END THIS BARBARISM NOW!

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

Images taken from here

As charities, politicians and community leaders over here spend wasted time, effort and money on telling us how to live our social lives healthily, over in Iran a woman is staring death in the face in the most barbaric way imaginable.

If this army of busy-body do-gooders put their energies into this case and our leaders - instead of being concerned whether we have one pint or two, smoke 10 or 20 fags a day - actually used their power and influence on a cause of so much greater importance then they would actually earn my respect.

Meanwhile, the campaign to end stoning and to save the life of a women in Iran is left to the little people - us.

Perhaps you can also do your bit and help Maryam Namazie of Iran Solidarity who has sent out this appeal:

WE WILL BE GATHERING AT THE EMBASSY OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN IN PARIS AT 2PM (4 Avenue d'Iéna 75116 Paris) AND MARCHING TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IN BRUSSELS. JOIN US. WE MUST SAVE SAKINEH’S LIFE AND SECURE HER FREEDOM AND THAT OF HER SON, LAWYER AND THE TWO GERMAN JOURNALISTS. AND WE MUST END STONING NOW!

According to news received by the International Committee against Stoning and International Committee against Execution on 1 November 2010, the authorities in Tehran have given the go ahead to Tabriz prison for the execution of Iran stoning case Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. It has been reported that she is to be executed this Wednesday 3 November.

We had previously reported that the casefile regarding the murder case of Ms Ashtiani’s husband had been seized from her lawyer’s office, Houtan Kian, and found missing from the prosecutor’s Oskoo branch office so as to stitch Ms Ashtiani up with trumped up murder charges. [Another man has already served a prison sentence and is now free for her husband’s murder.] Ms Ashtiani’s son, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, and her lawyer, Houtan Kian, have warned of the regime’s plan to do so on many occasions. With the arrest of Ms Ashtiani’s son and lawyer on 10 October and her not having had any visitation rights since 11 August and after fabricating a new case against her, the “Human Rights Commission” of the regime has announced that: ‘according to the existing evidence, her guilt has been confirmed.’ In fact, the regime has created a new scenario in order to expedite her execution.

In other news, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh and Houtan Kian have been severely tortured in order to obtain confessions against Sakineh and themselves since their arrests on 10 October along with two German journalists. The initial interrogations by the Ministry of Intelligence have now been completed and the casefile sent to the National Prosecutor General and Judiciary Spokesperson, Mohsen-Ejehi, in Tehran rather than being handled in Tabriz. Their families are concerned for their wellbeing. When attempting to secure lawyers for the two, authorities have said that the two men did not need legal representation.

Sajjad and Houtan Kian’s only ‘crime’ has been to defend Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and proclaim her innocence with facts and evidence. That their contact with Mina Ahadi is considered a crime is absurd given that Ahadi has been contacted by death row prisoners and their families and lawyers for many years now, including directly from prison. This is because of her many years of work against stoning and executions.

The International Committees against Stoning and Execution call on international bodies and the people of the world to come out in full force against the state-sponsored murder of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. Ms Ashtiani, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, Houtan Kian and the two German journalists must be immediately and unconditionally released.

ACT NOW!

1. Contact government officials, MPs, MEPs, and the UN asking them to intervene urgently. Governments must immediately summon the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ambassadors and demand that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s execution be stopped and that she along with her son, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, and lawyer, Houtan Kian, and the two German journalists be immediately released.

2. Send letters of condemnation to the Islamic regime of Iran right away:

Head of the Judiciary
Sadeqh Larijani
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri
Tehran 1316814737, Iran
Email: info@dadiran.ir or via website: http://www.dadiran.ir/tabid/75/Default.aspx
First starred box: your given name; second starred box: your family name; third: your email address

Head of the Judiciary in East Azerbaijan Province
Malek-Ashtar Sharifi
Office of the Head of the Judiciary in Tabriz
East Azerbaijan, Iran

Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Iran
Email: via website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter (English)
http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=letter (Persian)

Secretary General, High Council for Human Rights
Mohammad Javad Larijani
Howzeh Riassat-e Ghoveh Ghazaiyeh
Pasteur St, Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhuri
Tehran 1316814737, Iran
Fax: +98 21 3390 4986
Email: bia.judi@yahoo.com

3. Please urgently donate to the Save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani campaign by making your cheque payable to ‘Count Me In – Iran’ and sending it to BM Box 6754, London WC1N 3XX, UK. You can also pay via Paypal (http://countmein-iran.com/donate.html).

For more information, contact:

Mina Ahadi, International Committee against Execution and International Committee against Stoning: minaahadi@aol.com; Tel: +49 (0) 1775692413, http://stopstonningnow.com, http://notonemoreexecution.org

Maryam Namazie, Iran Solidarity, iransolidaritynow@gmail.com, +44 7719166731, www.iransolidarity.org.uk, iransolidarity.blogspot.com

AN APPEAL FOR JUSTICE

When 23 year old Mark Corely went missing his family hoped that he would turn up but five months later his body was found in a snow covered field miles away from home. He had been shot in the head.

His family was devastated but when five people were arrested for his murder, they thought at least that justice would be done. Seeing the scum go down for taking a life so treasured would at least give Mark's mum and dad some peace.

But this is Britain and justice is a word that doesn't mean what it says. Police incompetence meant that Mark's murderers walked away free after it came out out during the trial in 2002 that police illegally bugged private consultations between the solicitors and the accused.

Mark's dad Tony Corley said : "The judge halted the trial saying the police had committed flagrant breaches of the law but the detectives on the case were not charged - just disciplined for their wrong doing.

"Meanwhile, the five defendants were freed under the Human Rights act and as a result, no one has been convicted for Mark's murder."

If this happened to me, I think I'd want revenge. If the law wouldn't help me get justice for my son, then I'd be damn sure to try and get it for myself. Tony, however, has channelled that anger and frustration into something that can help other parents like him.

He has set up a support group for parents who received no justice after a son or daughter was murdered called StandTogether One of the members is the father of a son who was chased into the path of a lorry by thugs who then got less than six months jail time.

For all the crap we constantly hear about how life is so precious in this country we have to pour billions of tax payer's money in helping us all live longer and more healthily, but when push comes to shove, life in the UK doesn't matter at all. Mark Corley is proof.

Tony says that all the police officers involved in "investigating" (I use the word loosely) his son's murder have since either retired or moved on. It appears no one is willing to reinvestigate this murder - bearing in mind the change of law on double jeopardy, you would think that Lincolnshire Police might at least try and bring some peace to this troubled family that they let down so badly.

They owe it to the Corleys to look at this matter again but money is still worth more than life and justice in the UK and the cost of reinvestigating this case would probably be too much.

Meanwhile, Tony is doing all he can to help other parents in this situation but he needs help. He is asking for donations and fund-raising ideas for the new group he only founded this year.

He has also written a book about his experiences called More Questions Than Answers and you find details about it HERE

Anything you can do to help, support, or just spread the word about this injustice and Tony's group, would help to bring peace to a troubled family that Britain has let down so very badly.