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Radio Farda - Summary of Iran Stories in Today's Broadcasts

August 01, 2003
Radio Farda
Behnam Nateghi

US Denies Talking to Iran on Exchange of Prisoners

- The US on Thursday denied a report that talks it was talking to Iran an on a possible exchange of senior al Qaeda members in Iran for U.S.-held members of an anti-regime terror group Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO). The US has "communicated to Iran the importance of turning over senior members of al Qaeda," a senior Bush administration official said. “No quid pro quo, no negotiations, no exchange.” (Ardavan Niknam)

Reporter Calls on Khatami to Probe Torture of Fellow Tabrizi Journalist

- In a letter to President Mohammad Khatami, Tabriz-based journalist Payman Pakmehr asked him to investigate the recent arrest and torture of independent Tabriz journalist Ensafali Hedayat, a frequent interviewee on Radio Farda, who was arrested in the wake of the recent pro-democracy protests in Iran. In an earlier letter to Mr. Khatami, Hedayat reported being severely beaten and threatened to death by police and plain-clothes security officials while in his 28-day custody. Pakmehr himself was arrested and beaten after giving a report to Radio Farda about a gathering of people in praise of an ancient Iranian anti-Islam figure near Tabriz. (Bahman Bastani)

Regime Closes Islamic Student Councils

- The Islamic government began closing Islamic student councils in universities, making further activities of their members illegal. In an open letter, the Islamic student council of the Sahand University in Tabriz, which has recently been closed by the judiciary, termed the move “an effort by the conservatives to impose a graveyard-like silence on the universities”. (Bahman Bastani)

Journalists Back Reformist MP's Attack on Hard-line Prosecutor

- In an open letter, a number of journalist expressed support for reformist MP Mohsen Armin's recent call for the ousting of Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi. Faramarz Qarabaghi, who has signed the open letter, tells Radio Farda that Judge Mortazavi is a key figure in the ever-increasing pressure on journalists. “Mr. Armin for the first time explicitly pointed Mortazavi and other judiciary elements who suppress freedom of expression,” Qarabaghi said. (Kayvan Hosseini)

Iranians in Toronto Call for Investigation of Kazemi's Death

- Toronto-based Center for Thought, Dialogue and Human Rights in Iran held a gathering on Thursday to protest the death of Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in custody of head injuries she suffered during interrogation. The Center asked the Canadian government to press Iran for further investigation. (Maryam Aqvami, Toronto)

Canada Plans to Sponsor UN Resolution to Condemn Iran's Human Rights Vilations

- Zahara Kazemi's death has spoiled Iran's innocuously good relations with Canada. In private, the Canadians talk about sponsoring a UN resolution to condemn Iran's human-rights record, something that Iranians, of all stripes, are keen to prevent, writes London weekly the Economist.

MESA Asks for Release of Students

- In a letter to the Supreme Leader, the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) condemned attacks on and mass arrests of university students in Iran. MESA called on the Supreme Leader to ensure that that the imprisoned students and political activists are released immediately, and that all those guilty of violent attacks on student be identified and punished according to law. MESA accused the Supreme Leader of direct involvement in suppression of dissent. (Golnaz Esfandiari)

Two Men Sentenced to Death for Murder of 9 Women

- A court in central town Arak sentenced to death two young men for murdering nine women in one year. Police said the convicts' motive was robbery, but the coroner reported that the victims had been raped. (Kayvan Hosseini)

International Human Rights Advocates Condemn Arrests of Students, Journalists

- In two separate statements published on Thursday, Amnesty International expressed concern over the imprisoned students, as well as members of the religious-nationalist coalition activists. Meanwhile, the Paris-based Reporters Sans Borders voiced concern about the imprisonment of 21 journalists in very harsh conditions in Iran, calling the Islamic Republic “the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East”. (Golnaz Esfandiari)

- Reporters Sans Frontiers issued a statement expressing concern about the arrest of two Iranian government employees by coalition forces in southern Iraq for security violations on July 2. Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said on Tuesday that the two were “documentary filmmakers,” who worked for the state radio-TV monopoly. A coalition forces spokesman said in Baghdad Wednesday that the activities of Said Abutaleb and Soheil Karimi did not match their claim. (Siavash Ardalan)

US Should Punish Countries that Deal with Iran, Says Economist

- The Economist weekly said in a commentary that the United States, which already stops its own companies from doing business with Iran, could choose to punish other countries that put money into Iranian oil or gas. (Shahran Tabari, London)

Russia Sells Non-Alcoholic Beer to Iran

- With the approval of the Tehran municipal government, Russia's Baltika brewery this week sent its first shipment to Iran -- 30,000 liters of non-alcoholic version of Baltika, Russia's most popular beer. (Mani Kasravi, Moscow)

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