An Ahwazi Arab asylum seeker living in the UK since April has come forward to testify against the Iranian regime's use of torture against peaceful opponents.Mr Jazayeri, 33, participated in peaceful demonstrations against the Iranian regime's persecution of Ahwazi Arabs in April 2005 when he was first arrested. He had been knocked unconscious after being attacked with tear gas and beaten by the Bassij paramilitaries. When he awoke he discovered he was being held in solitary confinement. Pictures he has submitted to the British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) show that he continues to bear the scars of his ordeal, caused by multiple lacerations on the skin on his back (see photos). He suffered other injuries to his body which are not shown in this photograph. The details of his case are typical of the cases of torture documented by BAFS over the past four years and his case is not unique.
After his release he lost his job and suffered mental trauma, including depression, as well as physical problems. Like many torture victims, the worst scars are emotional. In a candid and courageous interview with BAFS, Jazayeri repeatedly broke down and said "After my release I felt so depressed, useless, ashamed and ill-tempered. After some months I recovered a little and instead of feeling demoralised I decided to stand up against the tyranny."
Jazayeri joined an Ahwazi Arab group calling for minority rights and self-determination for his people, despite being ordered not to participate in any political activities following his release. He said that political activism gave meaning to his life, which had been shattered by his time in prison. However, the authorities learnt of his activism and he fled his home.
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Some time in March, the security services raided his frail, elderly mother's house in an attempt to find him and violently assaulted her. Her neighbours found her unconscious and sent her to hospital where she died of her injuries. Jazayeri has requested BAFS publish photos of her dying and the inijuries to her hands, which were heavily bruised by regime agents during their attack on her.
The death of his mother has left Jazayeri feeling distraught. He said: "They killed my beloved mother, they took out their revenge on my diabetic and elderly mother. My mother is a victim of liberty like Neda Soltani. These victims have paid with their life for others' freedom and for democracy in Iran. They killed her but her spirit will inspire all Ahwazi rights seekers. I've missed her already but I know I am not alone and thousands people in Iran suffering the same."
Click on images to enlarge
The death of his mother has left Jazayeri feeling distraught. He said: "They killed my beloved mother, they took out their revenge on my diabetic and elderly mother. My mother is a victim of liberty like Neda Soltani. These victims have paid with their life for others' freedom and for democracy in Iran. They killed her but her spirit will inspire all Ahwazi rights seekers. I've missed her already but I know I am not alone and thousands people in Iran suffering the same."
Click on images to enlarge
Labels: human rights
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24 June, 2009
Iran and Syria flout refugee conventions again: Ahwazi Arabs illegally deported
The Geneva Conventions and the UNHCR have been once again mocked by the regimes in Syria and Damascus as two more Ahwazi Arab refugees are illegally repatriated from Damascus to Tehran.
Hossein Yaber Niesi (29) and Jasem Nabhan Niesi (37) were arrested by the Syrian authorities in April following an extradition request by Iran and deported yesterday, according to reports received by the British Ahwazi Friendship Society from the Danish Ahwazi Friendship Society and Ahwazi Arab opposition groups.
They are being held by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence but have been denied visits by family members or lawyers. There are reliable reports that the two men are being tortured.
The two men are meant to be under UNHCR protection, but are just the latest in a large number of Ahwazi refugees repatriated by Syria. The UNHCR office in Damascus has repeatedly failed to take adequate action, despite a change of leadership. The office itself is known to be infiltrated by the Syrian security services and the Lebanese Hezbollah, a situation the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva have been unable or unwilling to address. The Lebanese Hezbollah, acting on behalf of Iran, has also performed its own arrests and illegal deportations of Ahwazi Arabs in Beirut and earlier this year they kidnapped a sick child and her family from a hospital in a Sunni area of the city.
In view of the UNHCR's failure to protect refugees and the poor security situation facing Ahwazis in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, the British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) and its associates defend the right of all Ahwazi Arab asylum seekers to seek sanctuary in Europe.
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The Geneva Conventions and the UNHCR have been once again mocked by the regimes in Syria and Damascus as two more Ahwazi Arab refugees are illegally repatriated from Damascus to Tehran.Hossein Yaber Niesi (29) and Jasem Nabhan Niesi (37) were arrested by the Syrian authorities in April following an extradition request by Iran and deported yesterday, according to reports received by the British Ahwazi Friendship Society from the Danish Ahwazi Friendship Society and Ahwazi Arab opposition groups.
They are being held by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence but have been denied visits by family members or lawyers. There are reliable reports that the two men are being tortured.
The two men are meant to be under UNHCR protection, but are just the latest in a large number of Ahwazi refugees repatriated by Syria. The UNHCR office in Damascus has repeatedly failed to take adequate action, despite a change of leadership. The office itself is known to be infiltrated by the Syrian security services and the Lebanese Hezbollah, a situation the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva have been unable or unwilling to address. The Lebanese Hezbollah, acting on behalf of Iran, has also performed its own arrests and illegal deportations of Ahwazi Arabs in Beirut and earlier this year they kidnapped a sick child and her family from a hospital in a Sunni area of the city.
In view of the UNHCR's failure to protect refugees and the poor security situation facing Ahwazis in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, the British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) and its associates defend the right of all Ahwazi Arab asylum seekers to seek sanctuary in Europe.
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Ayatollah Khamenei's Uncle Napoleonism
By Nasser Bani Assad, British Ahwazi Friendship Society
The Iranian government has expelled two British diplomats after it accused the British government and the BBC of stirring up opposition rioting and ethnic unrest.
In recent days, Ayatollah Khamenei has used the 1953 British-American-backed coup against the government of Mohammad Mosaddeq to arouse anti-British sentiment and suggest that those opposing his puppet president Ahmadinejad are part of a London-based conspiracy to destroy Iran itself.
For many outside Iran, the claims appear deranged. But this is the paranoid psychology, amusingly described in Iraj Pezeshkzad's novel "My Uncle Napoleon", that has been sustained in Iran long after the demise of the British Empire. The only section of Iranian society that has ever had a problem with Pezeshkzad's "My Uncle Napoleon" is the religious establishment. After seizing power, the mullahs banned the book, ironically claiming it was the work of British intelligence intended to destroy Shi'ism and the Iranian nation. They failed to get the joke. This immature reaction is rooted in a deep lack of self-confidence.
In his attempt to appeal to the suspicious minds of the Iranian public, Khamenei is using the last resort of the despot: blame all Iran's internal problems on the British. While the British Empire did historically intervene in Persia/Iran as it did in most parts of the world, its current influence over events in Iran is, at best, about as strong as its influence in former colonies such as India, Kenya or South Africa. That is, it has little influence beyond the normal cultural, diplomatic and economic intercourse between two different countries/
The Iranian regime blames BBC Persian service for its ills. As a global media corporation, the BBC broadcasts in many languages across the world providing objective commentary on a range of countries. Yet, only Iran says that the BBC is seeking regime-change by broadcasting videos of brutality by its security services. It is as if the British are wielding the batons themselves or using some form of mind control over the Bassij fanatics to shoot dead Neda Soltani and the countless, nameless others murdered by this cruel government.
Unsurprisingly, the Iranian regime has not voiced anything about the useless and amateurish yet expensive American anti-regime propaganda exercises, VOA Persian and Radio Farda. Perhaps this is because they are afraid that the BBC is regarded by Iranians as trustworthy and without a party line to pursue, while the US efforts are run by a small band of ageing and embittered exiles who barely have a grasp on reality. The regime fears truth more than it fears any ideology.
It is a sign of extreme political backwardness that a regime has to invent conspiracies involving "Satanic" foreign governments in order to protest itself from the truth. Moreover, it demonstrates how little faith the regime has in its own people that it believes they will behave like sheep by betraying their country and obeying the dictates of foreign governments.
The youth of Iran, a country where 70 per cent of the population is under 30, have no interest in these fantasies about British imperialism and are disinterested in what happened more than half a century ago. They want decent jobs and education, they want equitable economic development, they want to express their opinions, they want freedom to enjoy themselves without religious sanctions and, for minorities, they want freedom of worship, freedom to learn and speak in their mother tongue and the devolution of power from the centre. The youth of Iran want to look forward, not backward.
Khamenei's conspiracy theories could very well backfire. It evident to Iranian youth that the hidden hand of British imperialism is not behind everything that goes on, nor do they feel brainwashed by dark forces emanating from London. The portrayal of the British as the regime's greatest enemy could very well embolden them and many now see the British as their best friend.
The mullahs know that without invented conspiracies and extreme state terror, their rule would crumble. Now the conspiracies and terror are no longer working and the truth is chipping away at the regime's feet of clay. It is not a matter of 'if' but 'when' the edifice of the Islamic Republic will topple and a new generation gets power.
The role of the international community should be simple: let the people tell their truth and let them be heard.
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By Nasser Bani Assad, British Ahwazi Friendship Society
The Iranian government has expelled two British diplomats after it accused the British government and the BBC of stirring up opposition rioting and ethnic unrest.
In recent days, Ayatollah Khamenei has used the 1953 British-American-backed coup against the government of Mohammad Mosaddeq to arouse anti-British sentiment and suggest that those opposing his puppet president Ahmadinejad are part of a London-based conspiracy to destroy Iran itself.
For many outside Iran, the claims appear deranged. But this is the paranoid psychology, amusingly described in Iraj Pezeshkzad's novel "My Uncle Napoleon", that has been sustained in Iran long after the demise of the British Empire. The only section of Iranian society that has ever had a problem with Pezeshkzad's "My Uncle Napoleon" is the religious establishment. After seizing power, the mullahs banned the book, ironically claiming it was the work of British intelligence intended to destroy Shi'ism and the Iranian nation. They failed to get the joke. This immature reaction is rooted in a deep lack of self-confidence.
In his attempt to appeal to the suspicious minds of the Iranian public, Khamenei is using the last resort of the despot: blame all Iran's internal problems on the British. While the British Empire did historically intervene in Persia/Iran as it did in most parts of the world, its current influence over events in Iran is, at best, about as strong as its influence in former colonies such as India, Kenya or South Africa. That is, it has little influence beyond the normal cultural, diplomatic and economic intercourse between two different countries/
The Iranian regime blames BBC Persian service for its ills. As a global media corporation, the BBC broadcasts in many languages across the world providing objective commentary on a range of countries. Yet, only Iran says that the BBC is seeking regime-change by broadcasting videos of brutality by its security services. It is as if the British are wielding the batons themselves or using some form of mind control over the Bassij fanatics to shoot dead Neda Soltani and the countless, nameless others murdered by this cruel government.
Unsurprisingly, the Iranian regime has not voiced anything about the useless and amateurish yet expensive American anti-regime propaganda exercises, VOA Persian and Radio Farda. Perhaps this is because they are afraid that the BBC is regarded by Iranians as trustworthy and without a party line to pursue, while the US efforts are run by a small band of ageing and embittered exiles who barely have a grasp on reality. The regime fears truth more than it fears any ideology.
It is a sign of extreme political backwardness that a regime has to invent conspiracies involving "Satanic" foreign governments in order to protest itself from the truth. Moreover, it demonstrates how little faith the regime has in its own people that it believes they will behave like sheep by betraying their country and obeying the dictates of foreign governments.
The youth of Iran, a country where 70 per cent of the population is under 30, have no interest in these fantasies about British imperialism and are disinterested in what happened more than half a century ago. They want decent jobs and education, they want equitable economic development, they want to express their opinions, they want freedom to enjoy themselves without religious sanctions and, for minorities, they want freedom of worship, freedom to learn and speak in their mother tongue and the devolution of power from the centre. The youth of Iran want to look forward, not backward.
Khamenei's conspiracy theories could very well backfire. It evident to Iranian youth that the hidden hand of British imperialism is not behind everything that goes on, nor do they feel brainwashed by dark forces emanating from London. The portrayal of the British as the regime's greatest enemy could very well embolden them and many now see the British as their best friend.
The mullahs know that without invented conspiracies and extreme state terror, their rule would crumble. Now the conspiracies and terror are no longer working and the truth is chipping away at the regime's feet of clay. It is not a matter of 'if' but 'when' the edifice of the Islamic Republic will topple and a new generation gets power.
The role of the international community should be simple: let the people tell their truth and let them be heard.
Labels: features
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23 June, 2009
Hossein Kaabi kicked out of Iran football team due to election protest
Ahwazi Arab Hossein Ka'abi was one of four footballers expelled from the Iranian national side today after staging an on-pitch protest against the presidential election results during a match last week against South Korea.
Ahwaz-born Ka'abi, who has played for English League One team Leicester City FC, joined Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Vahid Hashemian in wearing green armbands in support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, an opponent of President Ahmadinejad. Two other players also wore green armbands but have not been dismissed.
During the match held in Seoul, supporters of the Iranian team showed their support for the demonstrations in Iran by staging a protest outside the stadium. They unfurled a banner that read "Go To Hell Dictator," and chanted "Compatriots, we will be with you to the end with the same heart." During the match, protesters waved the banner, held up green paper signs reading "Where is my vote?" and waved Iran's national flags emblazed with the plea "Free Iran."
Ka'abi is one of Iran's most talented footballers, known for his aggressive style which has helped the Iranian side win at an international level. His passport has now been confiscated. There are concerns that he and the other footballers who participated in the protest will be imprisoned.
Ka'abi is believed to be a descendent of Sheikh Khaza'al, the powerful Arab sheikh of Mohammareh who ruled much of what is now the province of Khuzestan. Khaza'al was deposed by Reza Khan in 1925.
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Ahwazi Arab Hossein Ka'abi was one of four footballers expelled from the Iranian national side today after staging an on-pitch protest against the presidential election results during a match last week against South Korea.Ahwaz-born Ka'abi, who has played for English League One team Leicester City FC, joined Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Vahid Hashemian in wearing green armbands in support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, an opponent of President Ahmadinejad. Two other players also wore green armbands but have not been dismissed.
During the match held in Seoul, supporters of the Iranian team showed their support for the demonstrations in Iran by staging a protest outside the stadium. They unfurled a banner that read "Go To Hell Dictator," and chanted "Compatriots, we will be with you to the end with the same heart." During the match, protesters waved the banner, held up green paper signs reading "Where is my vote?" and waved Iran's national flags emblazed with the plea "Free Iran."
Ka'abi is one of Iran's most talented footballers, known for his aggressive style which has helped the Iranian side win at an international level. His passport has now been confiscated. There are concerns that he and the other footballers who participated in the protest will be imprisoned.
Ka'abi is believed to be a descendent of Sheikh Khaza'al, the powerful Arab sheikh of Mohammareh who ruled much of what is now the province of Khuzestan. Khaza'al was deposed by Reza Khan in 1925.
Labels: elections
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22 June, 2009
Iran: The Uprising in Ahwaz
The following YouTube videos trace the unrest in Ahwaz, an Arab majority city in Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province. Mehdi Karroubi had topped the poll in the province in 2005, with Ahmadinejad in a distant third place. This year, Ahmadinejad came first with an overwhelming majority - a result that the electorate regards as impossible.
9/10 June: Anti-Ahmadinejad supporters come out onto the streets of Ahwaz City in large numbers ahead of the presidential election
13 June: Riot police and Bassij attack pro-Mousavi demonstrators in Ahwaz City streets
From 13 June: Demonstrations and riots break out in Ahwaz after election result is announced
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The following YouTube videos trace the unrest in Ahwaz, an Arab majority city in Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province. Mehdi Karroubi had topped the poll in the province in 2005, with Ahmadinejad in a distant third place. This year, Ahmadinejad came first with an overwhelming majority - a result that the electorate regards as impossible.
9/10 June: Anti-Ahmadinejad supporters come out onto the streets of Ahwaz City in large numbers ahead of the presidential election
13 June: Riot police and Bassij attack pro-Mousavi demonstrators in Ahwaz City streets
From 13 June: Demonstrations and riots break out in Ahwaz after election result is announced
Labels: elections
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