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.
Iran Focus
London, 5 May – Tensions between Iran and the United States are still high despite increased economic and diplomatic relations. General Hossein Salami, a deputy commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to the US and its allies.
Iran Focus
London, 5 May – Iran is set to fully blind a man with acid next week under brutal retributive eye-for-an-eye laws. Mojtaba Saheli, 31, who was charged with blinding a man in 2009, was blinded in his left eye last year. The punishment falls under the qisas category of crimes, which permits the victim or their family the right to equal retaliation.
Iran Focus
Washington, 5 May – Three American Congressmen have written to Boeing imploring them not to do business with “government-run entities” in Iran. Republican Representatives from Illinois Peter Roskam, Robert Dold and Randy Hultgren addressed Dennis Muilenburg urging him to reconsider subsidising “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism”.
Iran Focus
London, 5 May – Twelve Iranian banks have gone bankrupt. The claim comes from the state-affiliated ILNA news agency that quoted a government economist on 1 May as saying “right now, 12 banks are officially bankrupt, but nothing is publicly announced” (NCR-Iran).
Hossein Raghfar, economist and member of Tehran’s Az-zahra University scientific board, said that Iran’s infrastructure was suffering as no structural reforms had taken place. Raghfar also said that “in a way, the possibility of any kind of reform in the economy is nil”.
Iran Focus
London, 5 May – A Syrian volunteer aid group accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of deliberately and repeatedly attacking rescuers and aid centres in Aleppo. Intense fighting has gripped what was once the most populous city in the country. The Syrian Civil Defence group, eponymous for their white helmets, have pulled around 41,000 people from the ruins of buildings since their formation in early 2013.
Iran Focus
London, 3 May – On 27 April al-Quds hospital in Aleppo was hit by airstrikes killing over 50 staff and patients. The 34-bed Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) run facility was destroyed. Emergency rooms, intensive care units, operating theatres, and the main referral centre for paediatrics were in ruins. Of the eight doctors who worked in the hospital two were killed, including Dr. Muhammad Maaz, whom Britain’s Channel 4 say was the last paediatrician in the city. Almost 60% of hospitals in Syria are either completely out of service or running at reduced functionality.
Iran Focus
London, 3 May – Iran has a new face in Syria. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Abolfalz Tabatabai-Ashkezari as his personal representative in Syria. Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, reported the announcement on Wednesday, 27 April.
Iran Focus
London, 3 May – The extent of Iran’s crisis-ridden economy was further reveal this week. Government officials announced via state media that thousands of factories, plants and other industrial sites were inoperative.
