Iran Special: Thoughts on Protest, Stoning, and Human Rights (Shahryar)

EA correspondent Josh Shahryar writes

Last Saturday, I went to a protest in Washington DC against the Iranian regime’s continued use of stoning as punishment. I have been to many protests in the past, but this time I chose to speak. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I simply felt like it was the right thing to do.

Almost all of my speech was video-taped, posted on YouTube, and soon shared on Facebook and Twitter. It managed to raise some important questions. Two of the first were “1) Since when is Sakineh Ashtiani [a 43-year-old Iranian woman condemned to death for adultery] being stoned for 'standing up for her rights'?" and "2) Where do you get this about Obama wanting to be friends with Ahmadinejad?"

Other friends raised similar questions as asked if some in attendance have ties to “communist” organizations. Others went a bit further and questioned why I hadn't spoken up for human rights activists such as Majid Tavakoli, detained since last December. The noise got so loud that I thought the best way forward would be to give a collective answer.

Was last Saturday's rally in Washington about Sakineh Ashtiani alone? No, it was primarily against all stoning. Because Sakineh’s case is currently the most public, given the international reaction to the sentence, that case was the main example in my speech.

What am I doing at a rally that was also attended by communists? The simple answer is: I was at the rally because I support human rights for everyone. I honestly don’t care to which group you belong if you are gathering to support human rights and democracy.

The protest was organized by members of the International Committee Against Stoning, Iran Solidarity, the International Committee Against Execution, and Mission Free Iran (MFI), an organization dedicated to furthering human rights, especially women’s rights, in Iran. Since I first attended a protest organized by MFI, I have seen members from monarchist, Kurdish nationalist, communist, and other organisations. I have joined those with no political affiliation, chanting with one voice.

My philosophy professor Dr. Rick Schubert would always remind us that he needed warm bodies in class, not zombies. Protests, just like early morning philosophy lectures, need warm bodies.

And I have seldom seen protesters more passionate and committed as these. They have been at every protest I’ve been to. They have endured rainstorms, snow blizzards, and scorching to protest for human rights. They are so committed, they don’t come alone; they bring their spouses and children with them.

On Saturday, one of the Workers Party of Iran supporters –-- a lady in her 50s who was about as big in stature as a 13 year-old boy –-- was carrying 10 signs back to her car. I insisted she let me help her. She adamantly refused. I felt honoured to have stood with her on that hot sunny day.

I want to make sure that no one feels like this is me passing judgment. If you are Iranian and you have not protested, it’s your choice. I know how busy life can get and how dangerous it is to come out to demonstrate in the face of real threats. Many people who do not come out to protest in public are fully engaged in the movement through blogging, Facebook and Twitter and have spent thousands of hours raising awareness about human rights in Iran.

Why am I at a rally supporting Sakineh, whom some claim isn’t even fighting for her human rights, instead of raising awareness about others like Shiva Nazar Ahari and Majid Tavakoli?

The last major article I wrote about Iran was about Majid Tavakoli and the hunger strikers at Evin, published a few weeks ago on Huffington Post. I have publicised the cases of political prisoners for quite a while. I have publicly protested for the freedom of those political prisoners, even if there is no video evidence of those occasions. Being vocal at a protest against stoning just got a little more coverage.

Living in the West, we come to take many things for granted, from the paved roads to reliable electricity and and water supplies. But mostly, we take for granted the most fundamental of human rights: the right to be free.

There exists a human right called the right to receive a fair trial. Beyond the denial of that right, Sakineh Ashtiani has already been punished for having sex with a man. She received 99 lashes. For sex.

She has endured this situation for five years. Her children have come out time and again to beg for mercy and have repeatedly claimed that their mother is innocent of complicity in their father’s murder, a charge later added by the regime to that of adultery.

And Sakineh Ashtiani's case is not the only one. The Iran regime has a fixation on punishing women for the smallest of crimes. It imposes lengthy prison sentences just for the demand of rights. [Editor: see Monday's testimony by women's right activist Mahboubeh Karami about her six months in detention.]

Sakineh did not make an example out of herself; Iranian authorities did. They have branded her lawyer a criminal and forced him out of the country. They have abused her to force her to "confess". When she renounces that confession, she is tortured and forced to confess again, this time on national television. appear on TV and confess again.

Why didn’t we talk about Shiva Nazar Ahari or Majid Tavakoli at this protest? We put up pictures of political prisoners during the demonstration. But --- and this may be stating a hard truth --- neither Shiva nor Majid had the name recognition or the story to captivate an audience that is woefully unaware of what is happening in Iran.

A public protest is not a place where you can explain the complicated political and human rights situation in Iran by using Shiva or Majid as examples, even though their cases are equally important. Sakineh has become someone towhom everyone, especially women, can quickly relate because of the nature of her case.

As for my dislike of Obama’s policy regarding Iran, I assure you I have no personal animosity towards him. The issue here is that I’m a human rights activist. And the fact is that Obama has failed the cause of human rights in Iran repeatedly. It does not help human rights in Iran to mention the Green Movement a few times during the President's televised speeches, especially when the US takes actions such as approving Iran as a member of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Yes, the US Government has passed sanctions. But what were those sanctions for? To stop Iran’s nuclear program, not to pressure it to ease up on arrests, torture, and killings of human rights activists, lawyers and political activists. Obama needs to use sanctions for the express purpose of helping human rights in Iran. He needs to stop Iranian political and military leaders from travelling abroad, prevent companies like Nokia from helping the Iranian regime. and help secure the lives of Iranian activists who are running away from the country.

As for the President extending his hand to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, well, it’s still out there. I haven’t heard Obama saying, “We are no longer going to attempt to engage through dialogue a regime that only seeks to brutalize its populace into submission and continues to threaten the international community with retaliation.”

If Obama knew Iran, he would have known that the Islamic Republic has no intention of ever seeking warm relations with the West. A regime like this constantly need an enemy to bash to divert their citizens’ attention from the brutality inside the country. Who are the clerics going to denounce in their Friday sermons if the West and Iran got along? Who is Khamenei going to blame for the poverty of the Iranian nation if the West improved relations with his regime?

Obama needs to be strict and unforgiving. And for the love of everything he holds dear, he needs to speak out more often about these atrocities.

The Latest from Iran (1 September): The Threat of Stoning

1750 GMT: Repression. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has issued a new statement, "Authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran are continuing to arrest and jail civil society activists while persecuting and prosecuting independent lawyers."

“With a majority of Iranian human rights activists and lawyers already imprisoned or forced into exile, their remaining colleagues are systematically being taken down by the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,” Aaron Rhodes, a Campaign spokesperson said.

1740 GMT: At the Movies. Esteemed director Jafar Panahi, who was detained for three months earlier this year, has been barred by Iran authorities from attending the Venice Film Festival.

Panahi's short film "Accordion" is showing at the event, but he claims he has officially been banned from making movies for five years. He says, ""Despite having been released, I am still not free to travel outside my country to attend film festivals. When a filmmaker is not allowed to make films, it is as if his mind was still imprisoned. Maybe he is not locked up in a small cell, but he keeps wandering in a much bigger jail."

NEW Iran Special: Thoughts on Protest, Stoning, and Human Rights (Shahryar)
Iran: Ahmadinejad’s Trash Talk (Theodoulou)
Iran Witness: Activist Mahboubeh Karami on Six Months in Detention
Iran: The Latest on the Karroubi “Siege” and the Qods Day Rally
The Latest from Iran (31 August): Unity? What Unity?

1515 GMT: Karroubi Watch. In a meeting with clerics and students of Qom, Mehdi Karroubi has said the intrusion of some security and intelligence forces in hawzah (religious circles) is "very alarming".

1500 GMT: Economy Watch. Conservative MP Ali Motahari, a member of Parliament's Communications Commission, has issued a warning over privatisation: "We oppose any kind of monopoly in the (tele)communications sector."

Khabar Online reports an extensive reshuffle of officials in Iran's national oil company is on the way, concluding that the move is "not sensible at all".

An EA correspondent reads the report as a warning of consolidation of power by Ahmadinejad allies.

1440 GMT: Today's We-Are-Not-Scared-at-All Message. Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi has declared, "If people stage a riot or coup, we must stop them with security forces."

1425 GMT: Another Slap at Ahmadinejad's Foreign Policy. Hossein Sobhani-Nia, a member of the National Security Council, has repeated the Supreme Leader's criticism of the President's appointment of four special representatives for international matters.

Sobhani-Nia declared that Ayatollah Khamenei had said that the Foreign Ministry's position should not be damaged. He emphasised that, for unity in foreign policy and in accordance with the Constitution, all decisions must be made by the Foreign Ministry. Parallel organisations should not stop that and division in foreign policy should not prevent Iran from reaching its goals.

1415 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Teacher's union activist Mokhtar Asadi has been released on bail after two months in detention.

1400 GMT: The Karrroubis Fight the Siege. Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Mehdi Karroubi, has written to the Supreme Leader to condemn the attacks on her home and family by pro-regimes crowds.

Fatemeh Karroubi asks the Leader: “What do the disagreements between you and my husband over issues, that are evident to all by now, have to do with our right to live?”

She pulls no punches as she describes the crowd chanting “derogatory words” against Mehdi Karroubi and “writing slogans on the walls of the residential complex and the neighbours' houses": “These obvious crimes are taking place with your support and in front of the security forces who do not dare to approach these attackers.”

So, noting the policy of “attacking the family and neighbours of political opponents”, Fatemeh Karroubi asks Ayatollah Khamenei if he condones such “unethical acts".

1350 GMT: Claim of the Day. From the Supreme Leader's representative to the Revolutionary Guards, Mojtaba Zolnour: "Israel is out to kill the hidden (12th) Imam."

1345 GMT: Academic Corner. Minister of Science Kamran Daneshjoo, who threatened universities with "destruction" if they were not Islamic enough, now wants a referendum on their fate.

Iranian authorities have "retired" almost 20 senior officials at universities in recent months.

0920 GMT: A Break in Service for Birthdays and Monkeys. It is Ms EA's birthday today, and we're celebrating by going to Monkey Forest --- yes, really.

I'll be away until late afternoon but, as usual, I know I can rely on EA's top-flight readers to bring in the latest news and analysis.

0825 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mojgan Ebadi and Nasim Rouhi, both of the Baha'i community, have been re-arrested 24 hours after their release from prison.

RAHANA also reports that more activists have been detained in northern Khuzestan in western Iran.

0815 GMT: The Next Campaign? International attention to the case of 18-year-old Ebrahim Hamidi, sentenced to death for sodomy, is growing. Writers Philippe Besson and Gilles Leroy organised an open letter by French activists, publicised by Le Monde last week.

0715 GMT: If You Don't Accept Stoning, You are a Prostitute (cont.). The Foreign Ministry may have told off "hard-line" media for calling Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a "prostitute" after she criticised the death sentence handed down to Sakineh Mohammad Ashtiani; however, the message does not seem to have gotten through.

Iran Newspaper on Network (INN), citing British reports of Bruni's past affair with singer Mick Jagger, declares, "Western Media approved implicitly the fact that Carla Bruni is a prostitute". (The story has been reprinted in the almost surreal website www.barackobama.ir. More on this "news outlet" later in the week.)

0655 GMT: Sieges for Qods Day. Pro-regime crowds, who surrounded the home of Mehdi Karroubi on Sunday and Monday night, reportedly moved to the house of reformist politician and cleric Abdollah Nouri on Tuesday evening.

0650 GMT: Freedom of the Press? Daneshjoo News reports that several journalists of Nasim-e Bidari magazine were threatened and interrogated on Tuesday.

0645 GMT: On Air. RASA TV, the Internet-based opposition channel, is now broadcasting.

0605 GMT: Labour Front. Writing for In These Times, Kari Lyderson reports on the continuing repression of Iran's trade unionists, specifically members of the Vahed Bus Workers Syndicate.

0600 GMT: We have posted a special feature by Josh Shahryar, reflecting on the reaction to his speech at last Saturday's rally in Washington against stoning, "Thoughts on Protest, Stoning, and Human Rights".

0500 GMT: We noted earlier this week how the controversy had grown over the death sentence for adultery --- initially to be carried out by stoning, though that has been suspended --- handed down on Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani; indeed, the Iranian Government was now appearing very unsettled by the reaction.

Although one website supporting the Government has tried to deflect the issue with the question, "Does the West Want a Real Discussion with Iran?", it is unlikely to disappear. There are reports of two other people condemned to die by stoning. Yesterday Ashtiani's son Sajad said his mother was subjected to a "mock execution", told last Saturday that she was to be hanged at dawn on Sunday.

Ashtiani wrote her will and embraced her cellmates in Tabriz Prison just before the call to morning prayer, but nothing happened as she waited. Sajad Ashtiani said, "Pressure from the international community has so far stopped them from carrying out the sentence but they're killing her every day by any means possible."

Sajad Ashtiani added that he had been told by Iranian authorities that the file on his father's murder case had been lost. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, first convicted of adultery, was later found guilty of complicity in the homicide.