Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Nazanin Afshin-Jam’s speech at Geneva Summit

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

SCE “Wall of Shame” rally TODAY 12:00 NOON at UN

PRESS RELEASE 

President Ahmadinejad Will Face “Wall of Shame” at the UN Headquarters via Stop Child Executions

NEW YORK, NY, Sep 11, 2008  –  The President of Iran will have to get past the “Ahmadinejad Wall of Shame” — a visual display and demonstration across the United Nations Headquarters — before entering the opening of the General Assembly.

The rally will run from 12-2pm on September 23rd at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (47th St. & 2nd Ave.) and feature Iranian/American groups each directly challenging Ahmadinejad on the surge in human rights abuses in Iran.
Organizing the event, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, an international human rights activist and former Miss World Canada, will lead off the line up of the “Wall of Shame” by asking: “Ahmadinejad why are you executing children?”
Nazanin’s actions on behalf of the children on death row in Iran began when she was told of a young girl on her namesake that was going to be executed for stabbing one of three men who attempted to rape her. Nazanin was instrumental in saving this girl and since then has been dedicated to saving more lives.
“There has been 6 children hanged this year alone in Iran and over 130 children on death row awaiting execution,” said Nazanin Afshin-Jam, President and co-founder of the Stop Child Executions (SCE) organization.
“While the UN legitimizes Ahmadinejad as the leader of Iran by having the door open to him at the General Assembly, the Iranian people feel betrayed by the false representation. In face of the west’s obsession with Iran’s nuclear development, the voices of the Iranian people have been stifled and human rights abuses have been overshadowed. This ‘Wall of Shame’ demonstration is hoping to give a ‘voice to the voiceless’ and address the concerns of the vast majority of Iranian people who believe in a united, secular, democratic Iran based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and no military intervention on Iran,” said Nazanin.
Groups and individuals participating in the “Wall of Shame” demonstration include those who have faced oppression under the current regime such as women under gender apartheid, students who have been imprisoned and tortured and ethnic and religious minorities who have been persecuted. Focus will also be given to other human rights atrocities in Iran including stoning to death, dismembering of limbs, and throwing people from heights as methods of punishment.
Nazanin states, “The government of Iran cannot on the one hand expect the international community to trust its leaders with nuclear energy while it openly disregards the most basic internationally recognized child rights conventions such as the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Charter of the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which it is state party.”
Stop Child Executions invites all media and the general public to join this demonstration for Human Rights. SCE will release the latest list of minors facing the death penalty, and an 8 part plan of recommendations addressed to Iran’s heads of state, Parliament, Judiciary, United Nations and international community which will also be made available on the http://www.stopchildexecutions.com/ website following the rally.
For Further information or an interview with Nazanin Afshin-Jam please contact Leslie Taylor at Big Machine Media at 212-572-0760 or leslie@bigmachinemedia.com.
Stop Child Executions is the leading organization providing information and updates on the situation of minors on death row in Iran. It is a volunteer based, independent, non-political human rights group whose aim is to put a permanent end to child executions in Iran and abroad. http://www.stopchildexecutions.com/
Contact:

Leslie Taylor

Big Machine Media

212-572-0760

Email Contact
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Friday, September 19, 2008

«ديوار شرم» در انتظار احمدی نژاد

رادیو فردا

مقام های جمهوری اسلامی ایران اعلام کرده اند که محمود احمدی نژاد، رييس جمهوری، قرار است که روز دوم مهر در مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل متحد سخنرانی کند. این سومین بار خواهد که آقای احمدی نژاد در دوران ریاست جمهوری خود به مقر سازمان ملل سفر کرده و در مجمع عمومی سخنرانی خواهد کرد. در همین حال برخی از فعالان مدنی و مخالف با اعدام افرادی که زیر سن ۱۸ سالگی مرتکب جرم شده اند می گویند که در تدارک برگزاری تظاهراتی تحت عنوان «ديوار شرم» عليه محمود احمدی نژاد همزمان با سفر او به نیویورک هستند.

در همين زمینه، نازنین افشین جم، ملکه زيبايی سابق کانادا و فعال حقوق بشر، اعلام کرده است که با «ديوار شرم» در انتظار محمود احمدی نژاد است. وی با انتشار بیانیه ای گفت که «ديوار شرم» برای «دفاع از حقوق پايمال شده کودکان و تمامی ايرانيانی که صدايشان شنيده نمی شود» و در

به گفته نازنين افشار جم، در اقدام اعتراضی «ديوار شرم»، نمايندگانی از زنان ايرانی که مورد تبعيض جنسيتی قرار گرفته اند، دانشجويانی که زندانی و شکنجه شده اند، و نيز نمايندگان اقليت های قومی و مذهبی ايران که مورد سرکوبگری قرار دارند، مشارکت خواهند داشت. «وی گفت که در اين اقدام به «فجايعی که در زمينه حقوق بشر در ايران می گذرد، مانند سنگسار، قطع اعضای بدن، اعدام از طريق پرتاب از بلندی» اعتراض خواهد شد.

اين در حالی است که مجلس شورای اسلامی در روزهای اخير لايحه «مجازات اسلامی» را مورد تصويب قرار داد، که در صورت تصويب شدن از سوی شورای نگهبان، اين گونه مجازات ها را رسميت بيشتری خواهد بخشيد. وی گفت: «درحالی که توجه غرب تنها معطوف به برنامه های هسته ای جمهوری اسلامی است، اساسی ترين حقوق فردی ايرانيان پايمال می شود و صدای مردم ايران سرکوب شده است.» نازنين افشين جم گفت: «حکومت ايران نمی تواند از يک سو انتظار داشته باشد که جامعه جهانی به اهدافش در طرح های هسته ای اعتماد کند، ولی از سوی ديگر، منشور حقوق کودک را که از سوی تمامی جهانيان به رسميت شناخته شده، و ايران نيز عضو آن است، به طور گسترده پايمال کند و حقوق اساسی و آزادی های سياسی مردم ايران را مورد بی حرمتی قرار دهد.»

خانم افشين جم افزود: می کوشد که «صدای بی صدايان» باشد، و تاکيد می کند که «صدای اکثريت ايرانيانی است که به منشور حقوق بشر پايبند هستند و نظامی مردم سالار و لائيک می خواهند و در عين حال، با  مداخله نظامی در ايران مخالفند.» نازنين افشين جم در سال ۱۳۵۸ خورشيدی در ايران به دنيا آمد و هنگامی که هنوز يکساله نشده بود، خانواده اش از ايران مهاجرت کردند. او در سال ۲۰۰۳  با رسيدن به مقام ملکه زيبايی کانادا به شهرت بين المللی دست يافت و همزمان، ايرانيان درون ايران و ميليون ها ايرانی پراکنده در جهان نيز برای نخستين بار با نام او آشنا شدند. خانم افشين جم در آن سال در مسابقات ملکه زيبايی جهان به مقام دوم رسيد و نايب ملکه زيبايی دنيا شد.

تمرکز بر «نقض حقوق بشر» در ایران

او در سال های اخير با بهره گيری از شهرت و توجه بين المللی به زيبايی اش، به پيشبرد حقوق پايمال شده ايرانيان درون ايران اهتمام زيادی نشان داده و ترانه هایی را نيز در آلبوم های خود به اين امر اختصاص داده است. نازنين افشين جم در ترانه مشهور خود به زبان انگليسی به نام «يک روز» از آرزويش برای رسيدن به صلح و رعايت حرمت انسانی در ايران سخن می گويد. وی هنگامی به فعاليت های سياسی و حقوق بشری خود جنبه بين المللی بخشيد که  به او خبر دادند دختری جوان در ايران که مورد تجاوز جنسی قرار گرفته بود، در آستانه سنگسار قرار دارد.  سرانجام، فعاليت های بين المللی نازنين افشين جم توانست موجب لغو حکم مرگ نازنين فاتحی شود. خانم افشين جم با خرسندی از اين موفقيت، تلاش های حقوق بشری خود را دنبال کرد، و تمامی توجه خود را به آشنا کردن جهانيان با اعدام جوانانی در ايران معطوف کرد که به دليل ارتکاب جرايمی در سنين کودکی، اعدام می شوند. وی در اين خصوص اخيرا در اروپا رشته تظاهراتی برگزار کرد و در برابر مقر سازمان عفو بين الملل به اعتراض برخاست.

خانم افشين جم تاکيد دارد که می خواهد ازاعدام ديگر کودکانی که در ايران در آستانه اعدام هستند، جلوگيری کند. نازنين افشين جم  يادآور شده است که تنها از آغاز سال ۲۰۰۸ ميلادی بدين سو، طبق آمار رسمی مقامات ايرانی، شش جوان به اتهام قتل هايی که در سنين کودکی مرتکب شدند، پای چوبه دار رفته اند.  وی يادآوری کرده است که «بيش از ۱۳۰ نوجوان ديگر حکم اعدام گرفته اند» و «پرنده مرگ بر فراز سر آنها  پرواز می کند.»

خانم شيرين عبادی، برنده جايزه صلح نوبل، و ساير فعالان حقوق بشر در ايران نيز می گويند اين نوجوانان هنگامی که به هیجده سالگی می رسند، اعدام می شوند. اين در حالی است که مواردی از اعدام آنان در سنين زير هیجده سالگی نيز ثبت شده است که يک نمونه آن، اعدام يک نوجوان کرد در ماه های اخير بود که طبق شناسنامه اش هنوز هفده سال داشت. در عين حال، دو جوان در هفته های گذشته به اتهام قتلی که در زمان نوجوانی انجام داده بودند، به رغم قول مسئولان قوه قضاييه، بدون حضور وکيل مدافع و حتی بدون آگاهی خانواده شان اعدام شدند.

نازنين افشين جم برای نجات جان اين محکوم شدگان به اعدام در ايران، بنيادی را با نام «اعدام کودکان را متوقف کنيد» تاسيس کرده است.

خيابان اصلی مقر سازمان ملل متحد در انتظار رييس جمهوری اسلامی ايران خواهد بود. محمود احمدی نژاد برای رسيدن به ساختمان سازمان ملل متحد بايد از اين خیابان عبور کند.

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Getting to know NAZANIN :Co-founder & President of SCE

Join Nazanin Afshin-Jam at the UN headquarter in New York between 12-2pm on September 23rd at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (47th St. & 2nd Ave.) and challenge Iran’s president Ahmadinejad on the human rights abuses in Iran. For more information about the rally visit: http://scenews.blog.com/3849157/

Get to know Nazanin :

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Thursday, September 18, 2008

فراخوان بين المللي توقف اعدام نوجوانان

فراخوان بين المللي براي توقف اعدام نوجوانان که به ابتکار ديده بان حقوق بشر آغاز شد توسط سازمانهاي  حقوق بشري از جمله عفو بين الملل ، فدراسيون بين المللي جامعه هاي حقوق بشر و سازمان جهاني مبارزه با شکنجه حمايت شد. هدف از جمع آوري امضا براي توقف اعدام نوجوانان، ارسال آن به سازمان ملل متحد براي اعمال فشار در تغيير رفتاردر آن دسته از  کشورهايي است که چه بصورت قانوني و چه به صورت غير قانوني همچنان حکم اعدام نوجوانان زير 18 سال را اجرا مي کنند.

بيانيه اين فراخوان تاکنون بيش از 320 امضا از سازمانها و افراد مدافع حقوق بشر و کودک در سراسر جهان و از 5 قاره دريافت کرده است. از آنجا که ايران در اعدام نوجوانان بزهکار زير 18 سال در سطح جهان پيشرو است، ضروري است که سازمانها و افراد مدافعان حقوق بشر و کودک در ايران نيز در فراخوان توقف اعدام نوجوانان پشتاز باشند.

متن فارسي فراخوان در اين پيوند قابل دسترسي ميباشد :
http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=18363

براي  ديدن امضا ها و امضاي بيانيه لطفا به اين پيوندها لينک شويد:
http://www.crin.org/petitions/petition.asp?petID=1012

فراخوان بين المللي براي توقف اعدام نوجوانان
منع مجازات اعدام نوجوانان را هم در قوانين وهم در عمل به اجرا بگذاريد


همه دولتها  در جهان  معاهدات بين المللي را امضا کرده و يا به آنها پيوسته اند، که توسط همين قوانين بين المللي موظف شده اند که تضمين کنند جواناني که  در هنگام ارتکاب به جرم زير 18 سال بودند هرگز حکم اعدام دريافت نمي کنند. اکثريت قاطع کشورها از اين الزام پيروي مي کنند و از سال 2005 ميلادي تاکنون فقط 5 کشور شناسايي شده اند  که نوجوانان را اعدام مي کنند.*

در اين پنج کشور در سه سال و نيم گذشته حداقل 32 نفر که در بچگي مرتکب جرمي شده بودند، اعدام شده اند و بيش از 100 نوجوان ديگر در صف انتظار اعدام بسر مي برند. به احتمال خيلي زياد، تعداد اعدام هاي انجام شده و احکام صادر شده اعدام براي نوجوانان بايد خيلي بيش از اين باشد زيرا فقط معدودي از کشورهايي که احکام اعدام براي نوجوانان صادر مي کنند اطلاعات مربوط به اين احکام را منتشر مي کنند.

منع اعدام نوجوانان در معاهدات بين المللي و در قوانين عرفي بين الملل مسلم و بدون قيدو شرط است، اما برخي از دولتها به اعدام نوجوانان در حوزه جرايم خاصي همچنان  ادامه داده، و يا به قضات اجازه ميد هند که با کودکاني که به بلوغ جنسي رسيده اند همچون افراد بزرگسال برخورد کنند. حتي در برخي از کشورهايي که اعدام نوجوانان بخاطر جرايمي که در سن قبل از 18 سالگي مرتکب شده اند به صراحت منع شده است، قضات در صدور حکم اعدام براي کودکان گاهي همان معيارهاي افراد بزرگسال را رعايت مي کنند چرا که بخاطر ضعف سيستم ثبت مواليد، براي  کودکان دشوار است که ثابت کنند که در هنگام ارتکاب به جرم سنشان  زير 18 سال بوده و يا اينکه کودکان در لحظه هاي بسيار مهم بازداشت، تحقيق و بازجويي و محاکمه به وکلاي لايق و صاحب صلاحيت دسترسي ندارند،

ما سازمانهاي غير دولتي محلي، ملي، منطقه اي و بين المللي در سراسر جهان از همه کشورهاي عضو سازمان ملل متحد مي خواهيم که همانطور که در قوانين عرفي بين الملل، پيمان حقوق کودک، ميثاق بين المللي حقوق سياسي و مدني و همچنين در گزارش اخير دبير کل سازمان ملل درباره خشونت عليه کودکان تاکيد شده است، حکم منع اعدام نوجوانان را بطور کامل به اجرا در بياورند.

ما همچنين از کشورهاي عضو و شرکت کننده در مجمع عمومي سال 2008 سازمان ملل متحد خواستار اين موارد  هستيم:

1-  از دولتهايي که هنوز منع کامل اعدام نوجوانان را به اجرا نگذاشتند مي خواهيم که:
الف ) فورا قانون منع اعدام نوجواني را که در هنگام ارتکاب زير 18 سال بودند،  بدون هيچ استثنايي به تصويب برسانند.

ب) فورا اجراي همه احکام اعدام نوجواناني را که قبل از 18 سالگي مرتکب جرم شدند،  تا زمان تصويب قانون  منع اعدام نوجوانان، به تعويق بيندازد.

ج) همه احکام اعدام نوجواني را که در هنگام ارتکاب جرم زير 18 سال سن داشتند، مورد بازبيني قرار داده و  مطابق با معيارهاي بين المللي عدالت براي نوجوانان، احکام آنها را به سرپرستي قانوني يا ديگر  مجازاتها  تغيير دهند.

2- از دولتهايي که  اعدام نوجوانان را لغو کرده اند مي خواهيم که:
الف) تضمين کنند که کودکان در برابر قانون از مساعدتهاي مناسب حقوقي برخوردارند؛ از جمله اين  مساعدتها اين است که به آنها کمک کنند تا  بتوانند سن شان را در زمان ارتکاب جرم ثابت کنند، و همچنين ثبت سن  نوجوانان توسط پليس، دادستان و مقامات قضايي الزام آور شود.

ب)  ثبت مواليد را  به طور عمومي ارتقاء دهند.

ج) تضمين کنند که مقامات قضايي منع اعدام نوجوانان را درک کرده اند و آن را اجرا مي کنند که اين امر مستلزم آموزش قضات و دادستانها در مورد کاربرد قانون منع اعدام نوجوانان و همچنين دستور بازبيني همه احکام اعدامي است که در آنها در مورد اينکه سن افراد در هنگام ارتکاب جرم زير 18 سال بوده  ترديد وجود دارد.

3- از دبير کل سازمان ملل مي خواهيم که گزارشي در باره رعايت منع کامل اعدام نوجوانان به شصت و چهارمين نشست مجمع عمومي سازمان ملل متحد ارائه کرده و در اين موارد اطلاعات لازم را منتشر کنند:

الف) تعداد نوجواناني که اخيرا به اعدام محکوم شده اند و تعداد احکام اعدامي که در 5 سال اخير اجرا شده اند.

ب) نرخ ثبت مواليد

ج) چگونگي اجراي قوانين داخلي مربوط به منع اعدام نوجوانان توسط دولتها و تشريح سازو کارهاي موجود در تضمين دسترسي نوجوانان به مساعدتهاي حقوقي در همه مراحل بازجوبي، تحقيق و محاکمه

د) محدوديتها و موانع ديگر براي اجراي کامل منع اعدام نوجوانان

* در فاصله زماني بين 12 دي ماه 1383 تا 12 شهريورماه 1387 در اين کشورها 32 نوجوان اعدام شده اند: ايران (26 نفر)، عربستان سعودي (2 نفر)، سودان (2) نفر، پاکستان (يک نفر) و يمن (يک نفر).

Posted by StopChildExecutions.com in 19:03:07 | Permalink | Comments Off

Friday, September 5, 2008

Campaign to End Juvenile Death Penalty

Human Rights Watch & CRIN (Children Rights Information Network)

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We invite you to join a global initiative to end-once and for all-the practice of executing people for crimes committed as children. Today, although every country in the world is party to treaties prohibiting the death penalty for juvenile offenders, there are still five states-Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen-that continue to execute child offenders. Over the past three years, these five states* have executed 32 juvenile offenders, and have over 100 juvenile offenders still on death row.

A change in practice by these five states would result in universal adherence to the ban on juvenile executions. We invite NGOs -local, national, regional and international-to sign the petition calling for strong action by this year’s UN General Assembly to make the ban on juvenile executions a reality. Together, CRIN and Human Rights Watch will present these signatures to UN member states in mid-October, in advance of their debate on the rights of the child, to demonstrate the conviction of NGOs around the world that no one should ever be executed again for a crime committed as a child. We hope to have NGO signatures from as many parts of the world as possible, and invite you to circulate the petition to your partners.

*Between January 1, 2005 and September 2, 2008, the following states are known to have executed 32 juvenile offenders: Iran (26), Saudi Arabia (2), Sudan (2), Pakistan (1), Yemen (1).
Sign the petition here:

http://www.crin.org/petitions/petition.asp?petID=1012

The deadline for sign-ons is October 15.

For more information, please contact Clarisa Bencomo, Human Rights Watch,  bencomc@hrw.org

SCE: Above petition was also endorsed by SCE on Septmeber 5, 2008: http://www.crin.org/petitions/signatures.asp?petID=1012&offset=40

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Sunday, August 31, 2008

Iran receives Gold Medal after Olympics!

              
(

SCE – August 2008) Shortly after the end of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Islamic regime of Iran received a Gold Medal granted by Stop Child Executions for earning the shameful rank of highest child executions in the world.

Iran is the only country in the world who has executed children in 2008. Two of the children were executed during the period of summer Olympics even without notifying their attorney and parents. As of now 6 children are known to have been executed in Iran in 2008, 10 in 2007 and 26 since 2005. 

The use of the death penalty for crimes committed by people younger than 18 is prohibited under the international human rights laws.

For more information visit www.stopchildexecutions.com

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Friday, August 29, 2008

Is there anybody out there?

Posted by StopChildExecutions.com in 14:05:44 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Visit SCE on You Tube

Stop Child Executions now maintains a Multimedia Channel on

You Tube

with a collection of videos created by SCE as well as 54 other related clips (favorites) regarding child executions, human rights as well as news clips and interviews featuring SCE president Nazanin Afshin-Jam. 

Stop Child Executions You Tube Channel :

http://www.youtube.com/stopchildexecutions

SCE also a multimedia page on its website at :  

http://www.stopchildexecutions.com/multimedia.aspx

Posted by StopChildExecutions.com in 06:34:28 | Permalink | Comments Off

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Nazanin in solidarity Rally as Olympic begins

Epoch Times – August 9, 2008

Nazanin asks rally attendees to wave at a chinese embassy
official who was filming the event from the embassy window.

Ottawa
—Diverse groups whose members are suffering oppression in China are rallying together to call for an end to the Chinese regime’s human rights violations as the Olympic Games begin. Members of the Uyghur, Darfurian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Burmese, and Falun Gong communities joined Reporters without Borders and leading politicians and activists at a protest in front of the Chinese embassy in Ottawa on August 7.

“We’re gathered here today to show solidarity with the people of China. We stand behind their human rights,” said rally host Nazanin Afshin-Jam, a former Miss World Canada and president and co-founder of the Stop Child Executions organization. 

The groups demanded that China honour its promise to respect human rights, a condition upon which it was awarded the Games in 2001.

They also called on the world’s governments to pressure the Chinese regime to live up to its promises. “Those now in Beijing should insist that the host honour its commitments,” said former Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific David Kilgour.

“They should ask for the release of imprisoned Chinese journalists, the remaining Tiananmen prisoners, those jailed for peaceful Olympic criticism, and an end to the persecution of the Falun Gong community,” he said, adding that “human rights across China—already among the most systematically violated — have deteriorated further over the past year.”

‘Their Deeds Mock Their Words’

The rally followed a press conference on Parliament Hill where Liberal MP and former Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler released a report identifying 11 key areas of human rights violations in China. 

Included among these were the regime’s crackdown on Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners and other persecuted groups, the death penalty, suppression of the press and its support for the violent regimes of Darfur, Zimbabwe, Burma, and Nepal. 

Mr. Cotler protested the awarding of the games to China seven years ago.

“I said, we should not be rewarding a culture of impunity,” he said. “When the games were awarded, the Chinese government said, we will respect human rights, we will respect media freedom, and as they put it, ‘we will translate these words into deeds.’ Well, seven years later, their deeds mock their words.”


Abuses Needing Media Attention

While the speakers decried the awarding of the games to the Chinese regime, many also saw the Olympics as an opportunity to shine a spotlight on its human rights abuses.

“Everything has gone wrong for them and maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. I think now a lot of people are seeing the true state of the Chinese state in China,” said Mr. Kilgour in an interview following the rally. 

Mr. Kilgour and Winnipeg-based international human rights lawyer David Matas co-authored an independent report on the regime’s systematic organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners.

Mr. Kilgour also condemned China’s forced labour camps in which prisoners of conscience are jailed without trial and forced to work 16-hour days with little food and no pay creating products that range from chopsticks to Christmas decorations.

He particularly noted recent reports that well-known lawyer Gao Zhisheng is suffering torture in Chinese custody. Mr. Gao has strongly and publicly spoken out on behalf of many oppressed groups in China. 

“David Matas and I nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is one the bravest human beings on this earth and he is being tortured, I gather, right now,” said Mr. Kilgour.

Pamela McLennan of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong said her organization has published a reporters’ guide to Beijing’s labour camps. It includes directions, contact information, and prisoners’ profiles of some of China’s most infamous labour camps near Olympic venues.

Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are unlawfully detained in these camps for their spiritual belief, she said.

‘Create a New Reality’

Kevin McLeod, director of Canadian Friends of Burma, said the military regime in Burma “can’t continue to do their oppression without support of allies like China, Russia, and India.” He called on Canadians and multi-national corporations to know where their investments are going when they invest in regimes like Burma and China.

Kalbinur Semseddin of the Uyghur Canadian Association noted that her people are under the control of China and “there is no human rights, no religious freedom, no chance to learn our own languages.” She urged Canada to help Uyghur-Canadian Huseyin Celil, who has been imprisoned in China since March 2006.

Johannes Sawassi, who is writing a book on Darfur, said that in Darfur the Chinese regime is “arming a certain group in order to get rich from the other group” and “90 per cent are suffering because of your mistreatment.”

“The Chinese communist regime has more than 1,300 missiles pointed at Taiwan,” said Mr. Chen of the Taiwanese-Canadian Association about the regime’s aggression toward Taiwan.

RWB executive director Katherine Borlongan said, “Reporters without Borders has been asking for liberations and we put emphasis on Olympic prisoners…. the journalists, human rights activists and cyber dissidents that are behind bars.”

Beryl Wajsman, president of the Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal, called on Canadians to stand up against oppression and join the “wave of freedom.

Words make reality. Actions like this create a new reality… And just as the Wall came down in Berlin, so will all walls come down,” he said.

We will not be silent, we will not be indifferent, we will continue, we will be relentless in raising our voice and acting in the pursuit of freedom for all,” said Mr. Cotler

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Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Nazanin Afshin-Jam in UK

                                                

Nazanin Afshin-Jam was invited by CIS(UK) for a series of events and meetings, from 6th July to 11th July 2008, to highlight the Human Rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran and solicit the international public support for the pro-democracy movement inside Iran.

The highlight of her visit was a speech in the House of Commons on 8th July, which coincided with the 9th anniversary of the student uprising in Iran.

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Monday, August 4, 2008

US in violation of Convention on the Rights of the Child

“Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age“          
                                                                                             Article 37  UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)


Excerpts from Human Rights Watch
:

“When I die, that’s when they’ll send me home.”

Approximately 227 youth have been sentenced to die in California’s prisons. They have not been sentenced to death: the death penalty was found unconstitutional for juveniles by the United States Supreme Court in 2005. Instead, these young people have been sentenced to prison for the rest of their lives, with no opportunity for parole and no chance for release. Their crimes were committed when they were teenagers, yet they will die in prison. Remarkably, many of the adults who were codefendants and took part in their crimes received lower sentences and will one day be released from prison.

In the United States at least 2,380 people are serving life without parole for crimes they committed when they were under the age of 18. In the rest of the world, just seven people are known to be serving this sentence for crimes committed when they were juveniles. Although ten other countries have laws permitting life without parole, in practice most do not use the sentence for those under age 18. International law prohibits the use of life without parole for those who are not yet 18 years old. The United States is in violation of those laws and out of step with the rest of the world.

California is not the only state that sentences youth to life without parole. Thirty-eight others apply the sentence as

well. However, movement to change these laws is occurring across the country. Legislative efforts are pending in Florida, Illinois, and Michigan and there are grassroots movements in Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Washington. Most recently, Colorado outlawed life without parole for children in 2006

Public awareness about this issue has increased recently through newspaper and magazine articles and television coverage. With a significant number of the country’s juvenile life without parole cases in its prisons, California has the opportunity to help lead the nation by taking immediate steps to change this unnecessarily harsh sentencing law.

In this report the words “youth,” “teen,” “juvenile,” “youth offender,” and “child” are used to mean someone under the age of 18.

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

به اعدام نوجوانان پایان دهید

 SCE : 9-5- مرداد 1387
  سازمان اعدام نوجوانان را متوقف کنید بهمراه گروهی ازسازمان های عمده حقوق بشر امروز از قوه قضاییه ایران خواستند که فورا اعدام نوجوانان را متوقف کنید اعدام تمامی متهمان نوجوان  را که هنگام ارتکاب جرم زیر ۱۸ سال بوده اند رامتوقف کند. این سازمان ها همچنین می گویند مجلس ایران باید به سرعت به سوی نهادینه کردن ممنوعیت چنین اعدام هایی حرکت کند.
سازمان های عمده حقوق بشر   :اعدام نوجوانان را متوقف کنید , عفو بین الملل، انجمن حقوق بشر، دیده بان حقوق بشر، کمپین بین المللی برای حقوق بشردر ایران، حقوق بشر ایران، فدراسیون مدافع حقوق بشر ایران، اصلاح مجازات بین الملل، و ویور  در بیانیه ای مشترک قویا ادامه اعدام متهمان نوجوان را محکوم کرده اند.

در این بیانیه به نقل از سازمان های یاده شده آمده است : “ایران بر خلاف تعهداتش در قبال قوانین بین المللی هر ساله نوجوانان را اعدام میکند. مجازات اعدام برای بزرگسالان خشن و غیر انسانی است چه رسد برای نوجوانان زیر 18 سال.”
 مقامات ایرانی  دو نوجوان به اسامی حسن مظفری و رحمان شهیدی را به همراه یک بزرگسال به نام حسین رهنما در شهر جنوبی بوشهر در تاریخ 1 مرداد 1387  اعدام کرده اند. آنها به همراه یک متهم نوجوان دیگر به نام محمدپژمان و دو بزرگسال دیگر به نام بهروز زنگنه وعلی خرم نژاد به تجاوز به عنف محکوم شده بودند. مقامات ایرانی پژمان را در اردیبهشت 1386 و دو دیگر بزرگسال را در 6 آبان 1386 اعدام کردند.
ایران رهبری کشورهایی که متهمان زیر 18 سال را اعدام می کنند در اختیار خود دارد. به عنوان یکی از اعضای میثاق بین المللی حقوق مدنی وسیاسی ومیثاق حقوق کودک، ایران متعهد است که
چنین اعدام هایی را متوقف کند. اگر چه درسال 2007، ایران حداقل 8 مورد از چنین اعدام هایی را انجام داد.  اعدام اخیر مظفری و شهیدی تعداد اعدام های افراد نوجوان را به چهارمورد تا ماه جاری سال 2008 می رساند. هیچ کشور دیگری در طی سال جاری میلادی حکم اعدام نوجوانی را اجرا نکرده است.
وضعیت اعدام متهمان نوجوان در ایران به نقطه بحرانی رسیده است وایران را درخصوص نقض هنجارهای بین المللی دراین خصوص به موردی منحصربه فرد تبدیل کرده است. حداقل 132 متهم نوجوان شناخته شده که در انتظار مرگ به سر می برند وجود دارند اگر جه رقم های واقعی می تواند بسیار بیش از عدد یاد شده باشد.
به دنبال اعتراضات گسترده بین المللی، هفته گذشته از اعدام سعیدجزی و رضا شش بلوکی،  دو نوجوان متهمی که با اعدام مواجه بودند،  بعد از اینکه از خانواده قربانیان بخشش دریافت کردند، خودداری به عمل آمد.
درتاریخ18 تیر 1387، 24 سازمان بین المللی ومنطقه ای از مقامات ایرانی خواستند که فورا به اعدام متهمان نوجوان پایان دهد. در دسامبر 2007 مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل نگرانی های خود را درخصوص اعدام افرادی که هنگام ارتکاب جرم زیر ۱۸ سال داشته اند، که برخلاف تعهدات جمهوری اسلامی ایران تحت ماده 37 کنوانسیون حقوق کودک وماده ششم کنوانسیون حقوق مدنی وسیاسی است. اعلام کرد.
سازمان های یادشده در  بیانیه خودآورده اند: “پافشاری ایران بر اعدام متهمان نوجوان دربرابر قوانین بین الملی و اعتراضات بین المللی تصویری از سیستم قضایی ایران اراپه می دهد که از یک سو در برابر اعمال خشونت دولتی علیه متهمان نوجوان تعظیم می کند در حالی که  هیچ نگرانی درخصوص عدالت ویا قوانین بین المللی ندارد.”
 در تاریخ 6 مرداد، ایران همچنین ۲۹ بزرگسال را درداخل زندان اوین تهران به دارآویخت. مقامات ایرانی گفتند که مردان اعدام شده متهم به قاچاق مواد مخدر وقتل بوده اند اما تنها اسم 10 تن از آنها را اعلام کردو هیچ شاهد ویا جزییاتی در خصوص مراحل دادرسی آنان اراپه نکرد.  مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل در تاریخ 27 آذر 1386 قطعنامه ای را تصوبب کرد(62/149) که به موجب آن از همه دولت ها خواسته شده است که مهلت زمانی را در نظر بگیرند تا پس از آن دیگر از مجازات اعدام استفاده نکنند. اما ایران همچنان به حرکت برخلاف جهت این جریان جهانی به منظور منسوخ کردن حکم اعدام ادامه می دهد. در ابتدای سال ۲۰۰۸ تا کنون دولت ایران 191 نفر را اعدام کرده است به گونه ای که احتمال اینکه ایران بیشترین اعدام ها را درجهان -پس ازکشور چین- به خود اختصاص بدهد محتمل به نظر می رسد. اگر چه جمعیت ایران ۱۸ مرتبه کمتر از چین می باشد.
سازمان های یادشده در بیانیه یادشده آورده اند: ” 29 نفر را از طریق به داراویختن به کام مرگ فرستادن تنها دریک روز  تصویر تشنه به خونی عجیب وغریبی از قضات ایرانی را طرح می کند. اینکه هیچ اطلاعاتی در خصوص افراد اعدام شده وجود ندارد، منزجر کننده است.  چنین وضعیتی نگرانی های جدی را درخصوص روند اعمال قانون دراین کشوربوجود می کند.”
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

SCE and 8 organizations jointly condemn execution of 2 more Iranian juveniles

SCE July 30, 2008

“The Iranian judiciary should immediately halt all executions of juvenile offenders and Iran’s parliament should move swiftly to ban such executions”, a group of 9 human rights organizations said today. Stop Child Executions along with Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran; Iran Human Rights; Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI); Penal Reform International; Human Rights Association and Vivere strongly condemned Iran’s continuing execution of juvenile offenders in a joint press release.

“Iran is executing several children every year, despite the fact that it is banned under international law,” the organizations said. “It is cruel and inhumane to apply the death penalty even to adults, let alone to those convicted for crimes committed before the age of 18.”

“The execution of juvenile offenders is subject to an absolute prohibition in international law. This is testimony

to the world’s repugnance towards this practice,” Drewery Dyke, a researcher with Amnesty International in London, told IPS. “It is high time that Iranian judicial officials and other leaders heed the concerns of the many jurists, lawyers and human rights activists in Iran who repeatedly call on the authorities to end the practice of executing juveniles and find a way to having Iran uphold its international legal commitments.”

This follows the executions by Iranian authorities on July 22 of Hassan Mozafari and Rahman Shahidi, both juvenile offenders, who were defined as persons under 18 at the time of their crime.

“Mozafari and Shahidi’s executions are extremely disturbing,” Clarisa Bencomo, Middle East and North Africa researcher in the Children’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, told IPS. “The fact that the families of murder victims pardoned two other juvenile offenders just days before these latest executions only underlines how arbitrary the Iranian justice system is,” she added. “Iranian authorities should stop making excuses and change their laws to ensure that no one is ever executed for a crime committed when under 18.” hman

“We’ve seen far too many cases marked by serious violations of Iranian and international law that have ended in the juvenile offender’s execution,” said Bencomo. “There is no justice in a system where lower court judges can repeatedly violate procedure without being properly disciplined and appeals courts rubber stamp bad rulings,” she added.

Iranian authorities executed Mozafari and Shahidi along with an adult offender, Hussein Rahnama, in the southern city of Bushehr. Bushehr Criminal Court had convicted them of rape, together with another juvenile offender, Mohammad Pezhman, and two other adults Behrouz Zangeneh and Ali Khorramnejad. Iranian authorities executed Pezhman in May 2007 and the two other adults in October 2007.

Iran leads the world in executing persons for crimes committed under the age of 18. As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran is obligated to abolish such executions.

However, in 2007, Iran carried out at least eight such executions. The recent executions of Mozafari and Shahidi bring the number of juvenile executions to four so far in 2008. No other country is known to have executed a juvenile offender in 2008.

The situation of juvenile offenders facing execution in Iran has reached crisis levels, making Iran’s violation of international standards much greater than any other country. There are at least 132 juvenile offenders known to be on death row in Iran, although the true number could be much higher.

“Iran is not only in direct violation of international human rights laws, it is also in violation of its own domestic laws with the hangings of individuals below the age of 18. This includes execution of juveniles such as 16 year old Mohammad Hassanzadeh last month for an alleged crime committed at age 15. Iran’s law requires the parents to be informed 48 hours prior to the execution but Mohammad’s family were not even informed. The Iranian Judiciary must be held accountable for these crimes against humanity.” said Nazanin Afshin-Jam, the president of the Stop Child Executions.

Following intense international protests, two juvenile offenders facing execution for murder, Saeed Jazee and Reza Sheshblooki, were spared the death penalty last week after receiving pardons from the families of their victims. Saeed Jazee was reported to have been released on Tuesday by his attorney. International and internal objections to the execution of another juvenile, Ali Mahin-Torabi also lead to quashing of his death sentence last week by Iran‘s head of Judiciary Ayatollah Shahrudi pending new trial.

“It is outrageous that even the names of all of the executed men have not been made public, let alone their crimes and the evidence against them,” Hadi Ghaemi, coordinator of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, told IPS in a telephone interview.
Earlier this month, 24 major international and regional organizations called on the Iranian authorities immediately to stop juvenile executions. In December 2007, the UN General Assembly expressed concern about the “execution of persons who were under the age of 18 at the time their offence was committed contrary to the obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran under article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

“Iran’s insistence on executing juvenile offenders in the face of international law and international protests portrays an image of a judicial system bent on the application of state violence against juvenile offenders, but unconcerned about justice or international law,” the organizations said.

On July 27, the Iranian authorities hanged 29 adults inside Evin prison in Tehran. The authorities said the executed men had been convicted of drug smuggling and murder, but provided names for only 10 of them, and did not release the evidence against them or details of their prosecution. The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 62/149 on December 18, 2007, in which it called on states to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, but Iran continues to fly in the face of this global trend toward abolition. Iran has executed 191 people already in 2008, making it likely to maintain its position as carrying out more executions than any country in the world but China, although its population is 18 times smaller than China’s.

“With its practice of executing juvenile offenders, Iran has the unenviable reputation of being the world’s last executioner of children,” said Drewery Dyke of Amnesty International. “We find that this is not what Iranians want and in no way builds a stronger human rights culture for tomorrow’s Iran.”

“Sending almost 30 people to their death by hanging in a single day invokes a grotesque image of Iranian judges,” the 9 organizations said. “It is abhorrent that there is no information about those executed and it raises serious concerns about due process and the rule of law.”

Posted by StopChildExecutions.com in 01:31:19 | Permalink | Comments Off

Friday, July 25, 2008

Ali Mahin-Torabi will LIVE – Thank you ALL

Ali Mahin-Torabi will live. Here are only few of the emails and comments we received:

 
From Ali’s Aunt, Nikoo:

“I THINK I`M DREAMING. I CAN`T BELIEVE IT YET. IS HIS VERDICT REALLY CANCELED?
I FEEL SO HAPPY AND AT THE SAME TIME SO SAD AND STRESSED OUT FOR HIS FRIENDS. AFTER ALL I AM INVOLVED IN THEIR LIFE AND DESTINY AS WELL.
 GOD BLESS YOU ALL. YOU DID IT .YOUR EFFORT WAS FRUTFUL.THANK YOU 1000 TIMES. “

“TODAY I HAD ENDLESS ENERGY.IS THAT REALLY TRUE? ALL THESE 6 YEARS EVERY NIGHT I HAD BEEN THINKING OF MOST HORRIBLE THINGS AND THEN  IN THE MORNING I TRIED TO REMOVE THEM FROM MY MEMORY AND GIVE MYSELF AND MY DEVASTATED SISTER POSITIVE ENERGY. I AM SO HAPPY AND I KNOW YOU ARE AS HAPPY AS I AM WITH MORE ENERGY TO FIGHT FOR MORE LIVES.
 THANK YOU AND  GOD BLESS YOU.”

From Azarin a family friend:

“Oh my! I’m speechless….Such a great great way of starting a day! “

“Since I got the news this morning, I’m so restless. Happy but restless though :) I want to celebrate. Do something. But I don’t know what…but first I have to thank SCE again and again! Thank you! Thank you!….a thousand times…”

“I really don’t have the right words to describe my gratitude for what you keep doing for these kids. You’re a true treasure my dear Nazanin! Cheers and take care”

A SCE Team member:

“The good news about these cases give us all hope. From what I hear, Ali is a sweet and caring kid, I hope he and all the innocent kids who have been condemned unjustly get exonerated, and that no child is ever executed anywhere in the world. “

Annonymous:

“ I hope executions stop in Iran altogether and that the other young people on the death row are spared, too, to go on and be rehabilitated.  Thanks for the good news ”

“This is wonderful news. Hope to hear more of this as the days and weeks roll by.” 

“This is a victory for all human rights activists specially the Stop Child Executions committee.” 

SCE :

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HARD WORK AND SUPPORT!
NOW LET’S SAVE 140 OTHER CHILDREN. PLEASE ASK YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO SIGN THE PETITION AT
www.stopchildexecutions.com
Posted by StopChildExecutions.com in 14:06:24 | Permalink | Comments Off