A teocracia iraniana em acção: pastor cristão enfrenta pena de morte por apostasia

[...] Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor in Iran, stands accused of apostasy. His "crime" – forgive the sarcastic quotes – is having once been Muslim, but now being Christian: from turning from one monotheistic Abrahamic religion which recognises Jesus Christ as a holy figure, to another monotheistic Abrahamic religion which recognises Jesus Christ as a holy figure. He has been asked three times to recant his beliefs, but has refused. If he refuses a fourth time, he could be executed at any time; he will be asked again today, and could die tomorrow.

This is, of course, against international law, for what little that means. More surprisingly, it is also apparently against Iranian law: Pastor Nadarkhani was not, it seems, a practising Muslim before he converted to Christianity, so there is no apostasy. One Iranian court ruled that this meant he was innocent; the Supreme Court, however, decided that because he has Muslim ancestry, he remains guilty. On such utterly fatuous threads a man's life hangs. [...]

Ver notícia no Telegraph

Véu islâmico retirou sonho olímpico às mulheres iranianas

Imediatamente antes do início do jogo de qualificação diante da Jordânia, chegava a notícia: a selecção feminina do Irão tinha sido banida pela FIFA por causa do véu islâmico.

O sonho de o Irão ter uma equipa a competir no torneio de futebol feminino nos Jogos Olímpicos de 2012, em Londres, foi destroçado por uma decisão inesperada: o véu islâmico que as jogadoras usam durante as partidas infringe as regras da FIFA. A notícia foi conhecida instantes antes do início do jogo de qualificação diante da Jordânia, e a partida já não se realizou. No relvado, as jogadores já tinham alinhado para o começo da partida, e algumas receberam com lágrimas e consternação o facto de serem impedidas de jogar.

As futebolistas iranianas jogam com um fato de corpo inteiro e um lenço na cabeça. A responsável pelo futebol feminino da Federação iraniana, Farideh Shojaei, disse à agência Reuters que já tinham sido feitas alterações ao equipamento das mulheres no ano passado, após uma decisão da FIFA. “Fizemos as correcções solicitadas e já jogámos um encontro depois”, disse a responsável, sublinhando que se acreditava que tivesse sido aprovado pelo organismo dirigido por Joseph Blatter. [...]

Ver notícia no Público

Ahmadinejad: não há homossexuais nem opressão das mulheres no Irão

When not dodging direct questions, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was defiant in his answers at a forum Monday at Columbia University, maintaining that his country seeks nuclear power only for peaceful purposes, that continued research is necessary to determine the facts of the Holocaust, that Iran is not supporting insurgents in Iraq and that women in his country are treated equally.

Despite fears from some that the controversial leader would go unchallenged in his comments, Columbia President Lee Bollinger quickly took the Iranian president to task in his opening statements, calling him "a petty and cruel dictator" and pointing to a number of well-documented instances in which the Iranian regime has executed children, oppressed women and imprisoned and tortured homosexuals, academics and journalists. [...]

Ver notícia no abcNews