The Latest from Iran (22 January): Documenting the Prisoners

1625 GMT: Why the Nuke Talks Stalled. A significant detail from Reuters....

The agency reports, from a "Western diplomat", that European Union foreign policy representative Catherine Ashton, speaking for the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, Germany, China, Russia, France) proposed that Iran send abroad 2,800 kilogrammes of low-enriched (3-4%) uranium and 40 kilogrammes of 20% uranium.

As Iran, according to Reuters, has a stockpile of "more than 3000 kilogrammes" of low-enriched uranium, the 5+1 Powers were effectively telling Iran that up to 90% of its uranium stock should be sent outside the country for processing.

Compare that with the offer on the table in Geneva in October 2009, which led to further talks before discussions stalled the following months: the 5+1 proposed that Iran send 60% of its low-enriched uranium (then estimated at 2000 kilogrammes) to Russia and France --- later Russia and France --- for processing. (At that point, Iran had no confirmed stocks of 20% uranium.)

Given Tehran's insistence on enriching uranium inside its borders, it's not too surprising that the 5+1's offer --- far worse for Tehran than what was on the table 15 months ago --- has not been welcomed.

1505 GMT: No, Mayor, You Stay At Home. Reuters has discovered the story, which we reported yesterday, that the Iranian Foreign Ministry has prevented Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf from travelling to the US for an awards ceremony.

Qalibaf was invited to Washington by a non-governmental organization, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, for its 24 January banquet where where Tehran is one of five cities nominated for the "2011 Sustainable Transport Award".

Tehran-e Emrouz, a daily newspaper close to Qalibaf, said the mayor had been denied an exit visa: "It is not clear why the trip...which was in line with introducing national achievements and proving the efficiency of Iranian management, was treated in such an unkind manner and has been the victim of political considerations."

1440 GMT: The Nuke Talks. More reactions to the end of the discussions in Istanbul (see 1245 GMT)....

The US reaction, given through an anonymous official, seems mild. The failure to agree another set of talks is not being treated as the prelude to dramatic action against Tehran: "I think it remains to be seen whether the Iranians are serious about engaging in practical steps to get from where we are. And I don't think [we are going to figure that out} in one or two meetings. I think there is still time to test that."

The "senior administration official" continued, "I think it’s essential to test the proposition that the Iranians might be interested in a diplomatic resolution. How they react to that over time --- we will just have to see."

The head of the Iranian delegation, Saeed Jalili, stuck to Tehran's script for a bottom line allowing uranium enrichment inside the country:

We must be respectful of the rights of nations That is very basic....The rights of members of the [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] should be officially declared and stated. These are necessary if talks are to be carried out on these issues. These are not preconditions, it is a most positive and basic step.”

1400 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Islamic Iran Participation Front member Esmail Sahabeh has been summoned to Evin Prison to serve a 4-year sentence.

1245 GMT: The Nuke Talks. OK, all rhetoric aside, this is a conclusive sign that the discussions are at stalemate....

The talks in Istanbul have finished after a morning session, and Catherine Ashton, the European Union's representative for foreign policy and the head of the 5+1 delegation, has spoken to the press. She said that 5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, Germany, and China) were "disappointed" with the stance taken by Iran during nuclear talks in Istanbul. She added that Tehran's preconditions --- acceptance of the entire fuel cycle on Iranian soil and a lifting of sanctions --- were unacceptable.

Even more significantly, Ashton said there were no further meetings planned, putting the onus on Tehran to make a concession: "The process can go forward if Iran chooses to respond positively. We now wait to hear...whether Iran will respond on reflection."

1210 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Journalist Ehsan Mehrabi has been summoned to prison to serve a 1-year sentence.

1135 GMT: Shutting Down the Attorneys. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reviews how "the Iranian Judiciary has systematically tried to silence the lawyers". It highlights the statement of the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, this week:

Unfortunately, some lawyers don’t act according to their main responsibility, whereas if they act properly, many issues would be prevented, but this group does not feel obligated to the conditions defined in the requirements for being licensed to practice law. They easily undermine the Islamic regime through their interviews and actions, and we hope that this trend will be corrected.

1045 GMT: Changing the Schools. Mohammad Bonyadi, the Qur'anic affairs adviser to the Minister of Education, said the number of Quranic schools is expected to reach 20,000 by next year. He claimed up 10,000 schools have been established this academic year. Iranian schools overseas have also joined the programme, dedicating time to extra programmes for featuring Qur'anic activities.

1000 GMT: The Nuke Talks. CNN's Ivan Watson, whom we teased a bit in our morning analysis, comes through today with a couple of reports from the second day of discussions in Istanbul.

Watson reports, "Western diplomat says Iran 'tested the unity' of 6 countries led by EU's Ashton: "She didn't fall into their traps"

Then he writes, "Another western official says 6 countries 'summarily rejected' Iran's 'pre-conditions': acceptance of full fuel cycle & lifting of sanctions."

Translation: as we predicted yesterday, Iran's bottom line is that it must be allowed to enrich uranium to 20% within its borders. The Western countries, if they are to going to agree to this, are not going to do so without extensive guarantees over inspection and monitoring.

Thus, there is no way that the US and the European countries will agree to lift sanctions before the inspection system of the International Atomic Energy Agency is fully in place.

That interpretation is also supported by AFP's report on the first day of the talks. A diplomat commented on a 90-minute discussion between Saeed Jalili, the head of the Iranian delegation, and his 5+1 counterpart, the European Union's Catherine Ashton: "They talked a lot but the positions remain the same....It would be fair to say that the bilateral (meeting) was inconclusive."

The diplomat confirmed Tehran's pre-conditions: the recognition of their right to enrich uranium and the lifting of international sanctions. The 5+1 are refusing any preconditions, he said.

Iranian state media, which has put out the misleading line of officials that the fuel cycle is not for discussion --- to the contrary, it is the centre of the talks --- is saying very little this morning. Press TV only has this sentence, "The third session of the comprehensive talks started on Saturday."

0755 GMT: We have posted an analysis in a separate entry of the nuclear talks between Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, China, and Russia), and we will keep watching developments today.

Here, however, we'll start with a far different focus: Iran's prisoners. The "Hyperactivist" project to document the status of political detainees now has a database of 947 names.

And on the specific case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the woman condemned to death for adultery and complicity in the murder of her husband, a group of activists have produced a timeline documenting events from 2005 to today.