In the city of Mashhad, north-east Iran, the fundamentalist Iranian regime has cut the fingers off a man in his thirties. This is just the “latest in a line of draconian punishments handed down and carried out in recent weeks”, reports the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has reported that Hassan Rouhani, president of the Iranian regime has publically praised Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force

Rouhani spoke at a rally in Soleimani’s hometown Kerman, south-eastern Iran. The rally was held to mark IRGC Day. He said that Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani is among the “honours” of Iran and the Kerman Province.

The Iranian regime’s chief of police has declared that Iran’s prisons are full according to a report by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari, head of the suppressive State Security Forces, added that new and harsher methods are needed in order to deter people from breaking the regime’s laws.

Friends of a Free Iran (FoFI), an informal group formed in 2003 by members of the European Parliament, has the active support of numerous MEPs from various political groups. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has reported that the FoFI group has announced its solidarity with the imprisoned teachers and union leaders of Iran, including those who are currently on hunger strike in protest against the Iranian regime’s crackdown on civil activities and gatherings.

Struan Stevenson, President of the European Iraqi Freedom Association, has said that the Iranian regime’s involvement in Syria is increasing on a daily basis, but despite this rigorous mobilisation, Tehran has “reached a deadly impasse in Syria with mounting casualties and little sign of progress”, reports the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has reported that a senior negotiator of Syria’s democratic opposition has publicly condemned the crimes carried out by both the Syrian and Iranian regimes against the Syrian people in the besieged city of Aleppo, northern Syria.

The Iranian Resistance has called on human rights defenders to act immediately to secure the release of sick prisoners and ensure they receive urgent medical attention. They have also called for the formation of an international delegation to look into the horrific prison conditions in Iran. They specifically ask for the following human rights professionals to act: the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran.

Saleh Kohandel, a renowned Iranian political prisoner and a supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), has written an open letter from prison. The letter, which was smuggled out of prison, was addressed to his relatives.

Reports from inside Iran indicate that several political prisoners in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison are on hunger strike.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has reported that Political prisoners Jafar Azimzadeh, a worker’s rights activist, and Ismail Abdi, Secretary General of Iran’s Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA) are on the seventh day of an indefinite hunger strike.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has reported the tragic story of a 45-year-old man who attempted to commit suicide after not being able to pay for an almost $100 medical bill. The man, Ali Shafie, suffering from extreme pains in the stomach went to the Milad Hospital in Tehran for treatment. However, he was not accepted into the hospital because his insurance booklet had expired and he didn’t have the cash needed to pay.