By Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On March 17, Iranian police arrested fifty individuals. The arrests came during clashes between opposition supporters and police in Tehran during a new year festival called The Feast of Fire. This festival comes on the even of the Persian new year, but religious leaders told Iranians that celebrating this year was “un-Islamic.” Despite the warnings, people took the streets leading to conflict throughout the Iranian capital.

Tehran’s police chief confirmed that there a number of clashes between young Iranians and police officers across the capital. Opposition leaders, however, told their supporters that they did not want a protest during the festival.

The BBC’s correspondent in Tehran, Jon Leyne said that there was no indication that these clashes would lead to a larger political purpose. Leyne explained that the clashes were more a show of defiance against the demands made by the religious authorities.

March  17 marked Chaharshanbeh Soori. Held on the final Wednesday before Norouz (New Year), the day celebrates the coming of spring and dates back to a time when Iran was Persia and Zoroastrianism ruled. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told reporters that the event created “a lot of harm and corruption which is why it is appropriate to avoid it.” Khamenei told reporters that the festival had no basis in Sharia law and amounted to heretical fire worship.

Opposition leaders told supporters not to protest during the festivities and to not to provoke security forces. Despite the requests, clashes took place in several parts of Tehran, according to opposition website Jaras. Additionally, videos posted on the internet showed clashes between protesters and security forces. There were also reports that security forces marked the vehicles of individuals who were actively celebrating the Chaharshanbe Soori festivities.

Iran’s deputy police chief, Ahamad Reza Radan, told the press that fifty people had been arrested for causing “an unacceptable level of nuisance to the public.”

Large protests have been held in Iran since June 2009’s Presidential Election. Opposition protesters insist that the election was rigged to ensure the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian government has vehemently denied this charge.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Party or Protest? Fiery Night in Iran – 17 March 2010

BBC – Iranian Police Arrest 50 People at Traditional Festival – 17 March 2010

CNN – Iranians Celebrate Holiday Under Police Crackdown – 17 March 2010

By Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On March 13, Iran arrested thirty individuals that were accused of waging an organized, United States-backed cyber against the Islamic Republic. The news was reported by Iran’s Fars news agency. Iran accused the thirty individuals and their American backers of gathering information on Iranian nuclear scientists. The Islamic Republic also claims that individuals are being sent abroad for training on how to gather information for the United States.

Iran’s judiciary claims that the thirty arrested individuals began being funded by the United States in 2006. The plan, allegedly, was to destabilize the Iranian government. The Iranian judiciary continued to allege that former U.S. President George W. Bush supplied four hundred million dollars for the cyber war project against the Islamic Republic. A State Department spokesman chose not to respond to the report by Fars.

The overall project was dubbed “Iran Proxy, ” according to the Fars report. The Fars agency reported that “thirty people were arrested in connection with an organized American cyber war netowrk via a series of complex security measures in the field of information technology and communications.”

One branch of “Iran Proxy” was allegedly capable of infiltrating Iran’s data banks and sabotaging its web sites. It was also capable of facilitating contacts between opposition figures in Iran and, allegedly, U.S.-funded media such as Voice of America radio and Radio Farda. Fars also reports that the cyber war included the staging of “illegal demonstrations and encouraging the public to take part in them after the president elections.”

Fars also reported that the judiciary said the U.S. used anti-filtering software during the demonstrations to wage psychological war against the nation.

Iran claims that it has dismantled several of the allegedly U.S.-backed opposition networks. It claims that among those involved in the cyber warfare is the People’s Mujahideen Organization, a leftist groups exiled from Iran which launched attacks on the country from Iraq during the Hussein Regime. Iran claims that cyber warfare included sending individuals to train with the PMOI in Iraq in order to launch additional attacks on the Islamic Republic.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Iran Says it Struck US-Backed Opposition Groups – 13 March 2010

CNN – Iran Arrests 30 Accused of U.S.-Backed Cyber War – 13 March 2010

Reuters – Iran Arrests 30 Over U.S.-linked Cyber Ring: Report – 13 March 2010

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

ISLAMSHAHR, Iran – On March 12, Iran’s Intelligence Minister, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie, accused a leading reformist MP, Noureddine Pir Mouazen, of treason.  Ejeie denounced Mouazen for giving an unauthorized interview with Voice of America, where Mouazen criticized the government of Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

Ejeie told the Iranian Republic News Agency that “this has definitely been treason and an appalling act.”  He stated that the law “bans people in such positions from interviews with foreign radios and television. The Intelligence Ministry will certainly probe this and will not ignore it.”

Ejeie explained that “contacting foreigners has certain codes and not everyone can talk over any issues to foreigners.”  He stated that such communication needed to be coordinated with the Foreign Ministry and that “it will harm the country and will be regarded as betrayal if issues against the system and domestic policies are discussed in these meetings which could be exploited by the enemies.”

In the March 9 interview Mouazen criticized the government’s decision to disqualify 1,700 reformist candidates, including himself, from standing in the parliamentary elections on March 14.  Before Mouazen’s interview, the Guardians Council, an unelected body of jurists and clerics, disqualified many reformist candidates on vague for obscure reasons related to a lack of loyalty to Islam or the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The reformist coalition is led by former president, Mohammad Khatami and cleric Hojatoleslam Mehdi Karroubi.  Before the Guardians Council disqualified the 1,700 reformist candidates, the coalition had a good chance of winning a majority of the seats in parliament.  However, after the disqualification, the coalition is able to compete for less than half of the 290 seats.

There is growing discontent within Iran against the current regime, lead by President Ahmadinejad.  However, the cause of criticism is varied.  Some reformist leaders, like Mouazen, criticize Ahmadinejad’s foreign policy, believing that Iran is now isolated within the international community.  Many reformist supporters criticize Ahmadinejad’s economic policy, which has led to double-digit inflation.

For more information, please see:
AFP – Khatami Urges Iran Reformists to Vote En Masse – 12 March 2008

BBC – Iran Accuses MP over TV Interview – 12 March 2008

Middle East Online – On Campaign Trail with Iran’s Khatami – 12 March 2008

Press TV – VOA Interview Will be Prosecuted – 12 March 2008

The Times (London) – Iran Starts ‘Treason’ Inquiry Ahead of Poll – 12 March 2008

Voice of America – Iran to Probe Iranian Lawmaker’s VOA Interview – 12 March 2008

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On March 9, Iran put twelve policemen on trial in an army court. The men are being charged in deaths of three anti-government protesters at the Iran’ Kahrizak prison. The deaths of the three protesters caused embarrassment for the Iranian government who finally acknowledged after months of denial that the deaths took place at the notorious prison. The detention center was ultimately closed in July by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported that the first “court session was held with the victims’ families, other plaintiffs and their lawyers and the defendants.” Additionally, IRNA reported that, “the indictment against the twelve defendants was read out.”

The judge trying the case, Mohammad Mosaddegh, spoke of the sensitive nature of trial. He said, “trying some officials should not be interpreted as questioning and ignoring the hard work of police. There might be offending people anywhere.” Mossadegh also warned the press that the details of the court session not be revealed to the public. The judge expressed concern that “the publication of some information in the case harms order in society.”

The three protesters who died were arrested during widespread unrest after Iran’s disputed June 2009 presidential election. The election gave the incumbent, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a second term in office among charges of voter fraud. The three were among the over one hundred forty five detainees that were kept for several days in the Kahrizak detention center in rooms that were seventy square meters.

IRNA’s report on the trial did not the suspects charged with the deaths. Iran’s judiciary originally charged three Karhrizak officials with the murder of the three pro-reform protesters in December.

Iran’s parliament released a report in January saying that Tehran’s prosecutor at the time, Saeed Mortazavi ordered that detainees be transferred to Kahrizak despite a lack of space, proper ventilation and sanitary conditions. The report also reject claims from the three originally charged officials that the deaths were caused by meningitis. The report said that the deaths came from a number of issues including physical attacks.

For more information, please see:

Reuters India – Iran Holds Trial of Suspects in Post-Vote Detainee’s Death – 10 March 2010

AFP – Iran Puts 12 Policemen on Trial Over Kahrizak Prison Deaths – 9 March 2010

Associated Press – Iran Tries Suspects in Protester Prison Deaths – 9 March 2010

By Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On March 8, officials from the Independent High Electoral Commission announced that the turnout for the March 7 Iraqi election was sixty two percent. The level of turnout was over sixty percent despite attacks throughout the country that killed over thirty five individuals. It is widely expected that Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition will win the most seats of another other Iraqi political party. The final officials results for the election will not be declared until the end of March

Maliki’s coalition reportedly did quite well in areas such as Baghdad and the Shi’ite south of Iraq. Anonymous Iraqi Officials told the Associated Foreign Press (AFP) that the Iraqi President was leading in nine of Iraq’s eighteen provinces. He was facing competition from the Iraq National Alliance, a Shi’ite dominated group, and the secular coalition led by former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Allawi’s group reportedly did well in Iraq’s northern and western provinces.

Despite the strong showing by Maliki’s State of Law Coalition, it is highly unlikely that an party received the number of votes needed to form a government alone. It is possible that months of negotiations will precede any coalition forming a governing on its own.

Voter turnout varied throughout Iraq. In Anbar, the province composed mainly of Sunnis, reported a voter turnout of sixty one percent. Over five hundred candidates, mostly Sunni, were banned from running because of alleged connections to the Ba’ath party, the party of former President Saddam Hussein

The reported voter turnout number was even higher in Duhok. The AFP reported that Duhok, the northern Kurdish controlled autonomous area reported a voter turnout of eighty percent.

Attacks on election day took place in Baghdad, Mosul, Fallujah, and Baquba. Despite insurgents threatening to disrupt the election, there were no large suicide bombings as feared by many Iraqi officials. The worst attack took place on an apartment block in Baghdad which collapsed and killed twenty five people.

President Obama commented on the election, saying that it showed that “the future of Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq.”

For more information, please see:

AP – Iraq Elections Head Says Turnout at 55-60 percent – 8 March 2010

Al Jazeera – Iraq Awaits Election Results – 9 March 2010

BBC – Iraq Elections Turnout 62%, Officials Say – 9 March 2010