Petition Tag - death sentence

9 January 2012

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today that Amir Hekmati, a US citizen, has been sentenced to death by the Iranian judiciary.

A source close to the family told the Campaign that the US citizen entered Iran for the first time on 15 August 2011 to visit with his family members. He was arrested on 29 August 2011 on charges of espionage.

“When Amir supplied his background and applied for his passport processing at the Iranian Interest Section of the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC, he was assured that his prior employment with the US government was not going to impede his trip to Iran nor cause him any problems,” the source added.

Four months after his arrest in August 2011, Hekmati’s first court session was held on 27 December at Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Presiding Judge Abolghassem Salavati denied Hekmati the lawyer hired by his family to represent him. Instead, a court-appointed lawyer represented him during the trial without ever seeing him beforehand.

Judge Salavati is one of Iran’s most notorious judges, well known for the unlawful and harsh sentences he has delivered to dozens of political prisoners during the post-election show trials. He has sentenced more than one hundred political prisoners, human rights activists, and peaceful demonstrators to lengthy prison sentences as well as at least nine execution sentences, earning the moniker “The Judge of Death.”

Over the past few years a number of Iranian-Americans who have traveled to Iran have faced similar charges, from undermining the Islamic Republic to spying for American agencies. In all such cases the defendants have been released after a few months and have left the country.

“Almost all the elements of Hekmati’s case fall into a classic pattern of Iranian intelligence’s spy-finding machine,” said Ghaemi.

The source close to the family told the Campaign that over the course of Hekmati’s arrest, Iranian authorities pressured them not to talk with the media, assuring the family they would release Hekmati soon. During his arrest and subsequent detention, Hekmati was never allowed to contact his family in the US.

According to state-operated Fars News Agency, Hekmati allegedly entered Iran with the aim of penetrating the country’s intelligence system. Further examination, according to a report by the Judicial-Legal Director of the Intelligence Ministry’s Espionage Unit, indicated that his goal was to accuse Iran of involvement with terrorism. His indictment alleged that Hekmati was recruited by the CIA in May 2009 to carry out espionage missions in Iran.

The family asserts that what was said in the indictment regarding Hekmati’s background, his prior service in the US military and his prior employment with the US government, is in the public record and he never hid what he did in the past. All the information regarding his background could be obtained from his passport application, as well as from his resume, easily accessible from his confiscated laptop.

Breaking their months-long silence, Amir Hekmati’s family issued a statement on 3 January 2012, asserting, “We have been asked by Iranian authorities to remain silent, and were told that Amir would eventually be released soon. After ... reports that a verdict is imminent we can no longer remain silent.”

Rather than release Hekmati without charges, on 27 December Iranian authorities televised a pale and emaciated Hekmati confessing to the charges. Today, 9 January 2012, Hekmati has been sentenced to execution.

“It has been 126 days since Amir Hekmati was detained by the Iranian government after having been granted permission by Iranian authorities to enter to visit his beloved family,” the family said in their statement from 3 January 2012. “[W]e believe the allegations made against Amir are false and believe that the purported confession was not voluntary and was made under severe duress.”

“The judiciary has claimed Amir Hekmati is a spy, citing evidence that only they are aware of,” said Ghaemi. “That evidence should be made public and the judiciary should be completely transparent. If such an accusation were based on credible evidence, there would be no reason to hold his trial without adequate due process.”

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**Update Jan 30, 2012**

Saeed Malekpour's death sentence has been UPHELD and the appeal was denied in the Supreme Court. His death sentence is now IMMINENT. Please sign this petition and share with all of your friends to help save Saeed's life! Since recently last year, imminent execution sentences have been ordered to be carried out after being confirmed and upheld. His wife Fatemeh in Canada is asking for ALL of our help, please also write an email made by United 4 Iran as well:

http://united4iran.org/2012/01/take-action-web-developer-still-at-risk-of-execution/

For updates and actions for Saeed, please join "Free Saeed Malekpour" Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Free.Saeed.Malekpour

Persian listeners, video: SAEED'S SISTER TALKS TO VOA BRIEFLY ABOUT THE BRUTAL TORTURES HER BROTHER HAS ENDURED IN PRISON. VOA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9MF_1GfzY4

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Saeed Malekpour is a 35-year-old prisoner of conscience who was detained on October 4, 2008 while visiting his terminally ill father in Iran, and was charged with being involved in “internet offenses”, all of which he denies. The charges brought against Malekpour include “Taking action against national security by designing and moderating adult content websites;” “Agitation against the regime;” “Contact with foreign entities;” “Insulting the sanctity of Islam;” and “Insulting the Supreme Leader and President.” He could be charged as “Corrupter of the Earth” (Mofsed fel-Arz), a charge that is punishable by the DEATH SENTENCE. Saeed continues to deny these allegations.

Saeed graduated from Sharif University of Technology with a Metrology Engineering degree. He has worked as an expert in Iran Khodro (Iran’s biggest car manufacturer) and as an inspector in Garma Felez corporation. He has also worked for the Razi Research Centre. Last year, he was admitted to a master’s program at the University of Victoria (in the province of British Columbia, Canada). In 2004, Saeed and his wife moved to Canada, where he became a permanent resident. He began work as a freelance website developer & programmer responsible for developing only parts of websites or portions involving, for example, IT system management and system security.

While working as developer in Canada, Saeed designed a program that would allow his clients to upload pictures, and as a common courtesy in programming, included his name and info in the file. This program, Saeed’s wife – Dr. Fatimeh Eftekhari – explains, was used in an adult content website WITHOUT Saeed’s knowledge or approval. “The only recognizable name in the program was Saeed’s,” she continued, “which led to his arrest” and to the accusations claiming that Saeed was responsible for the development and administration of the website.

In an open letter, Saeed described the horrific physical and psychological tortures he endured at the hands of the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard which pressured him into false confessions. Since his arrest, Saeed remains confined in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison without indictment or access to a lawyer. Saeed has spent more than 12 months in solitary confinement and denied books, newspapers, and contact with the outside world.

In a excerpt of the letter from Saeed Malekpour, you can read about the horrible events that have unfolded since his arrest by the hands of his interrogators:

"...On January 24, 2009, after being subject to severe beatings, one of the interrogators threatened to pull out my tooth with a pair of tongs. One of my tooth broke and my jaw was displaced after I was kicked in the face by him. However, the physical tortures were nothing compared to the psychological torments. I endured long solitary confinement time (totalling to more than one year) without phone calls or the possibility of visiting my loved ones, constant threats to arrest and torture my wife and family if I did not cooperate, threats to kill me. They also provided me with false news of arresting my wife. My mental health was severely threatened. I had no acces to any books or journals in the solitary cells, and at times, I would not speak to anybody for days.

Restrictions and psychological pressures on me and my family grew so much that after my father’s passing on March 16, 2009, and despite the fact that the officials were aware of his death, kept the news from me for approximately 40 days. When I had a five minute (supervised) phone call with home, I learned of my father’s death.

Masoud, one of the interrogators, burst into laughter and mocked me once he saw me crying about the news of my father’s death. Despite my pleas, they did not allow me to attend my father’s memorial service. In addition to the psychological tortures, the Revolutionary Guards interrogation team illegally, and contrary to religious principles, withdrew some funds from my credit card account. They also have my Paypal account. I am not sure what they have done with it.

Another example of psychological torture involved forcing me to perform scenarios dictated by the Revolutionary Guards interrogators in front of the camera. Although the interrogation team had promised me these films would never be aired on TV, and they would only be shown to regime officials to receive a larger budget for their “Gerdaab” project. However, I found out later on that the films were shown numerous times on state television during the seventh day funeral service for my father. This resulted in severe emotional pain for my family. My mother suffered from a heart attack after seeing my picture and false confessions on television. Some of the confession they forced me to make were so ridiculous and far-fetched that they are not even possible.

For example, they asked me to falsely confess to purchasing software from the UK and then posting on my website for sale. I was forced to add that when somebody visited my website, the software would be, without his/her knowledge, installed on their computer and would take control of their webcam, even when their webcam is turned off. Although I told them that what they were suggesting was impossible from a technological point of view, they responded that I should not concern myself with such things..."

Sources: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6160/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4449

http://www.astreetjournalist.com/2010/03/28/imprisoned-tech-expert-saeed-malekpour-writes-of-torture/

http://persian2english.com/?p=15785

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When the infant known in court only as Baby P was brought home from hospital days after his birth in March 2006, it was as a bubbly, blue-eyed boy with the first signs of curly blond hair. He was, according to those who came into contact with him, a lively child with a ready smile.

After 17 months enduring abuse of an almost unimaginable cruelty, the boy had been reduced to a nervous wreck, his hair shaved to the scalp and his body covered in bruises and scabs. Physical injuries included eight broken ribs, a broken back and the missing top of a finger, while the emotional damage was almost incalculable. Despite it all, Baby P was said to have still attempted a smile.

He was also paralyesd from the waist down and doctors have found one of his teeth in his stomach where he was punched so hard that he swollowed it.

If the abusers get life they will all be free to live their lives (probably with a new identity) after 20 years.

Because this matter is the subject of a court case I can't go into more details here.

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Writers expressing themselves in Azeri are deprived of linguistic freedom consisting of freedom of speech and freedom to write in their mother tongue and face perpetual problems having their work published in Azeri.

The arrested writers are being held in solitary confinement in Evin prison in Tehran, and are at risk of torture and other ill treatment.

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In September 2008, the following poets and writers were arrested and imprisoned merely because they wrote in their mother tongue:

Azeri: Alireza Sarrafi, Hasan Rasedi, Akbar Azad, Saeid Muganli, Mehdi Neemi, Hamid Arghish. They are now in solitary confinement in Evin prison.

They are deprived of Linguistic freedom consisting of freedom of speech and freedom to write in their mother tongue, facing perpetual problems having their work published in Azeri Freedom to have their children educated in mother tongue.

These issues apply to all Azeris in Iran. Between 16 and 23 million Azeris live in Iran.

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CHILD ABUSE: Each week, child protective services (CPS) agencies throughout the United States receive more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. In 2002, 2.6 million reports concerning the welfare of approximately 4.5 million children were made.

In approximately two-thirds (67 percent) of these cases, the information provided in the report was sufficient to prompt an assessment or investigation. As a result of these investigations, approximately 896,000 children were found to have been victims of abuse or neglect—an average of more than 2,450 children per day.
More than half (60 percent) of victims experienced neglect, meaning a caretaker failed to provide for the child's basic needs. Fewer victims experienced physical abuse (nearly 20 percent) or sexual abuse (10 percent), though these cases are typically more likely to be publicized. An average of nearly four children die every day as a result of child abuse or neglect (1,400 in 2002). Children of all ages experience abuse and neglect, but the youngest children are most vulnerable. Children younger than 1 year old accounted for 41 percent of all abuse-related deaths reported in 2002; three-quarters (76 percent) of those killed were younger than 4.

RAPE: Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. Rape is a serious problem in the United States today. The United States has the highest rape rate among countries which report such statistics. It is 4 times higher than that of Germany, 13 times higher than that of England and 20 times higher than that of Japan. 7.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000) The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials. The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape during their college years (Fisher 2000). One out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.

Murder: Crime in the United States is characterized by relatively high levels of gun violence and homicide, compared to other developed countries.In 2005, 24% of the incidents of violent crime, a weapon was present.

Offenders had or used a weapon in 48% of all robberies, compared with 22% of all aggravated assaults and 7% of all rapes/sexual assaults in 2005.

Homicides are most often committed with guns, especially handguns. In 2005, 55% of homicides were committed with handguns, 16% with other guns, 14% with knives, 5% with blunt objects, and 11% with other weapons. # Per every 1,000 persons in that racial group, 32 blacks, 23 whites and 18 persons of other races sustained a violent crime.

In 2006 —-
* Per every 1,000 persons in that racial group, 32 blacks, 23 whites and 18 persons of other races sustained a violent crime.
* Black, white, and other races experienced one per 1,000 person rates of rape/sexual assault.

There is a reported 90 guns for every 100 people in the U.S. Out of the 875 million known guns in the world, the U.S. owns 270 million of them.

Within 3 years of being released 67% of the ex-prisoners are rearrested and 52% are actually re-incarcerated.

In 1995 the government allocated 5.1 billion dollars for new prison space. Every $100 million spend in construction will cost $1.6 billion in finance and operational costs over the next 3 decades.[12] Taxpayers spend $60 billion a year for prisons.

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Zheng Xiaoyu, the former Head of the State Food And Drug Administration of China, was sentenced to death at the first instance in a trial court of Beijing on May 29,2007. He was convicted of corruption and dereliction of duty.

I am not sure whether Zheng Xiaoyu was guilty or innocent. His execution, however, will not serve well to the international view of China.

The death penalty is not essential to condemn corruption.

The death penalty should be abolished in every country all over the world.

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Six healthcare workers, Christiana, Valia, Nasia, Valentina, Snezhana and Ashraf, were found guilty of deliberately starting an HIV outbreak at a hospital in Benghazi in eastern Libya.

The Libyan court refused to pay attention on the accumulated medical data which proves their innocence. International experts such as Dr. Luc Montagnier, the eminent discoverer of the AIDS virus, traveled to Libya to study the situation. He and others testified that the infection started prior the arrival of the six. He found that the infections were a result of poor sanitary practices at the hospital.

The death sentence is supposed to be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Libya but the Bulgarian attorneys have been denied access to the prison since the last court hearing. The resolution passed by the European Parliament in January 2007 was accepted negatively by Tripoli. There is even a new charge against the medics - this time for slander against Libyan policemen.

Libya is convinced that the six foreigners are worthy of blame. The rest of the world is convinced that the fault is in the poor hospital hygiene.

This makes the situation extremely delicate.

However, a possible solution would be to refer the trial to the International Court of Justice in the Hague or to a third, disinterested party. It would have the additional benefit of making the case less political by leaving it in the hands of an independent court. In this way the diplomatic and economical relations between Libya and the rest of the world would also stay autonomous of the issue.

Please give Christiana Malinova Valcheva, Valia Georgieva Cherveniashka, Nasia Stoitcheva Nenova, Valentina Manolova Siropulo and Snezhana Ivanova Dimitrova from Bulgaraia, and Ashraf Ahmad Jum'a from Palestina the right to an independent trial.

NOTE: News regarding the issue is daily updated at the Petition's Forum.

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Please sign this petition asking for a three year moratorium on the death penalty in the USA.

There are way to many innocent people under the death sentence and until we find a way to correct the injustices we should not risk killing any more innocent people.

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It seems that sex offenders, of children, in the state of California are set off far too easily. There are numerous violent acts against children in our state that could of been prevented (ex. Samantha Runion). Far too many times a violent sex offender against children is set free, only to committ another far more serious crime against a child.

It is our belief that any released sex offender against children 14yrs or younger, convicted of a second charge of the same nature should automatically receive a LIFE OR DEATH sentence for the charge.

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