Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Human rights activists accused of ‘Moharebeh’

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Mehrdad Rahimi (right) and Koohyar Goodarzi (left)

The Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR) in Iran has announced that Koohyar Goodarzi and Mehrdad Rahimi, two arrested members of the committee, have been accused of ‘Moharebeh’ (Fighting Against God).

CHRR has reported on pressures placed on arrested members to accept the accusations and to cooperate with the interrogators.

According to CHRR, the accusations against Mr. Goodarzi include ‘waging war against God,’ ‘Propaganda against the regime’ and ‘participating in illegal gatherings.’

Also, when the Tehran prosecutor met Shiva Nazar Ahari’s family, he declared that CHRR is associated with the Mujahedin Khalgh Organization (MKO). Additionally, Mehrdad Rahimi told his family of attempts by the interrogators to force them to accept the charge of “Moharebeh.”

According to the CHRR report, in the past few days, Mr. Goodarzi has been spotted with a bandage around his head. There is no information on how his head was injured. Mr. Goodarzi has protested being placed in the same cell of an Al-Qaeda member. Prison laws state that prisoners should be separated based on their crime.

According to Islamic law, ‘Moharebeh’ carries a sentence of execution.

On Saturday, the last court hearing was held for five arrested Ashura participants charged with ‘Moharebeh’ and affiliations with the MKO. The sentences will be announced shortly.

Opposition to the Iranian government and supporters of human rights groups have said that these ‘confessions’ have been extracted under pressure and torture, along with long detentions and no access to a lawyer.

Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission, two organizations supporting human rights around the world, have issued statements condemning the possible death sentences against prisoners of Ashura day (December 27th). The two organizations have expressed concern and have asked Iranian officials to respect the rights of the arrested and the protesters.

In its annual report released a few days ago on human rights violations around the world, Amnesty International declared that in the aftermath of the June 2009 election in Iran, the Iranian government embarked on the most extensive repression in the last decade.
Translation by: Tour Irani
Persian2English.com

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