Hamid Shemshad was not deported, thanks to your efforts

Thank you for all your effort in defending Hamid Shemshad.

Peter Edelmann, Hamid's lawyer informed me that "removal section" of the Immigration office has advised him that they are not going to deport Hamid on Sunday, September 7th as it was set. They are holding it until the Immigration Canada look into his case. They also suggested that we do not make "too much noise in the media", which we already have done.

So I would like to share this little success with you and invite you to remain alert and keep the pressure on the Immigration Canada and the minister.

In solidarity,
Abbas Mohammadi

TV International

In this week's TV International English, Thursday 5 September 2008

What is the difference between Islam/political Islam and Muslims? Reza Moradi responds to that and other questions on his film, Fitna Remade. Can one oppose political Islam and US Militarism at the same time? Patty Debonitas responds on the Third Camp. Maryam Namazie also gives an update on the fight back against the Islamic regime of Iran’s misogynist Family Protection Bill, The pending execution of Farzad Kamangar in Iran and the imminent deportation of Hamid Shemshad from Canada.

To view it, click here.

The only difference is this piece of paper

France's undocumented immigrants live in constant fear of deportation because they do not have the correct papers.

French photographer, Fabien Breuvart, has put together a series of images of anonymous 'sans-papiers', posing with sympathetic French citizens displaying their ID, in a powerful display of solidarity.

The point of the photos is of course that the only difference between the two people photographed is merely a piece of paper.

You can see more photos and information in the Guardian, here.

In commemoration of our most beloved

Every year relatives and friends of those executed during the Islamic regime of Iran's mass executions of the summer of 1988 come together in Khavaran cemetery in the southeastern part of Tehran to commemorate their beloved. To us Khavaran is called the "Flower Garden," but to the regime, which has dumped the bodies of thousands of Marxists, leftists, "anti-revolutionaries" and "non-believers," it is the 'place of the damned.' Thousands were executed and dumped in mass graves after a brief informal questioning by three men who became known as the 'Death Commission.'

On August 29, the 20 anniversary of the slaughter, the Islamic regime of Iran's security forces blocked access to Khavaran, attacked the crowd, injuring some and arresting others. Nonetheless, the crowd filled Khavaran road leading to the cemetery with flowers and went on to commemorate their loved ones in Section 33 of Beheshte Zahra cemetery where those executed by the monarchy have been buried.

Khavaran is a reminder of the crimes against humanity of the Islamic regime as well as the resolve of the people of Iran in getting rid of this regime.

Save Hamid Shemshad from Deportation to Iran

International Federation of Iranian Refugees ( IFIR)
Urgent Action

Hamid Shemshad is scheduled to be deported to Iran next Sunday, September 7 by Canadian immigration. He is a well-known political activist and a member of an Iranian political and opposition party. His life will be in danger if he is returned. His deportation must be cancelled and he must be recognised as a refugee by Canadian Immigration.

The International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) calls on concerned individuals and organizations to intervene and put pressure on the Canadian government to cancel his deportation immediately and grant him protection.

IFIR also calls upon all refugees and asylum seekers, progressive political parties, trades unions and civil rights organizations to lend their support.

His supporters have set up a website for people to sign a peition in his defence. You can also send protest letters to the minister of citizenship and immigration in support of Hamid (a sample can be found below) with copies to IFIR and his lawyer.

SAMPLE LETTER

Honorable Diane Finley
Minister of Immigration and citizenship
Ottawa, Ontario
Tel: (613) 996-4974
Fax: (613)996-9749
E-mail

To the Honorable Diane Finley

I am / My Organization is / writing to express our strongest concern over the fate of Hamid Shemshad, an Iranian asylum seeker in Canada.

He is in danger of deportation to Iran from Canada where he will face persecution as a political opponent of the Islamic regime in Iran.

I / My Organization urge(s) the Canadian government to immediately cancel his deportation order. I also urge the Canadian government to grant him refugee recognition.

I am / We are awaiting your immediate intervention in this life-threatening situation.

Needless to say, the Canadian government will be held accountable for his life and freedom.

Signed
Name
Organization

CC:

International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR)
Tel: (+ 1 604) 727 8986
E-mail
website

Please make sure a copy of your letter is forwarded to his lawyer, Peter Edelmann.

The execution of two juveniles in one week in Iran

Remember 26 August as the day the Islamic regime of Iran shamelessly executed 18 year old Behnam Zare in Shiraz prison. Zare's family and his lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, only learned of Zare's execution after the fact. Zare's family and lawyer had been trying to reach a settlement with the victim's family at the time of the execution.

Here is Behnam's last message to people everywhere.

It is the execution of the sixth juvenile offender this year and 26th since 2005. They killed Reza Hajazi on August 19 in Isfahan.

According to Human Rights Watch, child executions are on the rise in Iran. There are more than 130 other prisoners facing death for crimes committed while children.

For more information on what you can do to stop this outrage, visit the campaign to stop child executions and the International Committee against Executions.

Towards an International Day of Protest against Farzad Kamangar's Death Sentence!

Dear friends,

Farzad Kamangar is a young teacher and human rights activist who has been arrested and sentenced to death in Iran. Many organizations have so far protested this sentence, among which Education International has called on one and all to do the same in order to save Farzad's life.

We are on the threshold of International Teacher's Day, October the 5th. It is a day of paying respect to the teachers across the world who teach our children science and friendship. It is therefore an appropriate opportunity to organize a global protest against the death sentence given to Farzad Kamangar by the regime in Iran.

We request that you declare this International Teacher's Day an international day of protest against the death sentence for Farzad Kamangar and all others sitting on death row in Iran. Please ask all institutions within your own organization, as well as all human rights organizations, to organize, among others forms of pressuring the Iranian regime, protest actions in front of the embassies of Islamic Republic of Iran, demanding Farzad Kamangar's sentence to be overturned.

During the past two years we have had international days of solidarity with the workers in Iran, in the form of demonstrations in front of Islamic Republic's embassies in many countries, and protest letters flooding the offices of the regime's authorities. It is now absolutely vital that we initiate a global movement against the executions and execution sentences in Iran, in general, and Farzad Kamangar's sentence, in particular. Let the Islamist regime see for itself that the world public opinion is against such premeditated murders and will come to the rescue of those awaiting their deaths in its dungeons. Let Farzad Kamangar's mother who has appealed to the people of the world for her son's life see for herself that many a good heart beats for her son's freedom, and that they will be linked in action on October the 5th to cry out loud the demand for his death sentence to be overturned.

Long live international solidarity of civilized humanity to save Farzad Kamangar's life!

Best regards,

Mina Ahadi
Spokesperson – International Committee against Execution
Tel: + 49 -1775692413

Shahla Daneshfar
Coordinator – Committee for Struggle to Free Political Prisoners
Tel: + 44 777 9898968


Aug. 22, 2008

The veil, and Iran's family protection bill

To see the August 21 programme where Maryam Namazie discusses the veil - whether it is to be respected or opposed as a tool for restricting women and interviews Bahram Soroush on the Islamic regime of Iran’s misogynist ‘Family Protection Bill,’ click here.

There will be no programme next week.

4 workers to be flogged and sexual apartheid - a crime against humanity

In the August 13 programme of TV International, Maryam Namazie talks to Bahram Soroush about the flogging sentences of four workers - 2 men and 2 women - for the ‘crime’ of celebrating May Day. Get the latest update on the case and find out what you can do to stop the Islamic regime of Iran from carrying out the brutal sentences. You can also hear Maryam’s open letter against sexual apartheid and the need to disgrace and relegate it to the dustbins of history like racial apartheid.

To see this week's programme, click here.

TV International English start again

I have started doing my weekly TV programmes again. To see the latest one on our new site thanks to the efforts of Reza Moradi, click here.

In the 7 August 2008 Programme I interview Nazanin Afshin-Jam on the campaign to stop child executions, Bahram Soroush on the US-Iran crisis and Issam Shukri on his recent visit to Iraq.