Iran Focus
London, 14 May – A high-ranking member of the Syrian opposition has said those fighting in Aleppo’s brutal ground war are mostly soldiers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militias such as Hezbollah.
Bombings in Aleppo amount to a war crime – British MP
Iran Focus
London, 14 May – British MP David Jones has penned an opinion piece at politicshome.com calling the bombing of civilians in Aleppo ‘tantamount to a war crime’. Jones, the Conservative MP for Clwyd West in Wales, welcomed the extension of the ceasefire to include Aleppo and said international efforts should now focus on how to ensure the fragile pause holds.
Iran: Political prisoner on hunger strike in Tabriz
Iran Focus
Tehran, 13 May – Retired teacher and political prisoner Mohammad-Amin Agoushi has been on a hunger strike since 24 April in Tabriz Central Prison, north-west Iran, in protest against systematic mistreatment, according to local reports.
The state of affairs in Iran after the nuclear deal
Iran Focus
London, 13 May – The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has published an infographic detailing the changes and events that have taken place since the nuclear deal was signed last year.
Nuclear talks fail to change Iran regime
Iran Focus
London, 13 May – Ali Safavi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has stated in an Independent Journal op-ed that Iran’s nuclear talks and negotiations have failed to change the fundamental situation in Iran.
British woman in detention in Iran briefly allowed to see family
Iran Focus
London, 13 May – Iranian authorities have told the family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been held in solitary confinement for five weeks, they may be allowed to meet her in jail.
The British mother held prisoner in Iran has been allowed to see her parents and her infant daughter for the first time since her arrest.
Iran amputates man’s fingers for theft
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’s Rouhani praises top Quds Force commander
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.
Police chief says Iran prisons are overcrowded
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.
Euro-MPs express solidarity with Iranian political prisoners
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.
