State control

UPDATE: Iran: Maryam Majd held in ward 2A of Evin prison, concerns for her health

Maryam Majd, an Iranian photojournalist, who disappeared on her way from Tehran, Iran, to Dusseldorf in Germany is being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. She is in ward 2A, controlled by the Revolutionary Guards, according to a reliable source. It is now over ten days since she last spoke to her family. During that phone call, she was crying and asked her mother 'Please do something to release me from here'. Her family and friends are particularly concerned that she has access to her medication, which she takes daily. No formal charges have been brought against Ms. Majd so far.

Iran: UK condemns arrest of Iranian female activists

Britain says Iran's government has recently arrested several female activists as part of a campaign to stifle dissent. The U.K. Foreign Office named photographer Maryam Majd, filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi, journalist Zahra Yazdani and women's rights advocate Maryam Bahrman as being among those who have been detained in the past weeks.

Mondial féminin: le Comité d'organisation appelle l'Iran à libérer une la photographe Maryam Majd

La présidente du Comité d'organisation du Mondial féminin Steffi Jones a réclamé jeudi la libération d'une photographe iranienne qui devait couvrir la compétition et qui, selon Berlin, est incarcérée en Iran. "J'appelle instamment les responsables en Iran à libérer immédiatement Maryam Majd et à la laisser se rendre au Mondial", a dit Steffi Jones.

Iran: Woman film-maker detained in notorious Tehran prison

A prominent Iranian documentary film-maker and women's rights activist, whose work includes banned films about Iran's society, has been arrested by unidentified officials. Mahnaz Mohammadi, 37, was picked up from her home in the capital Tehran by security officers who refused to show a warrant for her arrest and was taken to Evin prison, where many activists are being held. Speaking by phone from Tehran, her lawyer told the Guardian that Mohammadi had been denied access to her family or proper legal representation and was being kept incommunicado.

Palestine: Women cope with siege in Jordan Valley

Israeli military forces have demolished 27 houses in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank over the last two weeks. More than 140 Palestinians have been rendered homeless by the demolitions, while Israeli settlement expansion continues to threaten more land and restrict water access — affecting the vitality of dozens of Palestinian villages in the area. According to the Jordan Valley Solidarity (JVS) campaign, an organization working with local communities, Israeli military and police jeeps and two bulldozers invaded the Bedouin community of al-Hadidya on 21 June. The bulldozers “demolished seven residential tents, 18 animal shelters and four kitchens, leaving 32 people homeless,” the group reports (“Big wave of demolitions in the Northern Jordan Valley,” 21 June 2011).

Uzbekistan: Oppressive political climate keeps women dependent on traditional social models

Interview with Marfua Tokhtakhodjaeva: In 1995, WLUML’s sister organization in Pakistan, Shirkat Gah – Women’s Resource Centre, published an English translation of Between the Slogans of Communism and the Laws of Islam by Marfua Tokhtakhodjaeva, which is available on the WLUML website here. The original appeared in Russian in 1992, just one year after the collapse of the USSR and the creation of an independent state of Uzbekistan. The book looks at the Sovietisation of Central Asia and argues that from 1917 the Soviet attitude to religion was confrontational and its goal was to destroy the Muslim religion through misleading tactics: while slogans regarding freedom of conscience were pronounced by the authorities, there were secretive directives ordering the suppression of the clergy.

Iran: Iranian Female Photojournalist Missing

A female sports photojournalist who had campaigned for Iranian women to be allowed to attend men's soccer games is missing amid reports she has been taken into custody in Tehran, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. Maryam Majd, 24, was supposed to go to Duesseldorf on June 17 to prepare for the women's soccer World Cup in Germany and to work on a photo project with Petra Landers, a former German soccer player.

Iran: Photojournalist disappears on way to Women Soccer World Cup in Germany

Maryam Majd, an Iranian photojournalist, has disappeared on her way from Tehran, Iran, to Dusseldorf in Germany, according to Petra Landers, a former national football player. In a letter to the German Foreign Office, Landers who met Maryam Majd earlier this year during a trip to Iran, explains what happened: "When I wanted to pick her up at 10:30 am on the 17th of June 2011 from Düsseldorf airport, I realized that she was not on the plane. (Mahan Airlines confirmed that Ms. Majd was not on board). By phone she was no longer reachable because the phone was switched off. Since that day nobody in Iran or in Germany has heard from Maryam Majd." This is Majd's blog (in Persian)

Sudan: Journalists Reporting on Sexual Violence against Women Face Criminal Charges

On 29 May, proceedings brought by the prosecutor of the Press and Publications Court against Professor Omar el Gerai, a journalist and activist, and Abdallah Sheikh, the editor ofAjras Alhurria, began in Al Shemali Court in Khartoum North. The two journalists are being tried for an article published 6 March by Professor el Gerai in Ajras Alhurria entitled “Rape…under Sharia law”, (available here in Arabic). The article detailed the brutal treatment of the youth activist and Girifna member Safiya Ishag, who was raped multiple times and subjected to torture in National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) custody following her participation in the 30 January demonstrations in Khartoum. In his piece, Mr. el Gerai called for a formal investigation.

Iran: Britain asks Iran to investigate death of women's rights activist Haleh Sahabi

Britain has called on Iran to launch an immediate investigation into the death of Haleh Sahabi, the daughter of a veteran Iranian dissident who died during scuffles with security forces at her father's funeral on Wednesday. Sahabi was leading the procession at the ceremony by holding a picture of her father, Ezatollah Sahab. She died from a heart attack after reportedly being attacked by an agent and falling down.