Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Collapsing Currency, Closed Embassy, No to Women Watching Volleyball (Arseh Sevom)

Arseh Sevom, the NGO pursuing civil society and human rights in Iran, resumes its weekly review of developments:

This was a week beginning with 24 medals, 10 of them gold for Iranian Paralympic athletes in London 2012 and continuing with record increases in the cost of dollars in Iran.

Gold Goes Up, The Rial Goes Down

On Tuesday, Mesghal.com reported that the Rial hit a record low with an open-market price of 24,520 Rials per dollar. This compares to the official bank rate of 12,260:1.

Fars News reports the street rates have skyrocketed because Iran’s Central Bank has not issued dollars to customers for about three weeks now. The head of Parliament's planning and budget committee, Gholamreza Mesbahi-Moghaddam said, "Unfortunately the Government has made the biggest mistake in history by not injecting dollars to answer the demand of the foreign exchange market.”

Closed Embassy

The big news of the week for many Iranians both abroad and inside Iran was the closure of the Canadian embassy. This means that two of the largest populations of migrant Iranians --- in Canada and the US --- live in countries with no direct diplomatic ties with Iran, complicating travel and relations.

On 7 September, Canada closed its embassy in Tehran, citing Iran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and failure to comply with UN inspectors over its nuclear programme.

Execution Suspended

The death sentence for Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani was suspended, but sources say he is still in danger of execution.

More than 200 political, social, and human rights activists, had condemned the execution, requesting that international human rights institutes and countries that respect human rights join them. He had been convicted of enmity against God for for cooperating with a television station abroad affiliated with the insurgent organisation Mojahedin-e Khalq,

Pastor Acquitted

Pastor Youcef Naderkhani, who was sentenced to death for apostasy, has been acquitted in a retrial.

Ann Harrison of Amnesty International comments:

We welcome the acquittal of Yousef Naderkhani but he should have never been arrested, let alone charged and tried...His trial at the end of September 2011 on the charge of apostasy – which is not even an offence in Iran’s current Penal Code – put the lie to Iran's claims that it tolerates religious minorities.

Four-Year Term for Shiva Nazar Ahari Starts

Human rights activist Shiva Nazar Ahari, introduced herself to Evin Prison last Saturday to serve her four-year sentence.

Nazar Ahari, who has been arrested several times since 2002, is one of the founding members of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters and was detained after the controversial 2009 presidential elections. She was arrested again when traveling to take part in the funeral ceremony of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri in December 2009.

The activist has spent 100 days in solitary confinement. In September 2010, she was released temporarily on a 500 million Toman bail. The appeals court in Tehran then sentenced her to four years in prison and 74 lashes.

Women Forbidden from Watching Volleyball

Radio Zamaneh reports that thousands of Iranian women who had intended to watch last week's volleyball match between Iran and Japan at the Azadi complex in Tehran were forbidden entry by the police. They gathered in front of the stadium before being dispersed.

Only two days earlier, women were present to cheer on the Iranian team, but a female reporter and photographer were prevented from entering the stadium.

No to Compulsory Hijab

More than 26,000 people have joined the “No to Compulsory Hijab” campaign on Facebook.

See earlier report from July.

Unveil Women's Right to Unveil was launched by Iranian Liberal Students and Graduates. Hundreds of women and men have since shared their photographs.

Fred Petrossian at Global Voices has more details about the campaign and the history of the struggle against compulsory hijab in Iran.

AIDS and Sex in Iran

Minister of Health, Marzih Vahid Dastjerdi announced this week that sexual transmission has become one of the leading reasons for the spread of AIDS in Iran, joining infected blood and intravenous drug use.

Dastjerdi stated that 9.1% of those infected with HIV in the first three months of the year were infected by sexual transmission.

The minister added that youth in Iran do not have enough information about risky sexual behaviour and prostitution is widespread.

Art and the Suffering of Animals

Animal Rights Watch reports that artist Ehsan Mirhosseini will exhibit work responding to environmental issues in “Gariz or Aesthetics of Pain”, an exhibition from 13-20 September in Tehran’s House of Artists.