NaxalbariZindabad
2nd January 2010, 07:54
At the request of Iranian authorities, Interpol has labeled 12 members and supporters of the Worker-communist Party of Iran-Hekmatist as criminals and terrorists and has published their pictures and personal information on their website.
Regardless of the particular politics of these 12 individuals and their party, the fact remains that these are progressive activists under vicious attacks by the IRI and now Interpol, and as such I think they deserve full support against "terrorist" labeling and threats of arrests, deportations, and worse.
http://bataillesocialiste.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/interpol.jpg
This is a screenshot of the Interpol "Wanted" page for Kurosh Modaresi, elected leader of WPI-Hekmatist.
You can find the links to the 12 Interpol "Wanted" pages here : http://hekmatist.com/interpol1.html
---------
Here are two statements in support of the WPI-Hekmatist:
---------
The Worker-Communist Party of Iran Condemn the Prosecution of the Islamic Republic Opposition Activists by INTERPOL
December 16, 2009
In recent weeks, INTERPOL has issued orders of prosecution for a number of members and supporters of Hekmatist Party under “Terrorism.” The activists all live in different countries. Their prosecution was issued by the court and judge of the Islamic Republic in Sanandaj. INTERPOL also posted “WANTED” posters for them. This is a dirty act and an obvious and shameful collaboration with one of the most criminal governments of the contemporary history against opponents of this regime and it should be condemned by any political party and any freedom-loving human being.
INTERPOL should naturally know that any activist of the Islamic Republic’s opposition is prosecuted by the government courts as a “terrorist,” “saboteur, “rebels,” etc. They know well that the legal system of the Islamic Republic is not an acceptable one with any recognizable means and standards. These so-called courts are part of the machinery of oppressing people by the Islamic Republic. These are the machinery of giving legitimacy to killing, terror, and execution of tens of thousands of critics and opponents of the Islamic government because of their smallest criticism and opposition. The same judges and courts and all those in charge of the Islamic government, based on a lot of facts and evidences, are terrorists, criminals and murderers who have tens of private claimants against them and in any system and society with a minimum of humane and just standards they should be tried.
Today, not only the people of Iran but the world itself recognizes them as murderers and criminals. Does this organization intend to be an appendage of the Revolutionary Guards and oppressive machineries of Islamic dictatorship and other dictatorships of the world? If INTERPOL wants to put this policy in effect it would undoubtedly face the wave of opposition from the Iranian people and all the noble people of the world.
The Worker-Communist Party strongly condemns the act by INTERPOL and asks them to take back the decree for the prosecution of the people and apologize to them individually. We should stand against this measure of INTERPOL and drive it back. We call on all the freedom-loving people, all the human rights defending organizations and all the political organizations in opposition to the Islamic Republic to counter this inhumane and shameful policy.
Worker-communist Party of Iran
http://persian2english.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/we-condemn-the-prosecution-of-the-islamic-republic-opposition-activists-by-interpol/
---------
Stop the Conspiracy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and INTERPOL
December 21, 2009
At the request of Iranian authorities, INTERPOL has labelled a number of leading members and supporters of the Worker-communist Party of Iran-Hekmatist, as criminals and terrorists and has published their pictures and personal information on their website. These individuals have been persecuted and exiled by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s (IRI) authorities many years ago due to their active role in opposition to the IRI. Therefore, we, the under signed, consider INTERPOL’s step in this regard, as a clear sign of co-operation with the IRI’s notorious Secret Police.
This move by the IRI’s secret police through INTERPOL is not the first move of this kind against opposition groups. For example, Iranian terrorist agents murdered Qulam Keshaverz, the spokes person of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees, while he was visiting her mother in Cyprus, in 1989. In the same year, Abdul-Rahman Qasemlu, the Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and his colleagues were murdered during a secret negotiation with Iranian officials in Austria. The IRI’s authorities’ fatwa against Salman Rushdi and offering bounty to murder him; the killing of the Japanese translator of the Satanic Versus and the attempted murder against the Italian and Norwegian translators is a dark reminders of the brutality of the IRI and the length to which it is prepared to go to eliminate its opponents.
According to reliable sources, the number of exiled political individuals who have been murdered by the IRI from 1991 to1997 are 210. In 1998 alone, 76 writers, journalists, and political activists in Iran were murdered on order of the highest Iranian authorities. All these victims were accused of the same charges as those on the list of INTERPOL.
As far as the IRI’s authorities are concerned any progressive individual, anyone who defends human rights and advocates secularism should be eliminated. If not stopped the INTERPOL should prepare itself to arrest every woman, youth and worker in Iran.
By taking sides with the IRI, INTERPOL is making the life of Iranian opposition inside and outside of the country insecure and dangerous. This institution will then be responsible for the outcome of this policy.
INTERPOL’s decision is the first step in providing a “legal” and an “international” permission to the IRI’s Secret Police to attack any opposition and their family members.
If the INTERPOL decides to continue with its collaboration with the IRI, it will face condemnation and protests not only from Iranian political and cultural activists inside and outside of the country but also a whole host of progressive individuals and organizations in Europe and North America.
Only a strong and consorted pressure from progressive forces and individuals and libertarians, labour organisations, progressive political parties, and human right advocates can stop INTERPOL’s collaboration with the IRI’s secret police. We call on all those who oppose the IRI’s terrorist policies to join us in our endeavour to foil this conspiracy against Iranian political oppositions.
To support our campaign please contact us to take coordinated action in the form of petitions, protests and rallies. You can also write letters of protest to INTERPOL and send a copy to us.
INTERPOL Address:
INTERPOL
General Secretariat
200, quai Charles de Gaulle
69006 Lyon
France
Fax: +33 (0)4 72 44 71 63
Thank You,
Abbas Samakar, Amir Hassanpour, Azad Zamani, Azadeh Sepehri, Basir Nasibi, Bahran Choubineh, Banafshe kamali, Behrouz Sooren, Jalal Housaini, Minoo Hemati, Nasrin Parvaz, Rahim Mahmoudi, Salah Irandoust, Shahrzad Mojab, Soraya Shahabi, Suliman Qasemiani, Yousef Akrami.
http://stopterrorism.org/english/about-us/92-stop-the-conspiracy-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-and-interpol.html
---------
And a bourgeois news article:
---------
Swedish Kurds demand removal from Interpol list
By MALIN RISING, Associated Press Writer Malin Rising, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 30, 4:10 pm ET
STOCKHOLM – A group of Swedish citizens accused by Iran of terrorism and other crimes demanded Wednesday that their names be removed from Interpol's most-wanted list, and criticized the international police agency for honoring politically motivated requests.
The 10 men on the list are Kurds who were recognized by Sweden as political refugees some 20 years ago.
They are active critics of the Iranian regime, and their names were put on the Interpol wanted list at Iran's request. Six are accused by Iran of terrorism, and four of organized crime.
One of the accused Swedes, Rasoul Banavand, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he and the nine others were shocked two weeks ago to discover their names and photographs on Interpol's Web site.
"I have been active against the regime for 30 years," he said. "It is nothing new that the Iranian regime judges me and calls me and the other opponents terrorists. But what is unexpected is that this comes from Interpol, an international organization."
Arezo Julie Jacobsson, a spokeswoman for the men, said they are studying the possibility of taking legal action against Interpol for violating international asylum policies.
In an e-mail statement to The Associated Press, Interpol said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on the details of individual cases, but pointed out it is not its role to assess the evidence of cases.
"The individuals concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions (or International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate) and Interpol's role is to assist national police forces in identifying or locating those individuals with a view to their arrest and extradition," it said.
Interpol also said that although an open letter has been published about the Iranian postings, the international agency has not directly received any information regarding the complaints.
Generally, countries send requests for most-wanted postings, called red notices, to the Interpol General Secretariat, where they are reviewed before publication.
Red notices are not the same as international arrest warrants. They are, however, formal notifications to other countries that a person is wanted at home.
Swedish law enforcement officials have not yet acted on the Interpol notice regarding the 10 men.
Swedish prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand said Sweden cannot extradite the men since they are Swedish citizens, but could theoretically charge them in Sweden if Iran presented sufficient evidence.
Lindstrand said the men risked extradition to Iran if they traveled abroad.
Banavand and the other Swedes are affiliates of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran Hekmatist — an Iranian political party in exile opposed to the country's current Islamic regime. Two other members of the organization — one who lives in Britain, and one in Germany — also have been included on the Interpol list.
Banavand, who came to Sweden 17 years ago and now lives in Stockholm, said he was politically active in a Kurdish region in northern Iran after the 1979 revolution when regional heads clashed with Ayatollah Khomeini's regime. He denied any links to terror-listed organizations.
He said the Interpol listing has been a horrible experience for him and his family.
"I'm afraid of traveling outside the Swedish borders," he said. "Even though I know that a journey to England or Denmark maybe won't be that dangerous, I still don't feel safe."
Interpol has previously been accused of being used for political ends and getting involved in touchy diplomacy issues. In 2007, Iran said the agency was becoming a tool of Israel and the United States after it placed five Iranians and a Lebanese terror suspect on its most-wanted list for a 1994 bombing in Argentina.
The agency said that although it is a rare occurrence, member countries or individuals subject to red notices may challenge their validity if they believe the notices contravene Interpol's rules.
It said article 3 of its constitution says the organization is strictly forbidden to "undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091230/ap_on_re_eu/eu_sweden_iran_interpol
---------
relevant links:
http://hekmatist.com
http://stopterrorism.org/english
Regardless of the particular politics of these 12 individuals and their party, the fact remains that these are progressive activists under vicious attacks by the IRI and now Interpol, and as such I think they deserve full support against "terrorist" labeling and threats of arrests, deportations, and worse.
http://bataillesocialiste.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/interpol.jpg
This is a screenshot of the Interpol "Wanted" page for Kurosh Modaresi, elected leader of WPI-Hekmatist.
You can find the links to the 12 Interpol "Wanted" pages here : http://hekmatist.com/interpol1.html
---------
Here are two statements in support of the WPI-Hekmatist:
---------
The Worker-Communist Party of Iran Condemn the Prosecution of the Islamic Republic Opposition Activists by INTERPOL
December 16, 2009
In recent weeks, INTERPOL has issued orders of prosecution for a number of members and supporters of Hekmatist Party under “Terrorism.” The activists all live in different countries. Their prosecution was issued by the court and judge of the Islamic Republic in Sanandaj. INTERPOL also posted “WANTED” posters for them. This is a dirty act and an obvious and shameful collaboration with one of the most criminal governments of the contemporary history against opponents of this regime and it should be condemned by any political party and any freedom-loving human being.
INTERPOL should naturally know that any activist of the Islamic Republic’s opposition is prosecuted by the government courts as a “terrorist,” “saboteur, “rebels,” etc. They know well that the legal system of the Islamic Republic is not an acceptable one with any recognizable means and standards. These so-called courts are part of the machinery of oppressing people by the Islamic Republic. These are the machinery of giving legitimacy to killing, terror, and execution of tens of thousands of critics and opponents of the Islamic government because of their smallest criticism and opposition. The same judges and courts and all those in charge of the Islamic government, based on a lot of facts and evidences, are terrorists, criminals and murderers who have tens of private claimants against them and in any system and society with a minimum of humane and just standards they should be tried.
Today, not only the people of Iran but the world itself recognizes them as murderers and criminals. Does this organization intend to be an appendage of the Revolutionary Guards and oppressive machineries of Islamic dictatorship and other dictatorships of the world? If INTERPOL wants to put this policy in effect it would undoubtedly face the wave of opposition from the Iranian people and all the noble people of the world.
The Worker-Communist Party strongly condemns the act by INTERPOL and asks them to take back the decree for the prosecution of the people and apologize to them individually. We should stand against this measure of INTERPOL and drive it back. We call on all the freedom-loving people, all the human rights defending organizations and all the political organizations in opposition to the Islamic Republic to counter this inhumane and shameful policy.
Worker-communist Party of Iran
http://persian2english.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/we-condemn-the-prosecution-of-the-islamic-republic-opposition-activists-by-interpol/
---------
Stop the Conspiracy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and INTERPOL
December 21, 2009
At the request of Iranian authorities, INTERPOL has labelled a number of leading members and supporters of the Worker-communist Party of Iran-Hekmatist, as criminals and terrorists and has published their pictures and personal information on their website. These individuals have been persecuted and exiled by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s (IRI) authorities many years ago due to their active role in opposition to the IRI. Therefore, we, the under signed, consider INTERPOL’s step in this regard, as a clear sign of co-operation with the IRI’s notorious Secret Police.
This move by the IRI’s secret police through INTERPOL is not the first move of this kind against opposition groups. For example, Iranian terrorist agents murdered Qulam Keshaverz, the spokes person of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees, while he was visiting her mother in Cyprus, in 1989. In the same year, Abdul-Rahman Qasemlu, the Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and his colleagues were murdered during a secret negotiation with Iranian officials in Austria. The IRI’s authorities’ fatwa against Salman Rushdi and offering bounty to murder him; the killing of the Japanese translator of the Satanic Versus and the attempted murder against the Italian and Norwegian translators is a dark reminders of the brutality of the IRI and the length to which it is prepared to go to eliminate its opponents.
According to reliable sources, the number of exiled political individuals who have been murdered by the IRI from 1991 to1997 are 210. In 1998 alone, 76 writers, journalists, and political activists in Iran were murdered on order of the highest Iranian authorities. All these victims were accused of the same charges as those on the list of INTERPOL.
As far as the IRI’s authorities are concerned any progressive individual, anyone who defends human rights and advocates secularism should be eliminated. If not stopped the INTERPOL should prepare itself to arrest every woman, youth and worker in Iran.
By taking sides with the IRI, INTERPOL is making the life of Iranian opposition inside and outside of the country insecure and dangerous. This institution will then be responsible for the outcome of this policy.
INTERPOL’s decision is the first step in providing a “legal” and an “international” permission to the IRI’s Secret Police to attack any opposition and their family members.
If the INTERPOL decides to continue with its collaboration with the IRI, it will face condemnation and protests not only from Iranian political and cultural activists inside and outside of the country but also a whole host of progressive individuals and organizations in Europe and North America.
Only a strong and consorted pressure from progressive forces and individuals and libertarians, labour organisations, progressive political parties, and human right advocates can stop INTERPOL’s collaboration with the IRI’s secret police. We call on all those who oppose the IRI’s terrorist policies to join us in our endeavour to foil this conspiracy against Iranian political oppositions.
To support our campaign please contact us to take coordinated action in the form of petitions, protests and rallies. You can also write letters of protest to INTERPOL and send a copy to us.
INTERPOL Address:
INTERPOL
General Secretariat
200, quai Charles de Gaulle
69006 Lyon
France
Fax: +33 (0)4 72 44 71 63
Thank You,
Abbas Samakar, Amir Hassanpour, Azad Zamani, Azadeh Sepehri, Basir Nasibi, Bahran Choubineh, Banafshe kamali, Behrouz Sooren, Jalal Housaini, Minoo Hemati, Nasrin Parvaz, Rahim Mahmoudi, Salah Irandoust, Shahrzad Mojab, Soraya Shahabi, Suliman Qasemiani, Yousef Akrami.
http://stopterrorism.org/english/about-us/92-stop-the-conspiracy-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-and-interpol.html
---------
And a bourgeois news article:
---------
Swedish Kurds demand removal from Interpol list
By MALIN RISING, Associated Press Writer Malin Rising, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 30, 4:10 pm ET
STOCKHOLM – A group of Swedish citizens accused by Iran of terrorism and other crimes demanded Wednesday that their names be removed from Interpol's most-wanted list, and criticized the international police agency for honoring politically motivated requests.
The 10 men on the list are Kurds who were recognized by Sweden as political refugees some 20 years ago.
They are active critics of the Iranian regime, and their names were put on the Interpol wanted list at Iran's request. Six are accused by Iran of terrorism, and four of organized crime.
One of the accused Swedes, Rasoul Banavand, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he and the nine others were shocked two weeks ago to discover their names and photographs on Interpol's Web site.
"I have been active against the regime for 30 years," he said. "It is nothing new that the Iranian regime judges me and calls me and the other opponents terrorists. But what is unexpected is that this comes from Interpol, an international organization."
Arezo Julie Jacobsson, a spokeswoman for the men, said they are studying the possibility of taking legal action against Interpol for violating international asylum policies.
In an e-mail statement to The Associated Press, Interpol said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on the details of individual cases, but pointed out it is not its role to assess the evidence of cases.
"The individuals concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions (or International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate) and Interpol's role is to assist national police forces in identifying or locating those individuals with a view to their arrest and extradition," it said.
Interpol also said that although an open letter has been published about the Iranian postings, the international agency has not directly received any information regarding the complaints.
Generally, countries send requests for most-wanted postings, called red notices, to the Interpol General Secretariat, where they are reviewed before publication.
Red notices are not the same as international arrest warrants. They are, however, formal notifications to other countries that a person is wanted at home.
Swedish law enforcement officials have not yet acted on the Interpol notice regarding the 10 men.
Swedish prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand said Sweden cannot extradite the men since they are Swedish citizens, but could theoretically charge them in Sweden if Iran presented sufficient evidence.
Lindstrand said the men risked extradition to Iran if they traveled abroad.
Banavand and the other Swedes are affiliates of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran Hekmatist — an Iranian political party in exile opposed to the country's current Islamic regime. Two other members of the organization — one who lives in Britain, and one in Germany — also have been included on the Interpol list.
Banavand, who came to Sweden 17 years ago and now lives in Stockholm, said he was politically active in a Kurdish region in northern Iran after the 1979 revolution when regional heads clashed with Ayatollah Khomeini's regime. He denied any links to terror-listed organizations.
He said the Interpol listing has been a horrible experience for him and his family.
"I'm afraid of traveling outside the Swedish borders," he said. "Even though I know that a journey to England or Denmark maybe won't be that dangerous, I still don't feel safe."
Interpol has previously been accused of being used for political ends and getting involved in touchy diplomacy issues. In 2007, Iran said the agency was becoming a tool of Israel and the United States after it placed five Iranians and a Lebanese terror suspect on its most-wanted list for a 1994 bombing in Argentina.
The agency said that although it is a rare occurrence, member countries or individuals subject to red notices may challenge their validity if they believe the notices contravene Interpol's rules.
It said article 3 of its constitution says the organization is strictly forbidden to "undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091230/ap_on_re_eu/eu_sweden_iran_interpol
---------
relevant links:
http://hekmatist.com
http://stopterrorism.org/english