[Update 4: Reward is now $21,125.00!] Sarah and Amina Said’s Family Fight to Keep Their Deaths in the Public Eye

Comments closed. Cross posted here at my current blog. Those wishing to leave a comment can do so there.

Welcome Atlas Shrugs Readers!

Update:
Scroll down towards the comments someone who claims to be Islam Said (Sarah and Amina Said’s) brother and Patricia (Tissie ) Said (their mother) have posted comments.

Update: 2
YouTube video displaying different ways Yaser Said might look today, if he were to have changed his appearance.
Wanted for Murder

Update 3:

THE NORTH TEXAS CRIME COMMISSION HAS ADDED $10,000 TO THE REWARD MONEY FOR THE ARREST AND CONVICTION OF THE MURDERER OF AMINA AND SARAH SAID

WE ARE BEGGING FOR DONATIONS TO BE SENT TO CRIMESTOPPERS TO RAISE THE REWARD EVEN MORE,AS MONEY TALKS,AND SOMEONE WILL TURN HIM IN FOR THE RIGHT AMOUNT.WE HAVE ALL GOT TO PULL TOGETHER,EVEN $5.00 WILL ADD UP.SO PLEASE,IF YOU CAN HELP,THE GREAT-AUNTS DEEPLY APPRECIATE IT! AND WE WILL GET JUSTICE FOR THESE TWO GIRLS.

YOU MAY CONTACT DAVID TULL WITH THE IRVING POLICE DEPT. @ 972-721-3515

OR PRESIDENT OF CRIMESTOPPERS NEIL DEVROY @ 214-965-9000

PLEASE SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER MADE OUT TO: CRIMESTOPPERS SAID FUND
SEND TO:
NORTH TEXAS CRIME COMMISSION
1601 ELM ST. SUITE 2350
DALLAS,TEXAS 75201-4728

ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE. YOU CAN E-MAIL NEIL DEVROY TO CONFIRM:
ndevroy@ntcrimecomm.org

Thanking you in advance,Joyce Boucher

Update 4:

“HONOR KILLER” YASER SAID: TRACKING A COLD-BLOODED MURDERER @ Atlas Shrugs

I wanted to update you on Atlas’s continuing exclusive coverage of the brutal murder (“honor” killing) of Amina and Sarah Said. Islam, their brother, and the one responsible to luring them back to Texas – only to murdered is MIA. Islam should have a 24 hour tail on him.

I have made a significant contribution to the Crimestoppers fund to find Yaser Said. The larger the pot the bigger the temptation for someone to say something. Give generously (see below)

Yasir Said on the Run Pamela Geller and Bill Warner

Yaser Abdel Said had two passports, a USA passport and an Egyptian passport. Yaser Abdel Said had over $9,000 in cash hidden (from State welfare investigators.. no checking accounts) in his rental house that he shared with his wife Patricia, son Islam and the two murdered girls.

Patricia Said had taken $5,000 when she split on or about 12/25/2007 with the two girls, Sarah Yaser Said, 17, and Amina Yaser Said, 18, when she returned on or about 1/01/2008, she brought back most of the $5,000.

Son Islam, gets a monthly check form the State of Texas, some sort of mental disabilities, supposed to have been home schooled for the last 5 or 6 years. Islam is unrepentant in his role and heatedly defends his father. He appears to be radicalized.

On the day of the murder 1/01/2008, Patricia Said (she drives an older mini-van) took Amina from her boyfriends house to meet Yaser at his cab, near the Said rental house, Sarah was in the front seat of the cab, they (the girls) never went into the Said house.[…]

[…]Crime Stoppers, along with Schepps Dairy
Now has in reward monies
$25,000
For information leading to the arrest And conviction of Yaser Said.

Give to “Crime Stoppers”
Let us increase the amount of the REWARD!

Read it all!

It seems there has been a misunderstanding as to the true amount of the reward. The below comment is from a family member who spoke to Crime Stoppers today May 16 2008.

JOYCE

I JUST CALLED CRIMESTOPPERS,THE REWARD IS (INCLUDING $10,000 FROM SCHEPPS DAIRY) IS $21,125.00
I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THAT OTHER INFO CAME FROM. CRIMESTOPPERS WILL UPDATE ME ONCE A MONTH,AND I WILL POST IT MYSELF. THIS IS THE CORRECT AMOUNT.THANKS

/end update

Relatives work to keep girls’ slayings in the public spotlight

By MARK AGEE

Star-Telegram staff writer

Gail Gartrell believes that Yaser Said is still in the Fort Worth area more than two months after he was accused of fatally shooting his two daughters.

Which is why as a great-aunt of the girls, Sarah Said, 17, and Amina Said, 18, Gartrell is determined to keep his face in the public eye, hoping that someone will turn him in for $11,000 in rewards.

With an artist friend and other relatives, she put together a half-dozen artist renderings of what Yaser Abdel Said, 50, would look like with different haircuts and beard styles.

“He thinks he silenced them, but I won’t let them be silenced,” Gartrell, 53, of Cleburne, said Monday.

The girls were found dead Jan. 1 inside a cab in an Irving hotel parking lot. The cab had been driven by their father, who hasn’t been seen since. Friends and family said Yaser Said was upset that the girls were dating American boys. A capital murder warrant was issued for his arrest soon after their deaths.

Irving police have said that the trail has gone cold and that they don’t know whether Said is in the area or whether he fled, possibly to his native Egypt.

While the girls’ mother and brother have spoken publicly on the crime on only a few occasions, the extended family on the mother’s side has held events to draw attention to the case.

They’ve printed fliers, T-shirts and stickers in memory of the girls, who were students at Lewisville High School.

“We don’t want to let people forget,” said another of the girls’ great-aunts, Joyce Boucher.

“These girls didn’t even get to start their lives.”

Source.

Note: It would be extremely helpful to them if bloggers such as myself could post all of the different renderings. The photo gallery is done in flash. Sigh.

‘Honour killing’ brother blames victims

During the vigil, the girls’ brother took the microphone, saying his father did not kill his sisters.

“They pulled the trigger, not my dad,” he said.

What does that tell you? The control is inbred in the son.

Directly related: Texas: Dis-Honor killing of two sisters

Also see:
When religious devotion outweighs the sanctity of life

Too Sexy for my Burka (it is a serious video. do not let the title fool you)

Now for a few comments left on this article by folks who state they either knew or are related to Sara and Amina Said.

maestro – I had the pleasure of educating one of the sisters in my class, along with her classmates. She had told me one time that her father expected her and her sister to marry a Muslim who resided in Egypt. She had the idea that right after graduation, he would take her there immediately to find a husband. Being only a 10th grader at the time, I didn’t really think she was too serious because she always had such a happy demeanor along with a warm smile. Both her and her sister were two very intelligent girls who really could have had a bright future. I hope they nail the bastard.

CAN’T SAY!! – i know how the story went i am one of there family members but yall post stuff up like they wanted you to be sad they wanted yall to be happy!!! i read on a thing that they posted up the day before they died “you live your life good because you never know when you die” another way to say it is they know that they were going to die but they didnt know it was that close i am very sorry to say this but they wanted you yall to be happy and right know i think yall need yo say a pray for there dad to be caught i know i will!!

THEY WERE GOOD PEOPLE AND YALL HAVE TO KNOW THAT!!!

shirley davis

Yes this was an HONOR killing, but when the real truth comes out it will be two types of killing, I feel this is an insest cover-up. THAT MOTHER AND BROTHER IS GUILTY, she took them away and then brought them back knowing he promised to KILL AMINA. If the aunt Connie will tell the truth, she receivd a letter from Amina telling about their dad molesting them, she has told many of us about the letter.
Did anyone notice the mother said she would find him, then 6 days later she moved in with the killer’s brother and then told the news paper he was a loving father. good provider, hard worker If molesting your children, beating them, not letting them have an opinion, kicking Amina in the mouth, then in her wicked mind that is loving. The mother fled with him and the children from Bedford after he kicked Amina in the mouth, while wearing braces and her mouth was big,bruised and blue and she didn’t take her to the doctor……..if you will check the welfare records, she has a record herself, she fraudelently received food stamps….please dont donate money to this woman, somebody needs to start a schlorship fund in their names.Yes this was an HONOR killing, but when the real truth comes out it will be two types of killing, I feel this is an insest cover-up. THAT MOTHER AND BROTHER IS GUILTY, she took them away and then brought them back knowing he promised to KILL AMINA. If the aunt Connie will tell the truth, she receivd a letter from Amina telling about their dad molesting them, she has told many of us about the letter.
Did anyone notice the mother said she would find him, then 6 days later she moved in with the killer’s brother and then told the news paper he was a loving father. good provider, hard worker If molesting your children, beating them, not letting them have an opinion, kicking Amina in the mouth, then in her wicked mind that is loving. The mother fled with him and the children from Bedford after he kicked Amina in the mouth, while wearing braces and her mouth was big,bruised and blue and she didn’t take her to the doctor……..if you will check the welfare records, she has a record herself, she fraudelently received food stamps….please dont donate money to this woman, somebody needs to start a schlorship fund in their names.

emjay

WELL SCARLETT, I AM ONE OF THE RELATIVES. AND YES,YOU MAY CHECK WITH HILL COUNTY,TEXAS.THERE YOU WILL FIND AN AFFIDAVIT,SIGNED AND SWORN BY THE MOTHER,THAT THE FATHER DID ABUSE BOTH GIRLS,SEXUALLY AND PHYSICALLY.WHOEVER THIS “SHIRLEY DAVIS” IS, IS TELLING THE TRUTH.CPS HAS RECORD OF ABUSE OVER THE YEARS.AND YES,AMINA (AT 8or9 YEARS OLD WROTE A LETTER TO HER AUNT AND SAID: AUNT CONNIE,WHAT I SAID MY DAD DID,REALLY DID HAPPEN,BUT WE HAVE TO SAY IT DID’NT SO HE WON’T GO TO JAIL. THIS IS A “CHILD” TELLING THE TRUTH,BUT WAS MADE TO LIE TO PROTECT THIS PERVERTED SICKO!THE MOTHER DID GO TO JAIL,YEARS AGO,FOR FRAUD.SHE RECIEVED FOOD STAMPS AND ASSISTANCE,SWEARING SHE WAS SEPARATED FROM HER HUSBAND,WHEN HE WAS LAYING UP ON HIS BUTT LETTING THE WELFARE TAKE CARE OF HIS FAMILY.NOW THE MOTHER SAYS HE WAS NOT ABUSIVE,IN ANY WAY!SHE SAYS HE IS A GOOD MAN,A GOOD PROVIDER,EVEN A GOOD FATHER.NOW,MY QUESTION, HOW IN THE WORLD CAN SHE SAY 1 GOOD THING ABOUT THE KILLER THAT PUT 2 BULLETS IN ONE DAUGHTER AND 9,YES 9! BULLETS IN THE OTHER DAUGHTER? WHY WOULD SHE PROTECT HIM? WHY WOULD SHE TELL THE REST OF THE FAMILY TO KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT AND NOT TALK TO THE MEDIA? SHE DOES NOT WANT HIS PICTURE SHOWN ON T.V. SHE IS “STILL” LIVING WITH THE KILLERS FAMILY,SHE IS NOT AND I REPEAT,IS NOT, IN HIDING!! APPARENTLY, SHE IS NOT AFRAID.WHY IS SHE PROTECTING HIM? ENOUGH SAID.

Anyone with information is asked to call Irving police

On January 01, 2008, the above listed subject Said, Yaser shot and killed both of his daughters
Irving Police have a Capital Murder Warrant for his arrest.

Criminal Investigation Division
Phone:
(972) 721-3666/2751/2604 Fax: (972) 721-3607
Case Investigator(s): R. Johnson, J.Hennig, J. Schingle

SAID,YASER ABDEL

White/Male 01-27-1957
Black/Brown 6-02/180

Scars, Marks, Tattoos: Mole on right side of face

Vehicle: Unknown

http://cityofirving.org/police/pdfs/Wanted_Said.pdf

Previous report:
[Update 4] Texas: Dis-Honor killing of two sisters

Also see:

——>youtube.com/user/joinhunt4Yasser

Brigitte Gabriel on Honor Killings

When religious devotion outweighs the sanctity of life

Original timestamp: March 19, 2008 at 4:48 pm

Yemen: Eight year old girl wants divorce [Update divorce granted]

Nojoud Muhammed Nasser’s father Nojoud Muhammed Nasser, threatened to beat her if she did not agree to a forced marriage to (30 year old) Faez Ali Thamer. After two months of beatings and molestation at the hands of her so called ‘husband’ pedophile captor, she ran away and notified the courts.

What a brave strong little girl. Eight years old and standing up for her rights as a legitimate human being. As opposed to being treated as chattel. Hopefully she will become a role model in the future. I wish her all the best.

For the first time in Yemen
8-year-old girl asks for divorce in court

By: Hamed Thabet

SANA’A, April 9 – An eight-year-old girl decided last week to go the Sana’a West Court to prosecute her father, who forced her to marry a 30-year-old man.

Nojoud Muhammed Nasser arrived at court by herself on Wednesday, April 2, looking for a judge to handle her case against her father, Muhammed Nasser, who forced her two months ago to marry Faez Ali Thamer, a man 22 years her senior. The child also asked for a divorce, accusing her husband of sexual and domestic abuse.

According to Yemeni law, Nojoud cannot prosecute, as she is underage. However, court judge Muhammed Al-Qathi heard her complaint and subsequently ordered the arrests of both her father and husband.

“My father beat me and told me that I must marry this man, and if I did not, I would be raped and no law and no sheikh in this country would help me. I refused but I couldn’t stop the marriage,” Nojoud Nasser told the Yemen Times. “I asked and begged my mother, father, and aunt to help me to get divorced. They answered, ‘We can do nothing. If you want you can go to court by yourself.’ So this is what I have done,” she said.

Nasser said that she was exposed to sexual abuse and domestic violence by her husband. “He used to do bad things to me, and I had no idea as to what a marriage is. I would run from one room to another in order to escape, but in the end he would catch me and beat me and then continued to do what he wanted. I cried so much but no one listened to me. One day I ran away from him and came to the court and talked to them.”

“Whenever I wanted to play in the yard he beat me and asked me to go to the bedroom with him. This lasted for two months,” added Nasser. “He was too tough with me, and whenever I asked him for mercy, he beat me and slapped me and then used me. I just want to have a respectful life and divorce him.”
Nasser’s uncle, who does not want to reveal his name, is following the case now as her guardian. According to her uncle, after Muhammed Nasser, the girl’s father, lost his job as a garbage truck driver in Hajjah, he became a beggar, and soon after suffered from mental problems.

Thamer is in jail now. “Yes I was intimate with her, but I have done nothing wrong, as she is my wife and I have the right and no one can stop me,” he said. “But if the judge or other people insist that I divorce her, I will do it, it’s ok.”

So far, no accusations have been made against her father, who was later released due to health problems, or Nasser’s husband, who will remain in jail for further investigation.

“So far there is no case and no charges, as Nojoud arrived by herself to court asking just for a divorce,“ said Shatha Ali Nasser, a lawyer in the Supreme Court who is following Nojoud Nasser’s story.

Shatha Ali Nasser confirmed that item number 15 in Yemeni civil law reads that “no girl or boy can get married before the age of 15.” However, this item was amended in 1998 so parents could make a contract of marriage between their children even if they are under the age of 15. But the husband cannot be intimate with her until she is ready or mature,” said Nasser.

“This law is highly dangerous because it brings an end to a young girl’s happiness and future fruitful life. Nojoud did not get married, but she was raped by a 30-year old man.”

Nasser confirmed that Nojoud Nasser’s case is not the first of its kind in Yemen, but it is the first time that a girl went to court by herself to ask for a divorce.

“We are not planning to return Nojoud to her family. Who knows? Maybe after a few years the same thing will happen to her again,” said Shatha Ali Nasser. “We are planning to put her in Dar Al-Rahama [an non-governmental organization that works with children], where she can have a better life and education. We do not want her family to pay her expenses, as they are poor.”

H/T Doctor Bulldog

Update:

8-year-old girl’s divorce is finalized while a law to prevent early marriage stalls

Excerpts

On April 15, with support from her lawyer Shatha Mohammed Nasser and Judge Abud Al-Khaleaq Ghowber, Nojoud paid her way out of marriage with YR 100,000 from an anonymous donor in the Emirates and happily became an 8-year-old divorcee.

“This was the first time a girl came to us for a divorce. We are going to do our best to push the parliament to change the marriage law,” said Judge Ghowber.

A divided society

The Yemeni personal status law stipulates that a girl cannot be wed until she is ready for intercourse, which in essence leaves the judgment up to the girl’s parents or guardians.

Judge Ghowber explained that early marriages are usually the fault of the parents. He insisted that there must be increased awareness among Yemeni families in order to avoid these serious mistakes.

A number of Yemeni religious scholars, including some in the Evaluation and Jurisprudence Committee in the Parliament, say that since there is no religious statement defining a minimum age for marriage, then early marriage is perfectly fine if not desirable.

Other scholars and religious authorities, like Judge Hamoud Al-Hitar, the Minister of Endowment, want to create legislation to prevent parents from marrying their girls off at a young age and to prevent religious sheikhs from endorsing such marriages.

“Those who approve of girls marrying at 13, 14 or even below 18, are barbaric men who abuse childhood and are irresponsible,” said religious scholar Yahiya Al-Najar, the former Minister of Endowment.

He explained that there should be a minimum age for boys and girls to marry in order to complete their physical and mental development and so that they can manage the so that they can manage the responsibilities of marriage and raising a family.

Al-Hitar said that the minimum age of marriage should be 16-years-old, no less. He added that previous religious bodies in charge of jurisprudence wrote such laws in 1976 and in 1988.

“Those who say that defining a minimum age for marriage is un-Islamic do not understand the religion at all,” said Al-Hitar. “Defining a minimum age of marriage is a need dedicated by life’s nature.”

The Yemeni parliament is equally divided between MPs who believe in safe motherhood (and thereby banning early marriage) and those who don’t. Deputy speaker of Parliament, MP Himyar Al-Ahmar, said that he supports the creation of legislation against early marriage, requested by the Women’s National Committee, but prefers to forward the issue to the Evaluation and Jurisprudence Committee, which is strongly against such legislation.

Rasheeda Al-Hamadani, chair of the Women’s National Committee, promised to continue to raise awareness about the issue by holding workshops soon with religious leaders, MPs and decision makers. Source.

Forced Marriages: Sexual Slavery Rape Child Molestation

The UNICEF Photo of the Year – 2007 portrays a sad reality.

My heart and soul cry for these little girls.

Images of Extremes

Eva Luise Köhler honors Stephanie Sinclair for her picture taken in Afghanistan

The American photographer Stephanie Sinclair is the winner of the international photo competition “UNICEF Photo of the Year”. Her photo shows a wedding couple in Afghanistan who could not be more opposite. The groom, Mohammed, looks much older than his 40 years. The bride, Ghulam, is still a child; she just turned 11. “The UNICEF Photo of the Year 2007 raises awareness about a worldwide problem. Millions of girls are married while they are still under age. Most of theses child brides are forever denied a self-determined life”, says UNICEF Patroness Eva Luise Köhler at the award ceremony in Berlin. According to UNICEF, there are about 60 million young women worldwide who were married before they came of age, half of them in South Asia.

1st Prize for Stephanie Sinclair

Child brides

He’s forty, she’s eleven. And they are a couple – the Afghan man Mohammed F.* and the child Ghulam H.*. “We needed the money”, Ghulam’s parents said. Faiz claims he is going to send her to school. But the women of Damarda village in Afghanistan’s Ghor province know better: “Our men don’t want educated women.” They predict that Ghulam will be married within a few weeks after her engagement in 2006, so as to bear children for Faiz.

During her stay in Afghanistan, it consistently struck American photographer Stephanie Sinclair how many young girls are married to much older men. She decided to raise awareness about this topic with her pictures. Particularly as the official minimum age for brides in Afghanistan is sixteen and it is therefore illegal to marry children.

Early marriages are not only a problem in Afghanistan: worldwide there are about 51 million girls aged between 15 and 19 years who are forced into marriage. The youngest brides live in the Indian state of Rajasthan, where 15% of all wives are not even 10 years old when they are married. Child marriages are a reaction to extreme poverty and mainly take place in Asian and African regions where poor families see their daughters as a burden and as second-class citizens. Already in their younger years, girls are given into the “care” of a husband, a tradition that often leads to exploitation. Many girls become victims of domestic violence. In an Egyptian survey, about one-third of the interviewed child brides stated that they were beaten by their husbands. The young brides are under pressure to prove their fertility as soon as possible. But the risk for girls between the ages of 10 and 14 not to survive pregnancy is five times higher than for adult women. Every year, about 150,000 pregnant teenagers die due to complications – in particular due to a lack of medical care, let alone sex education.

For her project, Stephanie Sinclair also traveled to Nepal and Ethiopia. She wants to do research on the topic of child marriage in other regions as well and then publish a book on the issue.

Photo: Stephanie Sinclair, USA, Freeleance Photographer

Forced marriages do NOT include consensual sex. Each and every time a husband who married due to a forced marriage arrangement, has sexual relations with his so called wife he rapes her!!!!!!!

Forced marriages = rape
Family authorized rape, child molestation and incest.
Sex slavery disguised as marriage.
Young girls treated as chattel, bartered and sold, into what turns into life as a sex slave.

The Bride Price

Rather than a willing union between a man and woman, marriage is frequently a transaction among families, and the younger the bride, the higher the price she may fetch. Girls are valuable workers in a land where survival is scratched from the grudging soil of a half-acre parcel. In her parents’ home, a girl can till fields, tend livestock and cook meals. In her husband’s home, she is more useful yet. She can have sex and bear children.

Afghanistan is not alone in this predilection toward early wedlock. Globally, the number of child brides is hard to tabulate; they live mostly in places where births, deaths and the human milestones in between go unrecorded. But there are estimates. About 1 in 7 girls in the developing world (excluding China) gets married before her 15th birthday, according to analyses done by the Population Council, an international research group.

Stephanie Sinclair for The New York Times

Roshan Qasem, 11, will join the household of Said Mohammed, 55; his first wife; their three sons; and their daughter, who is the same age as Roshan.

Unfortunately, there are no reliable data about the age of Afghans at marriage. Husbands are not ordinarily old enough to be their wives’ fathers or grandfathers, but such February-September couples as those pictured here are hardly rare either. In such marriages, the man is likely to view the age difference as a fair bargain, his years of experience in exchange for her years of fecundity. At the same time, the girl’s wishes are customarily disregarded. Her marriage will end her opportunities for schooling and independent work.

On the day she witnessed the engagement party of 11-year-old Ghulam Haider to 40-year-old Faiz Mohammed, Sinclair discreetly took the girl aside. “What are you feeling today?” the photographer asked. “Nothing,” the bewildered girl answered. “I do not know this man. What am I supposed to feel?”

Be sure to click on the link: Photographs: Child Brides

Special Report: Muslim Forced Marriages In Europe

Women under Islam: Forced marriage – Part 2 of 4

The Muslim Parliament of Great Britain – Forced marriage

When Islam Breaks Down

Forced Marriage Troubles

China: Falun Gong Persecution – Organ Harvesting

Warning: Marked as: mature & graphic.. [images]

H/T Freethoughts

THE PERSECUTION OF FEMALE PRACTITIONERS OF FALUN GONG IN CHINA

Although practiced by as many as 100 million people, it was banned — under pain of imprisonment, torture and death — by the Chinese government in 1999.
Falun Gong, literally “Practice of the Wheel of Law”) also known as Falun Dafa, “Great Law of the Wheel of Law”) is a system of “mind and body cultivation” introduced by Li Hongzhi to the public in 1992. Falun Gong refers to five sets of meditation exercises (four standing, and one sitting meditation), and Falun Dafa refers to a set of religious teachings Li claims to provide salvation for mankind .
Falun Gong has been the focus of international controversy since July 20, 1999, when the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began a suppression of the movement nationwide, except in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The PRC government claims to have banned the group for what it considers to be illegal activities. The Falun Gong claims that the ban was the result of personal jealousy of the group’s popularity on the part of Jiang Zemin, a former President of the People’s Republic of China. The suppression of Falun Gong is considered a human rights violation by a number of (mostly western) human rights groups and politicians.

The atrocities being committed against women who practice Falun Gong are escalating. The accounts below are just a small sample of typical examples of torture being endured by these women in detention centers and forced labor camps throughout China.:

• Widespread use of electric stun devices to shock women on sensitive body parts such as the genitals, breasts, mouth, head, and anus.
• Force-feeding using liquid mixtures containing hot pepper or a thick saline solution with only a small amount of water added; this usually causes severe vomiting.
• Forced injections of higher than normal dosages of drugs that damage the central nervous system.
• Prolonged hanging from shackles on the wrists.
• Forced standing for long periods of time in freezing temperatures, wearing little or no clothing and drenched in ice water.
• Piercing through the fingertips with sharp bamboo sticks or through the nipples with wire.
• Prolonged and daily beating with instruments such as wire cables, nail studded batons, planks, etc.
• Sleep deprivation.
• Beaten with poisonous iohuomals branches, a hemp-like perennial plant, with downy branches and piercing thorns that causes red, blistered and extremely painful, itchy skin.
• Public humiliation by being paraded through the streets wearing derogatory signs.
• Subjected to snake and scorpion bites or left outside without clothing in mosquito infested areas.
• Restrained with dirty items stuffed in their mouths, such as used sanitary napkins, cleaning rags, dirty socks, etc.

Chen Lihua 36, female, a farmer from Dawangzhuang Township. She was detained in an office of the township government on January 4, 2000, for going to Beijing to appeal. Dozens of young male officials led by Li (an official in the office of the communist party committee,) came to the office and forced her to take off all her clothes. Official Bo thrust an electric baton into her vagina, shocking her to the floor. Then, one man held her arm and electrically shocked her body and handcuffed one of her hands to the window. Official Wang held her other hand while Bo grabbed her breasts and shocked her upper body repeatedly. She was tortured this way for quite a while, and then was told to put on her shirt and sit on the floor. Dozens of men kicked her so hard that she rolled around on the floor screaming in agony.

A 14-year old girl was forced to walk with a heavy brick on top of her head and her feet were bound to heavy rocks. While she walked, guards repeatedly slapped her in the face. At night the officer ordered her to hold a position touching her toes with knees straight. When she could not maintain the position, the guards beat her with clubs. After being tortured like this for an entire night, she could not walk without being assisted by someone. Guards threatened practitioners who protested the mistreatment saying they would stuff their mouths with used sanitary napkins.
Because the sheer magnitude of these abuses against women this is only a small number of cases, representing the specific types of torture and brutality being unleashed upon female practitioners by Chinese government officials.

The evidence that Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted by being extracted of their organs

Vodpod videos no longer available. from www.liveleak.com posted with vodpod

Saudi Rape Victim Pardoned

Saudi king pardons teenage rape victim

1 day ago

RIYADH (AFP) — King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia pardoned a teenage girl sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes after being gang raped in a decision swiftly welcomed by Washington on Monday.

Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Ibrahim al-Sheikh hailed the king’s “laudable instructions to grant the pardon”, in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The sentence against the 19-year-old girl had drawn criticism of the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom from key ally President George W. Bush.

The girl, who was 18 at the time she was raped, was attacked at knifepoint by seven men after she was found in a car with a male companion who was not a relative, in breach of strict Saudi law.

The king also pardoned the male companion, the justice minister announced.

The victim’s identity has not been revealed but she has become known as “Qatif girl,” after the Shiite-populated area of Al-Qatif in the Eastern Province from which she comes.

In October 2006, a judge sentenced her to 90 lashes for being with the man — a taboo in the conservative Muslim kingdom which imposes segregation of the sexes.

She appealed against the sentence but despite her ordeal the court ruled that her punishment should be increased to 200 lashes and a six-month jail term.

The judges decided to punish the girl further for “her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media,” a court source told the English-language daily Arab News.

The rapists were initially sentenced to one to five years in jail, but those terms were also toughened in November to between two and nine years.

A rape conviction carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, but the court did not impose it due to the “lack of witnesses” and the “absence of confessions,” the justice ministry said last month.

The girl’s husband praised the king for granting the pardon.

“This fatherly care and noble gesture will help (in) lifting the emotional and psychological stress and suffering that our family has been enduring,” the husband was quoted as saying on CNN television’s website.

“This is not something new because we know that the king was always generous in dealing with his people and the entire world,” the husband said. “This week, we have two holidays to celebrate; the Eid and this great news of the pardon.”

King Abdullah’s pardon came on the day that Muslims began the annual hajj pilgrimage as two million faithful set off from Mecca to the valley of Mina in Saudi Arabia. Source.

Good news to be sure. And how wonderful for her that her husband is so supportive.

Saudi king ‘pardons’ rape victim

Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Sheikh, the Saudi justice minister, told Al Jazirah daily that the pardon does not mean the king doubted the country’s judges, but instead acted in the “interests of the people”.

The girl’s sentencing had triggered international outrage.

“The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair.” Source.

Heavy, heavy sigh. An 18 year old female who has suffered through the violent attack of a gang rape is ALREADY experiencing damaging psychological effects! Two hundred lashes after being raped, fair?!

Not in the civilized world!

But then again we are speaking of Saudi Arabia….

Previously: Saudi Arabia: Gang Rape Victim Receives 200 Lashes

Iran: The Systematic Persecution of Baha’is

The Islamic Republic’s War with the Dead @ Amil Imani

Tuesday, 13 November 2007

“The hatred of the extremist mullahs for the Baha’is is such that they, like the Taliban of Afghanistan who destroyed the towering Buddhist sculptures at Bamiyan, intend not only to eradicate the religion, but even to erase all traces of its existence in the country of its birth,” says the statement, which took the form of a paid advertisement in the New York Times. Such has been the plight of one of the greatest segments of the Iranian population.

Persecuting the Dead

In 1993, in Tehran alone, under the orders of the Islamic authorities, more than 1500 graves were bulldozed on the pretext of constructing a municipal center. In a similar fashion, the Islamic Republic of Iran, which holds in great contempt any non-Islamic belief or heritage, has embarked on destroying the archaeological sites of Pasargad, Persepolis and the tomb of Cyrus the Great as well, also on another pretext of building a dam.

As early as last month, and with the direct order of villainous, handpicked President Ahmadinejad who is notorious for his anti-Baha’i sentiments , the bulldozing began of Baha’i cemeteries across Iran. That is the latest series of incidents in an Islamic government-led campaign of hatred against Baha’is. The destruction of the cemetery by using large and heavy equipment occurred between September 9th and September 10th near Najafabad, on the outskirts of Esfahan. What happened there is an almost total replica of what happened in July in Yazd, where another Baha’is’ cemetery was savagely damaged by earth-moving equipment.

The House of the Báb in Shiraz, one of the most holy sites in the Bahá’í world, was destroyed by Revolutionary Guardsmen in 1979 and later razed by the government. Also, the residence of Baha’u’llah in Takur, where the Founder of the Baha’i Faith spent his childhood, was also demolished soon after the radical Islamic revolution, and the site was offered for sale to the public. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, Baha’is are forbidden to live peacefully in this life and rest in the next.

Islam is now out of its own cage. It has declared war on the dead as well as the living. Islam plans to kill, destroy and eradicate anything and everything in its path to world domination. Secretly, most Muslims endorse suicide bombings and the underpinnings of bin Laden’s assault. For as long as there are bigoted, self-serving clergy and their collaborators with first exclusive access to the blank slate, the problem of supplying wave after wave of Islamofascists will persist. Do we have to have a bloodbath of monumental scale before we in the West see anything near peace again? Isn’t it time to stop this madness and think judiciously?

All free people must feel for the long-suffering Baha’is in Iran. They have been savagely brutalized for over a century and a half through the demonic machinations of the despicable mullahs. They continue to pay dearly for their audacity to believe in human dignity.

Why anyone would desecrate cemeteries is unfathomable.

Indeed, a careful examination of Iran’s persecution of the Bahá’í community reveals that the Iranian government has long sought specifically to completely block the “progress and development” of the community — as outlined by the government in a “secret” memorandum that surfaced in 1993. [See “Iran’s Secret Blueprint for Repression”]

Iran’s Secret Blueprint for Repression

THE ISRCC DOCUMENT

[Translation from Persian]

[Text in square brackets added by translator]

In the Name of God!
The Islamic Republic of Iran
The Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council
Number: 1327/….
Date: 6/12/69 [25 February 1991]
Enclosure: None

CONFIDENTIAL

Dr. Seyyed Mohammad Golpaygani
Head of the Office of the Esteemed Leader [Khamenei]

Greetings!

After greetings, with reference to the letter #1/783 dated 10/10/69 [31 December 1990], concerning the instructions of the Esteemed Leader which had been conveyed to the Respected President regarding the Bahá’í question, we inform you that, since the respected President and the Head of the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council had referred this question to this Council for consideration and study, it was placed on the Council’s agenda of session #128 on 16/11/69 [5 February 1991] and session #119 of 2/11/69 [22 January 1991]. In addition to the above, and further to the [results of the] discussions held in this regard in session #112 of 2/5/66 [24 July 1987] presided over by the Esteemed Leader (head and member of the Supreme Council), the recent views and directives given by the Esteemed Leader regarding the Bahá’í question were conveyed to the Supreme Council. In consideration of the contents of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the religious and civil laws and general policies of the country, these matters were carefully studied and decisions pronounced.

In arriving at the decisions and proposing reasonable ways to counter the above question, due consideration was given to the wishes of the Esteemed Leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran [Khamenei], namely, that “in this regard a specific policy should be devised in such a way that everyone will understand what should or should not be done.” Consequently, the following proposals and recommendations resulted from these discussions.

The respected President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the Head of the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council, while approving these recommendations, instructed us to convey them to the Esteemed Leader [Khamenei] so that appropriate action may be taken according to his guidance.

SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS OF THE DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

A. General status of the Bahá’ís within the country’s system

1. They will not be expelled from the country without reason.
2. They will not be arrested, imprisoned, or penalized without reason.
3. The government’s dealings with them must be in such a way that their progress and development are blocked.

B. Educational and cultural status

1. They can be enrolled in schools provided they have not identified themselves as Bahá’ís.
2. Preferably, they should be enrolled in schools which have a strong and imposing religious ideology.
3. They must be expelled from universities, either in the admission process or during the course of their studies, once it becomes known that they are Bahá’ís.
4. Their political (espionage) activities must be dealt with according to appropriate government laws and policies, and their religious and propaganda activities should be answered by giving them religious and cultural responses, as well as propaganda.
5. Propaganda institutions (such as the Islamic Propaganda Organization) must establish an independent section to counter the propaganda and religious activities of the Bahá’ís.
6. A plan must be devised to confront and destroy their cultural roots outside the country.

C. Legal and social status

1. Permit them a modest livelihood as is available to the general population.
2. To the extent that it does not encourage them to be Bahá’ís, it is permissible to provide them the means for ordinary living in accordance with the general rights given to every Iranian citizen, such as ration booklets, passports, burial certificates, work permits, etc.
3. Deny them employment if they identify themselves as Bahá’ís.
4. Deny them any position of influence, such as in the educational sector, etc.

Wishing you divine confirmations,
Secretary of the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council
Dr. Seyyed Mohammad Golpaygani
[Signature]
[Note in the handwriting of Mr. Khamenei]
In the Name of God!

The decision of the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council seems sufficient.
I thank you gentlemen for your attention and efforts.

 

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-first session
Item 12 of the provisional agenda

QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO COLONIAL AND OTHER DEPENDENT COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES

Report on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran prepared by the Special Representative of the Commission, Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1994/73 and Economic and Social Council decision 1994/263

G. Freedom of religion and the situation of the Baha’i community

46. In addition to the allegations enumerated in the interim report to the General Assembly (A/49/514, paras. 61-71, A/49/514/Add.1 and A/49/514/Add.2, pp. 11-12), the Special Representative received the following information.

47. The New York Times reported in its 1 August 1994 issue that the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jarad Zarif, had said that some evangelical Christian churches were in actual fact organizations of a political character: “We consider them to be political organizations. If someone wants to start a political organization they must go through the process to obtain permission, as is the case for Muslims”, he said.

48. In connection with the killing of Pastor Tatavous Michaelian, various inconsistencies have been noted in the police and court investigation. For example, Mrs. Farahnaz Anami, accused of the killing, allegedly said that the Pastor died from two bullet wounds, whereas the owner of the house in which the crime was committed said he had heard only one shot, and the office of the examining magistrate said that three bullets were found in the body. The testimony of the owner is said to have caused some controversy.

49. Farahnaz Anami reportedly confessed to killing Pastor Michaelian; identifying a place to bury the body of Pastor Dibaj in the Sorkheh Hesar woods in east Tehran; planning the killings of Archbishop Iraj Mottahedeh and Dimitri Belous; and planting explosives in the mausoleums of Hazrat Ma’soumeh and Imam Khomeini. Mrs. Batoul Vaferi Kaleteh and Mrs. Maryam Shahbazpoor are said to have confessed to being accomplices in these crimes and to have been arrested while they were trying to plant bombs at these mausoleums. No details are known about the inquiries into the killings of Pastor Dibaj and Pastor Hovsepian Mehr.

50. The situation of the Baha’is remains the same as that described in the Special Representative’s interim report to the General Assembly (A/49/514, paras. 66-71). The situation of two Baha’is sentenced to death because of their religion on 8 December 1993, Mr. Bihnam Mithaqi and Mr. Kayvan Khalajabadi, is still precarious, for no reply has yet been received to the appeal against the conviction lodged with the Supreme Court of Justice. These persons have been in prison since April 1989.

51. Five other Baha’is are still in prison because of their religion. Particular concern was expressed about the situation of Mr. Husayn Ishraqi, aged 72, who has been in prison since 1 April 1992 and has been sentenced to a term of 10 years. Another Baha’i, imprisoned since 17 October 1985, Mr. Bakhshu’llah Mithaqui, has been told verbally that he has received a further sentence of 10 years in addition to the term he is serving in Gohardasht prison. It was also reported that, while Mr. Ramidan’ali Dhulfaquari has been released, the charge of apostasy against him has not been withdrawn. This person had been sentenced to death in December 1993.

52. Further acts of discrimination and economic pressure against the Baha’is have been reported, particularly in Mashhad, a city where the private sector is said to be under pressure from the authorities to dismiss Baha’i employees. The Baha’is in Mashhad are reportedly facing major hurdles in carrying on their professional and commercial activities. Throughout the country, many Baha’is dismissed from the public sector on account of their religious beliefs are still unemployed and receive no financial assistance, grant or pension. It has even been reported that some Baha’is dismissed from the public sector were required to return the salaries and pensions they had received when they were working. Baha’i farmers are still denied access to farm cooperatives, which often provide the only opportunity to obtain credits, seed, fertilizers and pesticides.

53. It has been alleged that marriage, divorce and the right to inherit among the Baha’is continue to be unrecognized in law. Major difficulties, mentioned in information received previously, remain in obtaining passports and exit visas. It is asserted that young Baha’is continue to be denied access to higher education and, for the Baha’i community as a whole, the right to meet freely, to elect their representatives and to maintain their administrative institutions. The cemeteries, holy places, historical sites and administrative centres of the Baha’i community remain confiscated or have been destroyed. It is said that the Baha’is must bury their dead on waste land specified by the Government and that they are not entitled to identify the graves of their loved ones.

THE BAHAIS QUESTION?

The Baha’i Question Cultural Cleansing in Iran

• CHAPTER I
  • Introduction
  • The Bahá’í Faith: A global community
• CHAPTER II
  • A Campaign of Cultural Cleansing
  • The ISRCC document
• CHAPTER III
  • The Current Situation
  • The Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education
  • The Bahá’í community of Iran speaks for itself
  • The ongoing threat of execution
• CHAPTER IV
  • “To kill a Bahá’í is a good deed…”
  • Hanged for teaching “Sunday school”
  • How Iran has justified the persecution
• CHAPTER V
  • The Historical Background
  • The international response
• CHAPTER VI
  • Conclusion and Summary
• APPENDICES
  • APPENDIX I: Bahá’ís killed since 1978
  • APPENDIX II: The United Nations’ Response

Chapter I

Introduction

By all accounts, the house of Mirza Abbas Nuri was a masterpiece of Islamic architecture. Mirza Abbas Nuri was a renowned 18th century Iranian calligrapher, and his home in Tehran — marked by a verdant veranda, flowered courtyard, and tasteful tile-work — was considered among the most beautiful houses of that period.

The demolition in June 2004 of the house of Mirza Abbas Nuri, a renowned 18th century Iranian calligrapher, reflects the Iranian government’s willingness to destroy its own cultural heritage to eradicate the Bahá’í Faith from Iran

In the summer of 2004, however, Iranian authorities demolished the house. The reason was all too clear: the home was considered by Iran’s Bahá’ís as a sacred and historic site, inasmuch as Mirza Abbas Nuri was the father of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith.

Islam the religion of peace and tolerance?

Or…Islam the religion of violence and extreme prejudice?