WASHINGTON - For the past five years, researchers in a modest office overlooking the New Haven green have carefully documented cases of assassination and torture of democracy activists in Iran. With more than $3 million in grants from the US State Department, they have pored over thousands of documents and Persian-language press reports and interviewed scores of witnesses and survivors to build dossiers on those they say are Iran’s most infamous human-rights abusers.
But just as the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center was ramping up to investigate abuses of protesters after this summer’s disputed presidential election, the group received word that - for the first time since it was formed - its federal funding request had been denied.
“If there is one time that I expected to get funding, this was it,’’ said Rene Redman, the group’s executive director, who had asked for $2.7 million in funding for the next two years. “I was sur prised, because the world was watching human rights violations right there on television.’’
>>>He also has received good review from Ahmadinejad!
He appeared on Iran state television after a Cabinet meeting to confirm Tehran’s willingness to consider “third-party enrichment” of its uranium, adding:
I think these negotiations were a step forward and I hope we proceed with the same trend so we will have constructive cooperation to resolve all outstanding global issues….In these negotiations we witnessed better behaviour than in the past from some countries and we noticed that the logic of respect and justice is being established gradually. These talks are good basis for continuation of the negotiations.
Person | About | Day |
---|---|---|
نسرین ستوده: زندانی روز | Dec 04 | |
Saeed Malekpour: Prisoner of the day | Lawyer says death sentence suspended | Dec 03 |
Majid Tavakoli: Prisoner of the day | Iterview with mother | Dec 02 |
احسان نراقی: جامعه شناس و نویسنده ۱۳۰۵-۱۳۹۱ | Dec 02 | |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Prisoner of the day | 46 days on hunger strike | Dec 01 |
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Graffiti | In Barcelona | Nov 30 |
گوهر عشقی: مادر ستار بهشتی | Nov 30 | |
Abdollah Momeni: Prisoner of the day | Activist denied leave and family visits for 1.5 years | Nov 30 |
محمد کلالی: یکی از حمله کنندگان به سفارت ایران در برلین | Nov 29 | |
Habibollah Golparipour: Prisoner of the day | Kurdish Activist on Death Row | Nov 28 |
US gov's support comes with strings attached...
by Ostaad on Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:29 AM PDTIran Human Rights Documentation Center will be better served not to be beholden to the meager monetary assistance from the US government, which is one of its contributors among many. I'm sure the reputation of IHRDC will be enhanced once its funding sources become strictly non-govenrmental.
Here's the list of IHRDC contributors available on their web site:
The Beckman Family Foundation
The Chicago Community Foundation
The Diamondston Foundation
Foley Hoag LLP, Washington and Boston Offices
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Friends of the Scranton Memorial Library
The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights
John Doar Foundation
King & Spalding LLP, New York Offices
The New York Community Trust
Rights and Democracy (Canada)
Scholars at Risk / International Institute of Education
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP
The Speakers Action Group
The U.S. State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and Human Rights and Democracy Fund
United Nations Study Group
The Vlock Family Foundation
I know some folks are addicted to receiving candy from the government, but in this case this is actually good news.