Iranian Student Leader Arrested

On September 4 at 11am, Anooshe Azadbar – overwhelming voted one of its honorary vice presidents by the British student union at its annual conference in April – was brought before a court in Iran. She faced multiple charges:

– plotting against the Islamic regime
– plotting against the Islamic order
– acting against Iranian national interests with a left wing group

This arose from her prominent involvement in the 4 December 2007 demonstrations where Hands Off the People of Iran placards were prominent.

Anooshe denied the charges, stating that this was a legal student demonstration against the threat of war, not an explicitly anti-regime protest.

In court, it was pointed out that this contradicted what she had said under interrogation. Anooshe replied that these statements had been obtained after she had been subjected to great psychological pressure.

Vague charges were also made that she had either received financial help from leftwing groups or had given money to certain groups. Her lawyer denied these charges, simply pointing out that as his client is penniless, she is clearly neither receiving money or in a position to dish it out. The judge eventually decided that the dossier was ‘incomplete’ and so Anooshe must go back to court at a later date for further questioning.

It is not clear when the next court hearing will be. She will be summoned to give another interview at the prosecutor’s office and following this there will be another court appearance. She is not the only student leader currently facing this oppression – it is estimated that another four or five other students are facing similar court procedures.

Ben Lewis of the Hopi steering committee commented:
“The dominant trend within the Islamic regime is clearly using the tension generated by the sabre-rattling of imperialism to clamp down on internal dissent. The harassment of our comrade Anooshe Azadbar comes at the same time as the sentencing of women’s rights activists of the One Million Signatures campaign to six-month prison terms and the ominous threats against the 2003 Peace Nobel Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, who has been dubbed an agent of Zionism.

“It seems the regime will not tolerate even mild-mannered reformist attempts to moderate its repressive rule, let alone the militant action of students. The threat of war plays into their hands – that’s why we stand against the warmongering of the imperialists and the repressive regime in Tehran.”

Hopi demands that all charges against Anooshe Azadbar are immediately dropped. Our campaign will be organising press conferences and protests in solidarity with the arrested students. See subsequent releases and our website for details.

Hopi at the TUC

Following on from our success in getting both Aslef and the PCS affiliated to HOPI, members and supporters will be intervening in next week’s TUC in Brighton (8-11 September). Can you help us – particularly those in the Brighton area?

Also, if you live in or around Brighton can you accommodate comrades during the week? email office@hopoi.info or call Mark on 07950 416 922

Hopi at Freshers’ Fairs

As the new terms starts in colleges and universities up and down the country, Hopi activists are planning our stalls at Freshers’ Fairs. We’ve been pretty successful in getting a toehold for our campaign on numerous campuses, but we need to build on this initial success. We will run stalls and meetings and hopefully expand the number of Hopi student societies. If you can help out with this work, or would like to request a stall/meeting/society at your school/college/university then please reply to this email. HOPI Manchester has a stall at the University of Manchester on the 22,23 and 24 September from 9pm at the freshers fayre inside the Academy.

Hopi at the Green Party Autumn Conference 7 September

The Green Party is one of Hopi’s affiliates. Their Autumn conference takes place this weekend, and leading Hopi activists in the Green Party have organised a meeting for all Hopi supporters and sympathisers:

Green Party Autumn Conference 2008 Hopi fringe meeting, SOAS, Russell Square, London WC1, Sunday 7 Sept 2008 – 4pm-5pm, Room G52

Hopi at Edinburgh Filmhouse On 19 September

Protected by armed guards and a burka, 25-year-old Malalai Joya is on the campaign trail to become the first female parliamentarian in Afghanistan. But just how far will she get? ‘Enemies of Happiness’ is a new documentary, recently awarded the Sundance Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary. It has a special showing at the Edinburgh Filmhouse on September 19. (For full programme, phone 0131 228 2689; 88 Lothian Rd, Edinburgh EH3 9BZ. See http://www.filmhousecinema.com:80/showing/enemies-of-happiness/ .)

Following this is a fresh, gripping tale of an extraordinary woman and her determined pursuit of political and social justice there will be discussion examining the changing role of Muslim women in politics. With Shabnum Mustapha (Oxfam Scotland) and Yassamine Mather (Hands Off the People of Iran).

Hopi at the Stop the War Coalition Demo in Manchester 20 September

Hopi comrades will be active on this demonstration, distributing material and signing up new supporters. We welcome any support comrades can give us on the on the day, from simply staffing a stall, to petition work, or leaflet distribution. Further information on the demonstration can be viewed here: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

We would also urge all Hopi members and supporters who are not yet members of StWC to sign up as soon as possible. Hopi will again be pressing to be allowed to affiliate and take our rightful place in the anti-war movement. Comrades can help by attending the Coalition’s AGM (date unannounced yet, but likely to be in October) and supporting us with your votes. You can become a national member of Stop the War:
* online: http://tinyurl.com/6krppn
* by credit/debit card: Call 020 7278 6694
* by cheque or standing order: email for a membership form to office@stopwar.org.uk

Hopi To Debate Campaign Iran and Casmii at the Convention Of the Left 24 September

Following on from the Manchester demonstration, there is a four day counter-conference to the Labour Party Conference, the Convention of the Left (http://www.conventionoftheleft.org/).

On Wednesday September 24, the anti-war movement will have a rare chance to debate its tasks in the face of the war drive on Iran and the sanctions that are already crushing the country. Hopi will be speaking alongside Action Iran and Campaign Iran – two organisations with radically different approaches to Hopi – in a forum entitled ‘Stopping the Next War’ which will take place at 3:30pm in Meeting Room 1 of Friends Meeting House.

New Hopi Videos

There are two new HOPI videos now online.
The first is of Hopi Steering Committee Members Yassamine Mather and Ben Lewis discussing the threat of war on Iran and the tasks of the anti-war movement:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7471891727182821841&hl=en
The second is of Hopi Steering Committee member Moshe Machover speaking on ‘Palestine and completing the Arab Revolution':
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9096039784474347141&hl=en

£500 Raised For Workers’ Fund Iran

At last year’s founding conference of our campaign, we agreed that Hopi would, alongside demanding “the immediate and unconditional release of workers arrested for their trade union or political activities” such as Mahmoud Salehi, Mansour Ossanlou, Ebrahim Madadi, and Mohsen Hakimi, also “support the efforts of the charity Workers Fund Iran to provide financial support for Iranian workers.”

A recent solidarity meal organised by the Communist Party of Turkey raised £500 for the WF-I. We urge all Hopi supporters and sympathisers to support this important charity. One of the first prerequisites of the working class of Iran being able to organise and challenge for freedom is that they can physically reproduce themselves. Often in today’s Iran, workers’ wages go unpaid for many months. WF-I supports working families through difficult times like these. We urge supporters and sympathisers of Hopi to donate and/or organise events to raise funds for the WF-I.

To find out more about the charity and its excellent work, or to make a donation, please go to: http://www.workersfund.org

Standing Order Drive

Readers of this bulletin will see that HOPI activists up and down the country will be extremely busy in the coming period. All of this activity costs money, and so we are appealing to comrades to support us by taking out standing orders and providing us with regular income. This is very important, as it allows us to plan ahead in producing leaflets, booking rooms for meetings etc. Please make a regular contribution to the campaign – even £2/month can really help!

Go to http://www.hopoi.org/resources/standingorder.pdf, download and fill out the form, then return it to our address: HOPI, PO Box 54631, London N16 8YE.

Click here to find out how you can become a member and help to support HOPI in other ways: http://www.hopoi.org/signup.html