BRIEF ON IRAN
        No. 325
        Wednesday, January 10, 1996


        Representative Office of
        The National Council of Resistance of Iran
        3421 M Street NW, #1032
        Washington, DC 20007


Iran Police Raid 110 Homes, Seize Banned TV Dishes, Reuters,
January 8

        TEHRAN, Jan 8 (Reuter) - Iranian police raided 110 houses
in Tehran and seized banned satellite television equipment used
to watch "corrupting" Western programs, a local newspaper said
on Monday.
        The daily Kayhan said police had obtained court orders to
search the houses last week after screening neighborhoods in east
Tehran to pinpoint violators.
        Last April, Iran ordered all satellite television equipment to
be dismantled after banning them earlier last year to combat
what it termed a Western cultural invasion.
        Residents said some of the estimated 250,000 dish owners
had in the past few months put them back up on the roof, often
camouflaging them as air conditioners and other equipment.


UN Envoy Examines Freedom of Expression in Iran, Reuters,
January 9

        TEHRAN, Jan 9 (Reuter) - A U.N. human rights envoy is
visiting Iran to chart the country's respect for freedom of
expression, Iranian media and diplomats said on Tuesday.
        State-run Tehran radio said Abid Hussain, United Nations
Human Rights Commission's special rapporteur on freedom of
opinion and expression, met Iran's judiciary head, Mohammad
Yazdi.
        "Western countries and human rights organizations cannot
use their own...norms to evaluate all nations without considering
their cultures, values, and intellectual foundations," Yazdi was
quoted by the radio as telling Hussain.  "Islam does not put
limitations on...individuals expressing correct opinions," added
Yazdi.
        Iran has been repeatedly criticized by international human
rights bodies and Western journalists organizations for violating
freedom of expression and press liberty....
        Diplomats said Maurice Copithorne of Canada, who replaced
Galindo Pohl last year, has not yet received an invitation from
Iran to visit the country.


Prisoner Killed by the Regime's Guards, Iran Zamin  News Agency,
January 9

        A prisoner was killed during an escape involving two others
from Adelabad prison in Shiraz. According to Agence France
Presse, the two other prisoners were injured.  On Tuesday,
regime's press claimed that the fugitives were in prison on
charges of murder and drug trafficking.
        Adelabad prison is the major prison for incarceration and
torture of the political prisoners in southern Iran.


Bahrain Arrests 3 in Bombing, United Press International,
January 9
        DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Police have
arrested three men accused of detonating concussion bombs in a
Manama shopping center last month, Bahrain's government said
Tuesday in a report received in Dubai.
        According to Bahrain's official Gulf News Agency, an
Interior Ministry official said the three suspects had confessed to
receiving training from "terrorist elements abroad."
        The official did not name a particular country, but this
phrase is usually interpreted to mean Iran.     Analysts said Iran
backs the Bahraini opposition, as it draws support from the
country's Shiite majority.


Another Major Fire in Tehran's Bazaar, Radio Israel, January 8

        Another section of Tehran's Bazaar massively caught on fire.
This time the incident happened in Abdolvand Mall, located in
Bein-al-Harmin Bazaar.
        According to tonight's issue of Etela'at in Tehran, the fire
caused 150 million toman ($500,000 at the official exchange rate)
in damage.  The daily did not  provide any details on the cause of
fire.
        Large sections of Tehran's Bazaar have caught on fire in
recent months.
        The largest incident happened about a month ago in
Lalehzar and Berlan streets....