Iran Focus
London, 20 May – Fears have risen over the health of an Iranian political prisoner who has been on an indefinite hunger strike since April.
Mr Jafar Azimzadeh, a workers’ rights activist, went on hunger strike at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison on 30 April, protesting his imprisonment and demanding a fair trial.
During his last visit from his wife, Mr Azimzadeh had to be transported via car as he was too weak to walk.
Iran Focus
Tehran, 19 May – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is encouraging foreign investors to return to Iran. Rouhani’s government claims that it has revived Iran’s economy in the wake of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). However, a leading Iranian newspaper argues that Iran first needs to address issues of systemic corruption.
Iran Focus
Washington, 19 May – Iranian dissidents living in Camp Liberty, Iraq, may be better protected following a resolution passed by the United States House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Iran Focus
London, 19 May – Iraq is heading for catastrophe unless reforms are carried out, according to a statement released by the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA) on Thursday.
Struan Stevenson, President of EIFA and a former President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, demanded the expulsion of the Iranian regime and it’s cohorts from Iraq so that the Sunnis gain their share of political power and Iraq can become involved in the fight against Daesh (ISIS).
Iran Focus
London, 19 May – Afshin Baymani, the Iranian political prisoner whose deteriorating health we reported on earlier this week, has written an open letter about his suffering at the hands of the mullahs’ regime.
The letter entitled ‘bring my noose’, tells of the torture he has experienced within the prison. The brutal treatment of Mr Baymani by Iranian prison guards and the Iranian justice system over the course of 16 years has led him to wish for his death.
Iran Focus
London, 18 May – Amnesty International have made an urgent appeal for action regarding the Iranian political prisoner Omid Kokabee. Kokabee is a physicist who was diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer in 2016. Without specialised post-operative care Kokabee’s life is in grave danger; even more so should he be returned to prison, the human rights group said on Tuesday.
Iran Focus
London, 18 May – Former Scottish MEP Struan Stevenson has penned on op-ed for the United Press International setting out his frustration at Western government’s engagement with Iran’s despotic government.
Stevenson, who currently heads the European Iraqi Freedom Association, attacked Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, for not mentioning any of the human rights violations that are rampant in the country.
Iran Focus
London, 18 May – The Maldives’ government announced on Tuesday that they have decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Iran.
The Maldives foreign ministry said that the Iranian regime’s policies were a threat to peace in the Middle East, which was why they needed to end the 40-year-old pact.
Iran Focus
Tehran, 18 May – At least 21 people were hanged by Iran’s fundamentalist regime on Tuesday, according to the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) which quoted state media reports.
Two men were hanged on Wednesday in the Central Prison of Urmia (Orumieh), north-west Iran. They were identified as Dariyoush Farajzadeh and Ghafour Qaderzadeh.
