Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Death of a Scholar, Honouring Political Prisoners (Arseh Sevom)

Ahmad GhabelThis week we mark the passing of religious scholar and political dissident Ahmad Ghabel and the award of the prestigious Sakharov Prize to filmmaker Jafar Panahi and imprisoned lawyer Nassrin Sotoudeh. The non-binding Iran Tribunal closed in The Hague. United for Iran released a report highly critical of the focus of the international community on Iran's nuclear program at the expense of human rights.

The economy continues to falter and workers are losing their jobs at alarming rates. Afghans continue to be repatriated, while the government does its best to widen the gender gap. The Tehran Symphony is now only available to those who can privately hire them, and a new film on the lives of transexuals in Iran has opened in the country.

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Iran Interview: The Iran Tribunal and the Mass Executions of the 1980s (Akhavan)

Payam AkhavanThe most important message from this tribunal for the leader of the Islamic Republic could be that the Iranian people will never forget the cruelty done to them and the crimes committed by the government. One of the objectives of this tribunal is to familiarize the world with the culture of impunity that has existed in Iran for more than a few decades. In Iran, people who are guilty of murder, torture and rape are promoted instead of facing punishment.

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