Home Blog Page 354

Women’s Rights Activist Gity Pourfazel Arrested by Iran’s Regime

Women's rights activist Gity Pourfazel

Women's rights activist Gity Pourfazel

By Armin Baldwin

Gity Pourfazel, an Iranian lawyer, has been arrested, it was learnt over the weekend. She is a signatory of a statement by 14 women activists who have demanded the resignation of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Iranian regime. Until now, six of the signatories of this statement have been arrested.

UK Sends Third Warship to Protect Commercial Vessels From Iran

Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Boris Johnson

Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Boris Johnson

by Navid  Felker

The UK has sent a third warship to ¬defend freedom of navigation in the Arabian Gulf, following the seizure of a British-flagged ¬tanker by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz last month.

On Saturday, Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “Wherever the red ensign flies around the world, the UK stands by to protect freedom of navigation whenever it is tested.”

Zarif Not Welcome in Europe

Hundreds of supporters of the MEK protest in Paris against Zarif

Hundreds of supporters of the MEK protest in Paris against Zarif

By Azita Carlson

The week-long trip of Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Regime’s Foreign Minister, to Sweden, Finland, Norway and France caused outrage among the Iranian diaspora and turned into a fiasco for Tehran.

Zarif, labeled as a terrorist-enabler and sanctioned by the Trump administration on July 24, visited Europe this week, and according to the state-run Keyhan newspaper on Saturday, tried desperately to “find the key in Paris” even though “Europeans have no intention or show no move to uphold their promises.” At the end, he gained nothing but disgrace, and anywhere he went, he was faced with angry protesters.

Free Union of Iranian Workers Condemns Prison and Lashing Sentence for Labor Activist Nasrin Khezri Javadi

Nasrin Khezri Javadi

Nasrin Khezri Javadi

By Armin Baldwin

In a statement that referred to the prison and lashing sentences for Nasrin (Azam) Khezri Javadi, the Free Union of Iranian Workers announced that workers and retirees have to sustain poverty, misery and low salaries and they don’t have permission for the smallest protest against the exploiting and ransacking of their wages.

Why Did Norway Welcome Zarif?

Why did Norway welcome Zarif

Why did Norway welcome Zarif

by Atousa Pilger

There is no reason to entertain tyrants or their enablers in order to avoid war, so why have Norwegian officials rolled out the red carpet for Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif?

Norway is a country that values human rights, so why are they not holding Zarif to account for the Iranian regime’s abuses?

Scandal of False Confessions by MOIS, Ali Motahari’s Reference About Imam Reza Shrine and Serial Killings in the 90s

Scandal of false confessions by MOIS

Scandal of false confessions by MOIS

by Navid  Felker

Following scandal of false forced confessions staged by the disreputable Ministry of Intelligence of the Iranian regime (MOIS) over the assassination of the regime’s atomic scientists, this scandal has spread to other misconduct by the MOIS.

“Many questions and obscurity exist about Imam Reza shrine bombing in 1994 , as well as serial killings and coercion of innocent people to confess to the assassination of nuclear scientists,” said Ali Motahari, a member of the regime’s parliament, to the daily Etemad.

Scandinavian Iranians Protest Regime’s FM Visit

Scandinavian Iranians protest Regime’s FM visit

Scandinavian Iranians protest Regime’s FM visit

By Azita Carlson

On Wednesday, Finnish supporters of the Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), held a massive protest over the visit of the Iranian regime’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Zarif, who is sanctioned by the US, is now begging Europe to help Iran escape the US pressure from unrelenting economic sanctions on everything from Iranian oil exports to the office of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran Regime Acknowledges MEK as Threat to Mullahs’ Rule

An MEK supporter holds a placard of Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the NCRI during a rally in London.

An MEK supporter holds a placard of Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the NCRI during a rally in London.

by Atousa Pilger

Over the past few months, Iranian officials have finally started to acknowledge how big a threat their country’s leading democratic resistance organization, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), is to the continued rule of the mullahs, with even the Iranian judiciary and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) raising alarm about its influence.

Prison Conditions in Iran Causing Inmates to Self-Harm

Prison conditions in Iran causing inmates to self-harm

Prison conditions in Iran causing inmates to self-harm

By Armin Baldwin

Roughly 200 female prisoners in Iran’s notorious Qarchak Prison near Tehran have signed a letter to Heshmatollah Hayat al- Ghaib, Tehran’s Director-General of Prisons, detailing the horrific conditions of the prison, saying that some inmates had been self-harming or taking tranquillizers in order to cope.

UK Should Hold Iran Responsible for Hostage-Taking

UK should hold Iran responsible for hostage-taking

UK should hold Iran responsible for hostage-taking

by Navid  Felker

As yet another British citizen is reportedly arrested in Tehran by Iranian security forces, political scientist Dr Majid Rafizadeh says the British government should hold the Iranian Regime to account for taking their citizens hostage.

British-Iranian anthropologist Kameel Ahmady, who originally hails from the Kurdistan region of Iran was arrested recently on an unknown charge, at a time of increased tensions between the UK and Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) seized a British-flagged oil tanker and its crew last month in retaliation for the UK detaining an Iranian oil tanker supposedly headed for Syria in violation of EU sanctions.