Heard in Iran: Lawmaker Arrested After Accusing Senior Clerics of Corruption

Lawmaker Arrested After Accusing Senior Clerics of Corruption
June 11 -- Abbas Palizdar, a member of the Iranian parliament's Judicial Inquiry and Review Committee and supporter of President Ahmadinejad, was arrested [text in Persian / in English] after accusing several prominent clerics -- including Assembly of Experts head and former President Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and former Guardian Council member Mohammad Yazdi -- of economic corruption. During an exclusive Radio Farda interview on June 9 [text in Persian], Palizdar said, "I spoke based on documents and evidence [in my possession]. There are many more cases that I will reveal in the future."

 

Sixteen Students Expelled From University For Political Beliefs

June 8 -- One of the disqualified students says [audio in Persian], "We were told that, because of our activities in university, we have no right to education. They told us that we can write a letter of objection -- and then only if the Intelligence Ministry finds it wise -- they will reconsider our case, otherwise we will be deprived of education for life."

 

How Will A New U.S. President Affect U.S.-Iran Relations?

June 8 -- Analysts Kourosh Homyoonpour, Houshang Amir-Ahmadi and Shayan Samii discuss how U.S. foreign policy could change once a new U.S. President takes office and whether a victory by the Democratic or Republican Party's candidate will have any impact on U.S.-Iran relations on Radio Farda's weekly roundtable, "Viewpoints" [text in Persian].

 

Seventeen-Year-Old Boy Executed

June 11 -- Lawyer Mohammad Mostafaie says [text in Persian], "I couldn't believe this sentence [against 17-year old Mohammad Hassanzadeh] was carried out with the approval of the highest judicial authority... According to Iranian law, the death penalty can not be enforced against a minor. Such a sentence -- if carried out -- is considered an arbitrary execution by a judicial authority."

 

Achievements, Setbacks for Women's Rights

June 11 -- Women's rights activist Jelveh Javaheri, lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and journalist Isa Saharkhiz review the achievements and failures of Iran's women's rights movement two years after the peaceful 2006 rally by women opposing discriminatory laws, which ended in mass arrests and sparked the One Million Signature Campaign [text in Persian].