This page provides basic instructions and materials to help you stand up and demand an end to executions in Iran. The materials can be used to support anything from a one-person letter-writing campaign to a full-fledged protest. The supplementary documents provided below are great for letter-writing campaigns. You can use our petition text for a stand-alone petition effort, or as part of a larger, more comprehensive campaign. If you need more information on how to hold your own protest or letter-writing campaign, let us know via comment box, and we will be happy to provide guidance.

REMEMBER: YOU DON’T NEED TO HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE TO HAVE A BIG IMPACT! JUST 5-10 PEOPLE HOLDING SIGNS, A CAMERA, AND AN INTERNET CONNECTION TO POST AN EVENT REPORT WITH YOUR PHOTOS IS ALL YOU NEED TO MAKE A ~*REAL*~ DIFFERENCE.

These materials were developed to support Mission Free Iran’s January 24 “Not One More Execution” three-country protest against executions and political imprisonment in Iran, which was held in Gotland Sweden, Toronto Canada, and Washington DC.

This page provides examples of documents you can use to:

— reach out to your community,

— tell your community why you believe that there must be not one more execution in Iran, and

— suggest to your community the actions that they might take to create political pressure on governments and the United Nations to bring an end to the slaughter in Iran.

1. CAMPAIGN MATERIALS

A. Examples of event announcements:
Toronto Canada flyer
Gotland Sweden flyer (Eng) | flyer (Swe)
Washington DC flyer

B. Examples of letters to mainstream civil society orgs: please modify & use for outreach to your own specific local student, women’s and labor organizations. These kinds of organizations are being specifically targeted for suppression or destruction inside Iran; their sister organizations outside of Iran should make common cause and support their fellow activists struggling in Iran right now.
— Letter to student organizations (text (Eng) | word doc (Swe))
— Letter to women’s organizations (text (Eng) | word doc (Swe))
— Letter to labor organizations (text (Eng) | word doc (Swe))

C. Example of a press release Increased Arrests and Death Sentences in Iran Prompt International Outcry to Halt Executions and Political Imprisonment.

D. Examples of small ads for local newspapers:
1.
Toronto-Gotland Sverige -WDC
Visa solidaritet med det iranska folkets kamp för demokrati och kräv frigivning av de politiska fångarna och ett slut på avrättningarna.
24 januari, 2010
Almedalen 14:00

2.
Toronto Canada: Stand in solidarity with the Iranian struggle for democracy and demand an end to executions and freedom for political prisoners.
January 24 2010 – Mel Lasman Square, 2-5pm

3.
Washington DC USA: Stand in solidarity with the Iranian struggle for democracy and demand an end to executions and freedom for political prisoners.
January 24 2010 – Freedom Plaza 12pm, march to Lincoln Memorial

E. Petition text
1. Petition to your own government
2. Petition to the United Nations

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2. CAMPAIGN DIRECTIONS FOR HOLDING YOUR OWN DEMONSTRATION

A. Decide on your desired location for your event.

B. Obtain a permit to demonstrate or march AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Permitting procedures will vary according to location, and it may take time to obtain a permit so do so as quickly as possible. You may not be able to secure your first choice of location, so be prepared and think of a back-up location too. It took about a week to secure a permit to use the grounds at Freedom Plaza and Lincoln Memorial; keep in mind, however, that you cannot start advertising your event until you have these permits. Therefore, if you want to cultivate good turn-out, you will start getting your permits at least a month before the date you have chosen for your protest. Unfortunately, the Islamic Republic of Iran gives us new reasons every day to go to the streets in protest. You might find it more efficient to make permit applications for several upcoming dates, so that the preferred protest site is available to you if you should need it on short notice.

C. This regime has been targeting women, students, and organized workers for detention, torture, and execution. In order to broaden the base of support outside of Iran for the Iranian people’s struggle, we must contact our local mainstream civil society organizations that have a particular interest in these groups. Below you will find example letters to send to these organizations: ask them to come out to support their fellow students, women, and workers in Iran who are being targeted for persecution by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

D. Promoting democracy is a key goal of this event. We therefore advocate having an open microphone and speakers so that all participants have a chance to speak their mind to the Islamic Republic, to the United Nations, to the International Criminal Court, to their own government, or simply to their community.

— Organizers should note down all comments and questions raised at each open mike session and post them on their own website; we would appreciate it if you send them to us too – we will post all comments here for future discussion

— It is wise to set an overall time limit for the open mike session, and also to set a time limit for each individual speaker. Attendees should be made aware that use of profanity is undesirable, and abuse of the microphone to make personal attacks will result in a power cut to the microphone.

E. If resources allow, make campaign signs that reflect the key messages of this global protest:
— NOT ONE MORE EXECUTION! FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!
— IRI out of the United Nations
— IRI Criminals Must Be Charged at the International Criminal Court
— Global Unity Against Oppression

F. Take photographs of your event and post them to your website; we would also really appreciate it if you send them to us so that we can post them here on this site and show the world that we will not tolerate one more execution in Iran – that we demand all political prisoners must be freed.

G. Make a best estimate of crowd size and post that to your website; please also consider sending us your best estimate of crowd size.

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3. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS: These documents provide numerous talking points (arguments for why our fellow citizens, our governments and the United Nations should stand against the Islamic Republic’s practices of detention, torture and executions of political prisoners) and documented examples of the abuses and violations of human rights committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

– October 2009: Child Executions, Voices of Children in Iran

– January 2010: International Committee Against Executions: You Can Stop Executions! (pdf file) edited by Farshad Hosseini

– January 10, 2010: All Hands on Deck to Free Political Prisoners by Shahla Daneshfar

– January 10, 2010: Mission Free Iran Statement and Demands Regarding Islamic Republic of Iran’s Practice of Execution: NOT ONE MORE EXECUTION by Maria Rohaly and Siavash Sayid

– January 12, 2010: Human Rights Activists in Iran: General Call to Demand an End to Executions (Farsi) issued by Secretariat of Human Rights Activists in Iran

– January 12, 2010: Conversation with the Mother of Farzad Kamangar, Kurdish Activist on Death Row, by Mohammad-Amin Kamangar

– January 13, 2010: The Kahrizak case shall not be closed until the fall of the Islamic Republic, statement of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran, translated to English by Mission Free Iran

– January 13, 2010: People across the World: Help Organize Groups in the Fight against Execution, by Farshad Hosseini

– January 16, 2010: Expulsion of Islamic Republic of Iran from the International Labor Organization, International Labour Solidarity Committee of the Worker Communist Party of Iran, translated to English by Mission Free Iran

– January 24, 2010: STATEMENTS DELIVERED AT the JANUARY 24 “NOT ONE MORE EXECUTION” PROTEST AGAINST POLITICAL IMPRISONMENT, TORTURE & EXECUTION IN IRAN:
1- Statement delivered at Freedom Plaza: A Time-Critical Demand to End Political Imprisonment, Torture, and Execution in Iran, Maria Rohaly, Washington DC USA
2- Statement delivered at Lincoln Memorial: The Islamic Republic is Not the Legitimate Government of the Iranian People, Maria Rohaly, Washington DC USA
3- Statement delivered at Lincoln Memorial: American student stands in solidarity with Iranian students, Joanne Stocker, Washington DC USA

– February 9, 2010: THEIR HEARTS ARE STILL BEATING! Stand up and demand a stop to executions in Iran! Video by @shariatmadari.

– February 10, 2010: Stop Child Execution in Iran (video that gives an overview of child execution in Iran; related links include the Children First Now site and the Stop Child Executions site)

– May 10, 2010: Families of the Executed Call for Protest in Front of Tehran University, May 10, 2010

– June 6, 2010: URGENT ACTION! Islamic Republic Preparing for Mass Executions in Advance of the One-Year Anniversary of the Iranian Uprising – contains text of letters to write to the media and to international organizations to demand that attention be directed to the ongoing state-sponsored mass murders that are being implemented in Iran.

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PAST EVENT:

GLOBAL PROTEST
JANUARY 24, 2010
~* TORONTO CANADA: Mel Lasman Square, 2-5pm (flyer)*~
~* GOTLAND SWEDEN: Almedalen Park, 2pm ((Eng) | (Swe)) *~
~* WASHINGTON DC USA: Freedom Plaza 12pm, march to Lincoln Memorial (flyer)*~

JOIN US to DEMAND
NOT ONE MORE EXECUTION IN IRAN!

The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has a 30 year history of using execution to terrorize the Iranian people and to silence dissidents. Its use of execution as a weapon of terror reached its historical peak in 1988 when tens of thousands of political prisoners were peremptorily executed, many buried in unmarked mass graves.

In the wake of the unrest caused by the June 2009 elections in Iran, the Islamic Republic has begun calling for a return to the methods used in 1988 to implement these mass executions.

They target women’s rights, student, labor & political activists in their crackdowns.

Women, students and labor activists around the world stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Iran and DEMAND an end to political imprisonment, torture and execution.We demand:

It is time for us all to come out and show that we will not tolerate oppressors in Iran, and we join hands with those fighting oppression around the world.

~* That IRI immediately cease all executions, and free all political prisoners.

~* That the United Nations withdraw its recognition of this illegitimate government and eject the Islamic Republic of Iran from the UN.
(note: the people of Iran should have a seat at the UN, not the Islamic Republic regime)

~* That a case be pursued against the Islamic Republic in the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

coordinated by
MISSION FREE IRAN
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collaboration with IRAN SOLIDARITY in Toronto
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