My Newz 'n Ideas

It is my intent to express my opinion and to discuss current events. Feel free to make suggestions to fields you would like to see covered, and I will consider them. Please leave your name with comments. Thank you. Arabic: عربي.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Two Iranian pro-democracy protestors jailed

Many things have been happening in Iran of which our presses do not believe it is worth the ink to inform us about. This is NOT the case with me.

There are many people sitting in prison today for the "crime" of:
The political prisoners said they were defending the right to speak”, “the right to write freely”, “the right to belief”, and “the unconditional release of all political prisoners.
What has brought this about? Two family members of a political prisoner were protesting peacably when they were arrested. This was the second time they've been arrested for this.
The pair, a woman by the name of Maryam Arayi and a man by the name of Mehdi Farhi-Shandiz, were originally arrested along with other relatives of political prisoners who held a vigil in front of Evin Prison on June 14 and June 15.

At least 10 people were arrested on June 14 and at least two dozen men and women were arrested the following day by Iran’s paramilitary police.

The protests were in support of political prisoners presently on hunger strike inside Evin.
The prison they are being detained in is Evin Prison. It was originally built to house dissidents, but it has turned into a dreaded, new "gulag." (their word)

The differences between this prison and Gitmo? Gitmo is NOT a gulag, number one. This place is. People here are severely tortured, and there are several executions. Many without so much as a mock trial. Don't get me started on the differences. Unless you have lived like these people have, and granted I have not, it is hard to imagine it.

The political prisoners had called for a boycott of the sham election, and also this coming election. They also called for a month long hunger strike starting June 10, 2005. Most Iranians support the protesters.
And the world is silent.
Need I say more? YES! We all should! There are many human rights violations happening in Iran. The government is also building nuclear bombs, in case you forgot. We must make them listen. Here are their numbers:
Congress and Senate: 1-877-762-8762
President Bush: 1-202-456-1111
Have a good day.