Chronology of Events in , July 2004*

July 1 Court Summons Tarbiat Moalem University student. (Iranian newspaper Shargh) The court hearing of Tehran's Tarbiat Moalem Public University student Abbas Shokouhmand was held at Bench 119 of Karaj Public Court. The presiding judge referred to the charges on this student as insulting and threatening students, insulting the leader of Islamic Revolution and propagation against the Islamic system.

July 3 Retrial of Iranian dissident opens, death penalty charges dropped. (Agence France Presse / AFP) The retrial of Iranian dissident Hashem Aghajari opened in Tehran, in a public hearing allowed by the judiciary and with all charges that could lead to the death penalty dropped. After nearly two years locked away from public view, the Tehran University history professor appeared complained of being held for months in solitary confinement with the shadow of execution hanging over him. But Judge Mohammad Eslami confirmed during the hearing that the disabled war veteran no longer faced death for having called for a reformation in Iran's state Shiite Muslim religion. Instead of upholding original charges equivalent to apostacy and blasphemy, Aghajari was charged with insulting religious sanctities, propagating against the regime and spreading false information. Teachers stage sit-in in front of ministry premises. (Iranian newspaper Abrar) Members of board of directors of Teachers' Guild staged a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Education's premises for three hours, in order to protest the minister's refusal to receive them. Meanwhile the secretary of Teachers' Guild, Mohammad Beheshti Langaroudi, added: "Teachers wanted to voice their demands in their meeting with the minister of education." Eshkevari remanded to custody. (Iranian Labour News Agency / ILNA) The dissident cleric, Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari, returned to prison as his five-day leave ended. Eshkevari was sentenced to four years in jail by Special Court for the Clergy. He was convicted of insulting the Islamic sanctities and participating at a Berlin conference.

* Disclaimer: Reports contained in this document are selected from publicly available resources and edited by country experts. The information provided here is not, and does not purport to be, either exhaustive with regard to conditions in the country of origin surveyed, or conclusive as to the merits of any particular claim. Further information may be obtained from BO Ankara.

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Sabzevar City Council member detained. (Iranian news site Rouydad) A reformist member of Sabzevar Islamic City Council, Javad Alikordi, was arrested for insulting high-ranking officials. Student activist allegedly committed suicide. (Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran / SMCCDI)* A student activist, Morteza Jaffari, reportedly died under unknown conditions in Hamadan. The official cause of death of this 6th grade Medical school student has been declared as "suicide". Jaffari was an ardent advocator of human rights and critic of the Islamic regime at the rebellious Hamadan University. Hassanzadeh had sent an e.mail to the SMCCDI declaring fear for her life and the necessity to escape via Turkey. Involved in creation of underground cells, she was found dead after taking her breakfast at the university's cafeteria and on her way to her room.

July 5 Iranian prison chief fired after inmate loses hands due to torture. (AFP) The director of a prison in southern Iran has been dismissed after an inmate was hung from the ceiling for hours and had to have his hands amputated as a result. A 21-year- old man detained for drug dealing in the town of Dezful was handcuffed to the ceiling with only his toes touching the floor. Prison guards then "forgot" about him. After being taken down, the prisoner was rushed to hospital suffering from numb hands and torn nerves. Doctors were forced to amputate both hands on June 15. It was reported that one prison staff member had been detained, while the Dezful prison confirmed that its director had also been dismissed. Jomhouriyat daily's first edition published. (Iranian Student News Agency / ISNA) The Managing Director of the Jomhouriyat daily Javad Khorrami-Moqaddam said: "Due to printing problems, the first edition of our newspaper was published in only 30,000 copies and distributed to newsstands with a delay." Iranians arrested in northern Iraq. (AFP) Three Iranians, purportedly representing their country in the northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region, have been arrested by Iraqi security forces, a Kurdish official said that the head of the Iranian bureau in Kalar and two of his assistants were arrested by Iraqi security forces who took them to an unknown destination. He said the operation was carried out without the knowledge of intelligence forces of the Patriotic Union for Kurdistan (PUK). The caretaker government of Iyad Allawi has accused both Iran and Syria of supporting the insurgency. Ahmadi-Nejad in Court. (Iranian news site Baztab) Tehran mayor and license-holder of Hamshahri daily Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad appeared before the Sixth Bench of the Administrative Court, charged with publication of sheer lies.

* Editor’s note: This report has not been confirmed by major information sources.

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Information ministry complaint prompts Internet filtering. (Iranian newspaper Iran Daily) Tehran's public prosecutor said Information Communication and Technology Ministry has filed a complaint about several illegal Internet service providers. Saeed Mortazavi also said that any directive issued by the three-member committee of the High Cultural Revolution Council about filtering Internet sites is enforceable. "Based on a complaint filed by Information Communication and Technology Minister Ahmad Mo'tamedi, Tehran Public Prosecutor's Office filtered a number of sites, most of which were declared immoral," he said.

July 6 Iranian court summons former secretary of Students Union. (ILNA) The Revolution Court has summoned Farhad Dehqan, former secretary of Students Islamic Union in Shiraz University. The Revolution Court of Shiraz had previously sentenced Dehqan to six months suspended sentence on charges of taking part in students' demonstrations in protest to the death sentence against Hashem Aghajari. Iran outlaws commemorations of 1999 student unrest. (AFP) Iranian authorities announced they were banning on any commemorations marking the fifth anniversary of violent student protests, in a bid to prevent a fresh outbreak of anti-regime demonstrations. Security affairs chief for Tehran said the decision to bar gatherings had been taken by the Interior Ministry, and a request for a student event outside Tehran University had been rejected. Student representatives have also reportedly been summoned to meet Tehran police chief General Morteza Talaie and Mohsen Gomi, a university representative of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In addition, the Tehran University campus will also be shut down for the anniversary. Break-in at Saharkhiz’s office. (Iranian newspaper Shargh) Issa Saharkhiz's office has been broken into. He alleged that the break-in was politically motivated. He said: “From the types of documents stolen from my office, one could tell they intended to gain access to information.” Jailed dissident student in need of surgery. (Iranian newspaper Shargh) The father of jailed student Akbar Mohammadi called for his son to be medically treated. He said: "The physical condition of Akbar Mohammadi is not good. His physician says that he needs to be operated on and recover in a peaceful and quite environment after the surgery." Court convicts Seda weekly’s license-holder. (Iranian newspaper Mardomsalari) Seda weekly's editor-in-chief and license-holder Faezeh Sharif was convicted at Bench 41 of Isfahan General Court, after complaints were filed against her by 15 plaintiffs. She is charged with insult, publishing immoral photos and articles, slander and spreading lies. Sharif was fined 6.5m rials. Iranian officers clash with Kurdish armed group. (Iranian newspaper Tose’eh) The Pezhak group clashed with Iranian officers in Urmia. During clashes, eight members of this gang were killed and scores of others wounded. Two Iranian officers were also killed during the skirmishes. Due to financial and internal political

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problems, the Pezhak gang is allegedly engaged in smuggling goods, blackmailing and scaring villagers, and assassinating officers.

July 7 Clerical group reacts to attacks on reformist sixth Majlis, Khatami government. (Iranian newspaper Aftab-e Yazd) The clerical group to which Iranian President and former Majlis Speaker Mehdi Karrubi belong has responded to attacks on the reformist sixth Majlis and Khatami's government. The Militant Clerics Society's response was addressed specifically to Ayatollah Naser Makkarem-Shirazi, a senior conservative cleric, who had said recently that the reformists had harmed morality and Islamic values in the past few years. Iran launches operation against Turkish Kurdish group. (Turkish newspaper Dunya) Iranian security forces have reportedly launched a large-scale operation against PKK/KONGRA-GEL [Kurdish armed group operating mainly in Turkey] near the Turkish-Iranian border. Two Iranian soldiers and eight militants have been killed so far in the clashes along the border. Turkish security sources confirmed the reports, saying that they were part of a comprehensive operation launched by Iranian security forces. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Iran Report on the same incident: After first denying reports, Iran confirmed that its forces clashed with members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northwestern Iran near the Turkish border. Radio Farda and Reuters on 6 July quoted unnamed Turkish military sources who said 10 Iranian troops and six PKK fighters had died in clashes that began on 2 July in Iran's northeastern districts bordering Turkey. Iranian troops reportedly began combined land and air operations against Kurdish guerrillas on 2 July, using 1,000 troops with air support. Reuters cited the Mezopotamya News Agency, which is considered close to the PKK, as reporting on 6 July that the clashes have killed 16 Iranian troops and four rebels. The next day, AFP cited Mezopotamya as reporting that Iranian security forces had also raided alleged PKK targets in the northwestern Iranian towns of Salmas and Khoi. RFE/RL Iran Report on the same incident on July 19: Recent border clashes involving Iranian troops and members of the Turkish Kongra-Gel organization (formerly known as the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK]) were discussed at a joint Iran-Turkey security meeting in Ankara on 12 July. Officials from the armed forces general staff, Interior Ministry, Gendarmerie, National Intelligence Organization, and Security Directorate represented the Turkish side, while Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs Ali Asqar Ahmadi represented Iran. Tehran dailies reported more clashes on 10 July amid descriptions of an offensive "on Ankara's behalf". The newspapers referred to fighting near Baneh, a town in Kurdistan Province that is some 200 kilometers from Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to visit Tehran at the end of July at which time he is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding relating to the security issues discussed in Ankara. RFE/RL Iran Report on the same incident on July 26: The Iranian military battled Kurdish forces from the Free Life Party (FLP) in the Sardasht region of western Iran.

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Haji Ahmad, a leader of the FLP and member of Kongra-Gel, said that Iranian forces initiated the fighting, adding that Kurdish forces "defeated forces of the regime and then captured a military barracks of the Revolutionary Guards in the village of Mazra." Ahmad further claimed that Kurdish fighters ambushed an Iranian military vehicle, killing an Iranian commander and soldier. There is no independent confirmation of Ahmad's claims. Plainclothesmen evacuate Peyman Piran's paternal home. (Iranian newspaper Jomhouriyat) A number of plainclothesmen, in the company of policemen, vacated the paternal home of jailed dissident student Peyman Piran, in Amirabad, Tehran. Piran's mother said in this regard: "After Peyman was sentenced to six years in jail, they ordered us to evacuate the house." Plainclothesmen also arrested the father of this jailed dissident, after he resisted and refused to vacate the premises.

July 8 Human Rights Watch calls on Iran to release student detainees. (Associated Press / AP) Iranian authorities should release student protesters detained in violent demonstrations at Tehran University that began five years ago, killing one student, a New York-based human rights group said. Human Rights Watch said an unknown number of students remained in custody out of the thousands it claimed had been initially arrested. Iranian political prisoners marking 1999 crackdown with hunger strike. (AFP) Political prisoners and some university students in Iran have started a hunger strike to commemorate 1999 campus protests that led to a violent crackdown by police, an opposition group based in Paris, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, said in a statement. Detainees in the Evin prison in Tehran were staging the hunger strike "in protest against a new wave of suppression and widespread arrest of university students and youths in Iran," the statement said. Shiraz University's Islamic Association former secretary summoned to court. (Iranian newspaper Tose’eh) The former secretary of Shiraz University's Islamic Association, Farhad Dehqan, was summoned to Revolutionary Court. He was previously sentenced to a six-month suspended jail term by Shiraz Revolutionary Court for taking part in student unrests, stirred due to death penalty imposed on University Professor Hashem Aghajari.

July 9 Azeri activists arrested. (Azerbaijani Turan Information Agency) National Movement of Southern [Iranian] Azerbaijan (NMSA) said one of leaders of NMSA, Yurush Mekhralibeyli, was arrested in Tabriz. Another leader Gulamrza Amani was also reportedly arrested several days ago. Although he was released on July 8, government reportedly hinders leaving activists from Tabriz city [in connection with annual Kala Babek rally by Azeri activists]. Iranian Baztab news site report on the same incident on July 11: Police detained an unspecified number of “separatist elements” in the northwestern East Azarbaijan Province. The incident came as Iranians had gathered in a reputed castle in the

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province for a traditional ceremony. “Opportunist separatist elements brandished Azeri flags and chanted separatist slogans.” They reportedly clashed with the officials, in which two officers were wounded.

July 10 Iranian forces kill armed activists. (Iranian news site Baztab) Iranian security forces clashed with “separatist” armed elements of Pejak in Baneh, located at Iran-Iraq border. Two persons, identified as “separatists” by Iranian security forces, were killed and another one was wounded. Iranian official says less than 10 arrested on student unrest anniversary. (Iranian newspaper Vaghaye Etefaghyeh) Managing-director for political and law enforcement affairs of the Governor-General's Office in Tehran said the situation of the city as normal on the anniversary of 18 Tir [student unrest anniversary 8-9 July] and said that less than 10 people, who were “preparing to create tension”, were arrested. Iranian authorities arrest two Teachers' Union leaders. (AP) Authorities arrested two leaders of Iran's teachers' trade union, which organized an unsuccessful week-long strike earlier. Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi and Ali-Asghar Zatti of Iran's Teachers' Association were detained at their homes in Tehran. In May, Education Ministry officials accused the Teachers' Association of encouraging teachers to carry out "illegal" strikes. Aftab monthly temporarily banned. (Islamic Republic News Agency / IRNA) Aftab monthly was temporarily banned from publication by the judge of the branch 3 of the court dealing with offences of government employees and the media. In the verdict, which was sent to Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ahmad Masjed Jame'i, the judge explained that the decision was made according to a complaint filed by the public prosecutor against the performance of the monthly's managing editor, Issa Saharkhiz, who has embarked on publishing articles against the Vali-e Faqih (Iranian Supreme Leader), the principles of the Iranian Constitution, the Majlis, and also attempted to scatter false news to mar the public opinion. Iranian students still in detention. (RFE/RL Iran Report) Iranian Democratic Front spokesman Hussein Zarezadeh said that some of the students who were briefly detained on 18 Tir (8 July, the anniversary of student unrest in 1999) were later re-arrested. Zarezadeh said Hussein Gheisari, Behnam Nasserani, Ali Rezai, and Javid Tehrani are among those still being held. Zarezadeh alleged that some of these individuals have been tortured, adding that all of them had been arrested before in connection with student politics. Shiva Nazari and Akram Eghbali are among the students who were arrested and released on 8 July.

July 11 Iran quashes death by stoning penalties against rapist police. (AFP) Iran's supreme court quashed sentences against four policeman who faced death by stoning for belonging to a gang that kidnapped and raped girls. The four men were

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reportedly members of gang which operated in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Another nine have already been hanged for kidnapping and sex attacks. Police in Esfahan ban improperly veiled women from public. (AFP) Police in Esfahan banned women who are improperly veiled from public places and performances of live music. Police also banned the playing of live music in reception halls and at public events, although recorded vocals-free music authorized by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, is allowed. Neither can unauthorized music be played in the cars.

July 12 Iranian university files complaint against attacker of reformist figure. (Iranian Labour News Agency / ILNA) Sa'id Asgar [who attempted to assassinate Sa'id Hajjarian] will be tried at Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Najafqoli Habibi, chancellor of Allameh Tabataba'i University talked about the complaint and said: “At the beginning, Sa'id Asgar was accused of undermining national security. However, we objected and called for the incorporation of the attack on Tarasht dormitory and the beating of the university students within his bill of indictment.” It is reported that "undermining public order and calm through unconventional methods" and "forceful break into Allameh Tabataba'i University in order to arbitrarily confront hooligans" were among the cases of indictment read by the public prosecutor. Court issues arrest warrant for Tose'eh Editor-in-Chief. (Iranian news site Iran News Daily) Branch 6 of the court dealing with offenses of government employees and the media issued an arrest warrant for the editor-in chief of the daily Tose'eh, Qoli Sheikhi, on Saturday, IRNA reported. The warrant was issued due to Sheikhi's refusal to show up at the court to answer public prosecutor's questions. Tose'e editor-in-chief had been summoned to the court on charges of publishing lies, insults and propagating against the Islamic system.

July 13 Iranian refugees moving to northern Iraq. (UN OCHA Integrated Regional Information Networks / IRIN) Swedish NGO Qandil is working in collaboration with the office of the UNHCR to build accommodation for 250 Iranian Kurdish refugee families who recently went to the Suleimaniya governorate, saying they had left deteriorating conditions in Al-Tash camp in the province of Al-Anbar. Families have been moving north for months, but the trickle turned into a flood in April and May 2004 as violence in the Sunni triangle peaked with pitched battles between US forces and the “Iraqi resistance” in the city of Fallujah, near Al-Tash. Aid agencies say they have been able to provide residents of Al-Tash with medicine and the government is providing food. UNHCR has been providing aid in Al-Tash, through the Italian NGO Intersos, including non-food items, water and sanitation and income generation projects. The refugee agency is not however, encouraging people to move from the camp due to security reasons as the road between the camp and the north is deemed unsafe, it says. In addition to this, UNHCR has raised concerns regarding facilities for people returning to the north,

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including lack of shelter. Refugees at Pungala, a barren promontory housing 17 families overlooking the river Sirwan, said their relations with locals in Al-Tash and the nearby town of Ramadi had been tense since they were obliged to settle there by the Baathist regime in 1982. But tensions grew tremendously with the start of the Coalition war. Some refugees claim they stopped going outside Al-Tash altogether after a mullah in Fallujah responded to rumours that elite Iraqi Kurdish militias were fighting alongside US troops outside the city with a fatwa (religious order) permitting the murder of any Kurd. Scattered in tent villages and rented accommodation in and around Khaniqin, Kalar, Darbendikhan and Arbat, the Iranian Kurdish refugees receive aid both from Qandil and from the local departments of Sulaymaniyah governorate's Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. Despite that, though, the situation at Pungala and in other tent villages is fairly dire. Sobhe Zahedan Managing Director summoned to court. (ILNA) Managing Director of Sobhe Zahedan weekly Adel Mazaari has been summoned to court. He is charged with "promoting corruption" and "spreading lies". Zahedan's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Sistan-Baluchestan Police are the plaintiffs in this case.

July 14 Kayhan Varzeshi Managing Director in court. (ISNA) Kayhan Varzeshi Managing Director Saeed Madani appeared before the Administrative and Media Court charged with spreading lies. He was officially indicted and later released on a five million rial bail.

July 15 Jannati re-appointed head of Guardian Council. (Reuters) Iran's “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reappointed a senior cleric to head a powerful constitutional watchdog seen by moderates as one of the key obstacles to reform in the Islamic state. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who has been a member of the 12-strong Guardian Council since its creation in 1979, was granted another five-year- term after his current period expired. As secretary of the veto-wielding body, Jannati is one of the most powerful officials in Iran. World Azeri Congress appeals to UN over Iran's policy on ethnic Azeris in Iran. (Azerbaijani news agency Turan) The Congress of Azerbaijanis of the World (CAW) appealed to the UN, urging the world community and the international public to pay attention to the events in Iran. The CAW stated that about 400 Azeris were arrested during the 8-9 July 2004 march to Fort Bazz [to mark the anniversary of national hero Babak]. The Iranian authorities say that fewer people were arrested. It is not known where many of the detainees are being held. Tabriz Revolutionary Court convicts student. (Iranian newspaper Etemad) Tabriz University physics student Ali Chaparak was sentenced to one-year in jail and a three-million-rial fine by the Tabriz Revolutionary Court. He is charged with "collusion with intent to act against national security" and "propagation against the

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Islamic system". Eastern Azerbaijan province Intelligence Department was the plaintiff in this case. Central Province student activist indicted. (ILNA) A Central Province student activist Soroush Farhadian has been indicted by the 25th circuit of the Arak Public Court. Farhadian said: "I do not know who the plaintiffs are. However, apparently there were ambiguities about the license of the student association I run."

July 17 One Iranian reformist daily banned, another stops publication. (Iranian Student News Agency / ISNA) The Iranian reformist newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghyeh has been banned. The newspaper was issued with a temporary banning order by Branch 3 of the Magistrate's Office of the Court for Government Employees and the Media on the charges of propaganda against the ruling system and insulting the country's officials. The managing director of the Jomhouriyat newspaper, which began publication on 4 July 2004, decided not to publish his newspaper for the next few weeks following a visit to the judiciary. Changing some people on the editorial staff has been stated as one of the problems at the newspaper.

July 18 Iran judiciary ends Kazemi trial. (Reuters) Iran's judiciary abruptly ended the trial of an intelligence agent accused of killing a Canadian journalist, prompting angry lawyers to complain key evidence had been ignored or covered up. A verdict is expected in a week or so. Foreign diplomats and journalists were barred from the third day of the trial of the agent, Mohammad Reza Aqdam, over the death last July of Zahra Kazemi, 54, a photographer of Iranian origin who was detained after taking pictures of a Tehran jail. Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi said the judge had ignored testimony that might have incriminated a judiciary official. Iranian teachers hold demonstration for imprisoned colleagues. (Turkish Anatolian News Agency) Iranian teachers held a demonstration demanding release of their two colleagues, the leaders of the Teachers Union who were arrested on July 10. The demonstration was held in front of the Majlis, Iranian parliament. Court convicts former Islamic Association member. (Iranian newspaper Shargh) Former Rafsanjan University Islamic Association member Mohammad-Reza Nasab- Abdullahi was convicted to a one-year suspended sentence by the 1st Circuit of the Rafsanjan Public Court. PMOI Bomber Stands Trial. (Iranian newspaper Vaghaye Etefaghyeh) The court hearing of an alleged People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) operative, Hojjat Z, who reportedly detonated a bombs at Tehran's Revolutionary Court in 1998, was held at the Sixth Circuit of the Revolutionary Court. In the

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bombing, three people were killed, with 22 others wounded. The names of the victims included Hassan Salehi, Mozaffar Nikzad and Willholm Aton. Armed persons kill Basij commander in Sistan-Baluchestan. (Iranian news site Baztab) The Basij commander of Nokabad village in Sistan-Baluchestan province has been killed by “armed bandits”. The Basij Commander named Hadizadeh was fatally shot with his wife and children severely wounded. Moreover, his 20-year-old son was kidnapped. The wife and children have been reported to be in critical condition in the hospital.

July 19 Prosecutor bans full press coverage of agent's trial. (AP) A prosecutor ordered Iranian newspapers to censor parts of a trial of a secret agent accused of murdering an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist, journalists said. Speaking to government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, several reporters said Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi called their offices to instruct them to not report on parts of the trial, which ended abruptly on July 18. One journalist said Mortazavi called him to say, "It's in your interest to consider the murder trial over and avoid publishing things that you should not," he said. Most Iranian newspapers have not published the accusations against Bakhshi and the prosecution, apparently fearing retribution. Ramezanzadeh said imposing such restrictions on newspapers was illegal. The judiciary ordered two reformist publications to shut down on July 17, when the trial opened. Sources at the newspapers said officials were apparently upset with an article one of them published last week about Kazemi's death. arrest three armed Iranians in north Iraq. (Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab al-Yawm) It was reported that three Iranians were arrested when the Kurdish security forces stormed the Iranian Trade Centre in Suleimaniya, a hiding-place for the "weapons, explosives and foreign currency" which belonged to the suspects. Secretary-General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Jalal Talabani had earlier accused Iran of involvement in the explosions taking place in Iraq. He said at a party command meeting in Al-Sulaymaniyah that Iran offers money and weapons to entice people to carry out "car bomb attacks, killing and kidnapping operations".

July 20 Aghajari gets five years after re-trial. (AFP) Iranian dissident scholar Hashem Aghajari, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for blasphemy, has been handed a suspended five-year jail term instead following his re- trial. He was also sentenced to five years of deprivation from social rights, which will commence after his term in prison ends. Iran Majlis approves outlines of abortion bill. (IRNA) The Iranian parliament, Majlis, approved the outlines of a bill to legalize abortion in specified cases in the country. Once passed by the legislature, the bill will authorize abortion in cases where three physicians and a medico-legal certify that the embryo

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sought to be aborted is medically defective or that its development to full term would endanger the life of the mother or bring unconscionable suffering to the family after birth. The bill also allows abortion when the mother is found to be suffering from a disease that would put her life in danger if the pregnancy were to continue. It also sets the condition that the abortion, to be legal, must be performed before the pregnancy has reached four months and 10 days and with the consent of both parents. Some religious authorities have already signified their assent to the bill. Two executed publicly in Esfahan. (Anatolian News Agency) Two persons, named Mahdi Yezdani (20) and Navvab Davoudi (19), were executed in Najafabad town of Esfahan publicly. The judiciary considered them to be members of a gang named “Devil”, abducting and raping women. Other members of the “gang” were reportedly sentenced to terms of imprisonment and lashing. Iranian human trafficking ring given jail terms. (IRNA) Some 20 members of a human trafficking ring in the northwestern border city of Bileh Savar, Ardabil Province, were given jail terms or fined. Head of Bileh Savar Justice Department Samadyar Atalu said the gang members had trafficked several people, who included Afghans, Pakistanis and Arabs together with Iranians, to Azerbaijan for large sums of money.

July 22 Operations in Iran against Turkish Kurdish group. (Anatolian News Agency) Iranian Consul General in Erzurum Ali Rezaghmanesh said that operations had been continuing in Iran against the PKK/Kongra-Gel [armed Kurdish organisation operating in Turkey].

July 24 Iran clears agent accused of Kazemi killing. (IRNA) An Iranian court has acquitted an intelligence agent charged with the "semi- intentional murder" of Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi who died in custody in 2003. The court, which ended the trial abruptly after just three hearings, found Intelligence Ministry agent Mohammad Reza Aqdam not guilty because of a lack of evidence.

July 25 Baqi calls for end to hunger strike by prisoners. (Iranian newspaper Shargh) Head of the Association for Defending Prisoners' Rights Emadeddin Baqi called for an end to the hunger strike by prisoners in Evin Prison. Prison officials had previously denied reports by news websites that detainees were on hunger strike in Evin Prison.

July 26 Iran journalists protest at press crackdown. (Reuters) More than 100 Iranian journalists, some wearing symbolic rope shackles, protested against the closure of three reformist publications, saying they saw signs of a renewed

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press crackdown. "I think a new wave of crackdown has started, it will intensify from now on and will target journalists themselves," Issa Saharkhiz, head of the Association for Defence of Press Freedom, said in a speech at the gathering. Reza Khatami re-elected head of Iranian reformist party. (AFP) Iran's main reformist party, ousted from parliament in a controversial general election in February 2004, confirmed it had re-elected as its leader the brother of President Mohammad Khatami. The Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) whose annual conference closed at the weekend, has selected Mohammad Reza Khatami to head the party for another two years. Khatami was barred from running in February's parliamentary elections, along with most other moderate candidates. Iranian prisoners swapped with Azeri convicts. (Iranian Fars news agency) 17 Iranian prisoners were exchanged for eight Azeri convicts on the Iran-Azerbaijan border in Astara, after Tehran and Baku came to an agreement on the prisoner swap.

July 27 US grants protection to PMOI members in Iraq. (BBC) The US has granted "protected status" under the Geneva Conventions to 3,800 members of an Iranian opposition group (People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, PMOI) interned in Iraq. This meant that People's Mujahideen's fighters were not considered belligerents during the Iraq war, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said. But the new status did not affect the US view that the group was a “terrorist organization”, Mr Ereli said. “We have determined that they were not belligerents in this conflict and we are according them the human rights protections consistent with the Geneva Conventions," Mr Ereli said in Washington. The new status gives the militants access to the Red Cross and the United Nations refugee agency. They are being held in Camp Ashraf, northeast of Baghdad. Previously, the Iraqi authorities have said they wanted the group to be expelled. Former Iranian culture minister imprisoned. (ISNA) Following a complaint by a private plaintiff (Mahsa Yusefi Deldar), Ata'ollah Mohajerani [former reformist Minister of Culture] was summoned to the government employees court today. After he was informed of the charges, a 20m-tuman bail was set for him. Since Mohajerani was unable to prepare the 20m-tuman [about 13,000 pounds] bail in the office hours, he was transferred to number 13 police station. [Mohajerani was the reformists potential candidate for presidency] Iran spares life of woman who killed state agent. (Reuters) The Supreme Court has revoked a death sentence against a woman who killed an intelligence officer she says tried to rape her, her lawyer said. Afsaneh Norouzi was sentenced to death three years ago and has been in jail since 1997. The mother of three said she stabbed the man when he tried to assault her on the resort island of Kish in the Gulf. "The Supreme Court has quashed the death sentence against Afsaneh Norouzi for some deficiencies in the case," Norouzi's lawyer said. He said the case would be sent back to a lower court in Kish, where her conviction was upheld after appeal in 2003, for a new sentence to be issued.

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Reporters penalized for cooperation with “anti-revolutionary” radio station. (Iranian newspaper Siyasat-e Rooz) It was reported that two reporters who were sent to China for covering the Asian Football Cup by Iran's Football Federation will be dealt severely with upon returning to Tehran because of their cooperation and interviews with anti-revolutionary radio stations and other media outlets. They have been fired from their jobs. Their activities had not been cleared by the Physical Education Organization's security department.

July 28 More than 250 activists complain about closure of publications. (ISNA) More than 250 political activists, academics and cultural figures have issued a statement in which they have expressed regret that the magazine Aftab and the newspaper Vaghaye Etefagyeh have been banned and the newspaper Jomhuriyat has ceased publication.

July 29 Convict hanged publicly in Kerman. (AFP) An Iranian man convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl has been hanged publicly in a square in the southern city of Kerman. The man, identified as 24-year-old Hamid Reza Z., reportedly raped the girl in March 2004. Tabrizi student sentenced to two years imprisonment. (ISNA) Tabriz University biology student Mohammed Ali Dadkhah was sentenced to two years in jail and a six-month suspended term by the 2nd Circuit of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court, charged with “diverting public opinion” and “insulting high- ranking officials”.

July 31 Jailed activist reportedly ordered to be freed on bail. (IRNA) Iran's detained academic Hashemi Aqajari has been ordered to be freed on a bail of 970m rials [65,000 pounds] and on an agreement by the judge in charge of the case to lower the original 1000m rial bail. Charges dropped against governor-general of Kohkiluyeh va Boyerahmad. (ISNA) The judge at branch five of the Court for State Employees and the Media has dropped charges against the governor-general of Kohkiluyeh va Boyerahmad. The Tehran Municipality had initially filed a complaint against the governor of Kohkiluyeh va Boyerahmad for his remarks about elections, but the judge at branch five of the Court for State Employees and the Media dropped the charges after the investigating the case sufficiently. Police in Tehran make major booze, satellite haul. (AFP) Police in Tehran have made a major haul of alcohol and satellite dishes, arresting 22 members of a gang selling the illegal produce on the black market. A statement from Tehran's police said the seizures in six places around the capital included some 40 tonnes of alcoholic drinks, 1,000 satellite dishes, 300 receivers and other equipment.

Chronology of Events in Iran UNCHR Ankara COI Team July 2004 Page 13 26/08/2005

UNHCR Ankara Country of Origin Information Team Revised June 2004

Chronology of Events in Iran UNCHR Ankara COI Team July 2004 Page 14 26/08/2005