This morning (16th April 2010) at 7am, nine police and UK Border agency officers broke into Bita Ghaedi's home and forcibly arrested her. She has been removed to the infamous Yarls Wood detention centre and has been scheduled to be removed to Iran on 20th April 2010. If this removal is successful, the British Government will have condemned this woman to certain death.
Bita Campaigning in Downing Street.
Bita Campaigning for Political Prisoners
This morning (16th April 2010) at 7am, nine police and UK Border agency officers broke into Bita Ghaedi's home and forcibly arrested her. She has been removed to the infamous Yarls Wood detention centre and has been scheduled to be removed to Iran on 20th April 2010. If this removal is successful, the British Government will have condemned this woman to certain death. She is a member of the British PMOI (Peoples Mojehadin of Iran) aka the NCRI (National Council for the Resistance of Iran). She has been campaigning on behalf of the PMOI to bring attention to political prisoners and execution victims in Iran during the recent pro-democracy unrest. The Iranian regime are currently engaged in the violent hunting down of PMOI within the domestic Iran.
In just the last week, the NCRI have reported that 15 prisoners have been hanged in four days in two cities in Iran.
Three prisoners were hanged in public in Babolsar on Wednesday, another man, Adnan Albuali, 28, was hanged during a public execution in Mahshar on Tuesday.
The General Prosecutor of Mahshahr has been quoted as saying that a prisoner was sentenced to amputation of his arm and leg which was carried out while he languishd in prison. He was accused of taking part in an armed robbery. The man was then executed.
On April 8th, eleven other prisoners were hanged in Mashhad, Taybad and Esfahan according to Iranian security services operating as media (Mehr news agency).
A number of these victims have been involved in pro-democracy protests in previous weeks and months.
In a statement issued by the NCRI earlier this week, the regime has “resorted to public executions in a bid to intensify the atmosphere of fear and intimidation to prevent [further] people's protests”.
It is clear that the Iranian regime are deliberately contriving confusion between domestic law and order and protecting its political interests.
According to Amnesty International:
“There was a noticeable surge in the rate of executions at the time of mass protests over last year’s disputed Presidential elections. Although many of the executions were for criminal offences committed before the unrest, they sent a chilling message to those involved in protests.”
“One hundred and twelve people were put to death in the eight weeks between the June election and the re-inauguration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in early August- almost a third of the total for the entire year.”
“The continuing surge in executions at a time when Iran has experienced the most widespread popular unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, combined with numerous statements by officials threatening protesters with execution, indicates that the Iranian authorities are again using the death penalty to try and cow the opposition and silence dissent ”
In January the PMOI released a statement linking the current spate of executions in Iran directly to its supporters and the pro-Democracy protests when it ran a report issued by the IRNA security services news agency. It said:
“Abbas Jaafari Dowlat Abadi, Tehran’s Prosecutor, announced today that the cases of five individuals accused of Moharebeh [waging war on God] have been referred to the Revolutionary Court. He claimed that these individuals were members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) and accused them of “organizing the crimes committed on the day of Ashura” and “attempting effectively to break the structure [of the regime] on that day”.
While many of us here in the UK may find the prospect of the Iranian regime and the Mojahedin a little distasteful, Bita is a very gentle woman and has always sought a democratic and peaceful form of campaigning more in tune with how we do things in the UK than Iran. She has been in this country for a number of years and has been supported throughout that time by a number of experienced, long term activists in London.
Bita's partner Mohsen said this morning in a telephone conversation that he believes that the Iranian regime will hold Bita hostage for a time in order to put pressure on him to return to Iran as two PMOI members operating in the UK will be highly prized political capital within Iran itself. He said “any contact with the Mojahedin is a sentence of death...there is no hope for us now”. Mohsen has already experienced life at the hands of the Iranian regime. He spent 12 years in prison as a political prisoner. If he returns, he too will be executed.
While Britain goes through the throws of a General Election, it is now clear that the current UK Border Agency feel it has nothing to lose by wrapping up outstanding business before the Labour Government are thrown into opposition. At the moment, it is expected that a number of Yarls Wood detainees may be 'politically removed'. In Iran, the British General Election is being watched closely. Earlier this morning, Camp Ashraf was again attacked by covert Iranian security forces operating inside Iraq. Five people were injured as the Iranian security services attempted to seize five women from inside the Camp itself. It is certain that the women were to be removed to Iran in order to allow the Iranian regime to announce to the domestic population that further PMOI executions would be following.
Ashraf campaigners are now engaged in protests in London in response.
Bita is alone and has just four days to try to secure her release from Yarls Wood Detention Centre before she, as a PMOI supporter, is returned by the UK Border Agency back to Iran to a regime licking its lips at the prospect of getting its hands on an a high value English Mojahedin.
Execution of Adnan Albuali
http://www.astreetjournalist.com/2010/04/14/a-young-man-was-hanged-in-mahshahr/
Eleven executions this week (NCRI).
http://www.mojahedin.org/pagesen/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=7754
Amnesty International Report
http://www.mojahedin.org/PagesEn/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=7609
The PMOI and Iranian Pro-Democracy Movement
http://www.mojahedin.com/pagesEn/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=6872
Bita and the PMOI (IM interview, circa 5th February 2010)
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/02/445707.html
Bita in Downing Street (IM report circa 4th February 2010)
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/02/445677.html
Petition to the Home Office which has been completely ignored
http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/33778.html
In just the last week, the NCRI have reported that 15 prisoners have been hanged in four days in two cities in Iran.
Three prisoners were hanged in public in Babolsar on Wednesday, another man, Adnan Albuali, 28, was hanged during a public execution in Mahshar on Tuesday.
The General Prosecutor of Mahshahr has been quoted as saying that a prisoner was sentenced to amputation of his arm and leg which was carried out while he languishd in prison. He was accused of taking part in an armed robbery. The man was then executed.
On April 8th, eleven other prisoners were hanged in Mashhad, Taybad and Esfahan according to Iranian security services operating as media (Mehr news agency).
A number of these victims have been involved in pro-democracy protests in previous weeks and months.
In a statement issued by the NCRI earlier this week, the regime has “resorted to public executions in a bid to intensify the atmosphere of fear and intimidation to prevent [further] people's protests”.
It is clear that the Iranian regime are deliberately contriving confusion between domestic law and order and protecting its political interests.
According to Amnesty International:
“There was a noticeable surge in the rate of executions at the time of mass protests over last year’s disputed Presidential elections. Although many of the executions were for criminal offences committed before the unrest, they sent a chilling message to those involved in protests.”
“One hundred and twelve people were put to death in the eight weeks between the June election and the re-inauguration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in early August- almost a third of the total for the entire year.”
“The continuing surge in executions at a time when Iran has experienced the most widespread popular unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, combined with numerous statements by officials threatening protesters with execution, indicates that the Iranian authorities are again using the death penalty to try and cow the opposition and silence dissent ”
In January the PMOI released a statement linking the current spate of executions in Iran directly to its supporters and the pro-Democracy protests when it ran a report issued by the IRNA security services news agency. It said:
“Abbas Jaafari Dowlat Abadi, Tehran’s Prosecutor, announced today that the cases of five individuals accused of Moharebeh [waging war on God] have been referred to the Revolutionary Court. He claimed that these individuals were members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) and accused them of “organizing the crimes committed on the day of Ashura” and “attempting effectively to break the structure [of the regime] on that day”.
While many of us here in the UK may find the prospect of the Iranian regime and the Mojahedin a little distasteful, Bita is a very gentle woman and has always sought a democratic and peaceful form of campaigning more in tune with how we do things in the UK than Iran. She has been in this country for a number of years and has been supported throughout that time by a number of experienced, long term activists in London.
Bita's partner Mohsen said this morning in a telephone conversation that he believes that the Iranian regime will hold Bita hostage for a time in order to put pressure on him to return to Iran as two PMOI members operating in the UK will be highly prized political capital within Iran itself. He said “any contact with the Mojahedin is a sentence of death...there is no hope for us now”. Mohsen has already experienced life at the hands of the Iranian regime. He spent 12 years in prison as a political prisoner. If he returns, he too will be executed.
While Britain goes through the throws of a General Election, it is now clear that the current UK Border Agency feel it has nothing to lose by wrapping up outstanding business before the Labour Government are thrown into opposition. At the moment, it is expected that a number of Yarls Wood detainees may be 'politically removed'. In Iran, the British General Election is being watched closely. Earlier this morning, Camp Ashraf was again attacked by covert Iranian security forces operating inside Iraq. Five people were injured as the Iranian security services attempted to seize five women from inside the Camp itself. It is certain that the women were to be removed to Iran in order to allow the Iranian regime to announce to the domestic population that further PMOI executions would be following.
Ashraf campaigners are now engaged in protests in London in response.
Bita is alone and has just four days to try to secure her release from Yarls Wood Detention Centre before she, as a PMOI supporter, is returned by the UK Border Agency back to Iran to a regime licking its lips at the prospect of getting its hands on an a high value English Mojahedin.
Execution of Adnan Albuali
http://www.astreetjournalist.com/2010/04/14/a-young-man-was-hanged-in-mahshahr/ Eleven executions this week (NCRI).
http://www.mojahedin.org/pagesen/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=7754 Amnesty International Report
http://www.mojahedin.org/PagesEn/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=7609 The PMOI and Iranian Pro-Democracy Movement
http://www.mojahedin.com/pagesEn/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=6872 Bita and the PMOI (IM interview, circa 5th February 2010)
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/02/445707.html Bita in Downing Street (IM report circa 4th February 2010)
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/02/445677.html Petition to the Home Office which has been completely ignored
http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/33778.html
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