Summary of Iran Stories in Today's BroadcastsBehnam NateghiFriday, August 01, 2003
US Denies Talking to Iran on Exchange Al Qaeda and MKO Detainees
• The US on Thursday denied a report that it was in talks with Iran on a possible exchange of senior al Qaeda members for US-held members of the anti-regime terror group Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO). The US has "communicated to Iran the importance of turning over senior members of al Qaeda," a senior Bush administration official said. “No quid pro quo, no negotiations, no exchange.” (Ardavan Niknam)
• Iran holds, among others, Mussa'ab al-Zarqawi, a specialist in chemical and biological terrorism, Saad Bin Laden, Osama's son, and al Qaeda spokesman Suleiman Abu Ghaith, according to US officials. Patrick Clawson, director of strategic studies in the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, tells Radio Farda that Iran's proposal to swap al Qaeda prisoners for US-detained MKO members may appear interesting. However, since the US is a signatory of the UN anti-torture treaty, it is unlikely for the US to hand over MKO members to a country that has a long record of torture. (Bijan Farhoodi)
Reporter Calls on Khatami to Probe Torture of Fellow Tabrizi Journalist
• In a letter to President Mohammad Khatami, Tabriz-based journalist Payman Pakmehr asked him to investigate the recent arrest and torture of independent Tabriz journalist Ensafali Hedayat, a frequent interviewee on Radio Farda, who was arrested in the wake of the recent pro-democracy protests in Iran. In an earlier letter to Mr. Khatami, Hedayat reported being severely beaten and threatened to death by police and plain-clothes security officials while in his 28-day custody. Pakmehr himself was arrested and beaten after giving a report to Radio Farda about a gathering of people in praise of an ancient Iranian anti-Islam figure near Tabriz. (Bahman Bastani)
Regime Closes Islamic Student Councils
• The Islamic government began closing Islamic student councils in universities, making further activities of their members illegal. In an open letter, the Islamic student council of the Sahand University in Tabriz, which has recently been closed by the judiciary, termed the move “an effort by the conservatives to impose a graveyard-like silence on the universities”. (Bahman Bastani)
Journalists Back Reformist MP’s Attack on Hard-line Prosecutor
• In an open letter, a number of journalist expressed support for reformist MP Mohsen Armin’s recent call for the ousting of Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi. Faramarz Qarabaghi, who has signed the open letter, tells Radio Farda that Judge Mortazavi is a key figure in the ever-increasing pressure on journalists. “Mr. Armin for the first time explicitly pointed Mortazavi and other judiciary elements who suppress freedom of expression,” Qarabaghi said. (Kayvan Hosseini)
Iranians in Toronto Call for Investigation of Kazemi’s Death
• Toronto-based Center for Thought, Dialogue and Human Rights in Iran held a gathering on Thursday to protest the death of Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in custody of head injuries she suffered during interrogation. The Center asked the Canadian government to press Iran for further investigation. (Maryam Aqvami, Toronto)
Canada Plans to Sponsor UN Resolution to Condemn Iran’s Human Rights Vilations
• Zahara Kazemi's death has spoiled Iran's innocuously good relations with Canada. In private, the Canadians talk about sponsoring a UN resolution to condemn Iran's human-rights record, something that Iranians, of all stripes, are keen to prevent, writes London weekly the Economist.
MESA Asks for Release of Students
• In a letter to the Supreme Leader, the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) condemned attacks on and mass arrests of university students in Iran. MESA called on the Supreme Leader to ensure that that the imprisoned students and political activists are released immediately, and that all those guilty of violent attacks on student be identified and punished according to law. MESA accused the Supreme Leader of direct involvement in suppression of dissent. (Golnaz Esfandiari)
Two Men Sentenced to Death for Murder of 9 Women
• A court in central town Arak sentenced to death two young men for murdering nine women in one year. Police said the convicts’ motive was robbery, but the coroner reported that the victims had been raped. (Kayvan Hosseini)
International Human Rights Advocates Condemn Arrests of Students, Journalists
• In two separate statements published on Thursday, Amnesty International expressed concern over the imprisoned students, as well as members of the religious-nationalist coalition activists. Meanwhile, the Paris-based Reporters Sans Borders voiced concern about the imprisonment of 21 journalists in very harsh conditions in Iran, calling the Islamic Republic “the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East”. (Golnaz Esfandiari)
• Reporters Sans Frontiers issued a statement expressing concern about the arrest of two Iranian government employees by coalition forces in southern Iraq for security violations on July 2. Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said on Tuesday that the two were “documentary filmmakers,” who worked for the state radio-TV monopoly. A coalition forces spokesman said in Baghdad Wednesday that the activities of Said Abutaleb and Soheil Karimi did not match their claim. (Siavash Ardalan)
US Should Punish Countries that Deal with Iran, Says Economist
• The Economist weekly said in a commentary that the United States, which already stops its own companies from doing business with Iran, could choose to punish other countries that put money into Iranian oil or gas. (Shahran Tabari, London)
Russia Sells Non-Alcoholic Beer to Iran
• With the approval of the Tehran municipal government, Russia's Baltika brewery this week sent its first shipment to Iran -- 30,000 liters of non-alcoholic version of Baltika, Russia's most popular beer. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow)
Roundtable: Bill to Join International Convention to Eliminate Discrimination against Women
• Shahla Ezazi, sociologist in Tehran, Ahmad Montazeri, son of dissident cleric Ayatollah Montazeri in Qom, and Mahnaz Afkhami, president of International Organization for Education and Cooperation of Women, in Washington D.C., discuss the ratification by Iran's parliament of the government bill to join the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Supreme Leader and three grand ayatollahs termed the bill anti-Islamic. (Mahmonir Rahimi)
This Week in Iran
• Paris-based political commentator and former Majles MP Ahmad Salamatian; Paris-based education commentator Saeed Payvandi, discuss the mounting diplomatic pressure on Iran following the death in custody of Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi. (Fereydoon Zarnegar)
First Female Police Squad in Tehran to Control Dress Code
• For the first time after the 1979 revolution, female police officers patrol Tehran streets, warning women and girls to observe the Islamic dress code (hijab). Zahra, a 19-year-old Tehrani woman, tells Radio Farda that despite initial announcement that female officers would wear police uniforms, all female police officers wear chadors, the Islamic black veil. She adds that three women officers confiscated her friends' car, because of their dress. They had to pay a fine and wait a week before getting their car back. She adds that guards forbid women with light color veils and tight overcoats from entering restaurants and shops. (Farin Asemi)
Rafsanjani says Iran is not after WMD
• Iran does not seek to develop weapons of mass destruction, but it will not bow to pressures either, former president Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on in Tehran's official Friday prayer ceremony. (Siavash Ardalan)وزارت امورخارجه آمريکا بارديگراعلام داشت که برخي عناصر حکومت ايران به افراد ارشد القاعده کمک کرده اند.
بيژن فرهودي (راديو فردا): از ريچارد باوچرسخنگوي وزارت امورخارجه آمريکا سئوال شد ايران علنا گفته است عده اي ازاعضاي ارشد وعادي شبکه القاعده را دربازداشت دارد. آيا آمريکا معتقد است علاوه براين عده که دربازداشت هستند، شماري ازاعضاي القاعده نيز وجود دارند که زنداني نيستند ومقامات ايراني به آن ها اجازه فعاليت داده اند؟
آقاي باوچر درپاسخ گفت: نخست آن که هنوزاعلام نشده است اين افراد به چه نحوي بازداشت هستند. آيا درخانه تحت بازداشت هستند يا دستبند به آن ها زده شده است ويا واقعا در زندان هستند. من تصورمي کنم که پيشترنسبت به حضور اعضاي القاعده درايران ابرازنگراني کرده بوديم. ما معتقديم برخي ازعوامل درون رژيم ايران به تروريست هاي القاعده کمک کرده اند که ازايران عبورکنند ويا پناهگاه امن درداخل ايران براي آن ها فراهم آورده اند. ما معتقديم تروريست هاي ارشد القاعده درايران نقشي دربمب گذاري هاي دوازدهم ماه مه در رياض داشته اند. اين ها اطلاعاتي است که ما ازپيش داشته ايم.
سخنگوي وزارت امورخارجه آمريکا درادامه گفت: ايران اخيرا گفته است که عده اي ازافراد، ازجمله رهبران ارشد القاعده را دراختياردارد ومي گويد اين عده دربازداشت هستند. اما من تصورنمي کنم ايران گفته باشد که اين افراد چه کساني هستند و درکجا به سرمي برند وچگونه بازداشت
شده اند وچه تصميمي مي خواهند درباره آن ها اتخاذ کنند. ايران بايد طبق قطعنامه هاي سازمان ملل متحد رفتارکند. ايران بايد با کشورهائي که درباره جرايمي نظير بمب گذاري در رياض تحقيق مي کنند همکاري کند و پناهگاه امن دراختياراين قبيل افراد قرار ندهد.
آقاي باوچر درپاسخ به سئوال ديگري در رابطه با ايرانياني که به اعضاي القاعده کمک کرده اند، اظهارداشت همان طورکه گفتم اين ها عواملي درداخل رژيم ايران هستند.
ازآقاي باوچر سئوال شد آيا مقامات آمريکا تاکنون درباره اين مشکل با مقامات ايراني صحبت کرده اند؟
سخنگوي وزارت امورخارجه آمريکا گفت من دراين مورد نمي توانم وارد هيچ گونه جزئياتي شوم. شما خود مي دانيد پيشتر گفتگوهائي درباره القاعده ومسائل مربوط به تروريسم با ايرانيان به عمل آمده است.
مجددا به آقاي باوچر گفته شد اما آيا به طورمشخص درباره اين افراد با ايران صحبت شده است يا نه؟
سخنگوي وزارت امورخارجه آمريکا پاسخ داد: من نمي دانم منظورتان افرادي است که ما معتقديم درايران هستند و يا افرادي که ايران به حضورآن ها دراين کشوراذعان کرده است؟ کساني را که ايران اذعان کرده است دربازداشت دارد، من نمي دانم چه کساني هستند وبنابراين نمي توانم به شما بگويم اين زندانيان چه کساني ممکن است باشند. آقاي باوچرگفت ما موضع خود را از راه هاي مختلف ازجمله همين اظهارات که هم اکنون به عمل مي آورم به اطلاع مقامات ايراني رسانده ايم.
ازسخنگوي وزارت امورخارجه آمريکا درباره اين گزارش ها سئوال شد که آمريکا احتمالا با ايران براي تحويل گرفتن برخي چهره هاي القاعده که درايران هستند مذاکراتي انجام داده است.
آقاي باوچرگفت: من فقط اين را مي توانم بگويم که ايران ازموضع ما درمورد اين که نبايد هيچ گونه پناهگاهي دراختيارتروريست ها ورهبران القاعده قراردهد، خيلي خوب اطلاع دارد. وزارت امورخارجه آمريکااعلام كرد که برخي عناصر حکومت ايران به افراد ارشد القاعده کمک کرده اند. ريچارد باوچر سخنگوي وزارت امور خارجه آمريکادر پاسخ به چگونگي زنداني بودن اعضاي القاعده گفت هنوزاعلام نشده است اين افراد به چه نحوي بازداشت هستند. آيا درخانه تحت بازداشت هستند يا دستبند به آن ها زده شده است ويا واقعا در زندان هستند. ما قبلا هم نسبت به حضور اعضاي القاعده درايران ابرازنگراني کرده بوديم و معتقديم برخي ازعوامل درون رژيم ايران به تروريست هاي القاعده کمک کرده اند و معتقديم آنها دربمب گذاري هاي دوازدهم ماه مه در رياض نقش داشتند. وي افزود: من فكر نمي کنم ايران نام اين افراد، محل بازداشت يا چگونگي بازداشت آنهارا را اعلام كرده باشد. ايران بايد طبق قطعنامه هاي سازمان ملل متحد رفتارکند. آقاي باوچر در پاسخ به اينكه آيا آمريكا با جمهوري اسلامي در اين زمينه تماس گرفته است، گفت من دراين مورد نمي توانم وارد هيچ گونه جزئياتي شوم. پيش تر، گفتگوهائي درباره القاعده ومسائل مربوط به تروريسم با ايرانيان به عمل آمده بود و ايران ازموضع ما درمورد اين که نبايد هيچ گونه پناهگاهي دراختيارتروريست ها ورهبران القاعده قراردهد، خيلي خوب اطلاع دارد.
