom.
"In Iran they first arrest people, then they look for
charges," Issa Dibaj told RFE/RL shortly after the couple's
disappearance. "So far [authorities] have not announced charges
against them -- they said, 'We are investigating and questioning
them.' They let Amir make a short call to his family to say he is
well. But Fereshteh has not been allowed to telephone, and, since her
detention a week ago, we have had no news from her and we are very
concerned. They haven't even let her talk to Christine, her
6-year-old daughter."
Montazami converted to Christianity in his early 20s.
His wife, Fereshteh, was born into a Christian family. Her
father Mehdi Dibaj was a well-known priest of the Jamiat-i Rabbani
Church, the Iranian branch of the Assemblies of God. He spent more
than nine years in prison and was sentenced to death in 1993 for his
faith. He was freed in January 1994 in the face of an international
outcry. But a few months later, he was abducted and later found
murdered -- one of at least three priest killings that activists
blame on Iranian authorities.
Warning Signs
Issa Dibaj said the couple had received a warning in
connection with their religious activities.
"[Authorities] had told them that they should not have prayer
meetings in their house. But how is that possible?" he asked. "Just
as Muslims are free anywhere in the world to go and pray in a mosque,
Christians should have the same right -- this is a [fundamental]
right. Maybe one reason [for their arrest] is that they continued
having these sessions as before."
For some, the case highlights the plight of Christian
converts living in Iran.
Islamic law -- as applied in Iran -- says a Muslim who
converts to another faith can face the death penalty. In recent
years, there have been no reported cases of execution of converts.
But there are signs that pressure on Christians has
increased.
Official Harassment?
Several Christian converts have been arrested in
Iran in recent months before being freed on bail. There have also
been allegations by religious and rights groups of harassment and
intimidation targeting Christians.
In its annual report on religious freedoms in September, the
U.S. State Department accused the Iranian government of enforcing its
prohibition on proselytizing by evangelical Christians by closely
monitoring their activities, closing their churches, and arresting
converts.
The report said that in November 2005, unidentified attackers
killed a man, Ghorban Tori, who had converted to Christianity more
than 10 years earlier. Tori, a pastor at an independent house church
of converted Christians, had reportedly been receiving death threats.
Issa Dibaj said he thinks the recent pressure and persecution
of Christians is unprecedented since a string of killings of priests
in the mid-1990s.
"In the last two years, maybe with the coming to power of a
new president [Mahmud Ahmadinejad in 2005], pressures have increased
in an unprecedented way," he said. "We had not seen anything like
that since the chain killings that happened in 1994 and afterward --
Christians have lived relatively in peace. But in recent years,
pressure has increased. There are arrests, threats, and sometimes
they fire [Christians] from their jobs."
'They Cannot Fully Live Their Lives'
Prague Roman Catholic Bishop Vaclav Maly told RFE/RL after a
September trip to Iran that many of Iran's Christians are leaving
the Islamic republic because of restrictions -- and because "they
cannot fully live their lives as Christians."
"There is a danger that Christians could completely disappear
from Iran, which would be a great spiritual and cultural pity --
because Christians were on Iranian territory before Islam was, and
there are very old churches there whose histories go back to the
first century of Christianity," Maly said.
Religious and rights groups say the persecution of Iran's
Christians stepped up following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The number of Armenians, Iran's largest Christian
minority, has significantly declined.
There are no reliable figures on the number of Muslim-born
Iranians who convert to Christianity, and many practice their faith
clandestinely for fear of state persecution. Christian groups claim
the ranks of converts to Christianity is increasing nevertheless.
The perceived trend of official harassment is likely to add
to the mounting concerns as family and friends worry over the fate of
Fereshteh Dibaj and her husband. (Golnaz Esfandiari)
GOVERNMENT PRESSURES STUDENT ACTIVISTS. Student activists in Iran say
authorities have prevented dozens of students from studying by
refusing to enroll them for the new academic year. The students have
reportedly been involved in on-campus political and press-related
activities. Iranian Education Minister Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi says
claims that students are being kept out of school due to their
political activism are "lies" and that the government is tolerant of
such students.
There was a time when teachers in Iran's schools used to
give students golden paper stars to encourage them. Nowadays it seems
that stars are being given for punishment: the term "students with
stars" is used to describe students who have been expelled or
suspended from a university.
In recent months dozens of liberal university professors have
been forced into early retirement. Many student activists have been
summoned to court and several have been arrested.
Bad Stars
The term became prevalent after several students said
university officials had refused to register them for the new
academic year and told them that they have "two or three stars."
Student groups and activists say more than 100 students have
been affected.
Ali Nekunesbati is a spokesman for Iran's main reformist
student group, Daftar Tahkim Vahdat (the Office for Strengthening
Unity). He says many student activists and members of his group have
been marked with stars.
"Beside the names that were announced to the universities for
enrollment, there was another list in which individuals are marked
with either one star, two stars, or three stars," he said. "Who
grants these 'stars'? As the head of the admission committee
has said the Intelligence Ministry -is involved. We reiterate again
that these 'stars' exist."
Journalists Expelled
Earlier this week a student told the daily newspaper "Etemad"
that because of his past activities as the editor in chief of a
banned student publication he has been marked with two stars. He said
university authorities had told him that his enrollment will be
possible only with a letter from government officials.
Ali Azizi, the deputy head of the Islamic student association
at Amir Kabir University, says university students who -- according
to officials -- have "the potential to engage in future protests for
their rights" have been barred from classes.
"They include 73 students who had been involved in activities
such as press or political activities or even cultural activities and
other student-related activities," he said.
Peyman Aref is a well-known student activist who has been
expelled from the law faculty at Tehran University. He told Radio
Farda that many of his colleagues have received notice that they have
been suspended.
"There are other individuals who have not been registered for
undergraduate studies in the past 10 days," Aref said. "In addition,
more than 100 postgraduate students have been summoned to the
disciplinary committee in relation to student protests in May and
June. Harsh sentences have been issued to them."
Iranian Education Minister Mehdi Zahedi has, however, denied
that students are being prevented from studying because of their
activism. He said those who make such claims should publish a list of
names of such students.
Pledging Not To Protes
But activists are concerned that issuing such a list could aggravate
the situation and worsen the prospects for those banned students.
Authorities have reportedly told students with stars that
they should refrain from political activities in order to be able to
continue with their studies.
Morteza Nurbakhsh, the head of the Education Ministry's
admission committee, denied reports on September 19 that students
have to sign pledges not to engage in political activities. However,
he added that some students are being asked "not to act outside
norms, university laws, and conduct befitting a student." He said
some 50 to 60 students have committed themselves to this.
Several legislators have criticized the restrictions and said
its is against Iran's Constitution to prevent students from
studying because of their opinions.
Many say the move is a violation of a student's rights.
A New 'Cultural Revolution'?
Nekunesbati said he believes the government's move against student
activists is part of an increasing crackdown against critics.
"The government made some promises but it has not been able
to fulfill them in the least. Instead of overcoming its weaknesses it
has begun a crackdown on critics; and because students, professors,
and the student movement are among the most critical groups, it is
acting against them," he said. "The existence of students with stars
is the latest sign [of the pressure on students]."
The outspoken student group Daftar Tahkim Vahdat said in a
statement that the new crackdown coincided with remarks by Iranian
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who said on September 6 that
universities should be rid of liberal and secular influences from
professors. The group said that the comments mark the beginning of a
new "cultural revolution" with the aim of eliminating critics in
universities.
In recent months dozens of liberal university professors have
been forced into early retirement. Many student activists have been
summoned to court and several have been arrested.
There is growing concern over their health and general safety
in prison.
The concerns have increased following comments by former
legislator and student rights activist Ali Akbar Musavi Khoeini, who
said last week during a short prison leave that he's being
tortured to "repent." People who have seen him say there are bruises
on his neck and head. (By Golnaz Esfandiari; Radio Farda contributed
to this report.)
LEGISLATURE APPROVES FUNDS FOR GASOLINE IMPORTS. The legislature on
October 2 approved the withdrawal of $3.5 billion from the
country's foreign-exchange reserve to fund gasoline imports, IRNA
reported. The bill was passed with a vote of 136 in favor, 57
against, and 13 abstentions, and it must win approval from the
Guardians Council. Parliamentary talks on gasoline imports grew
heated on September 5, "Kayhan" reported the next day. Legislators
objected that gasoline is used excessively because it is sold very
cheaply at subsidized prices, and Management and Planning
Organization Director Farhad Rahbar said consumption would be limited
through the distribution of smart cards. Out of 202 legislators who
were present in the chamber, only 94 voted that the bill is urgent,
which would have moved it to the head of the queue. (Bill Samii)
ISFAHAN: CSI HELPS REDUCE CRIME RATE. Col Abbas Ali Mohammadian,
deputy chief of police in the city of Isfahan, announced on October 5
that the city enjoyed a 17 percent reduction in the crime rate over
the first five months of the Iranian year, which began on March 21,
compared to the same timeframe one year earlier, provincial
television reported. Seizures of illegal goods increased by 18
percent he added. The deputy police chief said using a crime lab
contributed to these developments. (Bill Samii)
IRANIAN WEIGHTLIFTERS SUSPENDED OVER FAILURE TO PAY DOPING FINE. The
International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has suspended Iran's
weightlifting federation for two years because it has not paid a
$400,000 fine for doping, Reuters reported. Last week in the
Dominican Republic, nine of 11 Iranian lifters tested positive when
tested for drugs before the world championships, and the team was
forced to withdraw. One of the athletes, Mohsen Davudi, is banned
permanently due to repeated failures of drug tests, as is the
team's Bulgarian coach, Georgy Ivanov. The IWF claims Ivanov is
the person most responsible for the athletes' drug abuse. (Bill
Samii)
IRAN APPOINTS NEW VETERINARY HEAD. Apparently as part of the shakeup
in the leadership of governmental bodies (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 3
October 2006), President Mahmud Ahmadinejad appointed Seyyed Mohammad
Aqamiri on October 3 to head the country's Veterinary
Organization, which is part of the Agriculture Jihad Ministry, IRNA
reported. The Veterinary Organization is the state entity contending
with a bird-flu outbreak in parts of Iran. (Bill Samii)
****************************************** ***************
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.
Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
For information on reprints, see:
http://www.rferl.org/about/content/request.as p
Back issues are online at http://www.rferl.org/reports/iran-report/
Technic al queries should be e-mailed to: [email protected]
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
Send an e-mail to [email protected]
HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE
Send an e-mail to [email protected]
NEWS BROADCASTS ONLINE
Listen to Radio Farda broadcasts daily on our website:
http://www.radiofarda.com
PERSIAN-LANGUA GE BROADCASTS. Local shortwave and mediumwave broadcast
frequencies are available on the Persian Service website:
http://www.radiofarda.com
_______________ ______________________________________________
RAD IO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC