For ever so long, on a branch of this willow 
Sits a bird, the colour of a riddle. 
Attuned to him no sound, no colour. 
Totally alone, like me, in this land. 

- Sohrab Sepehri - 
from The Riddle Bird 

1928 - 1980 
Persian Poet and painter

Culture of Killing by Mana Neyestani

thank you sooooooo much, dear Mana !!!!!

Concerns over Iran executions as Rouhani visits Europe

Concerns over Iran executions as Rouhani visits Europe 
© Ekklesia

Thousands of Iranians protest against Rouhani in Paris

Thousands of Iranians protest against Rouhani in Paris 

President of clerical regime Hassan Rouhani's visit to Paris was met with a wave of protests by Iranians, French political figures, human rights organizations and activists, and French citizens.
© Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran 

image courtesy National Council of Resistance of Iran

Topless FEMEN 'hangs' herself on Paris bridge to protest Rouhani's visit

Topless FEMEN 'hangs' herself on Paris bridge to protest Rouhani's visit 
(VIDEO) 
© RT News

Fardin Hosseini, Political prisoner hanged on verge of Rouhani's visit to Europe

IRAN: Political prisoner hanged on verge of Rouhani's visit to Europe 
© Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

What Obama's Actions Mean for Solitary Confinement in America's Prisons

What Obama's Actions Mean for Solitary Confinement in America's Prisons 
© Solitary Watch

World Report 2016 » HRW

World Report 2016: 'Politics of Fear' Threatens Rights 
Terror Attacks, Refugee Crisis, and Broad Global Crackdown 
© Human Rights Watch 

2016 | Human Rights Watch 
Report 2016 
Our annual review of human rights around the globe

Iran's hypocrisy exposed as scores of juvenile offenders condemned to gallows

Iran's hypocrisy exposed as scores of juvenile offenders condemned to gallows 
© Amnesty International 

Growing Up on Death Row: The Death Penalty and Juvenile Offenders in Iran 
© Amnesty International USA

Obama Bans Solitary Confinement of Juveniles in Federal Prisons

Obama Bans Solitary Confinement of Juveniles in Federal Prisons 
© The New York Times 

Obama bans solitary confinement for minors, petty crimes 
© RT USA

Holocaust Memorial Day 2016: Poignant paintings by Jewish concentration camp prisoners go on show in Berlin

Holocaust Memorial Day 
January 27 

Holocaust Memorial Day 2016: Poignant paintings by Jewish concentration camp prisoners go on show in Berlin 

One hundred paintings and drawings created by Jewish artists during the Holocaust are going on show in Berlin. The exhibition, Art from the Holocaust, includes work by inmates of various concentration camps, labour camps and ghettos. Of the 50 artists featured, 24 were murdered by the Nazis. 
© IBTimes 

Art from the Holocaust – 100 Works from the Yad Vashem Collection is at the German Historical Museum. 

January 26 to April 3, 2016

A new Supreme Court ruling will give more than 1,000 prison inmates serving life terms for murders they committed as teenagers a chance to seek their freedom

US

A new Supreme Court ruling will give more than 1,000 prison inmates serving life terms for murders they committed as teenagers a chance to seek their freedom 
© Associated Press

Supreme Court: Juveniles sentenced to life have option for new reviews
© The Washington Post

Ban on Mandatory Life Sentences for Juveniles Extends to Old Cases
© Courthouse News Service

Virginia Woolf Birthday

❝ As a woman, I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman my country is the whole world. 

❝ Lock up your libraries if you like, but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind. 

- Virginia Woolf - 

January 25, 1882 - March 28, 1941

Portugal Presidential election: Rebelo de Sousa elected in first round

Portugal Presidential election: Rebelo de Sousa elected in first round 
© euronews 

this time, not surprising at all !!!!!

The Dust Between by Nasr Warour

from the series The Dust Between | 2010 

NASR WAROUR 
Syrian Artist, born in 1968 

this series is a magical poem, Nasr !!!!! 
thank you soooooooooooo much !!!!!

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters Launches "Campaign to Close Guantánamo" for Obama's Last Year in Office

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters Launches "Campaign to Close Guantánamo" for Obama's Last Year in Office 
© Democracy Now!

IRAN: More child offenders executed under Hassan Rouhani

IRAN: More child offenders executed under Hassan Rouhani 
© National Council of Resistance of Iran

Death Row Inmates In Limbo After Florida's Death Penalty Scheme Scrapped

Death Row Inmates In Limbo After Florida's Death Penalty Scheme Scrapped 
© Huffington Post

Report Finds 74% of Florida Death Row Inmates Had Non-Unanimous Death Verdicts
© Death Penalty Information Center

The Death Penalty and Martin Luther King, Jr.: 'The Time Is Always Right to Do What Is Right'

The Death Penalty and Martin Luther King, Jr.: 'The Time Is Always Right to Do What Is Right' 
by Stephen A. Cooper 
© Huffington Post

Newly Discovered 1964 MLK Speech on Civil Rights, Segregation & Apartheid South Africa

Newly Discovered 1964 MLK Speech on Civil Rights, Segregation & Apartheid South Africa 
© Democracy Now!

today is MLK Day, in US of course ....

'He knew they'd kill him in the end': Son of prominent Shia cleric al-Nimr speaks to RT

'He knew they'd kill him in the end': Son of prominent Shia cleric al-Nimr speaks to RT 
© RT News

EU aid cash linked to death penalty in Iran

EU aid cash linked to death penalty in Iran 
Campaigners call for suspension of EU funding to drug program operating in Iran as executions increase 
© Telegraph

Only Breath - Poetry by Rumi

 
by FourSeasons Productions 

Only Breath was written in the 13th century by the Sufi mystic poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi and translated and recited in our film 
by Coleman Barks. 

Our politicians and generals would do well to absorb the lessons of this poem. 

a must .... always !!!!!

Martin Luther King Birthday

The absence of freedom is the presence of death. 
Any nation or government that deprives an individual 
of freedom is in that moment committing an act of moral 
and spiritual murder. 

- Martin Luther King -

Ashraf Fayadh » Writers join worldwide action to protest Palestinian poet's death sentence in Saudi Arabia

Writers join worldwide action to protest Palestinian poet's death sentence in Saudi Arabia 

Hundreds of writers including Irvine Welsh, Ruth Padel and AL Kennedy are taking part in a worldwide reading in support of the Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh, who has been sentenced 
to death in Saudi Arabia after being accused of renouncing Islam.

The readings of Fayadh’s poetry at 122 events in 44 countries on Thursday are part of a campaign organised by the International literature festival Berlin calling on the UK and US governments 
to halt his beheading and to put pressure on Saudi Arabia 
to improve its human rights record.

© The Guardian

FADP Press Release - Florida Death Sentencing Unconstitutional

FADP Press Release - Florida Death Sentencing Unconstitutional 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
© Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

U.S. Supreme Court rules Florida's death penalty system is unconstitutional

U.S. Supreme Court rules Florida's death penalty system is unconstitutional 
© Tampa Bay Times 

that's news !!!!!

14 years - Close Guantanamo NOW !!!!!

In Washington, District of Columbia.

image courtesy Witness Against Torture

Today, January 11, 2016, marks 14 years of torture and indefinite detention at the prison, as well as President Obama’s 8th year 
of broken promises. 

Guantánamo: The USA must turn its back on international symbol of injustice 
© Amnesty International 

"The National Shame Continues": On Its 14th Anniversary, Will Guantánamo Ever Be Closed? 
© Democracy Now!

Gitmo designed to 'destroy human beings': Ex-inmate Shaker Aamer talks to RT
© RT UK

The Bird May Die... 

I feel sad, 
I feel blue. 

I go outside and rub my cold fingers
on the sleek shell of the silent night. 

I see that all lights of contact are dark, 
All lanes to relate us are blocked. 

Nobody will introduce me to the sun, 
Nobody will take me to the gathering of doves. 

Keep the flight in mind, 
The bird may die. 

- Forough Farrokhzad - 

January 5, 1935 - February 13, 1967 

translation by Maryam Dilmaghani 

Forough Farrokhzad is considered the most famous 
of contemporary Iranian poets.

Waiting for Capital Punishment by Sadegh Souri

Iran: No mercy for the children by Sadegh Souri 

Waiting to die: the Iranian child inmates facing execution - in pictures 
© The Guardian 
Words and pictures from Waiting for Capital Punishment 
by Sadegh Souri, Iranian photographer 

Sadegh Souri | LensCulture 

Sadegh Souri, Honorable Mention | UNICEF Photo of the Year 2015

Saudi Arabia: A year of bloody repression since flogging of Raif Badawi

Saudi Arabia: A year of bloody repression since flogging of Raif Badawi 
© Amnesty International 

Raif Badawi supporters to give petition to Saudi embassy in London 
© The Guardian

Syria to allow aid into besieged town where thousands face starvation

Madaya !!!!!

Syria to allow aid into besieged town where thousands face starvation
© The Guardian

what are we doing ???

At Least Seven Prisoners Hanged in Northwestern Iran

At Least Seven Prisoners Hanged in Northwestern Iran 
© Iran Human Rights

Eight Prisoners Including Woman Executed in Northern Iran

Eight Prisoners Including Woman Executed in Northern Iran 
© Iran Human Rights

2016: UK drops death penalty strategy as executions spike in Iran, Pakistan & Saudi

2016: UK drops death penalty strategy as executions spike in Iran, Pakistan & Saudi 
© Reprieve

Young protesters, secret trials, torture and beheading

Young protesters, secret trials, torture and beheading 

Next in line for the swordsman's blade 

Following Saturday's mass execution, three juveniles are still awaiting execution - Ali al Nimr, Dawoud al Marhoon and Abdullah al Zaher. 
© Reprieve 

Take Action !!!!!

Reading: Life and Freedom for Ashraf Fayadh January 2016

Reading: Life and Freedom for Ashraf Fayadh January 2016 

Brooklyn Museum 

January 14, 2016 
7:00-9:00 p.m. 

Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor 

200 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn, New York 11238

PEN American Center and the Brooklyn Museum present 
a reading of selected poems and other texts in support of Palestinian poet and art curator Ashraf Fayadh, who was sentenced to death by a Saudi court on November 17, 2015, 
for apostasy. 
We are joining forces with the International Literature Festival Berlin (ILB) in their call for all individuals, institutions, schools, and media outlets that care about justice and freedom to participate in a worldwide reading to press the U.K. and U.S. governments to intervene on behalf of Fayadh and free expression, and in defense of human rights. 

With photographer, performance artist, and provocateur Dread Scott; poet, language artist, and educator Natalie Diaz; writer and activist 
Ru Freeman; poet Lawrence Joseph; and writer Dina Omar. 
Hosted by Elissa Schappell and Rob Spillman. 

Join us at the Brooklyn Museum or watch on Livestream! 

via PEN American Center 

Life and Freedom for Ashraf Fayadh

Join Us in DC Jan. 3/13 - Close Guantanamo

Fast for Justice, 2016 

You’re invited to join the Witness Against Torture community from January 3-13 to fast, reflect and lift the voices of the men unjustly detained at Guantanamo Bay Prison in the streets of Washington, DC. 

January 11th, 2016 marks 14 years of torture and indefinite detention at the prison, as well as President Obama’s 8th 
year of broken promises. 

This is our final chance to hold his administration accountable to their promise to release those unjustly detained and close the prison. Right now 107 men remain detained, 48 of whom have been cleared for release and are held without charge or trial. 

Events 

Witness Against Torture

In Honour of Sheikh Al-Nimr !!!!!

❝ Life does not end when a man dies. Real life begins when 

he dies. Either we live on this land as free men, or die and be buried in it as pious men. We have no other choice. 

❝ Our dignity is more precious than the unity of this land.

- Sheikh Al-Nimr -

June 21, 1959 - January 2, 2016

In Your Honour, Sire !!!!!

Saudi Arabia condemned after executing dozens of prisoners

Saudi Arabia condemned after executing dozens of prisoners 
© BT

MidEast leaders lash out at Saudi Arabia over Shiite cleric's execution, protests erupt
© RT News

Saudi Arabia executes 47 people, incl Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr

Saudi Arabia executes 47 people, incl prominent Shiite cleric, on terror charges 
© RT News

Saudi Arabia executes prominent Shiite cleric and 46 others in 12 cities
© The Washington Post

Saudi Arabia executes opposition Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr 
© CBC News 

including 3 Juvenile activists, 
Mohamed Al Sheuikh‬, Mohammed Al Suwamil‬ and Ali Saeed Al-Rebh‬ !!!!!

oh nooooooooooooooooooo !!!!! i have no words !!!!!

In Memoriam: Remembering the Photographers We Lost in 2015

In Memoriam: Remembering the Photographers We Lost in 2015 
© TIME

Year 2015 in Illustration

The Year in Illustration 
© The New York Times 

Review of the Year 2015: Top 25 Illustration 
© It's Nice That 

a must see !!!!!

You are not a drop in the ocean. 
You are the entire ocean in a drop. 

- Rumi -