May 14
IRAN:
Parents of American 'Spy' Held by Iran Issue Tearful Plea
For the 1st time the parents of an American who could face the death penalty in
Iran for alleged espionage have gone before a camera in stirring video to speak
about their young son and the suffering they've endured since the arrest of the
"typical American boy."
"Everywhere I go I see him. His face is in front of me everywhere," Behnaz
Hekmati, mother of arrested Amir Hekmati, says as tears stream down her face in
the new video posted on FreeAmir.org. "I miss him so much. I miss him so much…
[But] I keep myself strong because I know my boy needs me. I need to help him."
Amir Hekmati, an Arizona-born ex-U.S. Marine, was arrested in August 2011 while
his family said he was on his 1st trip ever to Iran to see his grandmother.
Iran accused Amir of being a spy, and in December an Iranian television station
broadcast a "confession" from the 28-year-old in which he says he was sent into
Iran by the CIA to become a double agent hidden inside Iranian intelligence.
A day after the broadcast, Amir's father, Ali, told ABC News in an exclusive
interview that the Iranian claims were "lies."
"My son is no spy. He is innocent. He's a good fellow, a good citizen, a good
man," the elder Hekmati said then. "These are all unfounded allegations and a
bunch of lies."
The next month, an Iranian court found Amir guilty and sentenced him to death.
However, Iranian media reported in March that the death sentence had been
annulled and Amir would be retried.
In the new video, neither Amir's father nor mother mention Iran or the
allegations against their son, but talk about Amir when he was a charming boy
and describe the effect his arrest has had on the family.
"I am in very bad shape. I am just deteriorating every day. Every day I get
worse and worse," Hekmati's mother says. "I try to be strong because maybe it's
only me and his family... we are his voice. He doesn't have a voice."
Hekmati's father says he thinks about his son "all the time" and says he
sometimes prays to dream about him, if only to see his face.
"Maybe I will share a dream of him," Ali Hekmati says. "I sure miss him."
(source: ABC News)
***********
Malekpour Family Allowed Visit After 3 Months
The family of Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian-Canadian who was sentenced to death
in January 2012, was finally allowed to see him after three months of not being
able to visit him. His sister, Maryam Malekpour, told the International
Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that Saeed’s interrogators have prevented him
from seeing his family.
“During these 3 months, authorities never answered any of our requests or
questions, and the numerous letters I wrote were left unanswered. Only some
reliable sources whose names I cannot reveal said that Saeed’s interrogators do
not authorize visits for him. Even when the case judge issued a permit for
visitations for Saeed, we were not allowed to see him. We guess that because
they took Saeed in front of a television camera 3 times in order for him to
make confessions and to show that he was remorseful and each time Saeed refused
to give a confession, perhaps they did not allow him to have visitors to punish
him,” said Maryam Malekpour.
36-year-old Saeed Malekpour, a web developer and resident of Canada, has been
sentenced to death on the charge of “insulting Islamic sanctities,” for alleged
“management of pornographic websites.” Malekpour’s family has maintained that
he simply developed image-sharing software that was used, without his
knowledge, to post pornographic photos.
Maryam Malekpour told the Campaign that authorities have not given her brother
clear information about his upcoming execution: ” … [W]e were able to see Saeed
2 weeks ago. Saeed’s morale was good. They had not informed him of the
confirmation of his death sentence, so we didn’t tell him anything either, lest
the news upsets him. His death sentence remains in the Judiciary’s Sentence
Enforcement Unit. Neither he nor his lawyers have been served the confirmation,
but we are really fearful that his death sentence may be carried out suddenly.”
“I heard a while back through Saeed’s cellmates that he has developed kidney
stones and is in a lot of pain. His cellmates had also asked the prison guards
several times to take him to a doctor, but they only transferred him to the
prison infirmary. When I heard this I spoke with a specialist and got him his
medicine and sent it to him,” added Maryam Malekpour, explaining that since he
has begun taking the medicine, his condition has improved.
Security forces arrested Canadian resident Saeed Malekpour, 36, when he
returned to Iran in 2008 to visit his ailing father. He appeared on Iranian
state TV in 2009 and confessed to charges raised against him. In October 2010
he was sentenced to death on charges of “insulting Islamic sanctities” for
alleged “management of pornographic websites.” The Supreme Court overturned the
sentence in November 2011 because of deficiencies in investigations and
insufficient evidence, and forwarded his case to the Revolutionary Court. Even
so, the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence on 30 January 2012.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
*****************
Iranian Rapper Faces Calls For His Execution Over 'Insulting' Song
Iranian rapper Shahin Najafi’s new song, "Naghi," contains the perfect
ingredients for controversy.
The lyrics include joking references to Naghi, the 10th imam of the Shi’ites; a
penis; Viagra; and the breasts of an Iranian actress.
The image that accompanies the song on YouTube depicts the dome of what appears
to be a religious shrine as a female breast, with a rainbow flag -- the symbol
of the gay community -- flying over it:
Naghi, I swear on your sense of humor
On this exile that is far from [you]
On the great organ of life
That sits behind us in a threatening mode
Naghi, I invoke you on the length and width of sanctions
On the rising value of the dollar and the feeling of humiliation
Naghi, I swear on the cardboard imam
On the baby who was saying “Ali!” while stuck in his mother’s womb
The song has been condemned by some inside Iran as disrespectful and insulting
to Imam Naghi, while others have praised it for breaking religious taboos.
Najafi, who moved to Germany in 2005, told RFE/RL that his aim was not to
insult religious sanctities.
“I had done something similar in the past. I have another song titled 'Mahdi'
[and] there hasn’t been any such reaction to it," Najafi says. "Also, I thought
many would like the song. It’s satirical. When I [create] something, I never
think about its consequences.”
The consequences this time include a $100,000 bounty on his head and calls for
his execution. The hard-line website Shia-online is offering the reward and
says the sum will be paid by an unnamed Arab country in the Persian Gulf.
Call To Violence
The hard-line semi-official Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), claimed earlier this week that senior
Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani had issued a fatwa against Najafi and declared him
an apostate. The punishment for apostasy in Iran is death.
The ayatollah issued a written statement in response to a question about the
song. Without naming names, he said, “If they have insulted the imam, they are
apostates.”
Whatever is not in praise and approval of the political and religious system is
dismissed and declared as apostasy----Rapper Shahin Najafi
Najafi says that’s a call to violence. He says he has had to take measures to
ensure his safety.
“When you issue a death sentence for someone – even under the assumption that
that person has insulted [religious sanctities -- that’s [spreading] violence,
and it’s unacceptable,” Najafi says.
The song touches on social problems in Iran, mentioning "prayers rugs made in
China," "fossilized opposition in the diaspora," and the reported "3 % of
Iran's population that reads books." But it also mentions sensitive religious
issues, including the return of the Hidden Imam.
In the song, Najafi calls on Naghi to appear and redeem the world instead of
Imam Mahdi or the Hidden Imam, who Shi’ites believe will reappear and bring
justice to the world.
O Naghi, now that the Hidden Imam is asleep, we call upon you, O Naghi
Appear, for we are ready in our burial shrouds, O Naghi , O Naghi, O Naghi, O
Naghi.
It’s not just religious hard-liners who are offended. Some members of the
Iranian opposition believe Najafi has crossed a line.
“It is our right for our beliefs and sanctities not to be insulted,” a
reformist activist based in Tehran wrote on Facebook.
No Regrets
Religious Iranians consider their imams to be saints. For Najafi, who is an
atheist, Naghi is merely a "historical figure.”
Najafi says the definition of what constitutes an insult should be reviewed.
“This is the problem of those who have dogmatic and ideological views on
issues," he says. "That is why in Iran’s history, art has not been accepted as
it should be. Whatever is not in praise and approval of the political and
religious system is dismissed and declared as apostasy.”
Despite the threats, Najafi says has no regrets, however.
“If I regretted what I did for a second," he says, "I would say farewell to
music."
(source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
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