Despite the fact that Iran has signed two international agreements forbidding capital punishment for crimes committed by juveniles, the Islamic republic continues to execute children.

Moreover, Delara insisted she was innocent and that the murder was committed by her then-boyfriend, who was 19 at the time.

This video tribute was posted a few days ago by Stop Child Executions.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59IprOXGTe0[/youtube]

UPDATE: Amnesty International has condemned the execution:

“Amnesty International is outraged at the execution of Delara Darabi, and particularly at the news that her lawyer was not informed about the execution, despite the legal requirement that he should receive 48 hours’ notice,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. “This appears to have been a cynical move on the part of the authorities to avoid domestic and international protests which might have saved Delara Darabi’s life.”

h/t: ReligiousIntel

Tehran has canceled the Islamic Solidarity Games after Saudi Arabia asked Iran to remove the term Persian Gulf from game medals and brochures.

The Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) Secretary General Saleh Gazdar and Technical Committee Chairman Mohammad Bashir Al-Trabosli said in a Tehran meeting that Arab states would only participate in the event if the term Persian Gulf is replaced with the Arabian Gulf or Gulf.

Tehran, however, said it would never retreat from its stance concerning the use of the Persian Gulf and canceled the games despite spending over 10 million US dollars on the project in the past two years, alef reported.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty adds this tidbit.

Coincidentally (or not), Tehran held a conference today exploring the historical background of the term “Persian Gulf.”

Negotiations are ongoing, so the games may yet go ahead as scheduled in Iran this October.

Although the official website of the Islamic Solidarity Games 2009 says nothing about the controversy, it does have a timetable of sporting events, publicity videos, and a spiffy logo.

At right is a satellite photo of the body of water in question.

Afghanistan’s Shias, most of whom belong to the Hazara ethnic group, are typically among the most religiously moderate of Afghans. Hazara women appear in public with their faces uncovered. They are disproportionately represented, he notes, in national singing competitions.

The problem is their religious leaders, he says. “They are mostly trained in Iran, so they have a different thought. I separate what they think from what the people think. This law was decided among some mullahs and ulemas [senior Islamic scholars], not the people.”

Ramoz says that during the years of Taliban rule and the civil war before that, many Shia clerics studied in Iran’s holy city of Qom. Following the overthrow of the Taliban—which had brutally persecuted and on occasion massacred Afghan Shias—these clerics returned and took up positions on religious councils or in the Afghan parliament. From there they played a powerful role in drafting the controversial legislation, which Ramoz says is actually not popular with most Shias.

“We have a very conservative and very jihadi parliament that in a sense disagrees with human rights and democracy,” he says. “In Afghanistan, unfortunately, the relationship between MPs and their constituents is not as accountable and transparent as in the West.”

So, Iran’s influence on the actions of Afghan parliamentarians far outweighs that of the Afghan people? That does not bode well for the future of democracy in Afghanistan.

Following domestic and international protests, the law is under review.

h/t: The Canada-Afghanistan Blog

The Iranian Supreme Court has upheld her conviction and sentence. She is scheduled to be publicly hanged tomorrow.

Darabi will be executed by April 20 unless the family of the elderly woman she was convicted of murdering at the age of 17 decides to pardon her.

The case has alarmed human rights activists, and put the spotlight on Iran, one of the few countries that executes people for crimes committed as juveniles.

Along with her 19-year-old boyfriend, Amir Hossein Sotoudeh, Darabi allegedly burgled the home of an elderly female relative — the cousin of Darabi’s father — and the woman was stabbed to death in the process.

Iran is a signatory to two international agreements that reject capital punishment for crimes committed by minors.

The latest word from DelaraDarabi on Twitter is that the victim’s family has refused to pardon her and insists she must hang.

Click here to sign a petition calling on Iranian leaders to commute Delara’s sentence.  For more information, visit SaveDelara.com.

“They are in a cell with 27 other women and the terrible living conditions have caused both to suffer ill health. They have not been allowed to see a doctor. However, they are very encouraged that Christians around the world are praying for them.”

Elam Ministries says: “There is a possibility that they can be released on bail soon. If this happens they will still have to face a court case with the possibility of being sentenced to life imprisonment.”

The only crime these two brave women have committed is to be disciples of Jesus.

Please pray for the health and safe release of Maryam and Marzieh.

On March 5th 2009, two Iranian Christian women, Miss Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad (30), and Miss Maryam Rustampoor (27), were arrested by the Iranian security forces. Their only crime is that they are committed Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus.  They are being unfairly labeled as ‘anti-government activists’, because of the hostility of the government towards practising Christians.

After several interrogations and a court appearance, bail was set at the absurdly high amount of US$400,000.  They are being held without charge in the notorious Evin Prison.

FCNN also reports the two women are in serious need of medical attention.

h/t: BosNewsLife

[A] 30 years old Christian man by the name of Mazaher R., who had been active in web-blogging and Christian evangelism via internet, was befriended by a person who was a local resident of Isfahan and introduced himself as Pastor Reza.

This man, Pastor Reza, invited the Christian web blogger to meet him at a location in order to fellowship and be better acquainted with each other.

Our brother Mazaher, along with his sister, and another web blogger named Hamed S. met this man called Reza on February 22, 2009 at a pre-designated location.

These 3 believers met Reza and another lady called Maria, who was introduced as Reza’s wife, met at the prearranged location. After some introductory conversation, Pastor Reza invited the 3 Christians to accompany him and his wife to a secret home church meeting, located on Ordibehesht Street near the Felezi Bridge in Isfahan, where he was to baptize a new convert in water.

When they arrived at the alleged house church, plain-clothes security police arrested the three Christians.  A week later, Mazaher’s sister was released after authorities determined she was not involved in blogging.

There is no news as to the whereabouts or physical condition of Mazaher and Hamed.

h/t: International Christian Concern

The World Academy of Arts, Literature & Media recently named Iranian band Kiosk Best Blues Band of 2008.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjKQigyw8C0[/youtube]

To me, except for the Farsi lyrics, Kiosk looks and sounds like an American alt-country band.

KIOSK is often noted for its biting critical social and
 political, but humorous lyrics.

I’ll just have to take your word on that.

The band’s website is here; listen to their latest CD Global Zoo for free here.

h/t: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Transmission blog

A preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin tomorrow and last three days.

“Iran has displayed a clear desire to ensure that those responsible for Kazemi’s murder remain unpunished,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The authorities of Canada and the European Union should actively support the legitimate requests made by the Kazemi family’s lawyers and show no leniency towards Iran in this appalling affair.”
[…]
The Kazemi family’s lawyers have repeatedly condemned all the judicial proceedings in Iran as a sham. Their requests for senior judicial officials to appear in court have never been satisfied, depriving them of key witnesses. Above all, Tehran chief prosecutor Said Mortazavi, who ordered Kazemi’s arrest and was present when she was interrogated in Evin prison, has never been questioned in court.

The doctor who examined Kazemi as she was dying of her injuries was so disturbed by what he saw that he fled to Canada in 2005 to expose the facts of her brutal torture.

Iran is expected to invoke Canada’s State Security Act in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In response, Mr Hachemi’s lawyers will argue that the State Security Act is incompatible with the Canadian Bill of Rights.

The Iranian government’s December 31 trial of Dr. Arash Alaei and Dr. Kamiar Alaei – Iranian brothers who are known worldwide for their work as HIV/AIDS physicians – denied fundamental requirements of due process because, according to reports received by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), the prosecutor refused to disclose all the charges against the accused and denied their right to confront and defend themselves against their accusers. The trial today also sends an ominous signal regarding the Iranian Government’s crackdown on international scientific exchange.
[…]
“Iran’s failure to reveal the nature of the secret charges against the doctors makes it impossible to determine if the charges have any factual basis,” stated PHR’s CEO Frank Donaghue. He added, “To all appearances, the arrest and now the trial of these two prominent and widely-traveled AIDS doctors seem to be an effort to shut the door on medical and public health collaboration on global health crises…a policy that is dangerous for the well-being of the Iranian people and for global health.”

An online petition calling for the brothers’ release has been signed by more than 3100 doctors, nurses, and public health workers from some 85 countries. Also, physicians and other medical experts have sent letters to Iran’s Ministry of Health urging the government to respect the brothers’ rights to confer with legal counsel and meet with family.

Iranian authorities have responded by turning the trial into a Star Chamber proceeding.

h/t: Global Voices

Pakistan is even worse shape, largely because it had no oil exports to start with. Its current account deficit has ballooned to 14% of GDP, and it must pay 3000 basis points (30%) above the benchmark rate to finance its debt. Turkey is in similarly dire financial straits.

Asia Times columnist Spengler comments.

Pakistan has one of the world’s youngest populations and an enormous capital requirement. Young people borrow from old people, and countries with young populations should import capital from countries with aging populations. That is out of the question, for the world markets have turned Pakistan into a pariah.
[…]
Pakistan is about to become a failed state, and Iran and Turkey will be close behind.
[…]
The West at present is unable to cope with a failed state like Somalia, with less than a tenth as many military age men as Pakistan, but which nonetheless constitutes a threat to world shipping and a likely source of funding for terrorism. How can the West cope with the humiliation of Pakistan’s pro-American president and the inability of its duly-constituted government to suppress Islamist elements in its army and intelligence services?

Spengler points out that many Islamic nations are facing higher borrowing charges.

The Muslim risk premium has become so pervasive that investors are looking cross-eyed at Saudi Arabia. The cost of credit protection on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has jumped since August, and now is considerably higher than Israel’s.

Near the end of the column, he offers some thoughts on the Mumbai terrorist attack. He believes that Indian authorities have lied about important aspects of the attack, which was, in his view, not a suicide mission but “a new kind of urban terror assault”.

Reporters Without Borders suggests this is part of an official campaign of intimidation against cyber-journalists.

“Gholami is the second cyber-journalist currently detained and we fear there could be a major crackdown,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The authorities no longer hide the fact they see most news and information channels as threats to Iran’s sovereignty. We call for the release of all detained cyber-dissidents.”

Another online journalist, Mojtaba Lotfi, was arrested on 8 October after “posting a sermon by a well-known opponent of Supreme Guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei”.

Since Ms Gholami’s arrest, the publication of the Revolutionary Guards has printed an article calling the internet “a tool of subversion” and accusing the US of attacking the “opinions of young Iranians and the world population” with the help of CNN, BBC, Fox News, Washington Post, New York Times, Yahoo, and Google.

I wonder how the BBC feels about being labeled a tool of American interests.

A bill now before the Iranian parliament would make creation of websites promoting “corruption, prostitution or apostasy” a capital offence.

A prominent Iranian blogger, nicknamed the Blogfather for spawning Iran’s spectacular blogging revolution, has been arrested in Tehran and accused of spying for Israel.

Hossein Derakhshan, who was last based in London after spending several years in Canada, returned to live in his homeland a few weeks ago.

He wrote that he “LOVES living in Tehran again” in his most recent posting nearly a month ago. He was “frustrated by slow internet connection, but generally impressed”.

Travelling on a Canadian passport, he made a highly publicised trip to Israel in 2006 on a mission to show his “20,000 daily Iranian readers what Israel really looks like and how people live there”. He also wanted to “humanise” Iranians for Israelis.

Mr Derakhshan’s arrest at this time seems odd because his recent blog posts have been strongly pro-Iran and anti-Israel.  If convicted of spying, he could face the death penalty.

In a post from Israel in January 2006, he acknowledged that the visit broke a “major taboo”.

Derakhshan is credited with designing a simple way to display Persian letters online, paving the way for the emergence of Iran’s rich and vibrant blogosphere.  Today, Iran’s percentage of internet users is second only to Israel among Middle Eastern countries.

In related news today, the Iranian government admits blocking access to 5,000,000 websites and censoring several million more.

h/t: Global Voices Online

UPDATE (20 Nov.):  Annie Lessard informs us in the comments that the “generally reliable” anti-mullah blog Iran Resist regards Derakhshan as an agent of the regime.

Iran’s foreign ministry sources said on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic should respond to the Canadian-sponsored UN resolution criticizing Iran’s so-called violation of human rights ‘fittingly’.

“Canada has been deprived of positive relations with the Islamic Republic as a result of its anti-Iran resolution and its present approach toward the country,” the source said.

The resolution is due to come to a committee vote this Friday, 21 November. If the committee approves, the General Assembly will vote on it.

The head of Iran’s student Basij organization, Reza Saraj, has said that U.S. President-elect Barack Obama learned his “Yes, we can” slogan from Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Mr Saraj also says “the decision makers and power centres” in the United States had Obama elected in order to avoid a revolution “predicted” to occur by 2025.

Those Iranian students have been offering some incisive political analyses lately.

Seven years after 15 Saudis hijacked U.S. jetliners and flew them into the World Trade Center, Saudi Arabia is leading a UN forum in New York this week to promote peace and interreligious dialogue.

Saudi King Abdullah is hosting the “Culture of Peace” gathering at United Nations headquarters on November 12-13.
[…]
However, critics question the UN interreligious conference being led by Saudi Arabia, which does not allow other faiths to be practiced on its soil. Like June’s Madrid forum, this week’s meeting will not be attended by Saudi Arabia’s top Muslim clerics, including its grand mufti.

The Christian Science Monitor points to the elephant in the room: Saudi Arabia is also leading a drive by Islamic nations for an international agreement to outlaw criticism of Islam.

Saudi King Abdullah, who initiated this week’s special session, is quietly enlisting the leaders’ support for a global law to punish blasphemy – a campaign championed by the 56-member Organization of Islamic Conference that puts the rights of religions ahead of individual liberties.

If the campaign succeeds, states that presume to speak in the name of religion will be able to crush religious freedom not only in their own country, but abroad.

To add a final comic flourish, Iranian students have reacted with horrified indignation to the fact that Israel is invited to the conference.

Head of the Muslim World Students’ Front Hojjat Khodadadi told IRNA on Wednesday that the invitation extended to Zionist regime’s foreign minister Tzipi Livni by Saudi Arabia, as the country leading the UN inter-faith meeting, means that Saudis have practically opened the door for normalization of ties with the Zionist regime.

Khodadadi said that the Zionist regime does not have the least belief in any religion and religious school of thought.

Right!

h/t for Christian Science Monitor: Persecuted Church Weblog