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| Rooftop satellite dishes being dismantled by Iranian police officers. More pictures here |
An Iranian political prisoner, following two years of detention in various solitary prisons, has received a death sentence from a criminal court in Tehran for having watched and contacted an Iranian dissident television program, Simay-e Azadi, says HRDIA.net which is a Persian language website with a focus on human rights situation in Iran.
Simay-e Azadi is a program in Farsi language that is broadcast from abroad presenting the views of the Iranian opposition, the Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK. Mullahs consider the MEK to be their arch foe enemy.
Gholamreza Khosravi, 47, is said to support the MEK. He was previously jailed for his political activities during the 80s.
He had earlier received a much lighter sentence in his hometown but when his case was transferred to a court in Tehran, he received the death sentence. A review court later turned down the sentence but another court immediately reinstated it.
Khosravi told reporters that he will not ask for a pardon and that his death sentence is illegal and he did not commit any crime to deserve such punishment.
The Iranian people are, more than ever, using externally produced satellite television programs as their main source of information, news and entertainment. But the mullahs’ regime, on the other hand, considers the free flow of information to be a growing threat to its authoritarian rule. Along with internet and the new mobile phone technology, satellite TV leaves no room for control of information and censorship the way a dictatorial regime prefers to have.
Iranian police attacks houses and neighborhoods at nights, collecting satellite dishes from atop buildings and apartments. Those arrested receive harsh punishments. But this may be the first instance of a death sentence being handed down for charges related to satellite TV.
Source: NCRI, May 5, 2012
Rights group condemns sentence for cartoonist
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| Ahmad Lotfi Ashitani and his sketch |
Amnesty International has condemned the sentencing of Iranian cartoonist Mohammad Shokraye to 25 lashes for drawing a former MP, calling it the Iranian government’s latest attack on free speech.
“Mahmoud Shokraye's brutal sentence, just for drawing a harmless cartoon, sends a chilling message to all Iranians that they cannot freely and peacefully express their views without the fear of facing harsh reprisals from the Iranian authorities,” said Ann Harrison, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director for Amnesty International.
"This is yet one more example of the Iranian authorities' relentless attack on freedom of expression. Flogging is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment for any crime, and as such is prohibited under international law,” Harrison said. “The Iranian authorities should be working to remove it as a punishment in law instead of sentencing ever more people to lashes.”
Shokraye was sentenced to 25 lashes for his drawing of Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani, a former MP in his city of Arak.
The sketch, which depicts Lotfi Ashtiani as a soccer player, was published in the “Amir” publication in Central Province.
Iranian cartoonists inside and outside Iran, as well as their international peers, have formed a widespread campaign to condemn Shokraye’s sentence.
Source: radiozamaneh, May 12, 2012
Cartoonist’s sentence sparks crisis
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| Flogging In Iran |
Masooud Shojai Tabatabai spoke to the Fars News Agency on Sunday about the 25 lashings handed to Shokraye for his depiction of the former Arak MP Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani as a football player, adding that the matter has stirred the political atmosphere and thrown Iran’s cartoonist community into crisis.
While he admitted that the drawing by the Araki cartoonist was “very simple, critical and completely free of any insulting interpretations”, he added that the sentence has led to it being blown out of proportion by media outlets that oppose the Islamic Republic regime.
“This issue can still end in a peaceful atmosphere of consultation with expert cartoonists and away from political controversy and avoid this distressing sentence,” said Shojai Tabatabai.
He called the sentence “very heavy” and added: “All this happens while cartoons of government officials have been accepted with great tolerance.”
He added that cartoonists are aware of the red lines they cannot cross and they will never make religious and moral issues a subject of their sketches, but he added that “if a cartoonist cannot draw a simple image of a member of parliament, then how can he be a cartoonist?”
Shokraye depicted the former Arak MP Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani as a football player on a football field in “Amir” magazine. Lotfi Ashitani had apparently proposed transferring the football major league from Tehran to Arak, which some had interpreted as a publicity ploy in the parliamentary elections.
Shokraye’s sentence has been condemned by Iranian and international cartoonists as well as the Cartoonists Rights Network and Amnesty International.
Source: radiozamaneh, May 13, 2012
May 14, 2012 UPDATE
Former MP withdraws suit against cartoonist
The suit against Iranian cartoonist Mohammad Shokraye has reportedly been dropped by the former MP who originally filed a complaint.
The Mehr News Agency reports that former Arak MP Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani has withdrawn the complaint against Shokraye, who had been sentenced to a flogging of 25 lashes.
Lotfi Ashtiani said his suit was actually aimed at the “attribution of undue affairs” to his name in an article in Amir Magazine and not the accompanying cartoon; therefore, he has decided to withdraw his complaint against the artist.
He added that regardless of the issues raised in the publication, the cartoon itself could not be considered an insult.
Lotfi Ashtiani filed a suit against Shokraye, a cartoonist for Amir Magazine, for depicting him as a football player on a football field. The cartoon was juxtaposed with an article discussing the former MP’s failed attempts to bring the football major league championship to Arak.
The flogging sentence that resulted was slammed by the Iranian cartoonist community as well as the Iranian Ministry of Culture and the House of Cartoon.
Source: radiozamaneh, May 14, 2012
May 14, 2012 UPDATE
Former MP withdraws suit against cartoonist
The suit against Iranian cartoonist Mohammad Shokraye has reportedly been dropped by the former MP who originally filed a complaint.
The Mehr News Agency reports that former Arak MP Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani has withdrawn the complaint against Shokraye, who had been sentenced to a flogging of 25 lashes.
Lotfi Ashtiani said his suit was actually aimed at the “attribution of undue affairs” to his name in an article in Amir Magazine and not the accompanying cartoon; therefore, he has decided to withdraw his complaint against the artist.
He added that regardless of the issues raised in the publication, the cartoon itself could not be considered an insult.
Lotfi Ashtiani filed a suit against Shokraye, a cartoonist for Amir Magazine, for depicting him as a football player on a football field. The cartoon was juxtaposed with an article discussing the former MP’s failed attempts to bring the football major league championship to Arak.
The flogging sentence that resulted was slammed by the Iranian cartoonist community as well as the Iranian Ministry of Culture and the House of Cartoon.
Source: radiozamaneh, May 14, 2012
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