By Roberta Bonazzi | April 24
Last March, the organisation Human Rights Activists in Iran issued an annual report on human rights violations in Iran. A total of 278 people had been condemned to death, 30 of whom were aged under 18. And 297 people had been executed, including 8 aged under 18.
According to the report, the pressure on blog writers has progressively grown during the course of the year. Thousands of websites and blogs have been filtered, banned or closed down. Some 29 periodicals have also been banned and over 70 journalists had been brought before justice. Of these, according to the report, 21 have been fined, while 17 have received prison sentences.
Students were not immune from the repression: 66 students had to pay large fines, while 215 students were imprisoned. Over 60 student newspapers were also banned and a total of 234 students were suspended for a number of university terms. Bahai students faced even harsher punishments: they were expelled from universities.
The Human Rights Report also highlighted how also the situation of Iranian workers had deteriorated during the course of the year, with about 11,000 workers laid off and legal proceedings instituted against at least 26 workers.
Tens of thousands of women have been detained for “failing to comply with Islamic dress codes”. Security forces issued summons against 25 female activists, interrogating them and putting them under pressure. Another 40 female activists had been condemned to long prison sentences and were now languishing behind bars. And several women had been in prison for some time without any court ruling.
Source: Hudson New York
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