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A Look Back at Last Year’s Protests in Iran

Staff Writer
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A Look Back at Last Year’s Protests in Iran

In November 2019, a protest in nearly 200 cities in all provinces across Iran shook the establishment to its core, as people came out into the streets with calls for regime change, democracy, and “death to the dictator.”

Some of the biggest areas of participation were previously thought to be ayatollahs’ strongholds, but during the protest, it became increasingly clear that there is widespread popular support for regime change.

This actually built on the previous nationwide protest in December 2017, which was the largest protest in Iran since the 1979 revolution. Both recent protests began over economic concerns—the rising cost of food and gas respectively—but quickly became about regime change, with people chanting “hardliners, reformists: the game is over” because it was obvious that the ayatollahs were the problem.

After all, they had the money to fix the issue, but they didn’t. Instead, in both instances, they cracked down violently with arrests and murders. In the November 2019 protests, they shot dead 1,500 people in the streets in just a few days.

Iranian opposition Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) which helped organize the protests. This is really what the state is worried about, even going so far as to admit that the MEK was involved when for decades they have tried to pretend that the MEK has little support in Iran. In reality, the government sees the MEK as the only group capable of overthrowing it, which is why they tried to exterminate the MEK in the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners.

Iran: People No Longer Tolerate Current Governing System

“Although they would never say so explicitly, there are clear signs that Iranian officials recognize this phenomenon and are afraid of it. Among those signs are their public expressions of commitment to a violent crackdown, particularly one that is focused on resuming past efforts to destroy the MEK in its entirety,” wrote Alejo Vidal-Quadras, President of the International Committee In Search of Justice (ISJ).

This is what led to the thousands of people murdered in the streets and is still resulting in the murders of MEK members and protesters by the Iranian security forces today. But the international community is doing nothing.

“It is [ridiculous] to think that the feared international scrutiny will not expand to include the 1,500 people who were killed one year ago this month or the others who have been marked for execution since then. At least, it would be ridiculous to think these things, if not for the fact that there is a long history of Iran’s human rights abuses being ignored, especially when they involve the organized Resistance movement,” ISJ President wrote.

“No one has been held accountable in an international court for the 1988 massacre and last November’s crackdown has barely been mentioned in policy discussions in Western democracies. Sadly, it remains to be seen whether Western powers will rectify these oversights before Tehran tries again to destroy the democratic opposition,” Vidal-Quadras concluded.

Iran Government’s Heavy Debts

Pooya Stone
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Iran Government’s Heavy Debts

Iran’s economy has gone through a period of super-challenges and long-standing crises, and the looting officials of this government have increased their wealth and property as much as they can and taken the rest abroad.

They brought debt to the country and, in fact, plunged the deprived nation into a debt crisis in which they themselves had no part in deciding. Today, the volume of these debts has skyrocketed, and it can no longer return to zero. For this government, there is only one way: more debts.

Iran: Multi-Billion-Dollar Debts, Luxury Lives, and Millions of Hungry People

Increasing the Debts of the Government and Banks

In a report, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced the amount of debt owed by the government and banks to the CBI. By the end of September this year, these debts have increased by 26.1 and 16.7 percent, respectively. The government debt to the CBI in the period under review was equal to 13.96 quadrillion rials [$64.533 billion]. The total debt of banks to the CBI has increased by 16.7 percent to 1.291 quadrillion rials [$4.3 billion], while last year the total debt of public and private banks had decreased.

“On the other hand, the debt of banks and non-bank credit institutions to the CBI at the end of September this year has increased by six percent to 1.291 quadrillion rials [$4.3 billion]. The amount of debt of commercial banks to the CBI was 9.6 quadrillion rials [$32 billion], which shows a 139 percent increase compared to September last year. The amount of debt of specialized banks to the CBI during this period was 446 trillion rials [$1.486 billion], which is equivalent to eight-tenths of a percent less than in September last year,” Arman-e-Eghtesadi daily wrote on November 4.

Although the CBI has not published detailed government budget statistics since December 2018, its recent report reveals dense corners of the government spending crisis. The government’s debt to the banking system has almost doubled in two years. The issue that the International Monetary Fund also mentioned in its October report is the large volume of debt.

This figure amounts to $260 billion, which is equivalent to 44 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. This debt is more than double the debt of the last two years. The only chance that the government has brought is its $11 billion foreign debt, which, of course, is due to its discredit from taking any loans and receiving foreign currency. An example of this was the request for a $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, which was not approved.

Smuggling Gang Received $36Bn & 80 Tons of Gold by Presidential Order: Iranian MP

Debt Reflection on Liquidity Growth and Inflation

Are the huge debts of the government only reflected in the bookkeeping accounts or in the computer of the CBI? Unfortunately, not. These astronomical debts show themselves in the growth of liquidity and the crushing inflation rate. To compensate for the deficits and to meet its needs, the Rouhani government eventually resorted to the CBI printing house, sending unsupported banknotes to the market, as well as adding fuel to the high prices of the essential goods of the poor and helpless people of Iran.

In its report in September of this year, the CBI had announced the amount of liquidity as 28.96 quadrillion rials [$96.533 million]. This amount of liquidity has increased by 13 percent compared to last year. The statistics center also says that the inflation rate has reached 41 percent, which only five countries are ahead of Iran.

A careful analysis of the budget situation of the governments in power in Iran in the last decades and their persistent deficits and the relationship between these two important economic issues and the amount of debt of these governments makes it clear that these relations are twin and affect each other.

“From the day the new budgeting system was established in Iran until today, the problem of the budget deficit has grown bigger and bigger along with this newborn. Interestingly, as government revenues increased at different times, not only was the budget deficit not resolved, but it also emerged surprisingly on a larger scale than the year before. It is as if they have cut the navel string of our economy with the budget deficit,” claimed the official website of Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade on November 2.

Why Iranian Protesters Are Setting Banks on Fire

Iran Hostage-Taker Defends Massacre of Protesters

Staff Writer
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Iran Hostage-Taker Defends Massacre of Protesters

One of the people responsible for taking U.S. embassy staff hostage in 1979 has, frankly unsurprisingly, defended the arbitrary murders of pro-democracy protesters in the November 2019 uprising.

The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar, who served as the spokesperson for the hostage-takers 41 years ago today, defended the Governor of Quds Town, near Tehran, for ordering the security forces to open fire on peaceful protesters because they were “terrorists” who had “stormed the governorate.”

The so-called “reformist” official,  was known as “Sister Mary” during the hostage crisis, a real example of terrorists storming a government building, which she called a “unique and special” action. Ebtekar then proceeded to portray the security of the government as the security of the people in her defense of the indefensible.

Iran’s Hostage-Taking Government Only Responds to Firmness

“In that incident, there were a number of protesters and a limited number of terrorist gunmen who attacked the arsenal and the city defense center. She [the Quds governor] said: ‘I should defend people’s privacy and security,’” Ebtekar said.

Of course, the people were not in danger from protesters – they were the protesters. The only thing in danger was the continued rule of the Islamic Republic; after all, protesters were chanting “Death to the dictator” and marching on oppressive centers during a protest that began over a fuel price-hike. It was very clear that they were targeting the ayatollahs, who had essentially spent 40 years covering the country in gasoline before dropping a lit match on it.

Some 1,500 protesters across the country were killed in the streets by security forces in just a few days after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the State Security Forces (SSF) to open fire, something first reported by the Iranian Resistance and then confirmed by Reuters.

Ebtekar’s comments, alongside authorities’ other recent actions, like appointing ruthless SSF commander Colonel Alireza Daliri, who massacred the people of Kurdistan in the 1980s, as SSF head in Kermanshah province, show that the government is terrified of another round of nationwide protests. They are using oppression to counter rebellion, often under the pretext of coronavirus protections.

IRGC commander Hossein Salami recently ordered his troops to “search all houses” to find and isolate those with Covid-19 but in essence, this was about arresting and/or scaring potential protesters.

“The regime has not been able nor willing to resolve the economic and social crisis, which resulted in the November 2019 uprising. Now the COVID-19 crisis and its rising death toll, which is a byproduct of the regime’s inaction and cover-up, has increased the society’s restiveness,” the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) wrote.

Iran: People No Longer Tolerate Current Governing System

Iraqis Return to al-Tahrir Square—New Flash Protests 

Mehdi Hosseini
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Iraqis Return to al-Tahrir Square—New Flash Protests 

Tired from corrupt politicians and a bad livelihood as well as Iran’s guided militias and their terror operations, Iraqi people took to the streets again. On the first anniversary of the October 2019 protests, Iraqi demonstrators heat up the protests called the “October Revolution.” Various cities are witnessing anti-establishment rallies demanding an account of the corrupt and murderers of the demonstrators.

In the cities of Kut, Hilla, and Nasiriyah, slogans were chanted calling for the trial of those who killed more than 600 people. The scene in the southern city of Basra was more violent. The skirmish between the two sides lasted for several hours. 

Following the security forces’ attacks against protesters and burning their tents in various Iraqi cities, youths returned to al-Tahrir Square in Baghdad, chanting slogans against Tehran and its militias.

They reaffirmed their determination to fan the flames of the uprising. Demonstrations by Iraqi youth resumed in addition to al-Tahrir Square and other cities in the south and center of the country, including Basra, Nasiriyah, Amara, Kut, Najaf, Karbala, Muthanna, Diwaniyah, and Hilla, and continued with slogans against Iranian-affiliated parties and militias. 

The Escalation of Developments in Iraq to the Detriment of Iran’s Government

The demonstrations in Nasiriyah were more powerful than ever. Most of the clashes and fighting were in Basra. Security forces cordoned off the protest square in Basra and police forces blocked the way of the protesters. But the youth continued their demonstrations until late at night.

According to social media reports, about 50 demonstrators were arrested in Basra. It is said that police forces used live ammunition to disperse rallies, leaving several wounded among demonstrators.

In Basra, clashes between youths and government forces and Iran’s controlled militias continued into the night. Iraqi protesters in Nasiriyah, Najaf, Wasit, and Muthanna condemned the crackdown on demonstrators in Basra and al-Tahrir Square and warned of the consequences of continuing attacks on protesting squares. 

“We will not retreat, and we will not move from our places, until our legitimate demands are met, and we will not give in to any attempt to break up the sit-in by force,” protesters chanted. “Attacking the demonstrators and the protest squares makes us just more determined.” 

Assassination of a Sheikh in Al-Amara and a Christian Lawyer by Iran’s Militias 

In Al-Amara, militants assassinated Sheikh Abdul Nasser al-Tarfi, a supporter of the protesting people. Previously, in a clip al-Tarfi was posted on social media, sending a message against Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s eliminated Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force commander. Iran’s militias also stormed the office of a Christian lawyer and assassinated him. He was injured.  

“The evil Iranian regime must be told that it has no place in Iraq. The next step is to end the corrupt system and form an interim independent national government,” protesters posted on their Facebook page.

The Assassination of Two Iraqi Activists by Iran-Backed Terror Squads

Al-Tahrir Square in Baghdad witnessed demonstrations demanding their fulfillment of three main demands: the prosecution of the perpetrators of the protesters’ assassination, the transformation of the Iraqi government into a presidential system, and the dissolution of Parliament. 

At 7 pm on November 3, security forces called on the demonstrators to disperse as the demonstration permit expired. Security forces also made the upcoming demonstrations in al-Tahrir Square conditional on obtaining permission from the Interior Ministry.

Iran: Human Rights Situation in October 2020

Staff Writer
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Iran: Human Rights Situation in October 2020

As with every month, Iran Human Rights Monitor compiled a report on human rights abuses in Iran in October and we have summarised it but the full report can be accessed here.

During the past month, the State Security Forces became increasingly violent against Iranians, even torturing them in broad daylight, as happened in these cases:

  • Mehrdad Sepehri, who was tied to a pole in Mashhad and tortured with stun guns and pepper spray until he suffocated

Iran: Security Forces Murder Young People in Streets

  • Mohsen Minbashi, who was shot and then beaten in Esfarayen
  • An unidentified woman in Abadan, who was already bloody by the time the video clip began and is seen on the ground while Jahan-Nejadian, a high-ranking manager of Abadan Oil Refinery and an operative of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), puts his foot on her chest

Of course, the government has shown no remorse for this. Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi told the SSF earlier this month not to show “weakness” against those who threaten the country’s security, by which he means political prisoners, who are charged with national security crimes. While Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei praised the SFF giving them a green light for violence against Iranians.

The country is in a volatile state right now, on the eve of the anniversary of the November 2019 protests, so the authorities seek to suppress any sort of dissent, which included the arrest of at least 2,140 people last month.

A Quick Breakdown of the Ayatollahs’ Other Human Rights Abuses in October

Executions

The Iranian authorities executed at least 19 people in October, including:

  • Shahrouz Kazemi, 28, who had committed an armed robbery but not killed anyone
  • Razieh, 37, who was described as “desperate”, and murdered because of poverty

It should be noted that fair trials are not really a thing in Iran and many are tortured into making false confessions, without access to a defense lawyer.

Iran Issues More Execution Sentences

Arbitrary Murders

The SSF’s violence led to at least ten deaths last month, including 17-year-old porter Ashkan Azizi, as well as those mentioned above.

Torture

Torture is an ongoing facet of the government, with several instances reported in October. This included:

  • The sentencing of Arash Ali Akbari to have four fingers on his right hand cut off
  • The sentencing of Hadi Rostami (33), Mehdi Sharfian (37), Mehdi Shahivand (42), and Kasra Karami (40), to have their hands amputated
  • The flogging of Christian convert Mohammad Reza (Youhan) Omidi for drinking wine during Holy Communion
  • The lashing of four young prisoners, two who were identified as Behrouz Momeni and Mohsen Torkashvand

Iran: Security Forces Murder Young People in Streets

Staff Writer
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Iran: Security Forces Murder Young People in Streets

The Iranian State Security Forces (SSF) killed a young man in broad daylight in Mashhad by chaining him to a pole and then using an electric taser and pepper spray on him several times until he suffocated. 

A video of this senseless crime and the man’s lifeless body was posted to social media, igniting more outrage against the ayatollahs, but this was far from the only example of this sort of abuse. 

There are reports that another young man was murdered in North Khorasan, northeast Iran, by authorities who opened fire on him and then further assaulted him when he was injured. His family has filed a ‘deadly shooting’ lawsuit in response. 

Young Iranians are being tortured and murdered by the SSF, even as the ayatollahs condemn police brutality in other countries. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei spoke in June about the “messy situation in America”, but he can’t be that concerned about police violence when his officers are reacting exactly the same.

Iran Arrests Thousands Arbitrarily Fearing an Protest

While, in October, Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander Hossein Salami said that the SSF was not at all separated from the IRGC and that they showed “the most elegant morals of the administration.”

“These criminal measures are always endorsed and supported by officials, including Khamenei himself,” the Iranian Opposition Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) wrote on November 1.

After all, in October, he sent his best wishes to the “good, hardworking State Security Forces”, who the people “value” for their “strength and kindness”. These “kind” forces are publically killing, attacking, or humiliating people. The people do not value this. 

So why are the government doing this? The ruling theocracy is on the brink of collapse because the Iranian people’s outrage is only growing and will continue to grow.

Authorities are terrified of another round of protests, so the state-run media talks of “escalating” violence and warns that this is the inevitable response to ignoring the people’s dilemmas. 

“The most important outcomes of economic crises are likely to be followed by social and political effects. Therefore, there is a risk of this spreading insecurity, violence, and clashes,” Mostaghel daily wrote on October 26.

With social peace nosediving—usually being prior to a general peace—there are concerns about widespread public unrest in the near future,” Mostaghel added.

The ayatollahs fear overthrow because of public anger, so they send the SSF to create an atmosphere of fear, which leads to more anger and will result in the overthrow of the theocratic government. 

Iran: People No Longer Tolerate Current Governing System

Sia Rajabi
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Iran: People No Longer Tolerate Current Governing System

Iran’s state-run outlets have tried to hide the country’s socio-economic crises and their government’s global stalemate and isolation as the world’s attention is focused on the U.S. and France. But the crisis of the coronavirus in Iran, along with the waves of inflation and high prices, indicates the situation of the crisis of the government.

The dimensions of the bankruptcy of the system and the explosive atmosphere of the society are such that in every field, government experts are forced to acknowledge this explosive atmosphere and the unfillable gap between the people and the system.

The state-run daily Setareh-e-Sobh, quoting Ali Bigdeli, an expert aligned with President Hassan Rouhani’s faction, while examining the effects of the U.S. election on the government.

“It is necessary to change Iran’s strategy at the domestic, regional, and international levels; Because the situation is such that there is no other way. Because these conflicts and hostilities have made the situation unbearable for the people,” the daily wrote on October 31.

Iran: Officials Admit to the Dire Economic Situation

The Etemad daily, quoted Saeed Leylaz, an economist and political analyst while examining Iran’s internet filtering. “With the implementation of filtering, a sense of distrust has been created in the society so that the degree of public trust in the government, the government and the official media of the country has reached the lowest possible level after the revolution,” Etemad wrote on October 31.

The Arman daily, without any interpretation, gave a clear picture of the exploding society. “A telegram channel with 140,000 members advertises the sale of kidneys and liver, and liver is priced at 2 billion rials [$6,666] and kidneys from 1-1.5 billion rials [$3,333-5,000],” Arman wrote on October 31.

“Examining the statistics also gives the right to tens of thousands of people who have no choice but to sell their kidneys and livers, an issue that, with the outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran, like gasoline on the fire, ignited the flames and made inflation more difficult for them,” Arman added.

Setareh-e-Sobh daily, in fear of economic suffocation, global isolation, and social upheaval warned officials and stressed the need for a retreat. “If [U.S. President Donald] Trump wins, it should be not said that we will not negotiate with a ‘knife-wielder’. It does not matter if the other party is a knife wielder or a politician,” the daily wrote on  October 31.

Shargh daily, quoting Mohsen Mirdamadi, former head of the Security Commission of Iran’s parliament, wrote about the explosive atmosphere of the society and the necessity of negotiations.

Tehran’s Incurable Crises

“It should be noted that the economic pressure on the people is now such that decision-makers cannot and should not be indifferent to it. The current situation is not sustainable. Referral of problems abroad is not a matter of convincing people and creating persuasion. A solution must be found. One of the methods is secret diplomacy. Similar to what happened at the end of [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad’s presidency and negotiations with the United States began under [President Barack] Obama,” Shargh wrote on October 31.

The Hamdeli daily, referring to the family of Iranian asylum seekers who drowned in the English Channel, highlighted an aspect of the establishment’s internal isolation and the people’s hatred of the government.

“Let us admit that all those who run away from the country may not all have political motives, but politics is the main factor. A policy that cannot organize the economy and take some to the sky overnight and bury others—which are much more. If a person or authority within the governing system wants to answer the question of why the Iranian people are fleeing, it is better, to consider the most pessimistic situation and to see all the motivations of the people trying to emigrate as political,” Hamdeli wrote on October 31.

Under the Ayatollahs: Iranian People Sell Their Body Organs to Fill Food Baskets

Jubin Katiraie
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Under the Ayatollahs: Iranian People Sell Their Body Organs to Fill Food Baskets

“Iranian workers, men or women, who have been hired by a more desperate employer are waiting for a promised ‘it’ [referring to the change and uprising of the people] in these virus-struck days, hopeless about the opening of any door that he/she has knocked,” Iranian state-run daily Etemad wrote on October 28.

“Officials sitting in government seats and their supporters playing the role of oppressors should be afraid of this ‘it’. They should be very scared. From this ‘it’ which, when the time comes for it to appear, penetrates through the invisible seams of every advice and fence and protection and camouflage, and burns the roots and dries up the hopes, and does not even allow for regret and the effect of negligence. Officials sitting in government seats and government supporters should be afraid of this ‘it’. They should be very scared,” Etemad added.

The above paragraphs reflect the situation of the Iranian government, which after forty years of rule, has reached a stage that now most of its state-run media are warning about a situation worse than the November 2019 protests. Despite what the Iranian leaders are trying to show as the main culprit of this situation, the Seven Woes of Jesus Christ to the Pharisees can teach us very clear the main culprits, as he said:

“How terrible it will before you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you won’t let others enter the kingdom of Heaven, and you won’t go in yourselves. (Mat. 23:13)

“How terrible it will be for you teachers …and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! You shamelessly cheat widows out of their property, and then, to cover up the kind of people you really are, you make long prayers in public. Because of this, your punishment will be greater. (Mat. 23:14)

“Yes, how terrible it will be for you teachers …and you Pharisees. For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of Hell as you yourselves are. (Mat 23:15)

“Blind guides! How terrible it will be for you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s temple’—you can break that oath. But then you say that it’s binding to swear ‘by the gold in the temple.’ Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? And you say that to take an oath “by the altar” can be broken, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding! How blind! For which is greater, the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? [So] when you swear ‘by the altar,’ you’re swearing by it and by everything on it. And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you’re swearing by it and by God who lives in it. [In fact, even] when you swear ‘by Heaven,’ you’re swearing by the throne of God and by God who sits on the throne. (Mat. 23: 16-22).

“How terrible it will be for you teachers … and Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you’re careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you shouldn’t leave undone the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, then you swallow a camel. (Mat. 23:23-24)

“How terrible it will be for you teachers … and Pharisees. Hypocrites! You’re so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you’re filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! Blind Pharisees! First, wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become clean too. How terrible it will be for you teachers …and Pharisees. Hypocrites! You’re like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. You try to look like upright people outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Mat. 23:25-28).

“How terrible it will be for you teachers … and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed and decorate the graves of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. Then you say, ‘We never would’ve joined them in killing the prophets.’ In saying that, you’re accusing yourselves of being the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead: finish what they started. Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of Hell?” (Mat. 23:29-33)

The warning of Jesus Christ to the hypocritical Pharisees has been fresh and influential for millennia; As if we are hearing it now. And Iran’s rulers should listen to this because what the above the state-run media is calling it ‘it’, referring to the people’s fury and uprising will happen very soon.

The heirs of the Pharaonic Khomeini Caliphate, after freeing up oil, petrochemicals, fisheries, mines, forests, and even mountains and seas for themselves and their nobles, have not stopped trying to bring the Iranian people to the status of their so-called ‘humanity’. The plans for the development of the world and the hereafter of the people have progressed to the point that people even risk the death of themselves and their children to escape the hell created by the ayatollahs. In other words, displacement, hunger, homelessness, humiliation, and finally death is more acceptable than the ‘heaven’ created by the ayatollahs.

The Widening Gap Between Iran’s Rich and Poor

“Emigration is the story of many who no longer hope for change and prefer to carry the burden of homelessness and think of a better future. What pressures and frustrations have made the citizens of one of the richest countries in the world prefer to flee at any cost?” Elham Khoshnamvand wrote in Ebtekar daily on 31 October.

Organ Market in Iran

Let us look at Iran today. This is just one example of legitimate trade in human organs; a bloody business just to survive and breathe in the hell of a place called the Islamic Republic.

“Some heads of households have turned to sell kidneys and livers to make a living and solve financial problems. In the meantime, a telegram channel with 140,000 members advertises the sale of kidneys and liver, and the liver is priced at 2 billion rials [$6,666], and kidneys from 1-1.5 billion rials [$3,333-5,000], depending on the age of the people and the type of blood,” Arman daily wrote on 31 October.

“There is not a day that someone does not text me [admin of a telegram channel selling kidneys and livers] to advertise the sale of his kidneys and liver, there were so many requests that we agreed to publish them. People are really in trouble, one of these people whom I know closely and who has donated 2 billion rials [$6,666] to his liver, his little child is sick and has a tumor on his head, he comes to Tehran from Bandar Jask to be treated. Each doctor has a diagnosis and has been living with his wife and four children in an inn on Railway Square for months. He sold his kidney last month, brokered half of his money, and now wants to sell part of his liver,” Arman added.

Organ Trade on the Increase in Iran

Iran: Life Under the Whip of Execution

Staff Writer
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Iran: Life Under the Whip of Execution

What goes on in the prison cells of ordinary prisoners in Iran, which are less considered by the foreign media and cyberspace? Is anyone listening to their cries? What do we know about the methods of torture and psychological pressure in prisons?

What are the meanings of words like, “horror sentence,” “money rope,” or “floor sleepers”?

The Nightmare of Rising Prices and Housing Rent in Iran

The following is a report by a prison aid worker who summarized some of his observations for the information of the people:

You may not have heard of the ‘horror sentence.’ Unfortunately, this sentence has been carried out in Iranian prisons for many years and is shattering the souls of the death row prisoners. Death row prisoners fall asleep every night with the image of death and the last day of their lives, and in principle, they are living only for the day they wake up. These prisoners are always waiting for the prison guard to rush into the hall and transfer them to solitary confinement to serve their sentences.

This is a nightmare that accompanies death-row prisoners for a month, a year, and maybe several years. Prison officials deliberately carry out the ‘horror sentence’ to intimidate other detainees and prevent possible riots. In this way, the prisoner is transferred to solitary confinement to serve his death sentence, and sometimes he is kept in solitary confinement for two to three days and then returned to the hall.

Some prisoners are even taken to the gallows and returned. This is perhaps one of the worst forms of torture. The seconds for a prisoner sentenced to the ‘horror sentence’ pass like years.

After the execution of each prisoner, the atmosphere inside the halls is extremely heavy and sad. The emotional connection between the prisoners is very deep and strong. Due to the distance from the family and the hard life inside the prison, when someone is executed from inside a hall, anxiety, and panic are seen in the eyes of other prisoners.

Infecting Prisoner with Methadone

Wardens inside the prison sometimes systematically distribute methadone to the inmates to calm them down and prevent them from protesting. After a while, once the inmate becomes contaminated with ready-made methadone, they can be easily controlled.

Whenever he wants to raise his voice in protest, his methadone is cut off, which keeps him calm and silent. This is something they can never do with political prisoners. All kinds of drugs are exchanged and bought and sold systematically inside the prisons by the prison staff and officers. The entry of materials into the halls is controlled by staff and wardens. By doing so, prison officials both pocket large sums of money and control addicts and the needy more easily and painlessly.

Iran: Human Rights Situation in September 2020

Prisoners who are transferred to solitary confinement to serve their death sentences are given large amounts of psychotropic pills and narcotics the night before their execution so that they become almost anesthetized at the time of execution and no protests or clashes occur during the execution.

Prisoners are sometimes released on the pretext of a health facility or cultural unit and transferred to solitary confinement after being beaten. Some prisoners self-harm with razors or small knives. In one case, a prisoner had been stabbed his artery and bleeding so much before his execution, so that he was almost taken to the gallows under anesthesia and then was executed.

Iran’s rulers have been committing these crimes inside prisons for years. Every effort is made by the prison guards so that the news of the execution and even the number of those executed does not leak out of the prison, and the families of the executed are pressured not to contact the media.

Like many people, I thought, that an ‘innocent go to the gallows, but is not executed,’ but I saw many prisoners in Iranian prisons who were innocent, they did not even meet a lawyer, and they were sentenced to death in a 20-minute trial and then they were executed.

In addition to the prisoners who fell victim to poverty and discrimination and the coercion of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and looters, I saw prisoners who were executed only because of their beliefs, or criticism, or dissent. Prisoners who were executed only for the personal vote of a judge, and whose bodies were buried in complete silence and unawareness by their families and officers, and whose families were forced to deposit the rope money into the prison account before the body could be delivered.

60 Million Iranians Below the Poverty Line

In my opinion, the most difficult and painful moment for a prisoner is when he meets with his family in person the night before the execution. A hard and heavy meeting that lasts half an hour. This visit will remain in the minds of the mother, father, wife, and child of the prisoner for the rest of their lives.

The number of executions inside the Karaj ‘penitentiary’ increased so much that in 2016, so that the prison staff was forced to set up mechanized execution booths to execute 12 people simultaneously. Along with prisons such as Gohardasht, Karaj, Mashhad, Zahedan, Urmia, Karaj Central Prison is one of the prisons where most executions take place in absolute silence. There are heavy sentences, long prison terms, and executions mostly in halls 1, 2, and 3.

Guided Clashes Between Prisoners

One of the methods used by prison guards to control prisoners is to create fights and disputes between them. That way the head of the prison tries to harm other prisoners by hiring one prisoner, and if there is going to be an elimination, it is a sure way that leaves no trace of the wardens.

Keeping political prisoners and prisoners with ordinary crimes together next to each other and in common halls is done with the same purpose and in order to create a psychological atmosphere and harass political prisoners. In this criminal way, prisoners are tortured or even sexually and mentally abused by fellow prisoners.

In this way, the prison officials and agents did not commit any crime and their bloody hands were hidden. Of course, in most wards, political prisoners consciously, while helping and attracting ordinary prisoners, thwart the sinister plans of the Revolutionary Guards and agents.

UNHCHR: Release Iran’s Political Prisoners

Tehran’s Incurable Crises

Pooya Stone
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Tehran’s Incurable Crises

The Iranian government which is now looking for a lifeline in the upcoming U.S. presidential election in the hope of getting rid of just some of its crises is forced to show how deep these crises are, but nothing, especially aiding hands from outside the country and let alone from inside, can solve its crises.

These crises are reflected on a daily basis in the official media and the admissions of the officials.

Allocation of 2.1 Trillion Rials from the Credit of the Health Ministry to the Armed Forces

The Hamshahri daily, affiliated with the President Hassan Rouhani, on October 29 revealed the story of the one billion euros that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had allocated to fighting the coronavirus from the National Development Fund, and quoted the Minister of Health Saeed Namaki as saying:

“From the 1 billion euro that the Supreme Leader agreed for dealing with the coronavirus and the President also ordered to settle with us by October 29, to date we have received about 50 percent of it. Statistics from the Program and Budget Organization show that 2.1 trillion rials [$7 million] out of one billion euros allocated from the National Development Fund for controlling the coronavirus have been allocated to the Armed Forces so far.”

Stealing from the Pockets of the People by Creating Inflation

“The government’s budget this year is 6 quadrillion rials [$30 billion]. Of this amount, about 2 quadrillion rials [$10 billion] has been taxed by the government, and part of it, which is about 100 trillion Tomans, the government has sold assets.

“About 250 trillion tomans out of 600 trillion tomans of the government budget has a deficit. Its resources will be done through inflation and will be paid out of the people’s pockets. In fact, the government puts its hand in the pockets of the people and finances part of its budget deficit from the people,” Iran daily wrote on October 29.

Controversy Over the Budget of the State-run Radio and Television

The huge budget deficit led to a controversy at the top of the government over the allocation of a staggering budget to the Khamenei-controlled radio and television.

“The Broadcast budget is ‘Non-transparent’ and is ‘an economic entity’ that ‘also has very heavy losses’. The annual budget of the Radio and Television reaches about 10 trillion Tomans. Many IRIB programs that cost a lot of money to produce do not reach as many audiences as an Instagram page,” Iran added.

A Part of Khamenei’s Economic Empire in Iran 

The Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Seeks to Promote Demagoguery from the Pockets of the Workers

Hassan Sadeghi, President of the governmental organization, “Trade Union Veterans” said: “The Parliament seeks demagoguery in 2021 elections out of workers’ pockets.”

Referring to the decision of the parliament to launch a coupon system for food, he added: “The 11th Majlis wants to withdraw 150 trillion rials [$750 million] from the pockets of the poor and distribute this money among different classes of people in order to gain popularity. They want to cover the costs of the third round of subsidies from the working class’s assets in order to carry out their so-called election slogan,” ILNA news agency wrote on 27 October.

Acknowledging the Closing of The Entry of Dollars into the Economy and the Closure of Banking Transactions

In its issue of 29 October, Eghtesad-e-Saramad daily dealt with the economic suffocation of the state and emphasized the need to withdraw from officials’ claims and align with the world. “The erratic set of the country’s economy is not based on any of the principles, rules, and requirements of economics and is unrealistic. The country’s political-economic complex has been driven into isolation by two factors: inefficient government economic policies and sanctions. Now, the entry of dollars into the country’s economy has been closed and Iran’s banking and monetary exchanges have been restricted or blocked,” the daily wrote.

The International Monetary Fund’s latest report on the situation in the Middle East, including Iran, states that Iran’s available foreign exchange reserves were about $121.6 billion in 2018, but will drop to $8.8 billion this year.

The state-run daily Jahan-e-Sanat also referred to the statistical lies of the Central Bank and wrote: “If it is the case that Iranian banks have given 4.22 quadrillion rial [$22.1 billion] to firms in six months only for working capital of all economic sectors and considering the average price of each dollar is equal to 200,000 rials, with a simple calculation, we can say that banks have provided $21 billion in facilities for economic activities, which is equivalent to three billion dollars per month.

“Given the negative growth rate of economic activity in the first half of this year, what has happened to these loans? It seems that the central bank should once and for all abandon this type of numbers creations it has invented.”

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