I suppose their first "status report" might be their recent arrests of women documented by Amnesty International which include:
· Mahboubeh Karami – a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign (also known as the Campaign for Equality) who was arrested on 2 March 2010 at her home on the basis of a general arrest warrant dated May 2009. This is the fifth time she has been arrested in connection with her activism.
· Shiva Nazar Ahari, a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters was arrested for the second time since the June 2009 election on 20 December 2009, and remains held in Evin Prison without charge or trial. At least six other members of the Committee are also currently detained.
· Behareh Hedayat, a member of the Central Committee of the the Office for the Consolidation of Unity (a national student body which has been active in calling for political reform and opposing human rights violations) was arrested on 31 December 2009, and is also held in Evin Prison without charge or trial. Shortly before her arrest, in early December 2009, her recorded video speech for a conference in the
Netherlands entitled “International solidarity with Iranian students' movement On the
occasion of Iran's National Student's Day”2 was widely circulated on the internet.
· Zahra Jabbari, was arrested on 18 September 2009, when mass anti-government protests were held. She is detained in Evin Prison, apparently on account of her having relatives based with the Peoples Mohahedin Organization, a banned opposition group. Her trial has not yet been concluded.
· Seven supporters of the Mourning Mothers – Leila Seyfi Elahi, Zhila Karamzadeh Makvandi, Fatemeh Rastegari, Mrs Ebrahim, Elham Ahsani, Farzaneh Zaynali and Manijeh Taheri – who were arrested on 7 and 8 February 2010 are reportedly detained in Section 209 of Evin Prison without charge or trial.
· Mahsa Jazini – a journalist based in Esfahan and member of the Campaign for Equality was arrested on 7 February 2010 and released from Dastgerd prison in Esfahan on 1 March. According to reports, she was told at the time of her arrest that the reason for her detention was that she was a feminist.
· Maryam Zia, a children’s rights activist who is the director of the Association for the Endeavour for a World Deserving of Children was arrested on 31 December at her home and is believed to be held in Evin Prison.
(Amnesty International believes that all these women are prisoners of conscience, held solely for their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, assembly and association, or on account of their family links and calls for their immediate and unconditional release)
BUT PLEASE let us not forget Neda Agha-Soltan, who was killed during a post election anti-government protest, are placed on Albertina Square during a demonstration in Vienna January 23, 2010. (Pictured above). Agha-Soltan became a symbol for protests against Tehran's hardline leaders after graphic footage of her death was seen around the world on the Internet. (Reuters)
According to Fox, the Commission on the Status of Women is supposed to conduct review of nations that violate women's rights, issue reports detailing their failings and monitor success in improving women's equality. Critics of Iran's human rights record say the country has taken "every conceivable step" to deter women's equality. (no kidding?)
So this is reason number (i forget what we're up to now) to mistrust with every nostril hair the boys in baby blue. Their intentions are dubious and their motives are highly questionable. What do you expect from a bunch of thugs?
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