I have been very busy these past few days; not with work but with thinking and ideas. We had a very bad week in the organization. I did not go to the office on Thursday because of some private thinkgs to do at home but found out in the evening that "ICTRC is closed by authorities". Wow... That is my NGO and I work there. It was also in the news that the authorities have come to our organizations office and closed it. Then they went to our manager's house, and investigated his house and took some books and other stuff.

So right now I am jobless :D Being jobless is not bad; the bad part is our NGO has been shut down. We were educating other NGOs about their rights and the way to utilize resources.

But let's finish with the good news. Do you remember the arrest of 33 women? All of them are free right now. On heavy bails (Around 200'000'000 Tomans which is aournd 200'000 Euro) but at least they are free for the Iranian new year ceremonies. We were going to celebrate the new year in front of their prison otherwise.

We have to wait for many trials. Our boss, our organization and these brave women. I have to find a job too. Maybe I will do freelance tech support / web design for other NGOs. I also started to translate an English book into Farsi :) I am an natural born translator I think.

As the previous year, the gathering of 8th of March was finished by the attack of Anti-Revolutionary police to the people and large scale beating. They've also beated an journalist and forced other journalists to erase their photos and films.

Eye witnesses write "At the 14:00 we were going to demonstrate and we were around 300 people. Anti Revolutionary Guard attacked us and violently beat us. There were also a lot of "women polices".

Some reports say 6 women and 1 man are arrested and others claim that they are released after some hours. I think they should be released fast.

The bad for me is that I've returned back from Afghanistan / Kabul to Tehran yesterday night. In the Kabul everything was ok at 8th of March. Governmental placards was celebrating it. Ads in the TV promotes women's rights but it was difficult to see a woman in the street. In the other hand in Iran women are around 70% of university students and very active in social life but government beats them and arrest them just because they are asking for their rights; their rights as humans.

The photo is Nooshin Ahmadi Khorasani, one of the feminist activists in Iran. And the photographer is Kosoof.com

ILNA, the Official News Agency reports that more than 3 thousand teachers gathered in front of the seventh parliment for the fifth day during recent month.

They are demonstrating for higher payments. I remember the previous year in which they asked the minister "why are our payments much lower than Oil workers?" and he answered "Because the country is dependent on the Oil workers. But instead you are very good people!" (bad translation but you've got the point).
This was a silly answer. The country might be dependent on the Oil but it's future is HIGHLY dependent on teachers and schools.

The teachers who parade today had placards saying "Students! write in your note books: people are not equal" and "Parliament members! If you can not pay our salaries, please give back our votes" and "Ahmadinejad! Justice or Cheating?".

At the end, they announced if Parliament do not pays attention to their demands, they are going not to teach the next week.

I've just signed this pettition: Petition for Woman Human Rights Defenders in Iran: Too dangerous to have equal rights? from FrontLineDefenders. I believe that if people will know about it, it will help.

And those brave people are going to gather in front of the parliament today, in celebration of 8th of March. They are asking for equal rights and some of the recently arrested / released people are participating. It is great I think but I am a bit afraid. I wish everything goes well. Still there is no news in the Internet. I will check again but I am not sure if I will have access to the Internet or not.

just got an email from my bus

All women released except Shadi Sadr, Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh and Jila bani yaghoob.....

I am glad but also awaiting for the release of the other three. I am in the middle of the workshop so after the workshop (If the Generator of the Internet works) I will read those peoples weblog and translate some of them for you.

Latests news says that 8 of womens activists who were arrested a few days ago, are released. Their names are Niloofar Golkar, Sara Leghaei, Saeghi Leghaei, Parastoo Sarmadi, Parastoo Dokoohaki, Sara Imanian, Nahid Entesari & Farideh Entesari. These releases are on bail (at last I've found the correct word).

Also Koneshgara (farsi) writes that 2 of the people who were arrested on Sunday were moved to the public prisons (wich has 2 sides. The good one is they are not anymore in private cells and the bad one is they might be among criminals).

There were also in the news that 5 of the families of the prisoners has announced to bring bails and their prisoner will be freed soon.

We are glad that some them are released and asking for the release of the all of them.

I've just got an email from a trusted friend and farsi news sites are reporting same thing: Arrested women started a hunger strike from some hours ago. Wow... brave people. In Iran when they arrest you, they are looking for conformity and hunger strike is an extreme form of non-conformity!

From the morning we were getting news about authorities asking for "collateral" but did not released anybody. In response, all the 33 arrested people went under hunger strike. Nooshin Ahmadi Khorasani have told this to her husband in a short phone call. She is brave.

Koneshgaran news agency (farsi) writes seven of the families are informed to go to the judicary system with documents of the ownership of a house and temporary release their family members. I mean they have to provide a documents of the ownership of a house as a bargain(?) of their family members release. If the person does not shows up when called, the house will belong to the government! (If I knew the word, I did not have to write 3 sentences! in farsi we call it Vasighe.

Right now, they are at the judicary system but nobody has released yet and the judge does not appeared there. These seven people are: Parastoo Dokoohaki, Saghi&Sara Loghmani, Parastoo Sarmadi, Niloofar Golkar, Faride&Nahid Ansari.

Another source (HerlandMag) which belongs to one of the most active feminist groups in Iran says Jelve Javaheri, Zara Amjadian, Parvin Ardalan, Nahid Jafari, Nasrin Afzali and Asieh Amini hava called their families and told tham that they are right but are not going to be released soon and will be in prison "for some days".

Oh.. and there was a sit-in at the faculty of Sociology of the Tehran University. Around 250 participated with the placards reading "Release our friends", "Women's rights are Human rights". They declared an announcement which says (my translation!):

The arrest of 33 people in front of the revolutionary court was only and only because they have insisted on their right of civil activities and other worldwide rights.
We as a group of university activists ask from the judiciary authorities to conform justly to their lawful and international duties (i.e. civil and political rights) and release all the detainees very fast.

I know that my translation sucks :) specilly about an official text about the law, but as you know in my idea grammar may not prevent us from talking about the news.

Regarding my previous post (Authorities have arrested 40 of my friends) I have got many emails, from many good friends.

Jadi, is there anything I can do? Write an article? Publish about it in anyway? Let me know. I'm thinking of all you brave people.

thank you all for your solidarity. I am not in Tehran and with a very few communication possibilities, it is difficult to get fresh news. I've just talked with Leila once today. She says our friends are still in prison and still under investigations. Today some more brave people gathered in front of the judiciary building and asked for the released of the all arrested people. Please click on our logo and sign our pettition.

Related
- Amnesty; Iran: Arrests of women may be an attempt to prevent International Women's Day calls for equality
- FrontLineDefenders; Large scale arrest of Women human rights defenders in Tehran

Updated:more than 50 30 are arrested by the Police. Five of our friends who where going to be in court, are among arrested people. Their trial was postponed and while they were going to leave the court police have been arrested them.

I am in Afghanistan and just heard that the authorities have arrested at least 37 32 of my friends in Iran. Today (just one week before 8th of March) was the trail of 6 of our friends and because of this some of feminist activists decided to gather outside of the court to peacefully protest recent pressures against them.

One of the most important news sources Gooya news (farsi) writes "With the police attack, this gathering leaded to violence and police have been arrested at least 36 persons". Some of the activists say police forced pushed / hit Nahid Jafari's head to the bus and some of her teeths are broken but police refuses to take him to doctors.

And the names? I heart beats when I read them. My wife is not among them but 4 of my direct colleagues and at least 10 of my good friends are among them. have a look to the list: Asieh Amini, Zilla bani yaghoob, Mahboube Abbasgholizade, Mahboube Hosseinzade, Sara Loghmani, Zara Amjadian, Maryam Hosseinkhah, Jelve Javaheri, Niloofar Golkar, Parastoo Dokoohaki, Zeinab Peyghambarzadeh, Maryam Mirza, Saghi Loghmani, Khadije Moghadam, Saghi Laghayi, Nahid Keshavarz, Mahnaz Mohammadi, Nasrin Afzali, Talat Taghinia, Fakhri Shadfar, Maryam Shadfar, Elnaz Ansari, Fatemeh Govarai, Azade Forghani, Somaye Farid, Minoo Mortazi, Sara Imanian, Nahid Jafari, Soosan Tahmasebi, Parvin Ardalan, Nooshin Ahmadni Khorasani & Shahla Entesari.

Some news sources says that Shadi Sadr is also among arrested ones.