PenLog English

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) condemns the execution sentence for Mr. Yaghub Mehrnahad, a fellow Baluchi blogwriter

2008-02-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

Last week the Iranian judiciary system sentenced Mr. Yaghub Mehrnahad, the writer of “Mehrnahad” blog (http://mehrnehad.blogfa.com) to death. Mr. Mehrnahad’s trial happened after 10 months of incarceration and in the absence of his lawyer, his family and without a jury.

Mr. Mehrnahad is the head of “Voice of Justice” youth association, which promotes concerts and other legal activities allowed by Iranian law . He was arrested with no given reason after participating in a question and answer meeting, where the governor of Zahedan was also present. His family and his lawyer were able to meet him after 5 months and observed signs of sever torture. He had lost about 15 kilograms and could not maintain his balance.

Execution order for Mr. Mehrnahad that sets precedence for execution of blogwriters for expressing their views. In Iran, any different view is confronted with inhumane sentences such as flogging, mutilation of legs and arms and execution for false reasons such as “ acting against the national security”, “ relations with foreigners and opposition groups”.

The Association of Iranian Blog Writers (Penlog) asks for an immediate stop to the execution order for Mr. Mehrnahad. Penlog urges the human rights organizations not to remain silent against this new wave of oppression of blogwriters and activists in Iran and try to stop the execution of Mr. Mehrnahad in any possible way.

The Association of Iranian Blog Writers (Penlog)

(PENLOG) pleades with all human rights organizations and in particular the United Nations Commissioner for the refugees to take actions

2007-04-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

The Iranian weblog-writers association (PENLOG) pleades with all human rights organizations and in particular the United Nations Commissioner for the refugees to take actions to ensure the safety of Kyanoush Sanjari, the Iranian political activist, weblog writer and a member of PENLOG who was forced to illegally escape Iran for the fear of further persecution and re-imprisonment.
Kyanoush is reported to be in hiding in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and is in a very poor condition.
PENLOG is concerned that due to the Islamic regime's agents' infiltration of Iraqi regions, there is a real threat to Kyanoush's life or an attempt to force him to return to Iran for further torturous interrogations by the Islamic regime prison authorities.PENLOG therefore, pleads with all human rights organisations and institutions tp help secure Kyanoush's safety and his asylum seeking.
The Iranian weblog-writers association - PENLOG

Dear Sir/Madame

2007-03-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

The Association of Iranian Blog writers (Penlog) has learnt that Ms, Simin Khalatbari Azad whose Blog is at http://azad-s.blogspot.com/, an Iranian asylum seeker and a Penlog member, is on the verge of being extradited to Iran where, upon her arrival, she will most certainly be arrested by the Iranian authorities and her life will be in grave danger. Ms Simin Khalatbari Azad is a blog-writer who is widely known within the blogsphere for having been a political prisoner in Iran and by her pictures which are available on the Internet. A great number of blog-writers who live in Iran have been arrested and prosecuted. Some of the famous cases include Mohamad Reza Nasab-Abdullahi, Mojtaba Samiee, Kianoush Sanjari and Arash Sigarchi. These people lived in Iran and the regime could trace their identities. The fact that Ms Simin Khalatbari Azad is known by her real name and has been in contact with the opposition further increases the risk to her life. According to the Geneva Convention of 1951 and the non-refoulement article of the international asylum seekers act, passed in 1951 and its protocol, the Belgium government has agreed to protect asylum seekers who are at risk of persecution, by refraining from extraditing them back to the countries they escaped from. We urge the Belgium authorities to observe the International asylum seekers conventions and protect Ms Khalatbari Azad and her child, who will most certainly be arrested upon arrival if they are returned to Iran.

Sincerely Yours
Association of Iranian Blog writers (Penlog)

The Association of Iranian Blog-writers (Penlog) celebrates the International Women's Day on 8th March

2007-03-07T14:28:00.000-08:00

The Association of Iranian Blog-writers (Penlog) celebrates the International Women's Day on 8th March and supports the women's struggle for equality and their fight against oppression and discrimination, particularly in Iran .
The AIB (Penlog) marks this day and brings to the attention of all human rights organisations and activists the continuous violation ofIranian women's rights and calls for their help to end violenceagainst women and abolition of all gender discrimination laws in Iran .Thirty-three Iranian women activists including Blog-writers ParastooDoKohi and Asieh Amini have been arrested at a peaceful gathering,which was violently attacked by the regime's forces in front of theRevolution Court in Tehran . They had gathered there to protest there-arrest and unfair trial of women activists who had previouslyprotested against the state oppression of women; the discriminatoryand anti-women laws of the Islamic Republic; and violence by theregime's forces.
The violence against women is a global tragedy and the murdering ofthe Pakistani minister for not wearing the Islamic Hijab and the rapesof Iraqi women in Iraqi prisons by the state forces are some examplesof state-sanctioned and sponsored violence against women in the worldtoday.Penlog condemns all violence and discriminations against women anddemands the immediate release of the thirty-three arrested women in Iran .

The Association of Iranian Blog-writers (Penlog)

The Association of Iranian Blog-writers (Penlog) condemns the continuation of Ahmad Batebi's arrest

2007-02-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

The Association of Iranian Blog-writers (Penlog) condemns the continuation of Ahmad Batebi's arrest and demands his immediate release from the care of the prison’s authorities to receive immediate and adequate medical treatment.

According to the latest reports, Ahmad Batebi’s condition has drastically deteriorated because of the torture and mistreatment he has received, whilst in prison, and since his re-arrest several months ago.

He is reported to have suffered a stroke and been in a coma for several hours. According to reports, he is presently at the inadequate and ill-equipped Shohada hospital in North of Tehran. The authorities have so far refused to transfer him to a better hospital for proper and adequate treatment.

Last year two Iranian prisoners of conscience, Akbar Mohamadi and Valiullah Feiz-Mahdavi died as the result of the tortures and mistreatments they received whilst in the care of the Islamic Republic’s prison authorities.

We appeal to the international community, all the human rights organisations and activists to take notice of the plight of the Iranian prisoners of conscience and to take action for the release of Ahmad Batebi.

We appeal to the human rights organisations of the United Nations and the European Union to take further notice of the systematic violation of human rights in Iran. We demand that the continuation of the Islamic Republic’s membership of the United Nation must be on the condition that the Islamic Republic respects all the human rights of the Iranian people according to the United Nation’s International Convention on Human Rights.

The Association of Iranian Blog-writers
Penlog

2006-02-18T22:36:00.000-08:00

Statement of the Association of Iranian Bloggers (Penlog) concerning brutal execution of Hojjat Zamani and start of massacre of political prisoners in Iran

The Association of Iranian Bloggers (Penlog) denounces the brutal execution of Mr. Hojjat Zamani, Political Prisoner, and warns the world about the beginning of another massacre by the Iranian Government. Elham Afrootan, a 20-years old Journalist from Hormozgan Province, who mistakenly had published an article from a blog in a local paper, is in hospital , in coma. In the past two days seven people in Ahvaz and three in Tehran have been sentenced to death. Authorities of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj (Rajayi Shahr) have blatantly warned the prisoners that if the Iran’s case goes to the Security Council, they will be executed one by one.

Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog), according to its charter, defends the right of freedom of expression for all political prisoners including jailed journalists and bloggers and expresses concern over the re-start of execution of political prisoners in Iran.

Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) urges the Human Rights organizations to send delegates to Iran to evaluate the situation Political Prisoners and not let them fall victims to the Iranian government’s vengeance.

We ask the United Nations not to ignore the serious abjure of Human Rights in Iran and to condition Iran’s membership in UN to complete observance of the articles of Universal Human Rights Declaration.

Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog)

2006-02-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) respects the freedom of speech for reporters and blogwriters and condemns the hysterical attacks on the Western Embassies.

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) condemns the attacks in Tehran to the embassies of Western countries such as Norway, Denmark and England to protest publication of the cartoons in a Danish newspaper.

The attackers are none other than the thugs who receive their orders from the same agent provocateurs who have hijacked and ceased power in Iran . Under the protection of the tyrannical Iranian government, they violently and atrociously attack all peaceful protestation gatherings organized by the Iranian teachers, students, workers, nurses and women, in their endeavor for freedom and democracy.

In addition to condemning these atrocious attacks, Penlog condemns the violation of freedom of expression by the fundamentalist Islamic regime of Iran that is using the publication of the cartoons by the Danish paper, some four months after their publication, as a means to distract the mounting international pressure on itself.

The tyrannical government of Iran violates the freedom of expression in Iran by censoring and filtering the Internet and by arresting, flogging, imprisoning and torturing the Iranian blogwriters who simply express their opinions.

We appeal to the international community to mount pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran to respect the freedom of expression, human rights and to unconditionally release all the blogwriters and political prisoners in Iran. We appeal to the United Nations not to undermine the serious abuse of human rights in Iran and precondition Iran's membership in the United Nations to observation of the basic human rights in Iran as stated in the Human Rights Declaration.

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog)

Statement of the Association of Iranian Blogwriters to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), November 16-18, Tunisia

2005-11-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You are probably aware of the severe restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression of opinions, as well as prevention of the free flow of information and news in Iran. As a result of this grim situation, the Internet has become the most important source of information exchange and blogwriting has become the main outlet for self-expression in Iran.

We, the members of the Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog), have started a serious movement towards securing the freedom of speech and free flow of information on the Internet. Our goal is to protect freedom of thought, speech and publishing in all aspects of personal and social life, without any exception. In this aspect, we defend the freedom of speech in the Internet and in particular the “blogs”.

We are writing this statement to inform you of the largest campaign of persecution, arrest, censorship and filtering of the Internet in the world, which is carried on in Iran right now.

Many bloggers, who only published their thoughts in their personal web pages, have been summoned by the Iranian judiciary system, arrested, tortured and are imprisoned at the moment.

Some of the usual methods of the Iranian government to confront the Iranian bloggers include: life threats, summoning for interrogation, flogging and pressuring the imprisoned bloggers to attend televised interviews to express regret or confess to spying for foreign countries, or moral corruption. In some cases the arrested bloggers are charged with “insulting the government officials” or “abandoning Islam” that can lead to harsh punishments and even execution. For example Mojtaba Samii Nejad has been imprisoned for the last two years and has been charged with “insulting prophet Muhammad” and “insulting the Islamic Republic Officials”, as well as “moral corruption”. Four Blogwriters from Qom city were forced under torture to attend T.V. interviews and confess to spying for foreign countries. Ahmad Saraji, another Iranian blogger is now in Tabriz prison on charges of “propaganda against the government”. Saraji received thirty flogs last month as part of his punishment. Mohammad Reza Nasab Abdullahi and his pregnant wife (now released) were among those arrested for blogwriting.

In addition to persecution of the blogwriters, censorship of the blogs and the Internet that was previously carried out randomly has now been contracted for systematic filtering to the “Delta Global” company. Many news websites and personal sites have been censored in Iran as a result.

Iran is now the largest prison for reporters and blogwriters as a result of the repressive policies of the Iranian government. Unfortunately the freedom of speech and human rights in Iran has been overlooked in favor of economic trades and we insist on ending this vicious cycle. We urge the international community to condemn the severe abuse of human rights and freedom of speech in Iran and demand the following from the Iranian government prior to any agreement:

-To end the wave of censorship and filtering of the internet sites and the blogs.
-Observe the items of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which establishes the freedom of speech as a basic human right.
-Uncondictional release of all imprisoned bloggers and cease imprisonment and torturing bloggers.

At the end, we would like to quote the Honorable Mr. Kufi Anan:

“Defending freedom of the Internet is defending the freedom itself.”

Thank you.

Association of the Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog)

November 14, 2005

Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) Honors May.1st the International Workers' Day

2005-05-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

We honor "freedom of speech". The workers are constructors of the tools of speech and regrettably are the least users of those tools to express their problems and matters.

Workers of our country are exploited more, compared to workers in many other countries. They are deprived from their most essential rights such as free and non-governmental trade unions or the right of going on a strike. Struggling to spread and organize "freedom of speech" in it's first step is an effort to provide facilities for workers to speak.

Hoping for the day in which talking about the most elementary rights of workers, would not have harsh consequences; we congratulate all workers and their supporters all over the world on MAY.1st Workers' day.

Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog)

Statement of the Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) to the assembly of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, Geneva

2005-03-14T22:54:00.000-08:00

Honorable members of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, Participants of the 14 March 22 April 2005 Assembly, Geneva.,

The Iranian government is a member of the United Nations and has accepted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as an international obligation. However,the Iranian government vastly abuses this universal declaration. In particular the government in Iran systematically and repeatedly violates article nineteen, which guarantees the freedom of expression and free exchange of ideas, beliefs and information.

After the major shut-down of press, in particular newspapers, the youth, writers and reporters, started to use the only present window, namely writing in internet news-sites and blogs to communicate their ideas. Once again the Iranian government is violating article nineteen, ” Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”, by systematic censorship of Internet sites, as well as persecution, arrest and imprisonment of web-reporters and Blogwriters. Some of the present facts are as follows:

-Ongoing summon and arrest of Blogwriters and reporters critical of the government. The last case was arrest of Blogwriters Mrs. Najme Omid-Parvar and her husband, Mr. Mohamad Reza Nasab-Abdullahi. Mrs. Omid-Parvar is pregnant, which makes her arrest and her conditions more critical.
-Continuous issue of long-term sentences for reporters and Blogwriters. The last case was a fourteen year sentence for Mr. Arash Sigarchi, a young Iranian blogwriter and reporter.
-Accusing the prisoners with false and fabricated charges and forcing admission to counterfeit allegations using torture. The latest case is Mr. Mojtaba Sami Nejad, a young Iranian blogwriter, who now, in his second arrest , has been accused with apostasy. The sentence for apostasy is execution in Iran and many young opponents of the regime have been executed solely on apostasy charge.

News similar to the abovementioned issues is broadcasted daily by national and international press.

Therefore the Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) urges the United Nations to use its only pressure means, the Human Rights Commission, to force the Iranian government to observe article nineteen of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Sincerely
Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog)
http://penlog.blogspot.com

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters (penlog) honors International Women's Day ,8 March.

2005-03-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

Freedom of thought and equal rights for all human beings are among the main articles and are the ultimate goal of the constitution of the Association of Iranian Blogwriters. As the International women’s day, 8 March, approaches, the Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) honors this day and declares full support for women's movements for equal rights.Penlog also fully supports the Women’s day meeting, to be held in Iran on March 8th.

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters demands the stop to all forms of legal and illegal violation of women’s rights and demands legalization and recognition of equal rights for Iranian women. The establishment of Women’s commission in the Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) is a further sign of Penlog’s particular attention to the issues faced by Iranian women.

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) will do all in its power to eliminate all forms of sexual inequity, establishment of freedom and equality for men and women, as long as such discriminations exist.

Happy women’s day to all, especially to women blogwriters.

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog)

Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) protests the arrest of Najme Omid Parvar

2005-03-07T04:17:00.000-08:00

Najme Omid Parvar, writer of the blog ”Tolu-e Azadi” and spouse of Mohamad Reza Abdullahi Nasab , who is also an imprisoned blogwriter, was arrested on February 28, 2005 by Iranian intelligence officers.

We are concerned about well-being of a pregnant Najme Omid Parvar, in light of previous reports on mistreating and torture of arrested blogwriters.

Penlog expresses strong objection and grave concern over arrest of this blogwriter couple. We are also concerned about well-being of all arrested Iranian blogwriters Arash Sigarchi, Mojtaba Sami-e Nejad and Mojtaba Lotfi , who are still in custody.

We urge all freedom lovers and human rights activists to protect and follow up on the situation of arrested Iranian blogwriters.

Statement of the Association of Iranian Blogwriters regarding imprisonment of Iranian Blogwriter, Arash Sigarchi

2005-02-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

Dear fellow blogwriters

While underprivileged people of this country are experiencing disasters repeatedly, either burn in flames or the their roof collapses on them, a young innocent writer is sentenced to fourteen years of imprisonment for mere reason of talking about social injustices in his country.

Should we console the earthquake victims of “Zarand” or comfort the survivors of the “Ark Mosque” fire disaster, or mourn the fortieth day at which all the children in “Lordegan” school burnt to ashes, or protest the strange and unfair sentence of Arash Sigarchi?

We know that we should not expect anything better from a country in which conversing is considered a crime.

Sentencing Mr. Sigarchi, undetermined situation of Mojtaba Smie Nejad and imprisonment of tens of writers and bloggers is the other side of the crisi coin. For a country without critics no better situation could be expected than what is happening in Iran right now.

We strongly protest sentencing Mr. Sigarchi and the undetermined situation of Mojtaba Samie Nejad and will do everything in our power to free them. We will use all our facilities to help those affected by the earthquake in Zarand.

Dear Sir/Madame

2005-02-16T01:26:00.000-08:00

Mr. Mojtaba Sami-e Nejad, a twenty-five years old university student and the writer of the blog "Man na Manam", has been arrested for the second time - only several days after his release from prison. His bail has been set to an impossible US$120,000 (40 years worth of the average salary in Iran).

Mr. Sami-e Nejad has been arrested for the sole reason of expressing his personal pinions in his blog. His arrest is considered unlawful even by the primitive standards of the Iranian judiciary. We demand his immediate and unconditional release and that an inquiry is held so that the judiciary system, the judge and his interrogators are held accountable for this unlawful arrest.

As a result of the totalitarian regime in Iran, details of the arrest have not been released. The lack of information regarding the arrest and confirmation of the wellbeing of Mr Sami-e Nejad raises grave doubts for his safety.

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog) urges the human rights organizations to react to Mr. Sami-e Nejad’s arrest as soon as possible by demanding that the judiciary allows meetings with him and that either he is formally charged with a valid and legitimate crime or that he is released immediately.

We would like to remind the international community that Mr. Arash Sigarchi, writer of the blog "Panjereye Eltehab" is still in prison and no information is released concerning his situation.

The Association of Iranian Blogwriters (Penlog)