PASSION FOR FREEDOM OPEN TO ALL ARTIST

The One Law for All Campaign Against Sharia Law in Britain

is sponsoring an Art Competition open to all artists.

The Second Edition will take place in Autumn 2010.

The goal of your artistic entry should be to expose the discriminatory nature of Sharia

and religious-based tribunals and/or promote equal rights for all citizens,

as embodied by the campaign’s emblematic phrase: One Law for All.

Applications close at 5pm on Wednesday September 15, 2010.

They should be posted to The

Onelawforall, BM Box 2387,

London WC1N 3XX, UK

or emailed to art@onelawforall.org.uk

See our

Entry Terms and Conditions

We are delighted to announce the winners of the Passion For Freedom 2009 art competition-1st edition

2- Find out more about how to organise your own event.

3- Join a forum for organisers of 28 August events.

Read more information on the Iran stoning case and campaign:

Hello

Thanks so much for your support of the campaign to save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani from death by stoning and execution. The public outcry is what has kept her alive so far. When her 22 year old son Sajjad first wrote an open letter asking people everywhere to intervene there was no legal recourse left and she was to face imminent death by stoning for ‘adultery.’

In another letter written a few days ago, Sajjad reiterates Ashtiani’s innocence and says: ‘What sort of justice is this?’

The Islamic regime in Iran is doing everything it can to kill Ashtiani and push back the international campaign. The regime has harassed her children and put pressure on Ashtiani, most recently, forcing her to ‘confess’ on Iranian state television to having murdered her husband and committed adultery. [You can see the footage on Iranian State TV in Persian here, which also criticises the International Sakineh Day we had organised]

As her other lawyer Houtan Kian has said she was tortured into making the false ‘confession.’ He has recently provided detailed and new information on her case. This follows evidence provided at the 30 July press conference in London by Mina Ahadi of the International Committees against Execution and Stoning which revealed actual court documents showing Ashtiani’s sentence to death by stoning for adultery.

The regime had also arrested the wife, brother-in-law and father-in-law of her human rights lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei. They were subsequently released whilst Mostafaei was forced to flee the country in order to evade arrest. [He is now safe in Norway.]

They have even handed over her case for ‘review’ to deputy prosecutor-general Saeed Mortazavi, known as the butcher and torturer of Tehran.

As Ashtiani has said herself in an interview “The answer is quite simple, it’s because I’m a woman, it’s because they think they can do anything to women in this country.”

On 28 August 2010 – come out in 100 cities against stoning to show that the regime cannot to anything it wants to women. You can find out more about the events taking place on 28 August below and on how to organise your own event.

Join us! This must be the beginning of the end of stonings in the 21st century. And it must save Ashtiani’s precious life and reunite her with her beloved children.

Warmest wishes

Maryam

Maryam Namazie

PLEASE ACT NOW!

1- Join a 100 cities against Stoning on 28 August 2010. You can find out about events taking place in a city near you on this list.

2- Find out more about how to organise your own event.

3- Join a forum for organisers of events and to raise questions and make comments.

4- Send Sakineh a postcard of the city you live in or are visiting this summer telling her you are thinking of her and other prisoners on death row in Tabriz prison. You can address it to:
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani
Tabriz Prison
Tabriz, Iran

5- Write letters of protest to the Islamic regime of Iran demanding Ashtiani’s release and an end to stonings and executions. Protest letters can be addressed to the below:

Head of the Judiciary
Sadeqh Larijani
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri
Tehran 1316814737, Iran
Email: info@dadiran.ir or via website
First starred box: your given name; second starred box: your family name; third: your email address

Head of the Judiciary in East Azerbaijan Province
Malek-Ashtar Sharifi
Office of the Head of the Judiciary in Tabriz
East Azerbaijan, Iran

Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Iran
Email: via website:(English)
(Persian)

Secretary General, High Council for Human Rights
Mohammad Javad Larijani
Howzeh Riassat-e Ghoveh Ghazaiyeh
Pasteur St, Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhuri
Tehran 1316814737, Iran
Fax: +98 21 3390 4986
Email

6- Sign petitions in support of her case if you haven’t already done so. Here are two of them: ICAS and Avaaz.

7- Write to government officials, heads of state, MEPs and MPs in your country of residence calling on them to intervene to save her life and to cease recognition of a regime that stones people to death in the 21st century. See Mina Ahadi’s recent letter to heads of states on this.

8- Donate to the important work of the International Committee Against Stoning, International Committee Against Executions and Iran Solidarity by making your cheque payable to ‘Count Me In – Iran’ and sending it to BM Box 6754, London WC1N 3XX, UK. You can also pay via Paypal. Please earmark your donation.

I’m Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. From Tabriz Prison I thank all those who are thinking of me.

I went to school until the 5th grade. After I was married I had two children, and all my hopes are on them.

I am now quiet and sad because a part of my heart is frozen.

The day I was flogged in front of [my son] Sajjad, I was crushed and my dignity and heart were broken.

The day I was given the stoning sentence, it was as if I fell into a deep hole and I lost consciousness.

Many nights, before sleeping, I think to myself how can anybody be prepared to throw stones at me; to aim at my face and hands? Why?

I thank all of you from Tabriz Prison. Mrs Ahadi, tell everyone that I’m afraid of dying. Help me stay alive and hug my children.

Mina Ahadi also provided new evidence and information on Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s case as well as other cases sentenced to death by stoning in Iran. The new documentation refuted statements by the Islamic Republic of Iran that they did not intend to stone her to death. Writer AC Grayling spoke of the contradiction between a medieval government and a progressive population wanting to be free whilst human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell stressed the importance of supporting Sakineh and all those languishing on death row. Iran Solidarity Spokesperson Maryam Namazie refuted claims made by the embassy of the Islamic regime of Iran in London and the former French ambassador to Iran that stonings in Iran were rare; she referred to a new report published by the International Committee against Executions which has found that over 100 people have been stoned with 25 known cases currently awaiting death by stoning in Iran.

A statement signed by 47 well-known personalities and organisations calling for an end to the harassment of Sakineh’s lawyer, Mohammad Mostafei and calling for the release of his wife and brother-in-law were also released.

The speakers ended their statements by calling for Sakineh’s stoning and execution orders to be rescinded and for her release and for an end to stoning and executions. The press conference, which was chaired by Iran Secular Society Director Fariborz Pooya finished at 12pm after which the panellists were interviewed by all the major media outlets present.

International Committee Against Executions: http://notonemoreexecution.org
International Committee Against Stoning: http://stopstonningnow.com
Iran Solidarity: www.iransolidarity.org.uk

For more information contact:

Mina Ahadi, Germany, International Committee Against Stoning and International Committee Against Executions Coordinator, minaahadi@aol.com, 0049 1775692413; http://notonemoreexecution.org/, http://stopstonningnow.com

Maryam Namazie, UK, Iran Solidarity Spokesperson, iransolidaritynow@gmail.com, 0044 7719166731, Iran Solidarity: www.iransolidarity.org.uk.

To see media reports of the day, click here.

We, the undersigned, are extremely concerned about the fate of 43 year old Sakine Mohamadi Ashtiani and fear she may be executed in Iran at any time for ‘having an illicit relationship.’

We call on people everywhere to intensify their protests by marking Saturday 24 July as the International Sakine Mohamadi Ashtiani Day. On the Saturday, we ask you to come out on to the streets and in city centres across the globe at 2pm local time bringing photos of Sakine and messages in her defence and against stoning and execution. Other measures that can be taken include highlighting her case wherever possible, signing petitions here, here and here, joining rallies, and keeping pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The mother of two has already received 99 lashes and been sentenced to death by stoning. Sajjad, her 22-year-old son, who raised the alarm of her imminent stoning when there was no further legal recourse via an open letter to the people of the world and said ‘there is no justice’ in Iran has been summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence for his brave efforts to secure his mother’s freedom.

As a result of the public outcry, the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London has issued a press release stating that the regime did not intend to stone her, that stoning in Iran was rare and that there was no truth to the reports. Her lawyer, however, has made it clear that ‘Iranian embassies are not a part of the judiciary system, and it is the judiciary which should cancel this sentence.’ Rather than being rare, a new report has found that over 100 known stonings have already taken place and another 25 known cases await death by stoning in Iran. Since the global protests, families of others held in Tabriz prison have come forward with news of 170 people sentenced to death, including children, youth, and 18 men and women for being gay. Two other women also await death by stoning in the same prison including Azar Bagheri who was 15 when she was arrested and 25 year old Maryam Ghorbanzadeh who is currently pregnant.

On 24 July 2010 at 2pm join us and make the world stand still in its rage against medievalism and barbarity and in its support of humanity. Sakine, her children and the many others awaiting death by stoning and execution deserve nothing less.

Mina Ahadi, International Committee Against Stoning and International Committee Against Executions (Germany)
Maryam Namazie, Iran Solidarity, Equal Rights Now – Organisation against Women’s Discrimination in Iran and One Law for All (UK)
Maria Rohaly, Mission Free Iran (USA)
Shahla Abgari, Human Rights Activist (USA)
Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Stop Child Executions (Canada)
Russell Blackford, University of Newcastle (Australia)
Caroline Brancher, Union des Familles Laïques (France)
Helle Merete Brix, Journalist and Writer (Denmark)
Roy Brown, International Humanist and Ethical Union (Switzerland)
Ed Buckner, President, American Atheists (USA)
Peter Calluy, Belgian Humanist Society (Belgium)
Pierre Cassen, Riposte Laïque (France)
Megan Cornish, Seattle Radical Women (USA)
Parvin Darabi, Dr. Homa Darabi Foundation (USA)
Richard Dawkins, Scientist (UK)
Sanal Edamaruku, Rationalist International (India)
Bill Flanagan, Queen’s University (Canada)
Tahir Aslam Gora, Writer and Journalist (Canada)
AC Grayling, Writer and Philosopher (UK)
Laura Guidetti, Marea Association (Italy)
Maria Hagberg, Network against Honour-Related Violence (Sweden)
Johann Hari, Journalist (UK)
Farzana Hassan, Author (Canada)
Tasneem Khalil, Independent World Report (Sweden)
Hope Knutsson, Sidmennt, the Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association (Iceland)
Leo Igwe, Nigerian Humanist Movement (Nigeria)
Sonia Jabbar, Journalist (India)
Trefor Jenkins, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)
Ghulam Mustafa Lakho, High Court Advocate (Pakistan)
Monica Lanfranco, Marea Feminist Review (Italy)
Anne-marie Lizin, Belgian Senate Honorary Speaker (Belgium)
Marieme Helie Lucas, Secularism Is A Women’s Issue (France)
Kinga Lohmann, KARAT Coalition (Poland)
Mohamed Mahmoud, Centre for Critical Studies of Religion (UK)
Irshad Manji, European Foundation for Democracy and New York University (USA)
Caspar Melville, Rationalist Association (UK)
Behnaz Parman, Artist (Germany)
Angela Payne, Anti-Injustice Movement (UK)
Clancy Pegg, Bioethics Journal (UK)
Naomi Phillips, British Humanist Association (UK)
David Pollock, European Humanist Federation (UK)
Venita Popovic, Zenicke Sveske Journal (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Gita Sahgal, Human Rights Campaigner (UK)
Terry Sanderson, National Secular Society (UK)
Nina Sankari, European Feminist Initiative (Poland)
Udo Schuklenk, Queen’s University (Canada)
Aisha Lee Shaheed, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (UK)
Issam Shukri, Defense of Secularism and Civil Rights in Iraq (Canada)
Elizabeth Sidney, Women Worldwide Advancing Freedom and Equality (UK)
Joan Smith, Writer and Activist (UK)
Roy Speckhardt, American Humanist Association (USA)
Annie Sugier, Ligue du Droit International Des Femmes (France)
Richy Thompson, National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies (UK)
Christine Tasin, Résistance Républicaine (France)
Peter Tatchell, Human Rights Campaigner UK)
Giti Thadani, Writer and Filmmaker (India)
Shishir Thadani, South Asian Voice (India)
Gianni Verdoliva, Journalist (Italy)

Notes:

1. The new and comprehensive list of persons stoned to death or awaiting death by stoning in Iran compiled by Farshad Hosseini of the ICAE is available in Persian. It is being translated into English.

2. See a 17 July article in the Times calling for the eviction of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

3. For more information, please contact:
Mina Ahadi, Germany, ICAE and ICAS Coordinator, minaahadi@aol.com, 0049 1775692413
Ahmad Fatemi, ICAE Public Relations, fatemimark@gmail.com, 0046 0735203817
Maryam Namazie, UK, Iran Solidarity Spokesperson, iransolidaritynow@gmail.com, 0044 7719166731

4. To donate to the important work of the International Committee Against Stoning and International Committee Against Executions, please make your cheque payable to ‘Count Me In – Iran’ and send to BM Box 6754, London WC1N 3XX, UK. You can also pay via Paypal. Please earmark your donation.

5. You can also find the latest news on the following websites:
International Committee Against Executions
International Committee Against Stoning
One Law for All
Iran Solidarity

Join us for a Rally organised by One Law for All against Sharia and religious laws
and for secularism and universal rights

Where: Richmond Terrace junction with Whitehall opposite Downing Street (SW1A 2).
(Please note venue change from Trafalgar Square made by police; closest underground: Westminster.)
View Larger Map

When: Sunday 20 June 14:00-16:00 hours

Then join us for a March organised by Iran Solidarity to show solidarity with people in Iran who are at the forefront of battling Sharia law and political Islam

Where: From Downing Street to the embassy of the Islamic regime of Iran (16 Prince’s Gate, London SW7 1PT; closest underground: Knightsbridge).

When: 16:00-17:00 hours

The event will end at 17:30 .

Hundreds will be demonstrating in London against Sharia and religious laws and in support of secularism and universal rights on Sunday 20 June 2010. The rally organised by the One Law for All Campaign will be held from 1400-1600 hours at Richmond Terrace junction with Whitehall opposite Downing Street (SW1A 2). (Please note venue change from Trafalgar Square made by police; closest underground: Westminster.)

On the day, the Campaign will make public its new report entitled: Sharia Law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights. In the report One Law for All outlines what Sharia law is, how it is practised in Britain and exposes the way in which Sharia Councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are circumventing British law and human rights legislation. The report also reveals the gross injustices to women and children in particular and reiterates the need to end Sharia and all religious courts on the basis that they work against, and not for, equality and human rights.

After the One Law for All rally, there will be a march organised by Iran Solidarity from 1600-1700 hours. The march will move from Richmond Terrace Junction to a protest at the embassy of the Islamic regime of Iran. According to Spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, “whilst racist and far Right groups like the English Defence League and the British Nationalist Party blame ‘Muslim immigration’ for Sharia law in order to further their inhuman agenda, it is people living under Islamic laws or the many who have fled Sharia and sought refuge here who are the principal victims of Islamism, and in the forefront of the struggle against it. Within this context, the One Law for All Campaign and the fight against Sharia law in Britain is an important front in the ongoing battle of people in Iran and everywhere against Islamism and for freedom, equality and secularism.”

The march will culminate in a protest rally in front of the embassy of the Islamic regime of Iran (16 Prince’s Gate, London SW7 1PT; closest underground: Knightsbridge). The event will end at 1730 hours.

Notes:

1. Confirmed speakers and performers at the London rally include: AK47 (Street Poet); Asad Abbas (Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain); R Y Alam (Poet); Adam Barnett (Musician); Ismail Einashe (One Law for All); David Fisher (Singer/ Songwriter); AC Grayling (Philosopher); Lilith (Street Poet); Lyrical Agent (Emcee); Rony Miah (Lawyers’ Secular Society); Maryam Namazie (One Law for All and Iran Solidarity); Gerard Phillips (National Secular Society); Naomi Phillips (British Humanist Association); Fariborz Pooya (Iranian Secular Society); Brent Lee Regan (Emcee); Yasmin Rehman (Women’s Rights Campaigner); Gita Sahgal (Activist); Muriel Seltman (Activist); Sohaila Sharifi (Equal Rights Now); Peter Tatchell (Human Rights Campaigner); and others. We will also screen a segment of a major new film for HBO called For Neda by director Anthony Thomas.

2. June 20 marks the day when 27-year-old Neda Agha-Soltan was shot dead by the Islamic regime of Iran’s security forces at a protest in Tehran. Her demand for freedom in the face of all-out repression has made her a symbol of people everywhere. According to Maryam Namazie, “It is very apt for us to remember Neda in our battle for equal rights in Britain or wherever we happen to live. Neda’s murder and Sharia law in Britain are intrinsically linked; both are the result of the rise of the political Islamic movement of which the Islamic regime of Iran is a cornerstone.”

3. To read responses to Frequently Asked Questions including on the affinity between the far right and the Islamists; Islam matters because of political Islam; Secularism is an important vehicle to protect society; We will have nothing to do with the English Defence League; Criticising Islam is not racist; Laws should safeguard rights not violate them; There’s no place for Sharia law in Britain; The right to asylum is a basic human right; and more, go to: http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/about/faq/

4. To donate to the crucial work of One Law for All, please either send a cheque to our address below or pay via Paypal by visiting: http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/donate/.
We need regular support that we can rely on and are asking for supporters to commit to giving at least £5-10 a month via direct debit. You can find out more about how to join the 100 Club at the above link.

5. For more information, contact:
Maryam Namazie
One Law for All and Iran Solidarity
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
onelawforall@gmail.com
iransolidaritynow@gmail.com
www.onelawforall.org.uk
www.iransolidarity.org.uk
http://iransolidarity.blogspot.com