British politicians debate the human rights situation in Iran

 British Parliamentarians

 Thursday, 30 June 2016 00:15

NCRI - The United Kingdom’s House of Commons held a debate on Tuesday, June 28, on the human rights situation in Iran. The British Parliamentarians discussed the lack of progress on the matter since last year’s nuclear deal.

Dr Matthew Offord, the Conservative MP for Hendon, said: “I regretted Her Majesty’s Government’s decision to decouple Iran’s human rights abuses and support for terrorism from the nuclear negotiations. I believe that that was a lost opportunity, and that doing so sent the wrong message to Iran.”

In fact, the suppression of free speech and political dissidence has risen with a wave of arrests of human rights activists, union leaders, opposition supporters and journalists. They were held on bogus national security claims and some still remain in prison, where they are subject to torture.

The MPs discussed the fate of political prisoners like Jafar Azmizadeh, who has been on hunger strike for more than two months, Narges Mohammadi, who has been denied access to her medication, and Saleh Kohandel, who has been tortured and at times kept in solitary confinement over the past nine years simply for supporting the main Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK).

The execution rate in Iran has also increased rapidly during the course of Hassan Rouhani’s presidency, the MPs pointed out. An estimated 2,400 people (including women and minors) have been executed by the regime in just three years; in 2015 alone, the UN estimates that there were almost 1,000 people put to death by the state.

Mike Freer, the Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green, said: “Many of us were encouraged to support the lifting of sanctions in order to see a thaw in the repression of the regime. Given the acceleration in the use of the death penalty, the continued persecution of women and minorities, and the crushing of the opposition…we have been duped.”

Sir Roger Gale, Conservative MP for North Thanet, said that the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) ought to receive international support in their campaign to overthrow the regime.

The MPs quoted Amnesty International’s former deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa programme, Said Boumedouha, who said that the “staggering execution toll” painted a “sinister” picture of the state and accused them of carrying out “premeditated, judicially-sanctioned killings on a mass scale.”

Boumedouha made that speech in July 2015, but the MPs said that nothing much had changed in the time since the nuclear deal was passed.

In fact, it’s highly suspected that the money raised through the nuclear deal will fund the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who were designated as a terrorist organisation by the U.S.

Margaret Ferrier and Dr Philippa Whitford, the SNP MPs from Rutherglen and Hamilton West, and Central Ayrshire, respectively, reminded the Parliament of the harsh realities for women and girls in Iran; women can be lashed for not wearing the hijab correctly, women can be denied food, accommodation or money if they do not perform marital duties and girls as young as nine can be forced into marriage with full-grown adult men.

Dr. Offord rejects the idea that human rights abuses are the result of hardliners as it implies that Rouhani is unable to stop them.

He said: “Neither Rouhani nor his Government have ever publicly condemned and distanced themselves from executions and the use of public hanging. On the contrary, Rouhani has explicitly supported the use of the death penalty. “

A Free Iran rally will be held on July 9, in Paris, attended by politicians, world leaders and the supporters of the Iranian opposition PMOI.

Mr Mark Williams, a Liberal Democrat MP from Ceredigion in Wales said that he, like Dr. Offord, has "attended the annual gatherings in Paris sponsored by the National Council of Resistance of Iran."

"At those meetings there are always many opportunities to talk to Iranian exiles from around the world. Perhaps 100,000 people go to those gatherings whose families have direct experience of human rights violations. All too often they have been denied the opportunity to communicate with family at home in Iran, for fear of repercussions; and, indeed, we meet people who have experienced persecution themselves."

"Our approach to Iran should include an active and direct dialogue with opposition groups committed to democratic change and the most basic human rights that should be common to any civilised society. ... People understand that the PMOI and Madam [Maryam] Rajavi are fighters for democratic change. That is what she has said, and it is reinforced by the 10-point programme we have heard about," he added.

NCRI’s Perviz Khazaii: West must make any trade ties with Iran regime conditional on improvements in human rights

 Perviz Khazaii

 Thursday, 30 June 2016 00:38
Despite hope by some in the West that Hassan Rouhani’s presidency would herald an era of moderation and reform in Iran, there have been over 2,400 executions in Iran in just under three years that he has been in office, writes Perviz Khazaii, the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Nordic countries.
Writing in The Diplomat on Wednesday, Mr. Khazaii said:
“Victims include political dissidents, most notably the activists of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. In a report on March 10, 2016, Ahmed Shaheed, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, said that executions in Iran had surged to nearly 1,000 in 2015, the highest level in more than a quarter-century. The number of executions in 2015 was roughly double the number executed in 2010 and 10 times as many as were executed in 2005. Amnesty International underscored in its annual report that Iran has the highest number of executions per capita.
This trend continues. The Iranian regime carried out at least 21 hangings in a 48-hour period in the second week of May.
Iran is likely the biggest executor of juvenile offenders. And executions of ethnic and religious minorities have increased dramatically.
Meanwhile, those who are not put to death may be subject to other cruel punishments. Last August, a prisoner in Mashhad had his right hand and left foot amputated as others were forced to watch.
Violent punishments are not confined to Iran’s prisons, either. For instance, in October 2014, gangs affiliated with the regime carried out acid attacks on at least 25 Iranian women and girls who were regarded as being improperly veiled or otherwise in violation of religious norms.
This sort of enforcement of the regime’s ruling ideology has also motivated a massive, ongoing crackdown on activists, writers, bloggers, and artists. This has helped Iran to secure its title as the largest jailer of journalists in the Middle East.
In short, the human rights situation is deteriorating at a fast pace.
Tehran’s nefarious conduct is not limited by the country’s borders. Day by day, Iran is expanding its involvement in the Syrian civil war. It is now evident that if it were not for the Iranian regime’s all-out support for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, he would have been overthrown long ago. The Iranian regime is thus the main cause of continuing carnage in Syria.
The Revolutionary Guards have now dispatched a conglomerate of more than 70,000 troops on the ground, consisting of 10,000 notorious Quds Force members, and tens of thousands of foot-soldiers and mercenaries from Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Tehran is so caught in the Syrian quagmire that a brigade of Iran’s regular army was recently dispatched to Syria as well.
On May 13 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif heaped praise on the notorious terror group Hezbollah’s top military commander in Syria, who died in a Damascus explosion.
‘I express my condolences on the martyrdom of the great holy fighter Mustafa Badreddine who was full of spirit and heroism in defending the righteous values of Islam and the combatant people of Lebanon,’ Zarif said in a message to Hezbollah leaders. This followed Zarif’s previous acts such as laying a wreath at the grave of Imad Mughniyah, the former military commander and head of the terror apparatus of Hezbollah, in 2014. Heaping such praises on notorious international terrorists clearly shows that Zarif regards terrorism as a state tool.
I am no stranger to diplomatic relations. I was one of three senior Iranian diplomats who resigned from our ambassadorships in protest against an unbridled wave of executions in Iran in the early 1980s and joined the National Council of Resistance of Iran, led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. Doing so came at great personal cost. Two of us were gunned down in broad daylight in Geneva and in Rome by terrorists dispatched from Tehran, the first in 1990 and the second in 1993. I am the sole survivor.
Despite the persistent danger, I remain active in the NCRI to this day. On July 9, I will travel to Paris to take part in the organization’s ‘Free Iran’ rally, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of people, comprised not only of Iranian exiles but also their supporters from the governments and activist communities of their many host countries to highlight Tehran’s nefarious conduct at home and abroad, calling for a new policy that sides with the Iranian people and their desire for freedom.
Recent Western policies that flirt with appeasement and neglect human rights, putting trade agreements and expanded relations ahead of such issues is totally unacceptable. Human life and safety cannot be made subordinate to short term economic interests.
It is high time for Western countries to take a stance on the dreadful human rights situation in Iran and make any improvement of relations with Tehran and any trade ties conditional upon improvement of the human rights situation in Iran, including an immediate halt to executions in that country.”
Perviz Khazaii is the former Ambassador of Iran in Sweden and Norway and the representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Nordic countries.

By Farzad Madadzadeh

'Free Iran' rally to give voice to those still suffering in the Islamic Republic

By Farzad Madadzadeh

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On July 9, I will be joining a large number of my fellow Iranian expatriates and their international supporters at the annual “Free Iran” rally in Paris. The National Council of Resistance of Iran has been hosting such events for over 10 years.

Needless to say, it is a significant international event regarding an important international issue. But for me it is very personal. In spirit, I will be with a much larger crowd. We will be joined by a countless Iranians still living under the thumb of the theocratic regime, who will risk reprisals to watch the proceedings on banned satellite television channels.

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How do I know? After this year’s rally, I will have seen the event from both sides of the ideological wall that separates the Islamic Republic from most of the rest of the world. In past years, I was among those Iranians who supported the NCRI and its main constituent group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), from a silent place inside the country. I put my safety and freedom at risk, as did many of my colleagues, to carry on the groups’ local activism. I spent five years in jail from 2009 to 2014 and suffered extensive physical and psychological torture for my support for the PMOI.  I fled Iran at the age of 29 last year.

Despite the aggressive repression that I witnessed from the regime, I never lost hope that the system of clerical rule would collapse in time. Images of the NCRI gathering, with some 100,000 Iranians and their international supporters chanting for a |”Free Iran” went a long way toward reinforcing that hope. For us activists, that day was always a special occasion. I even followed the messages of the event in prison.

From the 2009 national protests to the everyday defiance that native Iranians exhibit, it was always clear to me that the overwhelming majority of the population held common cause with the activist network to which I had dedicated my efforts. Meanwhile, the NCRI’s activities abroad made it clear that our exiled leadership was making great strides in securing the types of foreign support that would catapult our cause toward success.

I look forward to being able to contribute to that effort this year. Global policymakers have been steadily waking up to the dire need for regime change in Iran, and now I will be able to personally make that case to an international audience. If I am fortunate, my story and that of other recent escapees from the Islamic Republic will reach the ears of many of the prominent American and European politicians and experts who attend.

In any event, I know the broader message is already clear to them: Moderation by the Iranian government is not a realistic possibility. Freedom and democracy can only be secured through regime change. I am confident that the ranks of those Western supporters will continue to swell as the picture of Iranian repression and regional interference grows ever clearer.

This year’s event will take place almost exactly a year since the conclusion of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1. Thus, it will be an opportunity for Western policymakers to evaluate the impact of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the general strategy of conciliation. Those policymakers attending the event already know that strategy is severely lacking.

Some in the West apparently persist in their optimism about Iran’s prospects under the presidency of Hassan Rouhani. My presence and that of a number of my fellow activists will surely help to drive home the fact that conditions inside Iran have shown no trend toward moderation. Domestic repression and foreign aggression both remain relentless under Rouhani. The former continues to send Iranian dissidents, activists, and artists either to jail or force them out of the country. And the latter contributes to the escalating refugee crisis, thanks to Iran’s unwavering support for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

I know firsthand how moving the July 9 event will be for Iranian dissidents and activists back home. It is important that governments in the West heed its message. That same message is resonating from Paris and from the silent majority of Iranians back home: “Free Iran.”

Farzad Madadzadeh is a former Iranian political prisoner who was released in 2014 after five years of imprisonment and escaped from Iran in mid-2015.

Iran: Call for urgent action to save the lives of political prisoners on hunger strike

prisoner on hunger strike Jafar Azimzadeh

 Monday, 27 June 2016 22:38

The Iranian resistance calls on all international human rights organizations especially the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, the Rapporteur on the right to life and the Rapporteur of the working group on arbitrary arrests to take immediate and effective action to address the situation of political prisoners especially the political prisoner on hunger strike Jafar Azimzadeh who is in critical condition.

The religious fascism ruling Iran not only does not respond to the justified demands of political prisoners, but has increased pressure on them, and with trumped up charges and various obstacles is trying to further harass and torture them.

Political prisoner Jafar Azimzadeh, who is workers’ rights activist, became unconscious on Monday morning, June 27, on the sixtieth day of a hunger strike. He remains in critical condition. His blood pressure and heart rate have dropped dramatically and he is faced with severe headaches. On Saturday, June 25, the doctor said after his visit that this striking prisoner’s physical weakness will reach to the point of no return soon. Mr. Azimzadeh went on hunger strike to protest against "the violation of the fundamental rights of teachers and workers" and their "false trial and imprisonment" and charges of "acting against national security" against labor activists and teachers. But Tehran’s criminal prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, has sent him a message saying we are ready to pay the price of you dying due to hunger strike.

The physical condition of 30-year-old political prisoner Alireza Golipour, who suffers from cancer and serious lung infection, in the fifteenth day of his hunger strike is very critical. Despite his deteriorating condition, the executioners beat him a few days ago in order to take a forced confession and apology such that he had heavy nose bleeding. He has also suffered serious lesions as a result of torture and severe blows pounded to his chest area, where he has had lung operation, by the henchmen.

Political prisoner Shahram Pour Mansouri, who has been on hunger strike for 21 days to protest his continued detention and not being released, suffers from severe low blood pressure, weight loss, heart issues and chest pain. He was arrested in 2000 while he was only 17. He has spent 16 years in detention and according to the regime’s own court order was supposed to be released on August 21, 2015. Mardani, the head henchman of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, instead of responding to this young prisoner’s rightful demand, has told him even at the cost of his life, he would not do anything for him.

Mohammad Abdollahi, a political prisoner in Urumiyeh central prison who has been on hunger strike since 28 days ago, is in dire condition. Despite his condition, the henchmen have transferred him to solitary confinement since 20 days ago. Following his arrest on March 18, 2011, he was heavily tortured and persecuted and has been condemned to death on the charge of “Moharebeh” (waging war against God).

Political prisoner Ayoub Assadi, a resident of Kamyaran, is on hunger strike since June 6 to protest the denial of medical care. He was arrested in 2011 in a village near Sanandaj and was sentenced to 20 years in prison and exile in Kashmar. He suffers from asthma, lumbar disc and intestinal problems.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

June 27, 2016

Political prisoner writes to UN about abuses in Iran

Hassan Sadeqi, who is currently behind bars in Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr)

Political prisoner writes to UN about abuses in Iran

NCRI - Iranian political prisoner, Hassan Sadeqi, who is currently behind bars in Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in Karaj, north-west of the Iranian capital, has written an open letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council protesting the authorities’ refusal to allow him to visit his wife imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.

I, Hassan Sadeqi, a political prisoner of Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in Karaj, write this letter to talk about my current condition. As I was schedulled to visit my wife imprisoned in Evin Prison, one of the prison guards, named Mohammadreza Shojai, arbitrarily prohibited my visitation with my wife. When I asked about the reason he said that there is a court order prohibiting you from visiting your family. I asked him to show me the court order which has been issued for me and he refused to show it, saying that he is not permitted to do so. I asked him how is it possible that a court order is issued for me while I am not permitted to know about its content.

However he was explicitly lying and there was no such court order, the judicial structure is so ignorant and abusive that a low-ranking official could have arbitrarily imposed punishment and harassment to the prisoners.

It is worth noting that my wife and I are sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment individually since we were charged with supporting the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran [PMOI or MEK]. The only hope for our children is their monthly visitation with us. In such circumstances, the political prisoners are not allowed to make phone calls. Although my children and I were accorded with the basic rights of human life for ourselves to have at least a phone call, by all means, they arrested my son because of making the effort to contact us and now we have all been prohibited from visitations.

Indeed, the pressures and the violation of rights stem from a corrupt hierarchy, repression and systematic tortures that go on in prison. Torturing and harassing prisoners have become the norm. As a political prisoner whose basic rights have been violated; I want you to tell us what to do in the current situation when no justice exists.

Hassan Sadeqi

Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison, Karaj

A major gathering of Iranians and their international supporters in Paris on July 9, which will be attended by hundreds of senior political dignitaries, parliamentarians, human rights and women's rights activists and religious leaders from the United States, Europe, and Islamic countries, will bring together international support for the cause of democracy and freedom in Iran. The “Free Iran” gathering will in particular highlight the plight of Iran’s political prisoners who are suffering continuously at the hands of the mullahs’ regime.

José Bové MEP declares support for Iranian Resistance led by Maryam Rajavi

José Bové, a prominent Member of the European Parliament from France

 Monday, 27 June 2016 10:21

NCRI – José Bové, a prominent Member of the European Parliament from France, has declared his solidarity with the major “Free Iran” gathering that is to take place in Paris on July 9.

In a video message, aired by the Iranian opposition satellite channel Simay-e Azadi, Mr. Bové said that while the French president, François Hollande, last week welcomed the Iranian regime’s foreign minister, 270 Members of the European Parliament “of all political persuasions signed a statement with a clear message condemning the mullahs and supporting democracy and reiterating that we should not be dealing with this dictatorship.”

“How can we today accept a regime that imprisons, prosecutes and executes thousands of women, journalists, union activists, and youths? The people are forced to keep silent. How can we accept that our democratic and secular country deals and trade with such regimes?”

“That is why I protest today. I ask all supporters of Maryam Rajavi and the Iranian Resistance to participate in the major gathering held on July 9 to support a democratic and secular Iran.”

“Today, more than ever, the world needs a democracy which is transparent and secular, and that is why I am supporting the Iranian Resistance,” he added.

The major gathering of Iranians and their international supporters in Paris on July 9, which will be attended by hundreds of senior political dignitaries, parliamentarians, human rights and women's rights activists and religious leaders from the United States, Europe, and Islamic countries, will bring together international support for the cause of democracy and freedom in Iran.