TAKE ACTION: Bahareh Hedayat Exists!

Updated 3/24/10 According to Iran Human Rights Voice:

On March 21… Bahareh Hedayatare were transferred to Evin’s sections 350 and its women’s unit, respectively. The conditions are very poor in the women’s section, and female prisoners are under a lot of pressure… Ms. Hedayat has been held in solitary confinement inside Evin Prison. On January 24, during a visit from her husband, she stated that she has been charged with participating in the post-election gatherings, taking part in a march held on Quds Day, as well as for her activities in Daftar Tahkim Vahdat (Strengthening Unity Office) and for writing articles.

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In light of International Women’s Day, and the mounting pressures on women’s rights activists, U4I encourages everyone to take a second to read about Bahareh Hedayat’s case and support her and all other Iranian women by downloading and using this badge of support (also found below) as your profile picture on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or whatever else. Bahareh Hedayat, a student and women’s right activist, member of the One Million Signature Campaign / Change for Equality, and part of the Advar Alumni Association (Tahkim-e Vehdat; an influential student group), was arrested on December 30, 2009 and imprisoned in Evin Prison. Hedayet, along with many other women’s rights advocates, helped launch the One Million Signatures Campaign in 2006 in an effort to pressure authorities to reform laws discriminatory against women. Many of their efforts, as again indicated by the arrest of many of their members including Hedayet, are more frequently being met with increased oppression, intimidation, and tamping. About a month before her December arrest, Hedayet braved the potential consequences and released a video message on behalf of the Iranian Students Union, subtitled in English, to the students and academics of the European Student’s Union.  See the video below.

Hedayat currently faces 16 charges, ranging from propagation against the regime, actions against national security, speaking with foreign media, and insulting the president and supreme leader. Despite being in jail for the past two+ months, a lack of case registrations and documents has made it so Hedayat does not “exist” in the court system. The International Campaign for Human Rights further elaborates on Hedayat’s “non-existance”:

“There are no cases registered at the Revolutionary Courts for her and no documents have been sent to the Revolutionary Courts regarding her case, it is impossible to track down the case file. This means that at this moment, no suspect by the name of Bahareh Hedayat exists within the Revolutionary Courts system. Her case has not been registered within the Revolutionary Courts, therefore her lawyer cannot enter her case and register himself as her attorney…”

Keeping the world aware as to the struggles of Iranian women — in addition to maintaining focus and building support for the impending executions  — is key to helping those targetted by authorities in Iran. Put a face to a name, a person to the sentence, and show your support by using (and encouraging your friends!) to use one of our badges, either one demanding “HALT EXECUTIONS” in support of Mohammad Amin Valian, or the badge below in support of Bahareh Hedayat and the thousands of brave women’s right advocates in Iran. The text filling the figure below is taken from various women’s campaigns, including from the mission of the One Million Signature Campaign.

To save the badge, right click the picture and select “Save As.”

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