November 30
Akbar Ganji on trial names names in serial murders case
TEHRAN, Nov 30 (AFP) - A reformist journalist on trial in Tehran Thursday
accused a senior judge of ordering the murder of a communist militant and
a group of conservative clerics of being behind other killings of dissidents
and intellectuals. Akbar Ganji named names at his trial before a revolutionary
court over his participation with other reformists at a conference in Berlin
in April which was deemed un-Islamic by conservative Iranian authorities
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Ganji tries to turn tables on Iranian justice system
TEHRAN, Nov 30 (AFP) - The trial of a key figure in a controversial
conference deemed "anti-Islamic" edged towards farce Thursday
as he blamed Iran's authorities for letting him attend, charging them with
double standards. Journalist Akbar Ganji was appearing before Tehran's
revolutionary court for the second time in the trial over the conference
on Iran held in Berlin in early April, for which 17 others are also facing
prosecution >>>
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Ganji Accuses Official
November 30, 2000 TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- In a daring allegation, Iran's
leading investigative journalist on Thursday accused former Intelligence
Minister Ali Fallahian of ordering the killing of political dissidents
two years ago. In court, Ganji also openly challenged Iran's supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei >>>
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Iran arrests distributors of report on dissident killings
TEHRAN, Nov 30 (AFP) - Iran has arrested several people charged with
distributing an 80-page report which implicates a number of authorities
in the shock 1998 serial murders of several dissidents and intellectuals,
press reports said Thursday. The centrist Entekhab paper cited Intelligence
Minister Ali Yunessi as saying that several people, accused of distributing
the undercover "night letter", had been identifed and arrested
recently >>>
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November 29
Press court bans leading youth magazine
TEHRAN, Nov 29 (AFP) - Iran's conservative-run press court on Tuesday
banned the nation's largest-circulation youth magazine, Iran-e Javan, its
director Behrouz Behzadi told AFP. "This magazine was like my own
child," Behzadi said after the Tehran court closed the popular weekly,
whose circulation of 100,000 he said made it the top-selling magazine in
Iran >>>
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November 28
Press board approves 17 new publications
TEHRAN, Nov 28 (AFP) - Iran's culture ministry, a target of conservative
anger over its handling of the press, has given the green light to more
than a dozen new publications, the official IRNA news agency said Tuesday.
It said the ministry's press supervisory board on Monday approved 17 new
publications on various topics, including economics, politics, psychology
and science. None of the permits were for daily newspapers >>>
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November 27
Reformists call for open trial of suspected assassins
TEHRAN, Nov 27 (AFP) - The largest reformist party called Monday for
the courts to make public next month's long-awaited trial of the suspected
assassins of five dissidents and intellectuals in 1998. The Islamic Iran
Participation Front (IIPF), headed by President Mohammad Khatami's brother
Mohammad-Reza, said the case was a "big test" for the conservative-run
judiciary >>>
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November 24
18 to be tried for serial murders
TEHRAN, Nov 24 (AFP) - Eighteen people will go on trial in Iran on December
23 for the killing of five political dissidents in late 1998, state television
quoted the deputy head of the judiciary as saying Thursday. "Three
of the 18 will be tried as the principals in the murders and the 15 others
as accomplices," Hojatoleslam Hadi Marvi said >>>
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November 22
Trial for serial killers of dissidents to begin next month
TEHRAN, Nov 22 (AFP) - The much-anticipated trial of the suspects inthe
shock 1998 serial murders of several Iranian dissidents and intellectualswill
open in military court next month, state radio said Wednesday. The announcement
of the December 23 trial date comes a day after violentclashes between
police and protesters in Tehran following a memorialservice for two of
the victims >>>
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November 21
Police clash with youth after memorial service
TEHRAN, Nov 21 (AFP) - Police clashed with young people exiting a ceremony
in Tehran on Tuesday marking the second anniversary of the assassination
of a nationalist political leader and his wife, an AFP reporter said >>> FULL
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Akbar Ganji calls off hunger strike: IRNA
TEHRAN, Nov 21 (AFP) - An outspoken pro-reform Iranian journalist who
said he has been tortured in prison called off his hunger strike Tuesday,
the official IRNA news agency said. It said Akbar Ganji, jailed over articles
linking former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to the 1998 murders of
several dissidents, had agreed to end the strike but was still demanding
his rights as a prisoner >>>
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November 20
Top reformist summoned
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's hard-line judiciary has summoned a key ally
of reformist President Mohammad Khatami to court for his alleged role in
riots in August, a newspaper reported Monday >>>
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November 19
Nabavi released on bail
November 19, Teheran (dpa) - Popular Iranian satirist Ebrahim Nabavi
has been released on bail after four months in prison, the Teheran daily
Iran reported Sunday >>>
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November 15
Satirist apologizes in court
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - In testimony as funny as it was serious, Iran's
leading satirist pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of insulting government
officials and apologized for lampooning them in his writings. Ever the
comic, Ebrahim Nabavi cracked a joke at the expense of his own lawyer that
provoked guffaws of laughter around the courtroom. When the lawyer questioned
the legality of a trial without a jury, Nabavi intervened to say he had
no objection >>>
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November 14
Sahabi defends participation in "un-Islamic" Berlin seminar
TEHRAN, Nov 14 (AFP) - Iranian dissident nationalist Ezzatolah Sahabi
on Tuesday rejected charges against him for attending a controversial seminar
in Berlin, telling a court he went to the conference for the benefit of
Iran. "Participating in a conference in a country that has relations
with Iran is not a crime," he said, quoted by the state news agency
IRNA >>>
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November 13
New pro-reform paper hits newsstands
TEHRAN, Nov 13 (AFP) - A new pro-reform daily hit Iran's newsstands
on Monday, the fourth press launch in three months after a sweeping crackdown
on the nation's newspapers. Doran-e Emrouz (Today's Era) said in its inaugural
editorial that it would focus on "expanding awareness and distributing
correct information." >>>
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Prison officials deny Ganji's claims of torture in jail
TEHRAN, Nov 13 (AFP) - Iranian prison officials on Monday denied claims
by a prominent pro-reform journalist that he has been tortured by guards
in Tehran's Evin prison. "The allegations by Akbar Ganji are completely
false and aimed at creating an atmosphere of blackmail," the prisons
authority said in a communique published in the conservative Ressalat newspaper
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Hajjarian back at work after assassination bid
TEHRAN, Nov 13 (AFP) - Pro-reform Iranian politician Said Hajarian,
who barely escaped alive from an assassination attempt in March, went back
to work Monday, press reports said. "I'm sorry I haven't been able
to do anything for the people during my convalescence," the Kayhan
paper quoted him saying as he returned to Tehran City Hall in the wheelchair
he will likely be confined to for the rest of his life >>>
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November 10
German group calls on Berlin to support Iranian reformers on trial
BERLIN, Nov 10 (AFP) - The German government was urged Friday to consider
withholding investments in Iran in response to Tehran's decision to put
on trial a group of reformers who attended a conference in Berlin earlier
this year. The conference, co-organised by reformers from Tehran and Germany's
Heinrich Boell Foundation which is closely linked to the German Greens
party, was considered "anti-Islamic" by Iran >>>
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UN committee calls on Iran to respect due process of law
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 10 (AFP) - Expressing concern about executions and
torture, the human rights committee of the UN General Assembly has called
on Iran to respect due process of law. The committee Thursday voted by
58 to 53, with 48 abstentions, for a resolution calling on the Islamic
government "to ensure that capital punishment will not be imposed
for crimes other than the most serious." >>>
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November 9
Akbar Ganji says he was tortured in prison
TEHRAN, Nov 9 (AFP) - Prominent pro-reform Iranian journalist Akbar
Ganji told reporters Thursday he had been tortured in prison when he arrived
at Tehran's revolutionary court for trial in connection with an "anti-Islamic"
political conference in Berlin earlier this year. The outspoken journalist
and ally of reformist President Mohammad Khatami was hauled into court
by prison guards, where he told reporters that he had been "beaten
and tortured by four people" while in prison >>>
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Prosecutor demands death penalty in Berlin seminar trial
TEHRAN, Nov 9 (AFP) - The prosecution in Tehran's revolutionary court
asked Thursday for a death sentence against a former communist, Khalil
Rostam-Khani, 47, who is alleged to have organised an "anti-Islamic"
conference in Berlin in April. Prosecutor Abdollah Sharifi said Rostam-Khani
should be sentenced under article 186 of Iran's penal code which prescribes
the death penalty for "waging war on God." >>>
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INDEX
November 8
Reformist decries hard-liners
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - A leading Iranian lawmaker on Tuesday urged President
Mohammad Khatami to condemn the tactics of his hard-line opponents in closing
liberal newspapers and trying to roll back democratic reforms. ``I call
on the president not to remain silent,'' Behzad Nabavi, a reformist who
is deputy speaker of parliament, or Majlis, told lawmakers >>>
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November 6
Students demonstrate for freedom of jailed intellectuals
TEHRAN, Oct 6 (AFP) - About 500 students rallied Monday at Tehran University
to call for democracy and the release of intellectuals and journalists
jailed by the Judiciary. "Free political prisoners!" and "Reform
the judiciary!" chanted the students, who were organized by the Office
to Consolidate Unity (OCU), a pro-reform student movement that ardently
supports President Mohammad Khatami >>>
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Iran indicts five abroad, including German, over conference: IRNA
TEHRAN, Nov 6 (AFP) - Iran's judiciary has indicted five people residing
abroad, including a German national, for acting against national security
at a controversial political conference, the state IRNA news agency said
Monday. The five have been charged with "waging blatant propaganda
against the Islamic republic" as well as cooperating with the outlawed
opposition People's Mujahedeen, IRNA said, citing a "reliable"
judicial source >>>
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Jailed journalist threatens hunger strike over prison safety
TEHRAN, Nov 6 (AFP) - Jailed pro-reform Iranian journalist Ahmad Zeid-Abadi
has threatened a hunger strike to protest security after he said his cell-mate
was stabbed in his sleep, his wife announced Monday. In a fax sent to AFP,
she said her husband -- who has been in prison since August -- had complained
of little response from prison authorities and that telephone lines for
prisoners had been cut after inmate protests >>>
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November 5
Iran holds open session of trial over Berlin conference
TEHRAN, Nov 5 (AFP) - Iranian intellectuals, journalists and students
appeared in a Tehran revolutionary court Sunday, on trial for taking part
in a controversial "anti-Islamic" political conference in Berlin.
Newspaper publisher Shahla Sherkat, journalist Hamid-Reza Jalaipour, writer
Khadijeh Haj Dini-Moghadam and others, including a translator for the German
embassy, apeared at the open session >>>
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Parliament upholds press bill and sets showdown with conservatives
TEHRAN, Nov 5 (AFP) - The reform-majority parliament on Sunday upheld
a bill it passed last week to ease curbs on the press which had been overruled
by a powerful conservative oversight body, state radio reported. The move
sets up a showdown with the conservative-led Guardians Council, which said
the measure -- allowing papers to change from weekly to daily or regional
to national publication without prior approval from police -- contradicted
Islamic law >>>
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Ezzatollah Sahabi is threatened by hardliners
TEHRAN, Nov 5 (AFP) - Dissident opposition leader Ezzatollah Sahabi
was blocked from attending a political rally last week by gangs of hardliners,
he said in an open letter Sunday. "I was threatened by fundamentalist
groups in the city of Andimeshk where I had been invited to lecture on
the nation's political situation," he said in the letter, a copy of
which was obtained by AFP >>>
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November 2
Human Rights Watch condemns "Berlin" trial
November 2, 2000, New York (Human Rights Watch)-- In an open letter
sent to Iran's chief judicial official, Human Rights Watch called for an
end to the prosecution of prominent independent and reformist figures who
attended an international conference last April. Human Rights Watch sent
the open letter to the Head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi
Shahroudi. At least twelve activists and writers now face charges of "engaging
in propaganda against the national security of Iran." >>>
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November 1
Guardian Council says softer press law "contradicts" Islam
TEHRAN, Nov 1 (AFP) - A conservative-led Iranian oversight body has
overruled the pro-reform parliament's bid to close a legal loophole used
to shutter much of the nation's press, reports said Wednesday. The powerful
Council of Guardians rebuffed a parliamentary motion allowing papers to
change from weekly to daily or regional to national publication without
prior approval as "contradicting Islamic law >>>
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Courts to make "anti-Islamic" political trial public
TEHRAN, Nov 1 (AFP) - Iran's judiciary has decided to make public the
trial of several leading reformists who attended a controversial "anti-Islamic"
political conference, press reports said Wednesday. The decision to open
the doors of the trial, which includes several close allies of President
Mohammad Khatami, came following "multiple demands," newspapers
reported. No further details were given >>>
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