Monthly Report: December 2007

In an unusual speech, former President Mohammad Khatami criticized the policies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The speech was delivered at Tehran University and attracted more than 1,000 students. Tehran University has been the center for protests since Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005. Khatami condemned the political and social crackdowns on activists and the economic policies of the current administration. He said “There was a time that I remember Islamic and non-Islamic movements turned to behaviors that had high costs for society and the regime.” Khatami compared the current student repression to previous periods. Later in the speech, he condemned the recent arrests of more than 30 students. He told the crowd that dealing with students in such a manner is not good for society or the regime. He also expressed his frustration with Iran’s reputation abroad.

Hassan Rowhani, a leading moderate cleric, criticized Ahmadinejad’s foreign policy as consisting of “letter-writing and slogans.” He refuted claims that Iran was becoming a more powerful country. He warned that writing letters to heads of states such as U.S. President Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel with provocative slogans does not help Iran. In an interview, he expressed his frustration with economic pressure, including problems with Iran’s banking and investment industries.  

A conservative newspaper, Jomhuri-ye Eslami, published an editorial disagreeing with the policies of the Ahmadinejad administration. The editorial chastised the president for labeling his critics as traitors and spies. The paper also said that the Judiciary should investigate accusations and no one including Ahmadinejad should make any judgments prior to any rulings. It is unusual for Jomhuri-ye Eslamic to criticize Ahmadinejad as the newspaper editors are close to the Iranian Supreme Leader. 

According to several reports, Iranian students held protests on Sunday, December 9th at Tehran University to voice their frustration regarding an increase in crackdowns and arrests. The students demanded the release of three university students who have been in prison for the past several months but will be released later this month. There has been a wave of demonstrations in recent months as students are growing weary of faculty replacements, and pressure and arrests of student activists. An estimated 1,500 students participated in the peaceful demonstration which was the largest held this year. 

Shiraz University’s interrogation committee has summoned over 30 students of the Dentistry School for participating in co-ed parties and not honoring Islamic codes of conduct. University guards presented a video showing male and female students interacting with each other. The interrogation committee will likely expel some of the students who have been called in for questioning.

Emadeddin Baghi, a political prisoner and founder of the Association for Defending Prisoners, issued a report from inside Evin prison on December 18. He wrote that one of the three students who had been heavily tortured during the last several weeks in Evin’s 325 ward (which is directly controlled by the Revolutionary Guard) has attempted suicide by cutting the veins of his arm. According to the report, the student was later transferred to the prison’s hospital where he is still in critical condition. An active student group published a statement confirming the incident. The three students who have been tortured in Evin’s 325 ward are Saeed Habibi, Mehdi Gerailoo, and Behrooz Karimizadeh. 

Noble Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi accused the government of stepping up crackdowns on students, union members and teachers. Ebadi’s Center for the Defenders of Human Rights released a report stating that there has been increased pressure on activists while the ninth government has made implementation of ‘justice’ one of its core policies. According to the report, the student movement has been hit hard by these crackdowns, and along with many arrests, university professors and students have been banned for political or ideological reasons. The report also expressed concerns over the status of the Baha’is because they cannot work in many sectors of the economy. In addition, they are deprived of higher education while Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians enjoy more rights.

A U.S.-based human rights group has called on Iran to drop politically motivated charges against two Iranian women’s rights activists facing trial for taking part in a protest and called for their immediate release. Human Rights Watch said the two women were active in the Campaign for One Million Signatures. They were among a group of women detained in March during a protest. The other women were later released. Western diplomats in Iran and rights groups see the crackdown on women as part of broader moves against dissent. "There seems to be no end in sight to the Iranian government’s persecution of women’s rights activists," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.

Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has banned Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The list of banned books has grown since 2005 when the Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad Hossein Saffar-Harandi was appointed to the position. Many volumes of Persian classical literature, academic books, and other famous books have been banned. Also, more than 70 percent of available books have been prohibited from being republished. There are no set laws and regulations regarding censorship and the publication of books. Officials review every published item and often request modifications to publishers before permitting publication.

IRNA, the state’s official news agency, reported that the government has planned to crackdown on rap music. Officials have said the words used in rap songs are obscene. The crackdown will confront Iranian rap singers and shut down studios that produce rap music. Rap music is popular among the youth because it deals with social, cultural, and political issues. In Iran, rap music has become an underground phenomenon and is readily available on the black market. In other related news, RFE/RL is reporting that Tehran’s police chief has ordered a crackdown on women’s high boots. This move is part of the larger crackdowns on un-Islamic clothing. In the past, he has called hats and tight trousers illegal.  

According to Iranian state media, the police have closed 25 Internet café’s and given warnings to 170 others. Twenty three people including several women have been detained according to RFE/RL. One of Tehran’s Internet cafes was inspected and temporarily closed down by police. The café was shut down because a few family photos were found on a computer that included a female picture among them. Crackdowns on un-Islamic clothing and restrictions on information have increased since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005.

On December 11^th, AFP reported that 20-24 students were arrested following recent student demonstrations at Tehran University. The demonstrations attracted hundreds of students who demanded the release of detained students. According to the Judiciary spokesperson, students were arrested and detained for disturbing public order.

The Iranian Writers Association condemned the arrest of several writers and labor movement activists: Mohsen Rahimi, writer, translator and member of the association, Ebrahim Gohari, board member of the Vahed Bus Drivers Union, and Hossein Gholami, a labor movement activist arrested in Chitgar Park and transferred to jail. The Iranian Writers Association also condemned the arrests of students, women’s rights advocates, and bloggers including Maryam Hassankhah and Jelveh Javaheri, who have been arrested during the recent crackdown.