Talk:Lily Mazahery

One of more individuals using user name EmptySpace2008 continue to vandalize this page by removing its contents. This effort has been persistent and on-going for weeks now and needs to be addressed and stopped immediately. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Manime87 (talk • contribs) 03:25, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

Role in batebi case

dear friends, in NY Times it has not been mentioned that Ms Mazahery helped Batebi to escape from Iran. I removed this part because Ms. Mazaheri just helped him to come to US (not from Iran to Iraq). Meanwhile Ms. Mazahery even has not filled the immigration forms for Batebi. All things are in the process with the efforts of HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHS and helps from AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. Clear? please let me know if you more info. Thanks--Shayan7 (talk) 01:06, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT DELET DISCUSSIONS IN THIS PAGE.--Shayan7 12:27, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Shayan7: Dear lady, you are providing misleading and inaccurate information, and continue to vandalize various pages to suit your own malicious intent. Your actions are reprehensible and unacceptable. Your attempt to change historical facts and verified information is beyond reproach. Clear?Manime87 (talk) 14:26, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

The entry should be removed

Lily Mazahery's activities are not enough important to be mentioned as a single entry in Wikipedia. I would like to candide this page for removal from Wiki. --Shayan7 17:12, 1 March 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Shayan7 (talk • contribs)

Even the Democratic Kurdish Party of Iran Acknowledges Mazahery's Role

Shayan7, you appear to have some sort of a personal vendetta against the subject of this article/wiki page. Your attempts to vandalize this page and those related to it, including the deletion of verified historical facts and information, adding unverified content without providing any source to legitimize your assertions, and replacing key materials with unsubstantiated, misleading, and at times entirely false nonsense are reprehensible. The DKPI, particularly its leaders, work closely with Mazahery on many of her cases. In fact, some of them are even Mazahery's own clients. These individuals would be the first ones to dismiss your biased and malicious claims regarding Mazahery's work and role in the cases that you continuously attempt to vandalize. The very information that you repeatedly delete in an act of pure malice is in fact posted by the DKPI on its own website: http://www.pdki.org/articles1-1611-11.htm

Your biased, vindictive, and iniquitous actions and continued vandalism are inexcusable. They, as you, have no place in a community such as this.Manime87 (talk) 22:18, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Ms. Mazahery's Work and Significance

In the past few weeks I have sadly observed attempts by some to discredit a distinguished member of the Iran/American community- Ms. Lily Mazahery.

I have never met Ms. Mazahery , but as an Iranian freedom activist (see derafsh.org), I have been highly impressed by her tireless brilliant interventions on behalf of desolate and dismembered Iranians , suffering under the misrule of the Clerical Regime in Iran. Ms. Mazahery has assissted many Iranians whose lives were in danger in Iran to acquire US visas and get permission to resettle as political asylees in the United States.

On several occasions I have observed Ms. Mazahery's brilliant interviews with Mr. Baharlo on Voice of America regarding gross and systematic violations of human rights in Iran. Those involved issues such as the need for abolition of the Law of Vengeance- permitting torture, stoning, cutting arms and legs, gouging eyes, capital punishment and issues relating to equal rights and freedoms for women of Iran.

I also observed Ms. Lily Mazahery's brilliant and timely intervention , which was broadcast by the CNN international , during Mr. Mohammad Khatami's (Iran's former president) visit and speech at Harvard University in 2006. Her remarks concerned the notorious imprisonment, torture and cold blooded assassination of a Canadian/Iranian Journalist visiting Iran in the notorious Evin prison. This turned out to be a great embarrasment for Mr. Khatami.

I have heard from Iranians that she has nearly always offered her legal services to Iranians pro bono.

It is for those reasons that when I read on the wikepedia site that certain individuals are asking for deletion of observations about her I thought it is time to raise my voice.

Respectfully ,

Professor Manouchehr Ganji derafsh.org Joaj (talk) 16:44, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

RE: Role

Dearest Mr Ganji, Thanks for taking time to write this note. I respect your idea but before Mr Batebi's story none of these stories was mentioned anywhere. Meanwhile she is trying to say she had a key role in Batebi's escape from Iran and it's totally wrong. She had no role in that; also she did not even fill immigration form for him and Batebi is following his efforts through Human Rights Watch. The problem is that you do not know Ms Mazahery, if you have stated yourself as well. Many thanks again for your time. --Shayan7 17:03, 4 March 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Shayan7 (talk • contribs)

Mazahery's Accomplishments and Shayan7's Misinformation and Defamatory Assertions

THIS ASSERTION IS COMPLETELY FALSE. The rest of us were all aware of Ms. Mazahery's work and activities for years. Her writings, speeches, and articles written about her were on the internet long before Batebi reached out to her for assistance. Perhaps you needed to spend more time reading and researching and less time engaging in the foolish acts that your profile indicates. This is not the place for you to revise history to suit your own purposes and defame a respected and highly accomplished member of the Iranian/American community. Ms. Mazahery's accomplishments stand on their own and they are facts. The fact that one is making comments about someone's work without being personally familiar with her only makes those comments more significant and unbiased. You, on the other hand, seem to know Ms. Mazahery personally and your actions and vandalism of the content related to her is clearly based on your personal animosity towards her instead of objective editing, which Wikipedia requires.--Joaj (talk) 17:25, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Lily Mazahery's Success And Activism Have Been Recognized For Years

--Vistaboy99 (talk) 00:57, 5 March 2009 (UTC)Are we seriously having this discussion?! Shayan must have been living under a rock in the past few years or is just a bitter person who wants to discredit someone who has accomplished so much, is highly respected, and a role model.

However, since Shayan seems to have only learned how to read or use the internet since September 2008, I figured that it may not be a bad idea to familiarize him with reality.

Iran Almanac, Iran's Who's Who

Article in NY-based Village Voice: A Marriage Made in Hell Iranians and Iraqis work together to advance an evil cause by Nat Hentoff. Tuesday, September 19th 2006 Article on Iran and Mazahery's work contains a photo with this caption: "Lily Mazahery: Rescuing women condemned for "impurity""

At Harvard University—during Khatami's lecture on the "Ethics of Tolerance in the Age of Violence"—an Iranian student in the audience broke into the spiel by asking him about the late Iranian Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, whose life came to an agonizing end in an Iranian prison while this lecturer on tolerance was the "moderate" president of the Islamic Republic. As Amir Taheri reported in the New York Post, Khatami, "with a broad smile, told the student he wasn't quite sure how the poor woman had died in one of his prisons."

Many Canadians, including officials in the Canadian government, are furiously sure how she died. So is Persian American human rights lawyer Lily Mazahery, who, invited by students and faculty, spoke at Harvard on the same day as Khatami.

....

Mazahery has worked to bring sunlight to the names and fates of individual victims of the barbaric Islamic regime in Iran. Born in Tehran in 1972, she tells me, "I witnessed the Islamic revolution firsthand, as my father, a government official under the Shah's regime, was the target of [Ayatollah]Khomeini 's killing machine." (Khomeini, as history shows, is Iran's ultimate executioner.)

....

After graduating from law school, she started working there as an associate attorney for one of the world's largest law firms.

She continues: "Although representing the Fortune 500 companies of the world was an interesting experience, I decided to leave that 'glamorous' life." Instead, she has founded the Legal Rights Institute so that she can concentrate on civil and human rights. The group has been spreading its message online and organizing demonstrations in Europe. Working with a wide range of American and international groups and individuals, Mazahery notes, "we have been able to bring international attention to obtain stays of execution and new trials for a number of women and girls who were sentenced to death for having been raped, for allegedly committing the crime of 'adultery,' and for engaging in 'acts incompatible with chastity.' "

Involvement with The [International Campaign Against Honour Killings] and role in the case of Malak Ghorbani -- July 2006' Copy of petition drafted by Mazahery to stop the stoning execution of a woman in Iran and accompanying letter.

This is how the organization describes Lily Mazahery:

Ms. Lily Mazahery is a Persian-American attorney, and the founder and president of the Washington, D.C. based Legal Rights Institute. Ms. Mazahery is an active advocate of the human rights of women around the world and an outspoken opponent of laws that serve to oppress women in the name of religion. Ms. Mazahery provides expert commentary on Iranian and Islamic laws, as well as human rights violations in Islamic societies. She has testified before the U.S. Congress on the condition of women and children in Iran under the Islamic regime, and has described the atrocities to which women are subjected under the Sharia legal system, such as public hanging, public stoning, and temporary marriages. [emphasis added]

Activism To Abolish Stoning Sentences -- December 2006

Efforts to Save Iranian Mother of 2 from Execution by Stoning -- News Article published in August 2006

Adding to the voices urging Shahroudi to lift the stoning order, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week unanimously passed a resolution urging the U.S. State Department to condemn the impending execution by stoning of two Iranian women, Ghorbany and Ashraf Kolhari.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, an Iranian-American, introduced the resolution and brought it to a vote August 15.

Lily Mazahery, president of the Legal Rights Institute in Washington, D.C., had the lead role in drafting the San Francisco resolution, telling WND: "Malak is receiving the penalty of death for having committed 'adultery,' which, under the Sharia legal system includes any type of intimate relationship between a girl/woman and a man to whom she is not permanently or temporarily married. Such a relationship does not necessarily mean a sexual relationship. Further, charges of adultery are routinely issued to women/girls who have been raped, and they are sentenced to death."

....

The Islamic regime has officially stayed her execution until a new trial is conducted. Mazahery holds little hope for re-examination of the case, and she intends to put intense international pressure on Shahroudi. She told WND the Islamic regime tries to silence the objections of the international human rights lawyers and organizations by initially caving in and granting a stay of execution until a new trial is set.

"The Islamic regime has been known to say one thing and do exactly the opposite," Mazahery said. "It is still quite possible that the Islamic regime will schedule a rush sham trial and re-issue the same sentence before we have a chance to take the appropriate legal actions. It is also possible that even with a new trial, Ghorbany would still receive the same sentence or be sentenced to death by public hanging instead."

....

"In 99 percent of these cases," Mazahery said, "the accused women have received no legal representation, and because, under the Sharia legal system their testimony is at best worth only half the value of the testimony of men, their so-called 'trials' last only a few minutes – after which they are immediately sentenced."

....

Her petition to save Ghorbany's life is rapidly circulating online with more than 9,847 signatures.

"Let us all express our outrage to prevent these barbaric executions," Mazahery said. "Let us – all of us – take steps to ensure that no innocent woman will ever feel a rope around her neck or any stones launched at her helpless body by the hands of her own peers."

Mazahery translated a message written in Farsi from Ghorbany, which said: "I am not guilty of a crime. I have only committed an act that is the natural right of every human."

A petition to save Malak Ghorbany's life and contact information for Ayatollah Shahroudi are available here.

The international pressure initiated by Mazahery ultimately led to a stay of execution and freedom for Malak Ghorbany.

Mazahery role in California law makers' objection to stoning deaths in Iran and letter sent to the State Dept. -- August 2006

At the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' meeting today, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, an all-around good guy and veteran progressive advocate who just happens to be Iranian American, introduced this resolution for consideration by his colleagues.

The supervisors now have one week to weigh the merits of it, and the resolution will come up for debate and vote at the next full board meeting, August 15. If you live in San Francisco, contact your supervisor and ask him or her to vote for this crucial resolution.

For people who don't reside here, please ask your local city council or state and federal elected officials to pass similar resolutions, or lobby them to issue statements calling on the U.S. State Department to immediately deplore the potential female stonings and other pending executions in Iran. I wish to call everyone's attention to the efforts of Ms. Lily Mazahery, an Iranian American lawyer advocating to save the lives of women in Iran facing death by stoning.[emphasis added]

Ms. Mazahery has launched a [web site about these women], and has also interviewed the lawyer forAshraf Kolhari, and the transcript of their talk is [posted here].

Excerpts from the resolution:

WHEREAS, On July 22, 2006, the Iranian Embassy in France announced that Malak Ghorbany's case is being re-evaluated and her original sentence is expected to be revised; and

WHEREAS, That the Iranian government is reconsidering Ghorbany's case because of international pressure has proven that symbolic statements such as this resolution can have a concrete impact; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco urges the U.S. State Department to issue a strong condemnation against the Islamic Republic of Iran for its practices of civil and human rights abuses, executions of minors, homosexuals and adulterers, and executions by the barbaric and violent means of public stoning; and, be it

Petrelis goes on to acknowledge the key persons involved:

Many thanks to Lily Mazahery, who helped draft the resolution, Ross Mirkarimi, the other Supervisors, the many City Hall staffers and the Mayor, all of whom have expended tremendous political capital and energy on behalf of ending allexecutions in Iran and the USA. Let this resolution from San Francisco be the first of many across the land.

The resolution was approved UNANIMOUSLY shortly thereafter.

Activism Against Execution of Minors

Death Penalty News Country Report: "IRAN: Teenage Artist on Death Row in Iran Asks World for Help ---- The 20-year old death row female inmate weighs 75 pounds and has been banned from all artwork."

Lily Mazahery who is leading the fight to free the woman from the clutches of her death sentence, says that the struggle for the young woman has been anything but fair or honest. "With complete disregard for its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and despite overwhelming evidence of Delara's innocence, as well as the teenager's repeated denials about having had any role in the commission of the crime, a court in the city of Rasht found the girl-child guilty of murder based solely on her initial claim of responsibility." Since that ruling Mazahery says, the regime has repeatedly demonstrated patent disregard for its promises to the international community and to the rights of Iranian children, by upholding Delara's death sentence.

People waging a fight against the Iranian government over the death sentence of the young woman like Lily Mazahery, say the silent screams of innocent girls like Delara must be acknowledged by each and every one of us. "We MUST express our outrage, voice our anger, and show our support to those who can not speak for themselves. Anything less would be less than human." She is asking people to express their outrage and stand up for the rights of this girl-child who can not stand up for herself by signing the petition to save Delera's life. That petition can be found here: petitiononline.com Silence in this case Lily Mazahery says, will serve a bitter reinforcement of Delara's death sentence.

Mazahery is registered as an Expert on issues related to the Islamic Republic of Iran and has been invited to speak as such for years in some of the most respected institutions and alongside other remarkable individuals with extraordinary achievements. Here is an example http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672631/apps/s/content.asp?ct=5935289 from the Israel Project: "A Closer Look at Iran's Foreign and Domestic Policies and Its Nuclear Program"

Here's another one: Keynote speaker at the Iran Freedom Concert for two consecutive years (2007 and 2008)

I could go on forever with examples, cites, and sources. And that is exactly why Shayan's claims are so absurd that one can not help but laugh at how stupid he thinks people are to actually believe his vindictive assertions.

The Harvard Speech, testimony in the U.S. Congress, countless TV, radio, and published interviews, numerous articles written by Mazahery herself, God knows how many speeches and lectures and on and on and Shayan has the nerve to make the kind of ridiculous statements that he does about someone who needs little introduction as a key figure in the area of internatitonal human rights activism and legal expertise. Give us a break Shayan. You're not fooling anyone with this inexcusable attempt at vandalism and disruption of this page. Take your issues somewhere else where you would not be embarrassing yourself like this.--Vistaboy99 (talk) 00:57, 5 March 2009 (UTC)