Iran Focus
London, 12 May – Iran’s government and judiciary continues to sanction brutal punishments as a man has his fingers removed in the north-eastern city of Mashhad. The man, who is only identified by the initials M.T., was accused of theft and is currently serving a three year prison sentence.
Iran Focus
Tehran, 10 May – President Hassan Rouhani was lavish in his praise of top Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani during a rally on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Day. The event took place in Kerman, the hometown of Soleimani, whose old-school brand of intelligence work has won him gritty profiles in the New Yorker and the Guardian.
Iran Focus
London, 10 May – Iran’s prisons have exceeded their capacity according to Iranian chief of police Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari, whose seemingly suggested solution is to increase the use of capital and corporal punishment.
“According to the judiciary, [Iran’s] prisons are now full, and crimes can no longer be prevented with this method. So we must do something whereby the consequences of committing a crime is increased so that no one contemplates doing so”, said Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari.
Iran Focus
Paris, 10 May – A group from the European Parliament has expressed its solidarity with imprisoned teachers and union leaders in Iran. The chairman of the Friends of a Free Iran (FoFI) group, Gérard Deprez MEP, released a statement on Tuesday calling for political prisoners to be released immediately and condemning the treatment they face at the hands of the Iranian government.
Iran Focus
London, 10 May – Iran’s investment in the Syrian conflict is growing by the day according to Struan Stevenson, a former European lawmaker. Writing in The Hill Stevenson outlined the all-or-nothing strategy of the Iranian government.
Over 60,000 troops from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), including 8,000 soldiers from the infamous Qods Force, and thousands more foreign mercenaries are being used to support Bashar al-Assad. Recently an entire brigade of the Iranian army, the 65th Brigade, known as Nohed or Green Berets, was deployed.
Iran Focus
London, 10 May – A senior member of Syria’s democratic opposition has said that the fight against Bashar al-Assad is a joint battle with Tehran. George Sabra from the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) told Simaye Azadi (INTV), an Iranian opposition television channel, that the Iranian Resistance was an ally.
Sabra praised Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, for her outspoken position on Aleppo and the war-crimes perpetrated by Assad with the aid of Tehran.
Iran Focus
London, 9 May – The Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has issued a statement calling for the support of international human rights organisations in freeing several severely ill political prisoners.
Iran Focus
London, 9 May – An Iranian man has attempted suicide after being unable to pay for his treatment at a Tehran hospital. Ali Shafie began experiencing extreme pain in his stomach and sought help at Milad Hospital. Shafie was refused treatment after being told his insurance booklet had expired and he was unable to pay the three million rial ($95) fee.
Iran Focus
London, 9 May – A number of political prisoners are on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Jafar Azimzadeh, a worker’s rights activist, and Ismail Abdi the Secretary General of the Iran Teachers Trade Association (ITTA) have been on hunger strike since 29 April. In a statement the pair outlined the reasons for undergoing such hardship as being government crackdowns on civil liberties.
Iran Focus
London, 8 May – A prominent Iranian political activist, and prisoner, Saleh Kohandel will no longer be accepting visits due to the demeaning psychological tricks used by prison staff. In an open letter Kohandel describes how he has been kept from direct interaction with his family for six years and subject to torture and humiliation. Kohandel’s only crime was to demand democracy and human rights in Iran, according to his relatives.
