Gala Concert for Human Rights in Stockholm

On the 10th of December, the Sweden branch of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI-S) presented an opportunity to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights with international artists.

Besides Master of Ceremony Samson Mande, European Human Rights Hero awardee, several renown human rights activists honored the event. Norsang Drikung, leader of Tibetan Community in Sweden and Dr. Elfatih Shora, member of International Rescue Nubia organization spoke about issues demanding solutions in their countries, while Stig Johnell from Amnesty International took up several situations worldwide, including Sweden.

Honorary guest speaker Mrs. Jacqueline Mukangira, Ambassador of Republic of Rwanda to Sweden and Nordic Countries highlighted the evening, who told stories of how her country has risen from genocide to a safe and prosperous land, setting a good example of finding constructive solutions to various problems.

The audience was entertained by a colorful concert of classical, pop and world music, dance from Africa, Asia, America and Europe. In the artist line-up, different ages, races, music styles and most of the continents were represented.

Latvian viola/piano duo Ineta & Milda Zigure gave the concert a very aesthetic opening. Mrs Sonoko Kase's students from Östermalm Private Music School performed Japanese children songs, piano and ballet pieces. Venezuelan born soprano Gabriela Gonzáles-Toledo, who is also an active lecturer in Latin American music and culture, entertained with beautiful opera and musical songs. Hungarian folk singer Andrea Gerak's choice of Romany National Anthem was perfect for the occasion and really hit home to the audience. Swedish singer-songwriter Mimmi Siegel sweetened the mood while rock singer Lizette& and Nsako Afrodans, a group performing tribal music and dance from Uganda broke the floor with high energy sounds and moves.

The attendees appreciated the international diversity, the very informative speeches, high artistic quality and the relaxed atmosphere of the gala. The event concluded with the participating representatives expressing their intentions to further co-operate in order to make human rights a reality.

More info

Psychiatry: Fraud in the Name of "Science and Humanity"

On Saturday, 20/September, the XIVth World Congress of Psychiatry opens its doors in Prague, Chech Republic. Their motto is "Science and Humanism: For a Person-Centered Psychiatry" What a blatant lie!

First of all, psychiatry is NOT a science. For what is science? Let's see a few definitions:

"a systematically organized body of knowledge on any subject"
"the study of the physical and natural world and phenomena, especially by using systematic observation and experiment"
"the state of knowing : knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding"
"knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method"

How does this apply to psychiatry?

"In 1886, Emil Kraepelin, the undisputed founder of modern psychiatry as a medical specialty and science, declared: "Our science has not arrived at a consensus on even its most fundamental principles, let alone on appropriate ends or even on the means to those ends." Eighty years later, the encyclopedic American Handbook of Psychiatry opened with this statement: "Perhaps no other field of human endeavor is so ... difficult to define as that of psychiatry." Andrew Lakoff, a professor of sociology at the University of California in San Diego, airily opines: "Two centuries after its invention, psychiatry's illnesses have neither known causes nor definitive treatments."

Theodor Meynert, an Austrian psychiatrist stated in his textbook in 1984 that
"The reader will find no other definition of 'Psychiatry' in this book but the one given on the title page: Clinical Treatise on Diseases of the Forebrain. The historical term for psychiatry, i.e., 'treatment of the soul,' implies more than we can accomplish, and transcends the bounds of accurate scientific investigation."

Clearly put. A "science" that is illogical already in its name! How can one then expect logical principles, theories and methods from such a branch?

Here are some examples of methods used in psychiatry:

This event was reported in a letter to the editor of Psychiatric
News, by Natalie Shainess, recounting a personal encounter with such
"research" at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Atlanta, in May, 1978. "Arriving late in the evening at the Omni Hotel," she writes, "I was unpacking when my phone rang at about 11:30 p.m. Wondering who might be calling at that hour, I picked up the phone receiver to hear a man's voice say, 'Would you like us to send up a gentleman to pleasure you?" Offended by this offer, Dr. Shainess interrogated the hotel manager about the incident, only to learn that "a member of the American Psychiatric Association was conducting a piece of sex research and had arranged for 25 women arriving alone to receive this call." By representing himself as a scientific investigator, this unidentified psychiatrist deceived not only his victims, but also the hotel manager."

"The low level of intellectual effort was shocking. Diagnoses were developed by majority vote on the level we would use to choose a restaurant. You feel like Italian, I feel like Chinese, so let’s go to the cafeteria. Then it’s typed into a computer." - a psychologist, about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

But let's assume that indeed, in the field of psychiatry there exist laboratory tests and other means, generally used in real sciences like medicine, to observe phenomena and find solutions to problems.

We see publications and news all the time about a new psychiatric drug being developed, a "new pattern of the brain function" discovered, that "recent study shows that substance ABC is present/missing in the brain of patients suffering from XYZ mental disorder. Scientists add that developing a new medicine will give hope to these patients", and so on.

I am not a physician, chemist, neurologist or any of the like, but one doesn't need 3 university degrees to ask this simple question: how do they prove that a mental condition (i.e. feeling depressed, sad, stressed, etc) is caused by the cherished term of "chemical imbalance" and not the way around?

Well, they don't. Plainly by their authoritarian powers, psychiatrists claim such "truths", lobbying in the media, governments, official medicine et al, to spread obviously irrational statements, "search results".

How can one believe that a woman who has lost her family, is unhappy because of a chemical imbalance in her brain, therefore she needs to take pills as a treatment?

How can one believe that an overworked manager is stressed because of certain substance in his brain and it can be corrected with a drug? Will he be not overworked any more?

How can one believe that a lively child has to be "cooled down" with drugs, because he has a "deficiency"? (As a personal experience: when my son was 6, he was diagnosed with ADHD, because he got bored of the stupid questions of the psychologist testing him if he was matured enough to go to school, and instead of sitting nicely on the chair through 45 minutes, wanted to go out and play with the other kids...)

It's very easy to believe such idiocies, one just needs to stop thinking for himself and believe everything the alleged experts have to say.

It is also interesting to observe that all these "scientific studies" lead to developing newer and newer drugs, to "handle" certain "mental disorders". If you are curious about how the giant pharmaceutical companies have a vast amount of power to cook the results of drug tests and make researchers and even the FDA itself bow to their will and how they also use their power and money to silence their critics, just do a google search on these two terms: psychiatry and pharmaceutical industry.

This way it is no wonder that the upcoming congress of psychiatrists is sponsored by 4 drug companies: Lundbeck, Lilly, Pfizer and Krka. It would be a fantastic naivety to assume that the manufacturers and sellers of psychiatric drugs finance this event merely out of humanity, with the glorious intent of helping Mankind to get rid of unwanted mental conditions...

Lundbeck for instance, made donations of DKK 281 million in 2007 for scientific researches. That is to say they gave this much money for studies that will prove that an effective drug is needed to handle certain problem. And guess who will produce and sell that drug?

A key section of their website is about finances, inviting investors to this highly profitable business. Money, money, money...

After looking at only a very few aspects of how "scientific" psychiatry, let's see quickly what about humanity.

Instead of a long essay here, please remember One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest which was not Hemingway's artistic exaggeration or imagination of what was going on in psychiatry institutes - and sadly what is still the case today.

But by now, psychiatry emphasizes the use of a "more human" method: giving drugs to the patients is much milder.

Is it really? Taking a look at these short videos on real stories of children who got psychiatric drugs will tell more than would a thousand words.

I hope that for the occasion of their great gathering, this writing helps you to classify modern psychiatry as it is: a harmful pseudo-science.

- Andrea Gerak


References:
Definition of Psychiatry. By Thomas Szasz
The Lying Truths of Psychiatry. By Thomas Szasz
Is Psychiatry For Sale? An Examination of the Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry on Academic and Practical Psychiatry. By Joanna Moncrieff
Psychiatric Drugs: Chemical Warfare on Humans - interview with Robert Whitaker
Modern Psychiatry: Brought To You By Selfless Pharmaceutical Companies"
Publications by Citizens Commission on Human Rights

Review of WANTED

WANTED

STORY: A wimpy accountant, prone to "panic attacks," is drawn into a band of cosmically-sanctioned assasins so that he can rectify the balance in the world.

MESSAGE: There may be more talent and ability within you than you've tapped. Willingness to go in a new direction, willingness to stand up against your enemies, intelligence, commitment, industriousness, toughness, faith, ability to see the truth, ability to exploit an enemy's weaknesses, believing in your own abilities, skill, using communication to gain support, bending the rules for a just cause -- all win the day. Your integrity is more important that your immediate life.

WIN: The hero was able to tap into the inner strengths we all possess. The hero thought his superior abilities were a mental illness, a common misconception in our world of low expectations. He gave up taking psychiatric medicine to cure what wasn't an illness, which would be a good idea in general in society, since all psychiatric labels are false and not based on science. In order to gain the skills he needed, he applied himself industriously to the learning process. It was fitting that those with a heavy-handed approach to correcting bad behavior would be ill-fated. There was a sense, in the movie, of a higher power (called, generically, "Fate.")

LOSE: The ability to bend the path of a bullet, or leap further than humanly possible are spiritual abilities, not abilities coming from genetic predisposition. Beating someone up carries with it the penalty of unwittingly introducing unwanted positive suggestions (like hypnotism, but with pain and threat as the "operator") so a person could just as likely become tough or crazy. The healing baths may have done wonders as to physical healing, but there was no effective mental healing. In other words, if we could beat the coward, or other imperfections, out of people, then our schools would be beat fests -- but that doesn't work in the real world. His handling of his pestering boss and false friend involved anger and violence, when neither of those two would be needed, and they undermined his control, showing a lack of responsibility. The movie says that it is better for society and Mankind that some people be assasinated. Whereas it is true that we should not be bullied, and sometimes a person needs to be put in their place, it is often best that a person (such as in the case of a harping boss) speaks to the boss or changes jobs. Using the bullet as the first offense when other, milder forms of persuasion have not been tried, is inhumane. The other fact that isn't realized is that a person who does harm will begin to limit themself, and will slowly (or quickly) assasinate themself, because on some level they know they are destructive. The movie suggests that a higher power sought heavy-handed justice in order to "restore balance." Our world has imbalance as a necessity to the game of life, and our thrust is not toward "balance" but towards better and better survival. At the end of the movie, the audience is made wrong for not using their untapped powers to do large deeds in the world (this from a guy who murders others); this could have been done more in terms of encouragement to take more responsibility. Disrespect of animals, namely rats. No sense of life beyond death.

EFFECT ON ME: I was offended, as I do seek to better myself and use my talents to better the world. I felt elated and dirty and confused, because vast ability (a good thing) was positioned with murder and destruction (a bad thing). It made me want to be a stronger person who stands up for what I believe, and who stands up to those who try to tear me down.

Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com

Review of MADE OF HONOR

MADE OF HONOR

STORY: A womanizer finally wakes up to the fact that he's in love with his best friend. He wants to marry her, but he's too late; she asks him to be her Maid of Honor. He agrees in an attempt to win her back.

MESSAGE: The true love you seek may be right in front of you. Commitment, marriage and fidelity are worth fighting for. The "rules" bachelors tend to follow are a trap, which prevent one from achieving true happiness. Friendship and rapport and "feeling comfortable as oneself when with another" are all parts of true love. Real, honest communication means more to a relationship than winning manly competitions of strength and endurance, than one's high station in life or than one's vast wealth. It is never too late to right a wrong.

WIN: The hero did do the correct steps of deciding that commitment to the girl was the right thing, telling his friends and her; and he did take the job of Maid of Honor and made up for not noticing her by doing a good job. He was active in sports. It is refreshing for a movie to laud fidelity over promiscuity. Sweet moments of friendship were treasured, like sharing each others' cake. (as opposed to some movies that say, "remember that time we got drunk and...")

LOSE: Does size really matter that much, when love is a spiritual bond between two beings? (Fortunately, a small scene.) As dramatic as it may be to pull someone out of their wedding when they're in front of the preacher, there is a lot of destruction in this action -- know the cost of a wedding in terms of time, money and family reputation?

EFFECT ON ME: It made me feel, even more than I do, that my own husband is a special treasure.

Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com

The High Risk Job of Raising Kids

The above links to a very interesting article about what it takes to raise children in today's society, and the risks kids face.

Also given are solutions to some of these problems - ways to avoid parenting pitfalls.

Recommended reading!

Stop the Mother's Act - drugging mothers and babies

Why we must stop the Mother's Act!



Sign the petition to stop the mother's act!

Spiritual Quotes

I came across this lovely spiritual quote by Ernest Holmes:

Never limit your view of life by any past experience.

I think this is very good advice - not that we cannot learn from past experience, but I have noticed that people tend to get "set in their ways" as they get older, and regaining the brilliance and bright outlook of youth is really valuable. Young people seem more willing to experience life - to look and see what is there.

That's what I really love about Dianetics - it allows us to shed the past upsets and failures, so we can look life from a new frame of mind again, more willing to experience and live it.

Hello from Stan Dubin

Thank you, Jane, for the invitation to post to your blog. I have been a "practicing" Scientologist for 33 years. I've also written two books that are based on the works of best-selling author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. One book was designed to help small businesses and the other to help people in their relationships. For more information on my books, blogs and web sites, click here.

What I particularly like about your blog, Jane, is your focus on providing good news and positive solutions. There is an apparency that our world is filled with "bad news" -- this apparency is generated by a media that believes it must concentrate on bringing us controversy, tragedy, etc. or we won't pay attention and buy their papers, watch their shows, etc. When you peel past that veneer, however, you find a world filled with good people wanting to lead decent lives.

So, let's keep bringing the good news and effective solutions of Scientology and Dianetics to the world.

The Way to Happiness

There's a wonderful book that consists of a non-religious moral code, which can be used by anyone to create a better life.

It's called The Way to Happiness, and it was written by L. Ron Hubbard. Here is a blog by a reader who has found this booklet to be of use in life. The Way to Happiness blog.

Association for Peace & Understanding in the Middle East

Since today is the anniversary of the terrorist attack in NYC and Washington DC, many people are thinking of September 11, 2001.

I think it's fitting to pay tribute to a group of courageous people who are bringing together Muslims and Jews and promoting a better way to live.

The members of APUME - The Association for Peace & Understanding in the Middle East - has worked tirelessly to bring about better understanding and better living to people in one of the most embattled regions on earth.

Click here to read Why you should care about peace in the Middle East.

Artists for Human Rights

When I ran across this logo it pulled me right in and I found out:

Artists for Human Rights (AFHR) was formed with the purpose of bringing artists together with the common cause of raising awareness of human rights around the world.

The website has a nice little galley with works of some of the members: Pomm Hepner, Michael Doven, Debbie Arambula, Randy South, Gay Ribisi, & Jim Meskimen to name a few.

SPIRITUAL EFFECT OF MOVIES

Movies are often judged for their story structure or acting ability or violence content. An avid movie-goer, I have been blogging for quite some time giving movie reviews about the effect of a movie spiritually. I summarize the story and theme, then give how it was accurate or beneficial spiritually. After that, I say where it damages life or where it falls short of truth. Beyond that, I say what effect the movie had on me.

For example, if a movie had the theme that life is bad, you can't change it and then you die, this would be rated as a negative film. Whereas a movie that promotes the inner strengths in us all to achieve good things past all odds -- that would be a win.

Movies do promote things and our culture is emulated by others based on what a movie promotes. How many times has a hero in a film picked up a glass of alcohol for celebration or romance? How often does a hero engage in speed dating with overnight stays? Is religion made to look like a sane activity or like an illusory fanaticism by a particular film?

My blog, www.spiritoffilm.blogspot.com, is exclusively movie reviews as they impact spiritual pursuits. It is a new way of making determinations about box office films.

Becky Mate

The Problem:


43% of the world's chocolate comes from the Ivory Coast. It is estimated that 90% of the labor force in the chocolate plantations in the Ivory Coast are actually slaves.

The chocolate we eat is made by slave children.

Because the cocoa is mixed together in the market, there is a bit of slavery in every chocolate bar.

These are children - working 80 to 100 hours per week. Beaten, whipped, unable to return to their families.

The Solution:



Boycott chocolate.

Or order chocolate from Tony's Chocolonely.

For Halloween, give children copies of the booklet "What Are Human Rights?" by Youth for Human Rights. At the very least, do not give them chocolate, unless you order it from Tony's.

Youth for Human Rights

I love this video. Watching these kids, I feel like it's going to be all right - these kids are the future.

Human Rights

Current Scene is looking for stories on human rights for their "good news and stuff you can do something about" online newspaper.

There is an interesting story there now about Bodies: The Exhibition which is a pretty horrific display. On the upside, however, instead of just getting the bad news of the situation, you can get educated, then contact your congressman - as there is legislation in the works to put an end to this kind of display.

I think it would be cool if we all submitted great articles about really important things. I, for one, have seen enough stories about Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears to last me the rest of my life! Time for some real news that actually means something to me!

The Way to Happiness Outdoors Club

From my email box:

Newsletter August/2007


2007 International Camel Races—Virginia City, Nevada

The Way to Happiness Outdoors Club is Going for the Gold!

Outdoors Club camel racing champs Dick Sullivan & Ross Pula

The Way to Happiness Outdoors Club will return this September to the International Camel Races in Virginia City, Nevada, and we are going for the Gold Medal! Camel racing in historic Virginia City has been a tradition since the first races were organized by gold miners back in the 1860’s.

Last September, members of The Way to Happiness Outdoors Club competed in the races. Ross Pula and Dick Sullivan won silver medals: Ross won racing a camel and Dick won racing an ostrich!

Throughout the 3-day event, our club distributed thousands of special-edition copies of The Way to Happiness® booklet* and we were featured in the Race Day Parade. A representative of the local chamber of commerce stated, "I think that every man, woman and child should read this booklet." At the close of this event, we left an additional 4500 copies for distribution at the chamber’s visitor’s center.

Katrina

There's quite a bit of news coverage about the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast area this week. It's been 2 years since Katrina hit the area. My husband and I went down there for a few days to contribute to the Volunteer Minister relief effort. I have to say it was one of the turning points in my life. Seeing all the devastation was a jolt in reality but seeing how people were helping each other renewed my recognition of the goodness of Man. One good thing that came out of the tragedy was the birth of the Biloxi Mission. They continue the work started by the Volunteer Ministers 2 years ago.

Dianetics Seminar in Indianapolis

Greetz from Andrea Gerak

Hello,

Thanks for inviting me to this blog!

I am a Hungarian artist, living in Sweden at the moment. You can have a look at my several blogs here, as well as my official website.

Sometimes I write poems or essays about current issues (not really into politics but human rights matters) and I communicate best through my songs and photos, so every once in a while I will share such things with you here.

Like this video with my voice and pictures I have taken. Enjoy!

Scientology Volunteer Ministers

Hello,

I wanted to start this Blog as with this movement we can truly build a better world. If one does not know what this is all about, please check out the link.
I am traveling with the European Scientology Volunteer Minister Goodwill Tour and this is a very fascinating tour.

We have just opened our tent a bit more than a week ago in the center of Craiova, Romania and here is a link to a video from the opening that was shown in a local TV.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=655285871575901277&pr=goog-sl

Best,
Gabor

Here are some wonderful booklets about drugs - my kids read these, and it strengthened their determination to never even consider trying drugs.

http://www.drugfreeworld.org/store/index.html

Parents, teachers, anyone who works with young people, really, should have and read these - we need to KNOW what is happening, so we can help young people around us. If we are armed with the truth, we can be much more effective.

Introduction to Pam and Dean Blehert

Hi. Dean and I are on OT VII and are pleased to be asked to this blogspace. We maintain several blogs, which you can visit by going to our website and looking for the links on the top right hand side of the home page. Dean is a poet and I am a visual artist.

Hello!

Thanks for the invitation to join the blog! I'm Valerie in Colorado and my topics will probably run along the line of Scottie dogs, flowers/bird/trees, weather and life along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Jane is the person who introduced me to blogging so this brings me full circle.
We've been enjoying the first taste of fall here with softer light and cooler nights but today promises to kick out some heat. A good day to stay near a fan.

Inviting my friends!

I am inviting my friends to join me in posting to this blog. So hopefully we'll have a lot more posts and a lot of contributors soon!

Welcome to my friends!
-Jane

---

No self-interest can be so great as to demand the slaughter of mankind. He who would demand it, he who would not by every rational means avert it, is insane. There is no justification for war. -L. Ron Hubbard,

You can see my personal blog about youth volunteerism - I updated this when I was volunteering in Baton Rouge, after Hurricane Katrina.

--------------

There are no international concerns which cannot be resolved by peaceable means, not in the terms of supranational government, but in the terms of reason...

...No self-interest can be so great as to demand the slaughter of mankind. He who would demand it, he who would not by every rational means avert it, is insane. There is no justification for war.

-L. Ron Hubbard, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

Give peace a chance

What ever happened to the peace movement, anyway?

I visited an Amnesty International booth at a festival recently and picked up some cool stickers for their youth program. It was just a cute little sticker, with the Amnesty International logo and website link for the youth sign up.

Well, on the Metro last night, there were 4 teens who were talking, and they seemed bright enough, but were just gossiping about other kids and it was clear from their conversation that they simply aren't challenged in life. They seemed bright - but vacant, really.

I gave them the stickers - they'd never heard of Amnesty International (they must have been 16 - 18), nor had they heard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That surprised me as well, really.

I told them a little about both activities - and they did seem interested!

Perhaps no one has even given them the idea that they could do something to make the world a brighter, better place to be. I'm hoping they sign up and next time I bump into them, I'll overhear conversation a little more worth overhearing than gossip about their acquaintances!

Environmental News

Here's an interesting article about preserving Alaska's wilderness. Because of the fragile ecosystem, and because of the unique species, I feel it's important to work towards protecting Alaska.

I had the opportunity to visit Alaska years ago, and it was incredible.

Here are some kids who support human rights:

kids for human rights

Besides promoting their own work, they offer a link to a website where you can get a Youth for Human Rights public service announcement.

Put one on your own site!

Thanks to Dr.Lily Mazahery and Nazanin Boniadi




Help Put an End to Stoning in Iran

Dear friends,

As you are already aware, stoning is a particularly brutal form of execution. It is imposed as a punishment for "adultery" in Iran. Currently, up to nine women and two men in Iran are under sentence of execution by stoning, including one woman who was convicted of adultery and who claimed she was forced into prostitution. Various human rights organizations, human rights lawyers, activists, and concerned individuals have called on the Iranian government to abolish the barbaric and violent practice of stoning.

We hope that you, too, will join us in this important effort by urging the Iranian government to commute all sentences of death by stoning and ask Iranian officials to abolish the practice of stoning for ever.

Please remember that YOUR SIGNATURE DOES COUNT. Recent petitions, such as the one provided here, have effectively saved the lives of at least two women who were originally sentenced to death by stoning. Please do not turn your back to the innocent prisoners of Iran who are denied even the most basic rights of every human.

Should you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us or visit http://www.herearth.com/

With kind regards,


Lily Mazahery, Esq. Nazanin BoniadiPresident Actress and Human Rights Activist Legal Rights Institute Artists for Human RightsWashington, DC Los Angeles, California



http://www.petitiononline.com/nostones/petition.html


Petition:
To: His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Cc: Mr. Golam-Ali Haddad-Adel, the leader of the Iranian Parliament

The act of punishing people by stoning them to death in today's world is such an unacceptable and inhuman act of brutality that even the members of the government are ashamed of admitting to doing it, and have publicly denied that this merciless practice takes place in Iran. Despite the government's denial, this penalty is a sanctioned part of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran and it is being carried out without any legal obstacles.

We, the undersigned are extremely alarmed that the punishment of stoning to death has been adopted by the country's legal system as a reasonable and acceptable form of retribution. Although, in December of 2002, your Excellency placed a ban on carrying out this type of sentence, in reality stonings have continued to take place in different parts of the country. In May 2006, in the city of Mashhad, a woman Mahboubeh M. and a man Abbas H. were both stoned to death.

Prior to carrying out the stoning, prior to their death, these two people were treated as if they were dead. In accordance with the Islamic tradition, their bodies were washed as if they were lifeless corpses, and wrapped in the kafan or white shroud. Then their wrapped bodies were buried in the ground, Mahboubeh's body was buried up to her shoulders, and Abbas was buried up to his waist. The crowd, who had gathered to stone the two to death slowly as specified by law, then targeted them with their stones. All this took place without any mention of it in the public media of the country.

Apart from the above mentioned two cases, at least eleven people, nine women and two men as listed below have been condemned to be stoned to death. Their situation is grave. It is also possible that there are other people who have been condemned to death by stoning and we are not aware of it.

1 Ms. Parisa A. (Adel Abad Prison, Shiraz)2 Ms. Kobra N. (Tabriz Prison, Tabriz)3 Ms. Kheireyeh V. (Sepidar Prison, Ahwaz)4 Ms. Iran A. (Sepidar Prison, Ahwaz) 5 Ms.Malak (Shamameh) Ghorbany (Orumieh Prison, Orumieh)6 Ms.Hajieh Esmailvand (Jolfa Prison, Jolfa)7 Ms.Soghra Molawyi (Varamin Prison, Varamin)8 Ms.Ashraf Kalhori (Evin Prison, Tehran)9 Ms. Fatemeh (Tehran) 10 Mr.Abdollah Farivar (Sari Prison, Sari)-Male11 Mr. Najaf A. (Abdel-Abad Prison, Shiraz)-Male

According to Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, signed and ratified by Iran in 1975, "in countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes". Article 7 of the same covenant states that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment." Despite ratifying the above covenant, the Islamic penal code gives the judges the right to sentence the accused to death by stoning even when the crime of adultery has not been proved according to the same penal code's standards and requirements. Article #105 of the Islamic penal code gives the judges the absolute right to condemn the accused to death by stoning solely based on the judge's subjective interpretation of the case.

We the undersigned demand and stress the need to change all laws contrary to human rights. We believe there are no crimes that deserve the punishment of stoning to death and we insist that this inhumane practice should be abolished forever.

Lily Mazahery, Esq.PresidentLegal Rights InstituteWashington, DC
-- Save Lives! Sign the Petition to STOP STONING

FOREVER: http://www.petitiononline.com/nostones/petition.html

SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE MALAK'S LIFE: http://savemalak.googlepages.com/home