• Support a Democratic, Secular, Republic and Non-Nuclear Iran
We Can and We Must!

Iran: increased executions are a manifestation of the regime’s impasse

Blog

  • Iran: increased executions are a manifestation of the regime’s impasse


    Iran, February 20, 2021—On Wednesday, Iranian authorities executed seven prisoners in Gohardasht prison, Karaj. Among the executed prisoners was a 42-year-old mother of two. On Monday, February 15, the regime carried out two other executions in Birjand. Two days earlier, a prisoner was hanged in Meshginshahr. Therefore, in only five days, the Iranian regime has executed at least ten prisoners across Iran. It is worth noting that the regime carries out many executions in secret, and the real number of executions might be much higher. According to reports obtained from inside Iran, many prisoners have been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation of their execution.

    One might ask, why would the regime further exacerbate an already-tenuous situation for millions of Iranians who are faced with poverty, unemployment, unpaid wages, skyrocketing prices, and rampant inflation. The people already have much to deal with. Why add to their suffering with a sudden spike in executions?

    The reason is that, in fact, the regime already knows that Iran’s society is in a state of turmoil and on the verge of explosion. Instead of responding to the just demands of the people, it aims to further intimidate the public and prevent the eruption of nationwide protests by ratcheting up its repressive measures. Signs of this strategy have been seen as the regime has increased executions, arrests and persecution of political activists, and public display of force and violence by its security forces.

    At the same time, the regime is faced with growing international pressure to address human rights conditions in Iran. But it knows that if it stops torture and executions for a single day, it will be swept away by the millions of angry Iranians whose rage it has only kept in check through sheer brutality. That is why by ramping up executions, the regime is sending a signal to the international community that this is a red line it is not willing to cross.

    The regime’s dependence of violence can be seen in remarks made by its officials and analysts.

    During a convention of the Provincial Judiciary Council on December 28, judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi called on judges to be “political” in their decision-making and to “have an evaluation of the situation,” to “understand the necessities of the society,” and to give verdicts that “are proportionate to the situation.” And the example he gave the judges was the regime’s slain terror master Qassem Soleimani, whom he described as “being very able in knowing the situation and understanding the needs.”

    Therefore, in stark contrast to all the known and respected principles that call for the separation of judicial processes from political considerations, Raisi clearly instructed judges to give their verdicts based on the political needs of the regime.

    Even more outrageous than Raisi’s remarks were those of Qassem Rezai, the deputy chief of the State Security Forces, who openly told his subordinate commanders, “If you arrest someone in a clash and I see him standing here healthy and sound, you’ll have a lot to answer for.” Rezai’s comments were aired on national television on January 1.

    The necessities and conditions that Raisi referred to in his remarks are being amply discussed by analysts on state-run media these days.

    On February 14, the state-run Mardom Salari daily reported that the “food poverty line per individual” has reached 6.7 million rials and warned, “If the economic situation doesn’t change and continues to worsen, we will problems in the society… and these problems will gradually turn into chaos and will engulf all classes of the society.” By chaos, Mardom Salari was referring to widespread protests such as the November 2019 nationwide uprising, which brought the regime to its knees and on the verge of collapse.

    On February 15, the government-run Iran newspaper reported that inflation is destroying the lives of the low-income and middle classes of the society and warned, “This trend is polarizing the society, and the results, such as insecurity and riots, will encompass everyone in the society.”

    These are just two examples of the many warnings by the regime’s own officials that Iran is on the verge of another revolution and the people are fed up with the regime. Therefore, the sudden increase in executions is the regime’s temporary response to the explosive state of the society. Plagues by corruption, the ruling mullahs don’t have an answer to the problems of the people. At the same time, they know that the deterioration of the economic conditions will only increase the likelihood of another round of nationwide protests happening soon. Therefore, their only answer is to further intimidate the public by ratcheting up executions and violence. But they also know that by doing so, they will further increase public hatred of their rule. Therefore, they are caught in an impasse that will, sooner or later, result in their ultimate downfall.

    Share:

  • Political Prisoners Denied Medical Care in Iran


    One of the longest detained political prisoners in Iran is suffering from severe and painful burns on his neck and back after being suddenly covered in boiling water whilst taking a shower, but the prison authorities refused to take him to the hospital, which has led to the infection of the blisters.

    Gholam-Hossein Kalbi, 61, who has now spent 21 years in prison, was arrested in January 2000 in Dezful. He was held in solitary confinement for 14 months in Ahvaz’s Ministry of Intelligence building and subject to brutal torture before being sentenced to life in prison in 2002 and moved to Ward 209 of Evin Prison.

    Kalbi, who is currently held in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz, is also suffering from a variety of health complaints, including severe infections in his gums and both ears, alongside hearing loss in one ear.

    We urged the United Nations and all human rights defenders to take immediate action to ensure that Kalbi receives medical treatment for his burns and illnesses outside or prison, stating that the denial of necessary medical care indicates “the intentional nature of the incident designed to torture him”.

  • Iran: Baluchi man faces imminent execution despite urgent need for a fair retrial

    The Iranian authorities must immediately halt the execution of Javid Dehghan, a member of Iran’s disadvantaged Baluchi
    ethnic minority, scheduled to take place in less than 48 hours on 30 January 2021, Amnesty International said in a
    statement today. Highlighting a shocking catalogue of fair trial violations throughout the investigation, trial and appeal
    stages, the organization urged the Iranian authorities to quash the death sentence of the 31-year-old man and grant his
    lawyer’s request for a fair retrial.
    Javid Dehghan, held in the central prison in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, was sentenced to death for
    “enmity against God” (moharebeh) in May 2017 in connection with his alleged membership in an armed group and
    alleged involvement in an armed ambush that killed two Revolutionary Guards agents, following a grossly unfair trial
    before Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Zahedan. In convicting and sentencing Javid Dehghan to death, the court
    relied on torture-tainted “confessions” and ignored the serious due process abuses committed by Revolutionary Guards
    agents and prosecution authorities during the investigation process.
    According to information obtained by Amnesty International from two informed sources, following his arrest in Iranshahr,
    Sistan and Baluchestan province, on 5 June 2015, the authorities concealed Javid Dehghan’s fate and whereabouts from
    his family for three months, thereby subjecting him and his family to the international crime of enforced disappearance.
    During this period, his anxious family went to various hospitals, prisons and police stations and reached out to numerous
    intelligence, prosecution and judicial officials in Iranshahr to obtain information about him, but the authorities did not give
    them any information and denied that he was in state custody.
    The first time that Javid Dehghan’s family heard from him was three months after his arrest when he called them briefly to
    tell them that he was in a general ward in Zahedan prison, and it emerged that prior to that, he had been held in solitary
    confinement in an undisclosed detention facility run by the Revolutionary Guards. For the next 12 or 13 months, he was
    periodically taken back and forth between Zahedan prison and an undisclosed detention facility where he has said he was
    held in solitary confinement and subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. The first time that he was allowed a visit with
    his family was around a week after he called them from Zahedan prison.
    According to information obtained by Amnesty International, methods of torture described by Javid Dehghan included
    beatings, floggings, pulling out at least one of his thumb’s nails and stripping him naked.
    During his trial, Javid Dehghan told the court that while held in solitary confinement, Revolutionary Guards agents
    repeatedly tortured him to “confess” that he was a member of an armed Jihadist group, Jaish ul-Adl, and that he had
    fatally shot two Revolutionary Guards agents during an ambush on 9 April 2015. Amnesty International understands that
    Javid Dehghan “confessed” under duress that he was a member of the armed group, but never accepted that he was in
    possession of weapons and involved in the fatal ambush. His persistent refusal to “confess” to these aspects of the case
    opened against him resulted in him languishing in solitary confinement for months.
    The authorities’ evidence against Javid Dehghan ultimately consisted primarily of the torture-tainted incriminating
    statements that the Revolutionary Guards agents obtained both from him regarding his alleged membership in Jaish ulAdl, which he later retracted in court, and five co-defendants regarding his alleged involvement in plotting and carrying
    out the 2015 ambush. No investigation is known to have been carried out into the coercive circumstances, including the
    allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, through which these incriminating statements were extracted.
    Amnesty International’s research shows that Javid Dehghan’s right, under both international law and Iranian law, to have
    a meaningful review of his conviction and sentence by a higher court has also been violated. Based on information,
    including documentary evidence, obtained by the organization, on 29 July 2017 the Supreme Court stated in a ruling
    Amnesty International Public Statement
    www.amnesty.org
    2
    consisting of only a few lines that it had not received an appeal submission from Javid Dehghan and was not, therefore,
    under an obligation to examine the case. This is while the information recorded in Javid Dehghan’s casefile indicates that
    he had requested an appeal after he had been informed of his death sentence in May 2017. It is not clear to Amnesty
    International if Javid Dehghan’s court-appointed lawyer had submitted a detailed appeal for him that subsequently went
    missing, or that the lawyer had failed to submit a detailed request in the first place.
    In either case, given the litany of due process abuses committed during the investigation process and ignored at the trial
    stage without an investigation, the Supreme Court had a duty to review substantively, both on the basis of sufficiency of
    the evidence and of the law, the conviction and sentence and ensure that a conviction and sentence following violations of
    the accused’s rights to a fair trial do not become final.
    Amnesty International is concerned that the Supreme Court also rejected a subsequent judicial review request submitted
    by Javid Dehghan’s new lawyer in December 2020, which documented the major flaws marring the judicial process
    leading to Javid Dehghan’s conviction and death sentence.
    Javid Dehghan’s lawyer was formally informed on 25 January 2021 that the Supreme Court had denied the judicial review
    request. His lawyer reported on his Twitter account that he was planning to submit a second request next week but, on 28
    January 2021, he learned that the authorities have scheduled the execution of Javid Dehghan for 30 January 2021 and
    called his family to go to prison for their last visit.
    Amnesty International has received information indicating that the Revolutionary Guards have been exercising undue
    influence over the prosecution and judicial authorities to carry out Javid Dehghan’s execution, despite an urgent need for
    a fair and impartial review of his case.
    Under international law, the imposition of the death penalty following an unfair trial constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of
    the right to life and violates the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
    Amnesty International urges the Iranian authorities not to compound the shocking catalogue of human rights violations
    already committed against Javid Dehghan by carrying out his execution. All plans to execute him must be immediately
    halted and he must be granted a fair retrial.
    Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the
    characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. The death penalty is a violation of the
    right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

  • Iran’s regime executes second wrestler within 5 months


    It is unclear whether the Islamic Republic authorities forced Hosseini to confess to a crime he did not commit.
    By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL JANUARY 25, 2021 19:57Email Twitter Facebook fb-messenger
    Old rope with hangman’s noose (illustrative).
    The Iranian regime’s lethal assaults on decorated Iranian athletes continued unabated, with the execution of a second champion wrestler on Monday.
    The Jerusalem Post reported two weeks ago that the execution of wrestler Mehdi Ali Hosseini was imminent. He is from Andimeshk in the province of Khuzestan, and was arrested in 2015 and charged with pre-meditated murder, supposedly committed during a group fight.
    It is unclear whether the Islamic Republic authorities forced Hosseini to confess to a crime he did not commit.
    Mariam Memarsadeghi, an Iranian-American expert on human rights, told the Post that the “[Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei and his henchmen want to numb everyone to their repression. By executing more and more in spite of global outrage, they hope to show the Iranian people and the Free World that they are powerless.”
    She added that “But it’s the regime that lacks real power. Force alone is its only means to survive but not for long; the Iranian people are more than ever refusing any prospect but a nonviolent overthrowing [of the regime].”
    Sardar Pashaei, the renowned Greco-Roman Iranian wrestler world champion, tweeted in Persian: “Mehdi Ali Hosseini, a young wrestler from Andimeshk, was executed. Here is Iran, Land of death, rope and bullets …”
    Pashaei has urged the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to ban Iran’s regime from sports competition due to the regime’s human rights violations.
    https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/irans-regime-executes-second-wrestler-within-5-months-656634

  • IRAN: INTERNATIONAL ACTION NEEDED TO BREAK AUTHORITIES’ CYCLE OF PROTEST BLOODSHED


    On the third anniversary of the nationwide protests of December 2017 and January 2018, Amnesty International renews
    its calls for justice for the dozens of protesters, including children, who were killed by Iran’s security forces across the
    country, and their bereaved families. The organization also stands in solidarity with those seeking truth and accountability
    for the thousands of protesters who were arbitrarily detained, those who suffered torture or other ill-treatment in detention,
    those who died in custody in suspicious circumstances and those who were subsequently sentenced to death or executed
    following grossly unfair trials.
    Three years on from the deadly crackdown, the Iranian authorities have refused to open even a single criminal
    investigation into the litany of crimes and human rights violations committed by Iran’s security forces both during the
    protests and in their aftermath, including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other ill-treatment, and
    grossly unfair trials leading to the execution of at least one protester and death sentences for several others.
    Instead, consistent with longstanding patterns of state cover-up and denial, the authorities have subjected victims’
    families to intimidation and harassment to prevent them from speaking out. They have also issued false statements and
    propaganda videos to deny or distort the truth about the extensive unlawful use of live ammunition by security forces
    against protesters who did not pose an imminent threat of death or serious injury, and to falsely attribute responsibility for
    the protest killings to armed “rioters” working for the “enemies” of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
    The spokesperson of the judiciary stated on 14 January 2018 that 25 individuals had been killed during the protests, but
    the organization believes that the real number may be higher.
    The prevailing impunity afforded to the security forces and the muted response of the international community has only
    emboldened the Iranian authorities to escalate their unlawful use of lethal force in the subsequent mass protests of
    November 2019, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
    The aftermath of the deadly crackdown of December 2017 and January 2018 also involved an increasing use of the death
    penalty as a weapon of political repression. At least one protester, Mostafa Salehi, was executed in August 2020 in
    connection with the protests and five others remain at risk of execution including Mohammad Bastami, Mehdi Salehi,
    Hadi Kiani, Abbas Mohammadi and Majid Nazari. In an unprecedented development in recent decades, the authorities
    also executed dissident journalist Rouhollah Zam in December 2020 in connection with his popular news channel
    AmadNews, which they blamed for stirring up the protests of December 2017 and January 2018.
    The authorities’ cycle of bloodshed in Iran must not be allowed to continue.
    It falls on the international community to pressure the Iranian authorities to stop the recurrent pattern of using lethal force
    to crush protests, including by the UN Human Rights Council establishing an independent international investigation into
    the protests of November 2019 when the crackdown reached an unprecedented level since the 1980s.
    BACKGROUND
    Between late December 2017 and mid-January 2018, thousands of people in over 100 cities across Iran took to the
    streets to speak out against poverty, corruption, political repression and authoritarianism. At the time, Iran had not seen
    protests on this scale since those which followed the disputed presidential election of 2009.

  • Nurses, oil and mine workers, protest unpaid wages


    Iran, January 7, 2021—On Monday, January 5, the staff and nurses of hospitals in different cities of the country, including Khuzestan, Isfahan, Yazd and Karaj, gathered in their workplaces, seeking answers for their pending demands.

    Nurses in Khuzestan province, southwest Iran, held a rally in front of the governor’s office, demanding their delayed paychecks and an increase in their salaries. In Isfahan province, health department staff also held a rally demanding a change in their job status.

    Nurses and contract employees of the Yazd Medical Sciences University also gathered in front of the MP’s office, protesting the change in their employment status and discrimination in the payment of salaries and job benefits.

    Also, a group of employees of Khomeini Hospital in the city of Karaj, northwest Tehran, gathered in front of the Alborz Governor’s Office protesting unpaid salaries.

    During the rally, they chanted slogans such as “enough with the promises, our tables are empty,” and they demanded their demands be fully met.

    Strike by Faryab mine workers in Kerman province

    On Tuesday, January 5, workers of the Faryab mine in Kerman province went on strike for the fourth consecutive day, protesting the officials’ refusal to pay their wages demanding the implementation of the job classification plan.

    Workers at the Faryab chromite mine in Kerman province have been on strike since Sunday, protesting their several-month delayed paychecks in 2019 and their unclear contract status in 2020.

    According to the protesting workers, they do not have proper work suits, contracts and paychecks, and any protest in this mine will be answered by deduction of salary or dismissal.

    Lorestan agro-industrial contract workers continue their protest

    Lorestan agro-industrial contract workers continue their protest

    On Tuesday, a group of workers in the Lorestan Agro-Industrial Complex Company held a protest rally for the second consecutive day, demanding a change in their job contracts to direct contract.

    These workers held a similar rally on January 3, stopping working for several hours and gathering in the compound’s yard. They are seeking answers to their demands by company officials.

    “We have been pursuing the change in our job status for several years and we have been demanding our legal claims from the company, but so far no official has been held accountable,” the protesting workers said.

    Protest rally by workers of the Navid Zar Chimi in the port of Mahshahr, Khuzestan province

    A group of workers of the Navid Zar Chimi Company in the city of Mahshahr, gathered in front of the company building on Tuesday, protesting their delayed paychecks.

    The protesters, who had previously gone on strike, say that in addition to not paying their salaries for several months, the company’s executives are refusing to grant special zone privileges to employees because the company is private.

    The protesting workers added that when a job bonus is approved by the Ministry of Oil, they are classified as non-oil workers, and when a job bonus is announced by Social Security organization, they are classified as Oil Ministry workers.

    The workers say the protests will continue in the coming days until their demands are met.

    The cry of hungry workers and retirees in the city of Shadegan, Khuzestan province, southeast Iran

    A group of families of workers and retirees who have gone below the poverty line due to high prices and inflation, held a protest rally on Wednesday, January 6, holding placards reading “Cry of hungry workers retirees.”

    “The officials who are sitting there are and only thinking about themselves and their children! So, when did you care about us? Aren’t we Muslims? You who claim to be Muslims, why don’t you care about these children whose parents do not even have the money to buy dry milk for them?” said one of the women participating in the rally to the officials.

  • Iran’s society is on the verge of an explosion


    Iran, December 24, 2020—The majority of Iran’s population live in poverty. Among the struggling communities are the retirees, whose income after 30 years of hard work is at one fifth of Iran’s poverty line, valued at about 100 million rials (approx. $380). The situation has led to constant protests in various provinces.

    In the past weeks, communities of pensioners have organized demonstrations against poverty and discrimination in Tehran, East Azarbaijan, Isfahan, Alborz, Ilam, Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Gilan, Lorestan, Central Province, Hamedan, and Yazd. They protest their wages being incomparable to current government employees. According to state laws, the difference between the wages of employees and retirees shouldn’t be higher than 15 percent. But today, the gap stands at above 50 percent.

    Some state-run media, including the daily Hamdeli, warned of a possible nationwide protest.

    “Many social riots after the revolution began in these areas,” wrote the paper on December 13, adding, “We are cutting corners in sectors that have previously hurt us. The January 2018 protests started by those who were concerned about their daily livelihoods.”

    The retirees are not the only segment of the society being hit by economic problems that have been exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis. In recent weeks, in Tehran and other major cities, the protests of various classes in the society continue against the regime’s mismanagement and inhuman policies. But due to the regime’s repressive measures and censorship, it is not possible to gather all the information. However, the considerable number of protest rallies in the past month indicates the extent and depth of dissent across the society.

    Shadegan water and sewage workers, poultry owners, farmers, nurses, contractors, private sector drivers, bus drivers, nomads, and Ahvaz urban train workers were among communities that have protested in recent months.

    Also, people living in regions hit by seasonal floods protested the regime’s inaction and negligence toward their situation. The regime’s inhuman delay in providing any support has imposed poverty, misery, and oppression on these people.

    In their slogans, the protesters targeted regime’s officials as the main sources of their problems. The flood victims in Khomeini Port occupied the municipality. In another protest movement, political prisoners went on hunger strike in different prisons.

    A bankrupt economy, skyrocketing prices, and the looting of people’s wealth by the regime have impacted the lives of millions of Iranians. The people struggle for the most basic needs. All these protests are to realize the most basic wages, much of which remain unpaid by the regime.

  • Iran: UN calls for accountability on 1988 prison massacres marks turning point in three-decade struggle


    9 December 2020, 00:00 UTC
    A group of UN human rights experts have written to the Iranian government warning that past and ongoing violations related to prison massacres in 1988 may amount to crimes against humanity and that they will call for an international investigation if these violations persist, a push for accountability welcomed by Amnesty international on the eve of International Human Rights Day.

    “The UN experts’ communication is a momentous breakthrough. It marks a turning point in the long-standing struggles of victims’ families and survivors, supported by Iranian human rights organizations and Amnesty International, to end these crimes and obtain truth, justice and reparation,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

    “Top UN human rights experts have now sent an unequivocal, and long overdue, message: the ongoing crimes of mass enforced disappearances resulting from the secret extrajudicial executions of 1988 can no longer go unaddressed and unpunished”, said Diana Eltahawy.

    Decades of crimes against humanity
    Between late July and early September 1988, thousands of imprisoned political dissidents across Iran were forcibly disappeared and then extrajudicially executed in secret.

    For more than 30 years, the Iranian authorities have systematically concealed the circumstances surrounding their deaths and the whereabouts of their remains, thereby subjecting the victims, including those killed and their surviving families, to the crime of enforced disappearance.

    In their 18-page communication, which was first sent privately to the Iranian government on 3 September 2020, the UN experts state that they “are seriously concerned by the alleged continued refusal to disclose the fate and whereabouts” of these individuals.

    The UN experts’ communication is a momentous breakthrough. It marks a turning point in the long-standing struggles of victims’ families and survivors, supported by Iranian human rights organizations and Amnesty International, to end these crimes and obtain truth, justice and reparation.
    Diana Eltahawy
    They write that they “are further alarmed by the authorities’ refusal to provide families with accurate and complete death certificates, the destruction of mass graves, the ongoing threats and harassment of the families, the lack of investigation and prosecution for the killings, and the statements from the Government denying or trivializing the cases and equating criticizing the killings as support for terrorism.”

    The communication underlines that these enforced disappearances continue in effect “until the fate and whereabouts of the individuals concerned are established”.

    Demanding accountability

    Consistent with their calls for thorough, impartial and independent investigations into all cases, the exhumation and return of remains to families, the identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and the provision of effective remedy for the victims, the UN human rights experts have asked Iran to provide detailed information on, among other things,

    Whether the names of the individuals executed were included in public burial registers;
    Measures taken to identify, recognize, protect and commemorate desecrated mass graves;
    Known information on the identities of those interred in each gravesite, as well as data on unidentified persons;
    Any provisions to allow families to commemorate and pay their respects at burial sites; and
    Legal provisions to protect families and human rights defenders who seek information on the fate and whereabouts of victims of enforced disappearances and who demand justice.
    The UN experts also stated that if the Iranian government “continues to refuse to uphold its obligations under international human rights law,” they “will call on the international community to take action to investigate the cases including through the establishment of an international investigation.”

    Since the publication of Amnesty International’s 2018 report Blood-soaked secrets: Why Iran’s 1988 prison massacres are ongoing crimes against humanity, the organization has been calling for the UN Human Rights Council to establish an independent, impartial and effective international mechanism to address impunity for the crimes against humanity and other crimes under international law identified in the report.

    “The breadth and strength of the UN expert analysis serves as a crucial stepping stone in our ongoing push to have the UN Human Rights Council to take action to end impunity for these past and ongoing crimes against humanity,” said Diana Eltahawy.

    Background

    The UN experts issuing the September 2020 communication are members of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.

    Amnesty International has compiled evidence of the involvement of several individuals who continue to hold high positions of power in the enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions including: the current head of the judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi; the current minister of justice, Alireza Avaei; the former minister of justice and current advisor to the head of the judiciary, Mostafa Pour Mohammadi; the head of the Supreme Disciplinary Court for Judges, Hossein Ali Nayyeri; and Mohamamd Hossein Ahmadi, a member of the Assembly of Experts, a constitutional body that has the power to appoint or dismiss Iran’s Supreme Leader.

  • Iran coronavirus update: Over 176,500 deaths, epidemic expands despite quarantine measures

    Iran, December 4, 2020—Over 176,500 people have died of the novel coronavirus in 465 cities checkered across all of Iran’s 31 provinces, as of Friday afternoon local time, December 4. The official death toll declared by the regime stands at 49,695, nearly a fourth of the actual figure.

    The coronavirus death toll in various provinces include: 43,611 in Tehran, 12,370 in Razavi Khorasan, 10,155 in Isfahan, 7185 in Lorestan, 7020 in Qom, 6978 in East Azerbaijan, 6580 in West Azerbaijan, 5127 in Fars, 4715 in Alborz, 4446 in Sistan & Baluchistan, 3604 in Kerman, 3771 in Kermanshah, 3081 in Kurdistan, 2057 in Ardabil, 1819 in Bushehr, 1797 in Zanjan, 1807 in Qazvin, and 1370 in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari. This is in addition to reports obtained from other provinces.

    “In the past 24 hours, 45 Covid-19 patients have lost their lives. What has yet to decrease is the number of dire patients that remain above the 370 mark. There has not been much change here and the death rate remains similar to the past few weeks,” said the spokesperson of the Isfahan Medical Sciences University on Thursday. “We still do not have adequate circumstances and the status quo has become even more critical. If restrictions are to be lifted and we return to the normal circumstances witnessed back in March and April, conditions will become even more critical than they are now. We are a long distance away from calm and peace in our medical system and from announcing adequate conditions,” the official added, according to the Fars news agency, an outlet linked to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

    “During the past 24 hours we have lost 28 patients to coronavirus in Fars province and the total death toll here has reached 2589,” said the director of public relations at Fars Medical Sciences University on Thursday. “Currently we have 1850 patients hospitalized, of which 319 are in ICUs,” the official added, according to the Mehr news agency, an outlet linked to the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).

    “The expansion of this virus has increased in our province and the number of new daily cases double the country’s average,” said the dean of Kohgiluyeh & Boyer Ahmed Medical Sciences University on Thursday, according to the IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency.

    “Despite the imposed restrictions and an increase in Covid-19 limitations in our province, the status quo of the coronavirus transmission remains red and alarming,” said the dean of Ardabil Medical Sciences University on Friday. “The high number of people being hospitalized on a daily basis indicates that the Covid-19 transmission chain has not been broken or even decreased in our province. The conditions ahead of us are very concerning,” the official added, according to the Mehr news agency.

    “The fact that red zones [in Mazandaran province, northern Iran] have increased from three to six, and this coming 12 days after heavy quarantine measures adopted by the National Covid-19 Task Force, raise questions in people’s minds and even among senior officials and those in our red cities,” according to a Thursday report wired by the regime’s official IRNA news agency.

    “Hospitals in [Markazi] province are in urgent need of nine oxygen devices and tanks, along with supplementary equipment to provide medical care for coronavirus patients. Oxygen therapy for Covid-19 patients is key in the treatment process and the shortage in oxygen devices is considered a catastrophe for our medical apparatus,” said the deputy dean of Markazi Medical Sciences University on Friday, according to IRNA.

    “Covid-19 continues to spread in Zanjan province. Since the beginning of this pandemic more than 1,000 medical staff members of our provinces have contracted coronavirus,” said the dean of Zanjan Medical Sciences University on Thursday, according to the Mehr news agency.

  • Shocking Statistics of Murdering Women in Iran


    Iran is one of only six countries that have not signed the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and women living there are denied even the most basic rights over their bodies, relationships, children, education, and employment.

    Meanwhile, men are allowed to beat and even kill their wives and children, which means that violence against women is not only prevalent but also sanctioned by law.

    Let’s look at just some of the so-called honor killings, which account for 50 percent of homicides, that occurred since February because of the misogynistic policies of the ayatollahs and the laws that allow men to kill women with impunity.
    February 2020

    Kowsar Gol Soghanloo, 15, was set on fire by her husband
    March 2020

    Hadith, 11, was strangled to death by her father after he realized that he would not receive a harsh punishment for murdering her
    May 2020

    Hajareh Hussein Bor, 20, was murdered by her husband after repeatedly complaining of domestic violence
    Romina Ashrafi, 13, was beheaded with a sickle by her father, even after telling a judge that he was abusing her
    Sarina Ghafouri, 25, was killed by her brother who wanted to stop her from remarrying
    June 2020

    Fatemeh Barhi, 19, was beheaded by her husband after she tried to leave him
    Mina was killed by her ex-husband
    Somayeh Fathi, 18, was killed by her father and brother, even though she was pregnant
    Reyhaneh Ameri, 22, was killed by her father with an ax, three years after he was first caught trying to murder her

  U.S. Foundation for Liberty  

© 2016 U.S. Foundation for Liberty. All Rights Reserved.