Iran Live Coverage: "Widespread and Systematic Violations of Human Rights"

Poster calling for the release of Iran's female political prisoners

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Thursday's Iran Live Coverage: "Positive" Nuclear Talks?

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2100 GMT:Human Rights Watch. United Nations human rights officials have met opposition activists, including Ardeshir Amir Arjomand, in Geneva.

The discussion included the strict house arrests, since February 2011, of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.

Lawyer and Nobel Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has said that the report of United Nations Special Rapporteur Ahmad Shaheed (see 0625 GMT) is a solid basis for other countries to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

And Reporters without Borders has said it will file a complaint against the Islamic Republic because of the illegal arrests of journalists.

1610 GMT:Protest Watch (Music Edition). Shahram Nazeri, a famous traditional singers, has used a performance for a barbed criticism of the Government.

Apearing at the invitation of Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, Nazeri set his songs to a series of Poems about "Zahhak", a fictional dictator who used to kill youths and feed them to the two snakes on his shoulders.

Nazeri's music was eagerly received by the audience, who asked him to perform the songs again. He then said, "For the last six years, I was not allowed to sing these poems. Now I am singing without permission of the Government."

The audience reportedly responded with political slogans.

1600 GMT:Protest Watch (Water Edition). Radio Zamaneh has published an English-language report on protests by farmers in Isfahan Province and subsequent clashes with security forces (see 0735 and 0805 GMT).

The farmers are complaining, after weeks of shortages, over transfers of water to factories hundreds of miles away in Yazd Province.

Security forces have used tear gas and pellets to disperse protesters, while demonstrators have reportedly set buses carrying the forces on fire.

Parliament is to meet with the Ministers of Intelligence, Energy, and Interior to discuss the water problems in Isfahan Province, which have reportedly put 300,000 people out of work, as well as Yazd, Chahar Mahal, Bakhtiyari Provinces.

1510 GMT:The House Arrests (Ahmadinejad Edition). An EA correspondent brings a story which illustrates the close circles in Iranian politics, linking those in power with those whom they have detained....

The sister of Zahra Rahnavard, the activist who has been under strict house arrest for more than two years with her husband and fellow opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, had a special guest.

President Ahmadinejad.

Why was Ahmadinejad giving condolences for Rahnavard's father, who died recently? The husband of Rahnavard's sister is Mohandes Noghreh Kaar, who lectured and supervised Ahmadinejad at Elm-o Sanat University in Tehran.

During the meeting Rahnavard's sister criticised the Government and asked for freedom for Mousavi and Rahnavard.

The President said he had attempted to free them but this matter is in the hands of the Supreme Leader: "I do not have a good position in his eyes right now."

1313 GMT:Your Friday Prayers Update. During this week’s sermon, Interim Friday Prayers Leader Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, in reference to the ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, stated that it was Iran’s right to be able to meet 20% enrichment but stressed the country did not desire nuclear weapons.

He reiterated the Supreme Leader’s fatwa forbidding the production of nuclear weapons as a crime against humanity.

Seddiqi’s pronouncement echoes that which has been coming out of Tehran this week that Iran wants to achieve recognition of its right to enrich uranium but that it has no intention of moving towards a militarization of its nuclear programme.

1226 GMT:Human Rights Watch. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has added his voice to the concern expressed by UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, Ahmad Shaheed about the increase in executions of prisoners and arrests – and in many cases torture – of dissidents (see 0625 GMT).

Ban stated:

The Secretary-General remains deeply troubled by reports of increasing numbers of executions, including of juvenile offenders and in public; continuing amputations and flogging; arbitrary arrest and detention; unfair trials, torture and ill-treatment; and severe restrictions targeting media professionals, human rights defenders, lawyers and opposition activities, as well as religious minorities.

1045 GMT:Gas Pipeline Watch. Pakistani officials have announced that work will begin on 11 March on the delayed $7.5 billion gas pipeline between Iran and Pakistan in spite of warnings from the US about the possibility of sanctions.

During recent talks in Tehran, President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Khamenei urged President Asif Ali Zardari to finalise the project, which has nearly been completed in Iran but delayed on the Pakistan side.

0959 GMT:Nuclear Watch. Commenting on the “very small steps” regarding sanctions relief offered by the P5+1 countries, chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili has responded positively:

It is not important that these steps are small. The important thing is that those steps should be balanced. A response to a small step is a small step. We have a readiness for taking longer steps.

Alongside welcoming the progress made in the Almaty talks, Jalili also injected a tone of caution stating that the P5+1 have yet to respond to a number of steps already taken by Iran.

Jalili declared “Some of the confidence measures that we have taken are unique,” noting in particular the Supreme Leader’s injunction that nuclear weapons are un-Islamic.

0954 GMT:Human Rights Watch. Chief of the Judiciary, Sadeq Amoli Larijani, has made an indirect response to the latest criticism in the United Nations Human Rights report (see 0625 GMT), alleging that Western countries use human rights issues as a pretext for pursuing their own political agenda.

Larijani, brother of the Speaker of the Majles Ali Larijani, added “that Western media outlets seek to silence Iran’s voice on human rights.”

0922 GMT:Nuclear Watch. Tehran continues to play up the progress of the recent talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan over Iran’s nuclear programme, with PressTV reporting the verdict of Ali Baqeri, the undersecretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, that “It seems that the result of the meeting has been positive.”

Baqeri, who is Iran’s deputy negotiator on the nuclear issue, added that “The new proposal of the P5+1 group is closer to some of our views.”

0805 GMT: Protest Watch (Water Edition). The conservative site Tabnak offers detail on the farmers' protest and clashes in Isfahan Province (see 0735 GMT).

Tabnak confirms that police confronted the demonstrators in Varzaneh and adds that the authorities have not yet done anything about the weeks of water shortages.

The site explains that the problem is not due to a "burst pipe". Instead it is a combination of two issues: 1) the sale of water from the area to factories and steel plants in distant provinces, cutting the allocation for farmers; and 2) the drying-up of a river because of the water shipments.

Tabnak also digs at President Ahmadinejad, noting his recent visit to the province in which he suggested praying to ease the drought with "a blessing from Heaven" and ease the drought.

0745 GMT: Censorship Watch. The Voice of Russia has said that its Persian-language website has been blocked inside Iran since 13 February.

The Voice of Russia said it received no warning from Iranian authorities and has written to the Iranian Embassy in Moscow and the Ministry of Culture asking for an explanation. It warned the censorship could affect "friendly ties" between Iran and Russia, which are currently at a "high level".

The Iranian website Entekhab, quoting "informed sources", said the likely reason behind the filtering was the failure of Voice of Russia to register the Persian service with the Ministry of Culture.

A test indicates that the block may now have been lifted.

0735 GMT: Protest Watch. After more than 40 days of difficulties with water supply because of a burst main, farmers in Isfahan have been protesting. Earlier this week, security forces were brought in to disperse the demonstrators, reportedly using tear gas and plastic pellets. Images showed a bus, allegedly carrying the security forces, which was burned by protesters.

0715 GMT: Trade Watch. Reuters puts out a lengthy article about the supply of aluminium by major commodities firm Glencore to the Iranian Aluminum Company (Iralco).

Iralso in turn has an aluminum supply contract with the Iran Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA). In December, the European Union levied sanctions on Iralco for supplying aluminum metal to TESA, which is a subsidiary of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. As part of AEOI, TESA has been subject to UN sanctions in place since 2006.

It is not known whether any of the aluminum produced by Iralco from Glencore's alumina raw material actually ended up with TESA and thus may have been used for uranium centrifuges.

Perhaps more significant than any nuclear angle in the story is the less-emphasised economic dimension --- pointing to Iran's difficulties with financial transactions under sanctions, Tehran is having to barter for the aluminium by supplying a lesser amount of aluminium metal.

0705 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, in contrast to the more muted reaction among other sections of the regime, continues to talk up this week's meeting between Iran and the 5+1 Powers.

"I call it a milestone. It is a turning point in the negotiations," Salehi told Austrian broadcaster ORF in Vienna. "We are heading for goals that will be satisfactory for both sides. I am very optimistic and hopeful."

Salehi, in another interview, offered reassurances on Iran's enrichment of 20% uranium --- he said about 40% of the stock has been processed into fuel plates, suitably only for civilian uses, for the Tehran Research Reactor:

So far we have produced two of these plates per month. In the future we want to produce three, four or perhaps even more fuel plates every month. This is how we want to reduce the supply of 20 percent enriched uranium in the medium term.

A "senior Western diplomat" was also upbeat, "This was more constructive and more positive than previous meetings because they were really focusing on the proposal on the table."

The official said that technical talks on 17-18 March in Istanbul "will be the important meeting. We'll see if they are willing to engage seriously on the package."

0625 GMT: Human Rights. While chatter continues about this week's meeting between Iran and the 5+1 Powers, the United Nations has put out a reminder that not everything in the Islamic Republic is about the nuclear issue.

The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, Ahmad Shaheed, still denied entry into Iran to carry out his enquiry, issued his latest report:

There continues to be widespread systemic and systematic violations of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Reports communicated by nongovernmental organisations, human rights defenders, and individuals concerning violations of their human rights or the rights of others continue to present a situation in which civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are undermined and violated in law and practice.

Moreover, a lack of Government investigation and redress generally fosters a culture of impunity, further weakening the impact of the human rights instruments Iran has ratified.

The 77-page report details cases of abuse, torture, and execution and lists imprisoned journalists and members of religious minorities, such as Baha'i and Christians.