Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  This is a difficult question because I think several measures should be taken together. Regarding Mr. Akhavan's project, the more we have human rights documentation, the more the international community will be informed. But my concern is more serious for the activists who are l

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  In 2010, 337 executions were reported, 249 of which were drug-related. The enforcement of the death penalty in Iran deserves special attention, given a wealth of evidence pointing to widespread disregard for due process of law as well as multiple and systematic violations of def

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the subcommittee, for your persistent attention to the human rights situation in Iran and for allowing us to testify at a time when we are witnessing a serious human rights crisis in Iran. I would like to draw your attention today to two issues

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'm not necessarily talking about governments per se, but groups. There is no funding for human rights groups inside Iran. That used to be the case for Morocco and Algeria and other places. Iran is not unique in that sense. I remember working on women's rights in Morocco, and t

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  She will be very happy to hear that. I'm glad.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for having me. I'm sorry for the flight cancellation.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, she is free. She is not incarcerated.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  She is my sister.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  There are several positive results with the campaign. Before looking at the regime, we have to look at where we stood and where we stand now. Iranian civil society was not organized. Iranian civil society and political movements have often been based around particular individua

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  We have the experience of the Khatami era. President Khatami got many more people out into the streets. The participation was something that had not been seen since 1979. People voted who had not voted since 1979. The result was student repression and closure of newspapers. So a

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Well, her office is still closed, but I don't hear about the harassment that she was subjected to right after her office was closed. In the streets, there was a very physical presence of people who did not wish her well. She's still calling for the opening of her office. I thin

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  None of the candidates is seriously campaigning on change or legislative reform. They talk about human rights, prisoners' rights. Candidates mention the fact that people should not be in prison. I have 30 years' experience. That is not the case with young Iranians, who did not l

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  They are imprisoned for nine years. Mr. Khorsandi's party was recently created and had only an Internet presence. Now, a number of the party's members are in Norway and Sweden. They are political refugees. The sentence is nine years. Another man recently died because he was sick

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  No one can predict what the Iranian people will do. They have mastered the art of surprising the analysts. But a major push is underway to lure them to the polls, especially with the prospect that President Ahmadinejad may not be re-elected. Over the past decades, the government

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think any discussion of human rights is positive. Depending on who your counterparts are, it can have a very strong impact. What has a strong impact is if your counterparts know what you're talking about; that they know you know what you're talking about, that you're not just