Sayeh Hassan is a Toronto based Barrister & Solicitor and owner of Report from Protest in front of the Islamic Regime Embassy in Support of Habibollah Latifi-Ottawa, C
Today (January 3rd 2010) I attended a protest which had been organized by leftists activists in front of the Islamic Regime Embassy in Ottawa. The protest lasted an hour from 1-2pm and despite the bitter cold tens of activists, many of whom including myself had travelled from Toronto gathered in front of the Embassy to show solidarity with Habibollah Latifi a Kurdish student activist who is facing imminent execution.
I had the opportunity to speak briefly at the protest and I started with saying that even though we were there with different political stands and may not agree on many things, we defiantly agreed on one thing, and that was that the Islamic Regime is not capable of reform and that it must be overthrown by the people, Regime Change is the only viable option for the Iranian people.
- Tuesday, January 4, 2011
According to reliable news from activists in Iran Mr. Hossein Khazri, a Kurdish Iranian political prisoner was transferred to an “unknown location” in the Orumiyeh Prison. Mr. Khezri was transferred to the Orumiye Prison about a month and a half ago from Mahabad Prison.
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According to news received from Habbibolah Latifi’s lawyer Mr. Nikbakht, Mr. Latifi is set to be executed on Sunday December 26th 2010 in Sanandaj Prison, in Iran.
Habibollah Latifi is a 29 years old Kurdish activist who was majoring in engineering in Eylam University when he was arrested on October 23rd 2007 in the city of Sanandaj. Mr. Latifi was charged with “endangering state security” and was brutally tortured in order to force a confession from him. Eight months after his arrest he was sentenced to death by the “Revolutionary Court” in the city of Sanandaj and the death sentence was upheld by the “Court of Appeal” in Sanandaj in February of 2009. Mr. Latifi’s full biography can be found here.
When I started my blog almost four years ago I decided to call it “Shiro-Khorshid Forever” (Lion and Sun Forever), because of the unifying aspect of the Lion and Sun Flag. One of the first things the Islamic Regime did after coming to power was to change the symbols of our national flag (Lion and Sun) and replace it with Arabic Symbols in an attempt to strip us of our history and nationality.
The Regime was not successful in its quest, and 31 years later Iranians from almost all political fractions including monarchists to modern leftist groups to those who support a republic to armed opposition groups such as the MKO all unite under this flag. All these groups and organizations may have different beliefs and ideologies which divide them, but the Lion and Sun, this unifying symbol always brings them together under one umbrella.
Last year on this day Ehsan Fatahiyan a Kurdish political activist in Iran was executed by Islamic Regime officials. Ehsan spent 18 months in prison before his execution and was subjected to torture for many months in order to force a false confession from him, however he never confessed. He had originally been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment on the charges of being a “mohareb” (enemy of god) however; on appeal the death sentence was imposed.
Days before his execution a global campaign was started to stop his execution, thousands of signatures were gathered only in a few days, and people from all walks of life came together in an attempt to stop his execution. Unfortunately the campaign was not successful and on November 11, 2009 the execution was carried out in the central Sanandaj Prison.
According to news reports from Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran this morning at 10:00am Behrouz Javid Tehrani, a long time political prisoner and pro-democracy activist was sentenced to 74 lashes, and the sentence was immediately carried out by Hassan Akhriyan a notorious prison official.
With the Toronto mayoral election approaching, the political tension in the city is high. Two major candidates in this race are Rob Ford and George Smitherman, and our city is buzzing with the names of these candidates.
This afternoon I was driving down Warden street when I noticed numerous lawn signs both for Mr. Ford and Mr. Smitherman. Seeing these signs really got me thinking about how fortunate we are to be living in Canada. There are so many countries in the world where the political system is dictatorial, and it does not allow for fair and free elections. People are not allowed to choose the candidates they want, to openly support them and the election process is really a [s]election.