Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in Assassination Plot v. 2 News Presenters in London — Report
Iran’s Security Forces Raped and Tortured Women’s Rights Protesters — Amnesty
Iran Updates: 127+ Executions Since October 7
UPDATE, JAN 1:
Iranian officials say they have released Spanish national Santiago Sanchez Cogedor, who was imprisoned in October 2022 amid the nationwide “Woman. Life. Freedom” protests.
As it tried to suppress the demonstrations, sparked in mid-September 2022 by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was detained for “inappropriate attire”, the Iranian regime seized foreign and dual nationals for political leverage.
La Embajada de la R. I. de Irán se complace en informar la liberación de Santiago Sánchez Cogedor, el único ciudadano español preso en Irán. Su liberación se realiza en el marco de relaciones amistosas e históricas entre los dos países y en cumplimiento de leyes. 🇮🇷🇪🇦
— Embajada de Irán en España (@IraninSpain) December 31, 2023
Sanchez, 41, had just arrived in Iran when he was detained. His family said that he was planning to walk to the World Cup venue in Qatar, and that he had cycled to the Arabian region previously to raise funds for hospitals and other organizations.
The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency said Sanchez was arrested in Amini’s hometown of Saqqez in northwest Iran after visiting her grave.
Ana Baneira Suarez, 24, who works for a human rights NGO, was arrested and detained alongside Sanchez but was released in February.
UPDATE, DEC 28:
Trying to cover up the killing of a 9-year-old boy by security forces in November 2022, Iran’s judiciary has reaffirmed the death sentence against a young man upon whom it pinned the murder.
Kian Pirfalak was slain and his father critically wounded as they sat in their car amid a “Woman. Life. Freedom” demonstration in Izeh in western Iran. His mother and family members who witnessed the incident said security forces were responsible.
The Iran regime’s news agencies blamed the killing on terrorists, circulating a statement attributed to the Islamic State. BBC Monitoring investigated the statement and concluded that it was fake.
"Please advocate for my brother; he is innocent…" Negar Korkor's plea echoed after learning that the Iranian courts upheld the death sentence against her brother, Mojahed Korkor.
Mojahed has been wrongly accused of the tragic death of 9-year-old Kian Pirfalak during the "Woman,… pic.twitter.com/fyEVNZtk9N
— IranHumanRights.org (@ICHRI) December 27, 2023
UPDATE, DEC 22:
Iran’s authorities have executed Samira Sabzian, the “child bride” who killed her husband after being systematically abused by him.
Sabzian, 30, was hanged on Thursday in Gezel Khesar Prison, in the Tehran suburbs, after 10 years behind bars.
Sabzian, from Khorramabad in western Iran, was married off at the age of 15. She was arrested four years later and condemned to death.
Sabzian had two children, one born shortly before her arrest. During her 10 years in prison, she was only allowed to see her children once — on the eve of her execution.
UPDATE, DEC 21:
Sara Massoumi, the editor-in-chief of the site Iranian Diplomacy, has been sentenced to six months in prison and banned from working in media for two years.
Massoumi’s “crime” was a social media post criticizing the regime over the death of Armita Geravand, 16, after she was accosted on October 1 by a “hijab enforcer” on the Tehran Metro.
Massoumi, formerly a reporter for the reformist news outlet Etemad, was charged in November with publishing lies and propaganda against the regime.
She had tweeted about Geravand’s death, “They say that you ‘passed’. We have known the trail of blood for years. The city smells of the blood of the mistreated. Did they eventually show your mother all the footage?”
Massoumi is one of five journalists being prosecuted over comments on Geravand’s four-week coma and death.
Last month, authorities filed new charges against journalist Zeinab Rahimi over her coverage of the case, having previously summoned her on allegations of “spreading lies and violating public decency”.
UPDATE 1255 GMT:
Iran’s authorities have sentenced Mohammad Maleki, a participant in the “Woman. Life. Freedom” protests, to 10 years and 3 months in prison.
The court in Zanjan in northwest Iran condemend Maleki to six years and one day for “forming and managing the Zanjan neighborhood’s youth [Telegram] channel with the intention of disrupting internal security”; three years and seven months for “gathering and conspiring to act against national security”; and eight months for “propaganda against the system”.
Maleki was arrested on September 18 during the rally marked the first anniversary of the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini — detained and reportedly beaten by “morality police” — in police custody.
He spent 15 days in solitary confinement in a Revolutionary Guards detention center before being transferred to Zanjan prison, where he was denied legal representation and visits from his family.
UPDATE, DEC 20:
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and political prisoner Narges Mohammadi has boycotted her latest hearing in an Iranian court:
The Revolutionary Court is a slaughterhouse for the youth of this land, and I will not set foot in this slaughterhouse. I do not acknowledge the authority or credibility of judges affiliated with security institutions and show trials.
The proceeding came just over a week after the Oslo ceremony awarding Mohammadi the Nobel. Her twin children Kiana and Ali Rahmani accepted the award and read their mother’s statement.
Mohammadi, repeatedly imprisoned since 2010, began serving her current 10-year sentence in November 2021.
he accusations for which Mohammadi was summoned to court were not immediately known.
UPDATE, DEC 18:
In their latest persecution of members of the Baha’i faith, Iran authorities have condemned teacher Hourieh Mohseni to three years in prison.
A Revolutionary Court in Mashhad in northeast Iran condemned Mohseni as a member of “a social action and development group that aimed to promote Baha’ism with the intention of disrupting national security”. It accused her of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic in favor of the Baha’i faith”.
The hearing took place without the presence of Mohseni or her lawyer.
Mohseni has been teaching mathematics and Persian to children in a disadvantaged village near Mashhad.
The Iranian regime has subjected approximately 300,000 Baha’is to persecution, including executions, detentions, seizure of property, and bans on higher education and employment.
UPDATE, DEC 17:
Mahsa Yazdani, the mother of a protester killed last year by security forces during the nationwide “Woman. Life. Freedom” demonstrations, has been summoned to serve a 13-year prison sentence.
Yazdani was condemned by a Revolutionary Court in northern Iran for “propaganda activities against the system” and “insulting the leadership” over comments she made on social media.
She announced on Instagram on Thursday that she had been given three days to report to prison after an appeals court upheld her sentence last month.
Yazdani’s son Mohammad Javad Zahedi, 20, was shot in Sari in northern Iran in September 2022, days after the start of the protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini — detained and reportedly beaten by “morality police”.
Yazdani wrote on social media, “I am broken. This loss has driven me insane. A curse on the entire regime.”
ORIGINAL ENTRY, DEC 13: Mahsa Amini (pictured), the Iranian woman whose death in police custody in September 2022 sparked nationwide “Woman. Life. Freedom” protests, has been awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament.
Amini, 22, was seized and reportedly beaten by “morality police” in Tehran on September 13. She collapsed in a detention center, fell into a coma, and died three days later.
Iranian authorities prevented Amini’s mother, father, and brother from attending the ceremony in Strasbourg, France, confiscating their passports and barring them from flying.
But in a speech read out by the family’s lawyer, Amini’s mother Mojgan Eftekhari said Mahsa’s name “became a secret code for freedom and spread the dream of liberty from her birthplace, Kurdistan, all over Iran, the Middle East, and the world”.
“Her life was taken unjustly. They believed that by taking her life, they will stop her from being and becoming,” she explained.
EU’s Sakharov Prize was awarded to Mahsa Amini & the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Amini’s family was prevented from traveling to France to attend the ceremony. The family’s lawyer Saleh Nikbakht and activist Mersedeh Shahinkar and Afsoon Najafi picked up the award. #MahsaAmini pic.twitter.com/EjmCRobQ0V
— Golnaz Esfandiari (@GEsfandiari) December 12, 2023
“The Sound and The Voices of The Iranian People”
Exiled activists Afsoon Najafi and Mersedeh Shahinkar collected the award in the name of Woman. Life. Freedom.
Najafi’s sister Hadis was killed on September 21, 2022, in the opening days of the nationwide protests. Shahinkar, shot in the eye by security forces, told the ceremony:
We are standing here on behalf of all the women and we are tired of the regime of Iran. The Islamic Republic is not representative of the Iranian people. I and the people who protest are the sound and the voices of Iranian people.
Najafi noted that many Iranians are still “suffering and [being] tortured” by Iran’s authorities.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola summarized:
That treatment is another example of what the people of Iran face every day.
Let me say that the courage and resilience of Iranian women in their fight for justice, liberty and human rights will not be stopped. Their voices cannot be silenced and while they are not here today, their presence will be felt.
Congratulations to the 2023 winners of the #SakharovPrize for Freedom of Thought.
These women, with so many others, started a revolution.
Despite increasing pressure, they continue to fight for equality, dignity & freedom in Iran.
You are the future of Iran.
We are with you. pic.twitter.com/FX6IrJwjDd
— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) December 12, 2023
Violating ‘Morals’: Iranian woman gets 74 lashes
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/world/middle-east/news/violating-morals-iranian-woman-gets-74-lashes-3513876
The fifteen year old boy, Barzin Hamzezadeh who was beaten and tortured while under arrest in last year’s protests dies of his injuries….
https://www.radiofarda.com/a/barzin-hamzezadeh-a-child-from-sardasht/32759528.html
Iranian Teen Protester Dies After Brutal Torture By Regime
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202401048896
Corruption And Mismanagement Drive Workers To Suicide In Iran
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202401013124
Protests in Ardekan, a very conservative and religious city in Isfahan province. Protesters are objecting to incompetence and corruption of authorities in managing air polutions and irresponsible practices that endangering people’s lives…
https://youtu.be/apSXoLPI7H4?si=U0kzY3xaDMSDko02
The case of bogus charges charges to cover up regime killing of nine years old boy….
Death Sentence For Iranian Protester Accused Of Murder ‘Illegal,’ Lawyer Says
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-korkor-death-sentence-illegal/32749612.html
Iranian Authorities Seize Sakharov Prize Awarded To Honor Mahsa Amini, Rights Groups Say
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-sakharov-prize-mahsa-amini/32744731.html
The award was more of symbolic, you idiots!
Inside Iran: What happened to Iran’s Women-led uprising
https://youtu.be/VAQRCCWsi-s?si=Mj_YjuPdEV3n5ZjG
Mahsa Amini’s family and iranians celebrate the night of Yalda(winter solicits) despite mullahs islamic state’s propaganda
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202312219361
Some Iranian Newspapers Ignore Gag Order In Corruption Case
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202312217021
Full text of the decision of the Swedish court of appeal: https://www.domstol.se/nyheter/2023/12/the-svea-court-of-appeal-announces-verdict-in-a-case-about-grave-breaches-of-international-humanitarian-law-and-murder-in-iran-in-1988/
“Our assessment is that the prosecutor’s case is robust and overall compelling and that the district court was correct to find the prosecutors charges largely substantiated, says Robert Green, Court of Appeal Judge and reporting judge. As opposed to the district court, the Court of Appeal has in some cases found that the evidence has not been sufficient in proving that certain persons have been executed as specified by the prosecution. The charges in these parts have subsequently been dismissed. Regarding the murder charge the Court of Appeal has ruled that the act is to be considered several acts of murder rather than one crime. The main body of evidence in the case is built on extensive oral testimony with plaintiffs and witnesses that have made observations of dramatic events more than 30 years ago, which makes the case rather unique in a national context. The Court of Appeal concurs with the district courts assessment that the act as specified in the prosecutors first charge has a connection to the conflict between Iran and Iraq as stipulated for the act to be regarded as a breach of international humanitarian law. In agreement with the district court, the Court of Appeal has found that the act is to be considered grave.Regarding the murder charges brought against the defendant, one of the members of the court is of the dissenting opinion that the defendant is guilty of several counts of aiding and abetting murder. However, the majority of the court has found him guilty of murder as the perpetrator.”
Victim of Child Marriage Executed in Iran Over Husband’s Murder
https://iranwire.com/en/women/123708-victim-of-child-marriage-executed-in-iran-over-husbands-murder/
“Under Islamic Penal Code, those accused of murder are all sentenced to death, regardless of their motives and the circumstances of the crime. ”
And yet, when a man beheads his teenage wife and prance around with the mutilated head gets only three years prison sentence in the mullah islamic state
Swedish court upholds life sentence given to ex-Iranian official: https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/12/19/716668/Sweden-appeals-court-verdict-Hamid-Nouri
“An appeals court in Sweden has upheld a life sentence given to a former Iranian official despite repeated objections from Tehran that the verdict is politically-motivated. The Svea Court of Appeal said in a statement on Tuesday that it “affirmed the judgment… in significant parts” that had been given to Hamid Nouri in July 2022 for his alleged role in cases of human rights violations in Iran. It described the case brought against Nouri in the initial court proceedings as “robust” and “correct.”
Iranian Motor Courier Faces Death Penalty over Online Posts
https://iranwire.com/en/prisoners/123666-iranian-motor-courier-faces-death-penalty-over-online-posts/
“Please don’t let them commit their crime in silence before it’s too late. The people of Iran should know for which imaginary crimes young people are being killed,”
[Editor’s Note: Except for the last paragraph, this comment is the official line of the Iran regime’s judiciary.]
The Swedish court confirmed Hamid Nouri’s life sentence: https://www.mizanonline.ir/fa/news/4750119
“During the trial court, 92 sessions were held, and out of these 92 sessions, only 7 sessions were assigned to Hamid Nouri to express his defense. Hamid Nouri relied solely on the contradictory testimony of some former and current members of the terrorist group (MeK).”
“Last October, after the request and insistence of Hamid Nouri’s lawyers, the Swedish court accepted that Hamid Nouri’s witnesses can testify in court, but the prosecutor warned that if Hamid Nouri’s witnesses want to appear in court, they may be arrested.”
“During the process of holding the trial, both at the initial stage and at the appeal stage, Hamid Nouri was repeatedly searched and searched in the prison, and the prison guards destroyed the documents that he had prepared for his defense in the court.”
I myself applied to be an expert witness but was denied the right to testify by the court.
“I myself applied to be an expert witness but was denied the right to testify by the court.”
Just like khamenei, what field are you not expert in?
[Editor’s Note: This is misleading. Nouri declared, at the outset of his testimony, that he would have “only four days”. No such time limit was set by the court.
Nor is it true that the court barred witnesses for the defense.]
Nouri was given just four days to make his defense out of a trial period that lasted nearly a year: https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2021/11/23/iranian-defendant-rejects-lies-linking-him-to-1988-prison-massacre/
Nobody was allowed to testify on his behalf.
The appeal court have affirmed the lower court’s verdict.
Appeal Verdict Due In Ex-Iranian Official’s Trial In Sweden
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-sweden-noury-verdict/32736665.html
[Editor’s Note: Commenter, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and presumed that your final paragraph was a very bad joke, removing it. Otherwise, I would be sending it to the UK authorities.]
We live with a gun to our heads’: how Iran is targeting protesters in Britain: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/dec/18/we-live-with-a-gun-to-our-heads-how-iran-is-targeting-protesters-in-britain
“Some of the activists interviewed by the Guardian say they have also been victims of stalking, online doxing and character assassinations led by those supporting the regime in the UK.”
[Editor’s Note: I am removing the comment as — again — it may constitute an admission of on-line harassment.
So I ask you, “Varharan”, are you confirming as fact that you have harassed Iranian activists on-line?]
Iranian Motor Courier Faces Death Penalty over Online Posts
https://iranwire.com/en/prisoners/123666-iranian-motor-courier-faces-death-penalty-over-online-posts/
“Please don’t let them commit their crime in silence before it’s too late. The people of Iran should know for which imaginary crimes young people are being killed,”
No Accountability in Iran For Deadly COVID-19 Policies
https://iranwire.com/en/features/123646-no-accountability-in-iran-for-deadly-covid-19-policies/
Mother Who Protested Son’s Death During Iran Unrest To Start 13-Year Prison Sentence
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-mother-protest-prison-sentence/32732361.html
Gunmen kill 11 people in an attack on a police station in Iran: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/gunmen-kill-11-people-injure-attack-police-station-105682341
“State TV blamed the attack on Jaish al-Adl, a separatist group. In 2019, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a bus that killed 27 members of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.”
Gunmen linked to Jaish-ul-Adl attacked a police station outside the Grand Mosallah mosque on Sept 30th 2022 leading to an exchange of fire in which scores of civilians were also killed.
The Economist accepts that the “protests” in Iran have faded out but still insists they were ever a threat to the Islamic Republic: https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/12/14/iran-rethinks-its-role-as-a-regional-troublemaker
“In late 2022 widespread demonstrations, triggered by the death in custody of a woman who wore her hijab improperly, appeared to be close to toppling the regime. In the end it was the protests, not clerical rule, that died out.”
Blinding as a Weapon: Years of Imprisonment and an Eye Blinded
https://iranwire.com/en/blinding-as-a-weapon/123314-blinding-as-a-weapon-years-of-imprisonment-and-an-eye-blinded/
Another protester dies after to have been beaten and gone to comma…
19-Year-Old Baluch Dies After Torture in Iranian Custody
https://iranwire.com/en/news/123518-19-year-old-baluch-dies-after-torture-in-iranian-custody/
The Terrifying Journey of an Iranian Woman Refugee from Türkiye to Greece
https://iranwire.com/en/special-features/123470-the-terrifying-journey-of-an-iranian-woman-refugee-from-t%C3%BCrkiye-to-greece/