Iran Prepares Show Trial and Execution of 13 Ahwazi Teachers and Rights Activists
These highly
educated and talented young Ahwazi human and social rights actvists were
arrested on 28 February 2011 in Khalafia (Khalfabad) by security
services.
All men were involved in promoting Ahwazi cultural and social
rights by organising Arabic poetry and cultural events as well as free extra
class for poor families. The following information was published by
Ahwazi Arabs Solidarity Network as well as various independent sources:
1. Habibollah Rashedi (42), married, father of three.
Arrested on February 28, 2011. He has a BSc in chemical engineering
and used to work at the Bandar Imam Khomeini Petrochemical Company.
He was elected chair of Khalafabad City Council during the presidency of
Mohammad Khatami. He is popular among the poor and youth in the town due
to his management of the town as well as promoting Arabic poetry
events and other cultural gatherings and activities. The Rashedi family
is one of the earliest families in Khalafabad.
2. Hadi Rashedi (37), single.
Arrested on February 28, 2011 with his
brother Habibullah Rashidi (see above). A highly qualified post-graduate with
an MSc in chemistry, he works in local high schools as a teacher. Like his
brother, he has a keen interest in cultural issues and is an advocate for the poor.
He suffers from heart disease and as such is exempt from military service.
During his imprisonment, he has suffered considerable mental stress, developing
a digestive disorder as a result. As a result of beatings, he has a fractured
hip. He appeared in a documentary aired
by Iran’s Press TV (see http://www.presstv.ir/Program/215617.html) in which he
was forced to confess to firing a gun at a buildings housing security and government officials in Khalafabad. He was
described as a member of the ‘Khalq-e Arab’, although no single organisation
has adopted this name.
3. Rahman Asakereh (33), married and
father of five children. He has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Khorramabad
University and an MA in Social Sciences from Ahwaz University. He was in the process of editing
his Master’s thesis, which was focused on the difficulties faced by bilingual
students in the Iranian education system. He worked as a chemistry teacher in
local high schools and conducted free
courses for university entrance exams for Arab youth. He was active at a
regional level in cultural and civic activities and was a student activist at
the universities he attended. Rahman Asakereh’s 14 year-old son Hamed Asakereh
died on September 13, 2011 after he was hit by
a police car in suspicious circumstances while his father was in prison.
It is suspected that Hamed was murdered to cause distress to Rahman.
4. Mohammad Ali Amoori (33),
fisheries engineer originally from Ahwaz City
who relocated to Khalafabad. He graduated from Isfahan University with
a degree in aquaculture and natural
resources. He was one of the founding editors of the student newspaper Torath
and was also an active blogger. He taught in some of the high schools in
Khalafabad. He was originally inspired into political activism by the
presidency of Mohammad Khatami. He had
proposed a plan to form a civic institution called Al-Hewar (Dialogue),
but permission was denied by the Ministry of the Interior. He was later
involved in the Lejnat al-Wefaq (Reconciliation Committee), an Arab political
association that was allowed to contest elections and won a number of seats in
municipal councils, including a majority on Ahwaz City Council, as well as the
Ahwaz seat in the Iranian Majlis. However, the organisation was banned by the
government and he was forced to flee to
Iraq with Shahid Shaabani Amouri and Fares Silawi where he was arrested and detained for five years. After he was
repatriated to Iran, he was arrested by the authorities.
5. Shahid Shaabani Amouri (42), originally
from Ahwaz City and a resident of
Khalafabad. He is a married father of three. In addition to being a well-known poet in Ahwaz, he is a civil and
cultural activist and was active in Arabic poetry events. Despite being a
famous poet, he has suffered poverty, homelessness and unemployment and
denied employment or assistance from the
government. His poetry stressed Ahwazi Arab identity and the persecution of the
ethnic group, which meant he was under constant surveillance. He was active in
mobilising young people in support of Mohammad Khatami’s presidency. In 2006,
he fled Iran, accompanying Mohammed Ali Amouri and Fares Silawi to Iraq. He was
arrested in Iraq and sentenced to five years imprisonment in Al-Amarah for
illegal entry. He was arrested after his deportation to Iran.
6. Ali Badri (30), married with one
child. Originally from Ahwaz City and a
resident of Khalafabad. He has a BA in Accounting from Ahwaz University
and has worked in Ahwaz’s office of
charity and endowments. He is a political, civil and human rights activists and a blogger.
Raised in an educated, respected family, Ali is described as an intellectual,
well-mannered person. He was arrested on April 11, 2011, released on bail and
has been dismissed from his job. Ali Badri has been involved in a wide range of
activities in different political and election campaigns and holds Arabic
cultural events in Khalafabad.
7. Hashem Shaabani (Amoori) (31),
originally from Ahwaz City and a resident of Khalafabad. He is married with one
child. He has a Bachelor degree in Arabic language literature and education and
holds a Masters degree in Political Sciences from Ahwaz University. He has
written poetry in Arabic and Farsi and teaches Arabic language and Arabic
literature in high schools. He is a cultural, civil and student activist and
also a blogger. He takes care of his elderly parents. His father Khalaf
Shaabani was disabled while fighting Iraqi forces during the Iran-Iraq War. Due
to their son being arrested, his parents are suffering both physically and
mentally. In December 2011, he was featured on Iran’s international television
station Press TV (see http://www.presstv.ir/Program/215617.html) in which he
was forced to confess to being involved in separatist terrorism and supporting
Ba’athism in Iraq. He was also made to claim that he had assistance from Hosni Mubarak and Muammer
al-Qadafi, the former rulers of Egypt and Libya. Those who know him state that
he has never supported armed insurgency against the Iranian state, let alone have
contact with foreign governments.
8. Amir Amoori (29, single with a
university diploma and brother of Mohammad Ali Amoori)
9.
Aghil Aghili, computer technician
and internet cafe owner
10.
Saeed Asadi
11. Sayed Mokhtar Alboushoukeh
12. Sayed Jaber Alboushoukeh
13. Sayed Bagher Alboushoukeh
Sources:
www.ahwazsolidarity.org/uploads/AHRR2012.pdf
www.unpo.org/downloads/355.pdf
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/07/iran-arrest-sweeps-target-arab-minority
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/15/141673.html
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/28/139614.html
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/18/138197.html
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/28/143311.html
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/04/12/145180.html
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/06/22/154372.html
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/06/20/154070.html
http://www.alarabiya.net/views/2011/12/21/183752.html
http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/NewsDetail.aspx?pr=s&query=%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B1%20&NewsID=1300224
http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/NewsDetail.aspx?pr=s&query=%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B1%20&NewsID=1307331
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15183097,00.html
http://www.englishpen.org/events/reportsonrecentevents/drivenoutjournalistsandexile/
http://www.azer-online.com/azer/?p=6213#more-6213
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