News - Page 672 of 704 - Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights

Clinton condemns ‘hypocritical’ Iran

Politics

crazydead

-

February 14, 2011

February 14, 2011

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has blasted the Iranian regime after riot police fired tear gas at protesters at anti-government rallies in Tehran.

The protests were called to show solidarity with the popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

Ms Clinton praised the courage of anti-government protesters in Iran, saying the US supports the universal rights of the Iranian people.

She has condemned Iran’s leadership for ordering security forces to break up the protest.

“What we see happening in Iran today is a testament to the courage of the Iranian people and an indictment of the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime,” she said.

US officials have accused Iran of hypocrisy for supporting the anti-government revolt in Egypt but seeking to prevent anti-government demonstrations in Iran.

Ms Clinton says the US supports the aspirations of the people on the streets and Tehran should follow Egypt’s example and open up its political system.

Source

Political prisoners suffering from worsening physical conditions in Iran

crazydead

-

February 13, 2011

0

Political prisoners suffering from worsening physical conditions in Iran

February 13, 2011

NCRI – Several political prisoners in Iran saw their physical conditions worsen considerably on Friday, reports indicated.

The imprisoned leader of Tehran’s Bus Union suffered a heart attack on Friday, according to reports, and has gone into a coma. The Iranian regime’s agents in prison only transferred him out of the cell after cellmates protested.

Separately, the physical condition of another political prisoner on hunger strike, Ali Ahmad Soleiman, has deteriorated significantly. He is now reported to be unconscious.

Mr. Soleiman has reportedly been on hunger strike for the past 40 days initially in protest to the transfer of his cellmate Hossein Khezri to the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and later in protest to his execution by the regime.

Source

US: Iran scared of the will of its people

Politics

crazydead

-

February 13, 2011

0

US: Iran scared of the will of its people

February 13, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States pivoted from delight at Egypt’s revolt to hiking political pressure on arch-foe Iran Friday, charging that the leadership in Tehran was “scared of the will of its people.”

The White House said that Iranian leaders should give their people the same chance to express their will as Egyptians seized for themselves — and noted that instead, Tehran had threatened to kill any protesters.

Iran’s government was “quite frankly scared of the will of its people,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, hinting that protests that had erupted in Egypt could spread to Iran.

“We know that what they really are scared of is exactly what might happen,” Gibbs said as Egyptians celebrated their revolt, which came on the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran on February 11, 1979.

Gibbs spoke as the tumultuous political events in Egypt, which brought about the downfall of president Hosni Mubarak, became the latest flashpoint for the bitter 30-year rivalry between Washington and the Islamic Republic.

Earlier, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had styled the Egyptian uprising as a revolt against a government allied with the West, and said Egyptians should be vigilant of the United States.

“The Iranian nation is your friend and it is your right to freely choose your path. The Iranian nation backs this right of yours,” he said.

“We will soon see a new Middle East materializing without America and the Zionist regime and there will be no room for world arrogance (the West) in it,” he said, also slamming Israel.

In his own speech in response to the events in Egypt, US President Barack Obama said that Washington would stand with the people who overthrew Mubarak, a stalwart American ally for 30 years

“The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt. We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary — and asked for — to pursue a credible transition to a democracy,” he said.

Obama also sought to connect with the youth of Egypt.

“I’m also confident that the same ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that the young people of Egypt have shown in recent days can be harnessed to create new opportunity — jobs and businesses that allow the extraordinary potential of this generation to take flight.”

Earlier, the White House had issued a statement condemning Iran for jamming the BBC’s Persian-language television channel, ostensibly over coverage of demonstrations in Egypt.

“The recent arrests and effort to block international media outlets underscores the hypocrisy of the Iranian leadership,” National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

“For all of its empty talk about Egypt, the government of Iran should allow the Iranian people the same universal right to peacefully assemble, demonstrate and communicate in Tehran that the people are exercising in Cairo.”

The subtext for the current showdown between Washington and Tehran is the deadly crackdown launched by Iranian authorities when hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Tehran and other cities to protest against official results giving Ahmadinejad a second term in a June 2009 presidential election.

Dozens of Iranians were killed, hundreds wounded and scores arrested by security forces during the protests which shook the pillars of the Islamic regime.

At the time, the Obama administration was accused of being too slow to the embrace the cause of the protesters, as it sought to avoid injecting the United States into the drama, though ultimately vigorously condemned the crackdown.

Friday’s sharp exchanges came on the anniversary of the Iranian revolution which toppled shah Mohammad Reza, a key US ally.

Diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington were broken off soon after and there is no official contact between the two foes to this day.

During last year’s anniversary rally, Iran’s opposition attempted to stage anti-government demonstrations which were crushed by the authorities.

Source

White House calls on Iran to allow rally

crazydead

-

February 13, 2011

0

White House calls on Iran to allow rally

February 13, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A senior White House official on Saturday criticized Iran’s refusal to let opponents of the regime hold a rally in support of Arab uprisings.

“By announcing that they will not allow opposition protests, the Iranian government has declared illegal for Iranians what it claimed was noble for Egyptians,” National Security Advisor Tom Donilon said in a statement.

“We call on the government of Iran to allow the Iranian people the universal right to peacefully assemble, demonstrate and communicate that’s being exercised in Cairo,” he added.

Iran’s Islamic government said the proposed rally is a ploy for fresh anti-government protests, similar to those in 2009 following the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It described the request for the rally as “illegal.”

But the day before, Ahmadinejad himself said it was the “right” of Egyptians to protest against US ally Hosni Mubarak, just hours before the Egyptian strongman stepped down.

In Iran, opposition leaders had sought permission to stage a rally Monday which they said was to show solidarity with the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Before Mubarak resigned, Ahmadinejad issued this message to Egyptians: “The Iranian nation is your friend and it is your right to freely choose your path. The Iranian nation backs this right of yours.”

Source

Pictures of Khamenei burnt in Tehran

Politics

crazydead

-

February 12, 2011

0

February 12, 2011

NCRI – On the 32nd anniversary of the Iranian revolution, youths in various parts of Tehran have took down and burnt the publicly displayed posters of the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei’s pictures were burnt in Navab, Salsebil, Jomhouri, Dibaji Jonoubi, Gisha and Saltanat Abad streets.

The activist youths also distributed leaflets and wrote anti-regime graffiti in public places and squares urging people to take part in protests against the regime. Some of the slogans were, “This is the month of fury, death to Khamenei,” “People of Iran, bring down the dictator,” and “death to Khamenei, curse on Khomeini.”

According to reports, to prevent more picture burnings, the regime’s officials have taken down Khamenei’s posters from many locations in Tehran and other major cities.

Source

Yadollah Eslami Arrested

crazydead

-

February 12, 2011

0

Saturday, 12 February 2011

Rahana/2011-02-12 – News agencies have reported that Yadollah Eslami has been arrested.

According to his family, he was detained on Monday after the security forces referred to a hospital in Tehran. His family had not reported his arrest and they are now concerned about his condition. He was the editor in chief of a banned newspaper and a former representative of the Parliament.

In another report, Mojtaba Shayesteh has also been detained at his house. He is a member of the Islamic National front and there is no news as to his condition.

Fearful of protests, regime targets the internet and phone lines

crazydead

-

February 12, 2011

0

Fearful of protests, regime targets the internet and phone lines

February 12, 2011

NCRI – Fearing increased usage of the internet for planning anti-regime protests by Iranian youths, the regime has disrupted internet connections in cities like Shahr-e Kord, where internet service providers have stopped service completely for long hours citing “technical difficulties.”

It has been reported that according to telecommunication engineers, the disruption did not arise from technical issues but rather deliberate attempts by the regime to choke off growing use of internet and its social forums against the ruling mullahs’ regime.

The Iranian regime’s telecommunications company in Tehran has disrupted telephone usage in vast parts of the city, it was reported on Thursday.Since Tuesday night and simultaneous with growing public calls for an anti-regime protest on the 32nd anniversary of the Iranian revolution, mobile phones in extensive parts of Tehran were reported to have limited or no connectivity.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, it was reported that mobile phone communications were made either impossible or extremely challenging around many focal points in Tehran, including Resalat Square, Shemiran-e No, Tehran Pars, Damavand Avenue, Seraj, Baqeri highway, Rashid and Dolat district.

Source

8 more arrested as regime steps up crackdown ahead of 14 Feb rally

crazydead

-

February 11, 2011

0

8 more arrested as regime steps up crackdown ahead of 14 Feb rally

Friday, 11 February 2011

Iran Green Voice/2011-02-11 – ‏As Iran’s opposition Green Movement gears up for a new round of demonstrations on 14 February, authorities have launched a fresh wave of arrests against journalists, politicians and activists including close associates and relatives of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard.

According to Kalame, Mousavi’s official website, security forces raided the home of former cabinet minister Mohammad Hossein Sharifzadegan on Wednesday night after which he was taken to an unknown location. Sharifzadegan is a professor at Shahid Beheshti University and was a member of 2009 presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi’s election campaign. The arrest of Sharifzadegan who also happens to be Mousavi’s brother-in-law, is seen as a means of exerting further pressure on the opposition leader ahead of planned demonstrations on 14 February. The march is to be held in solidarity with the pro-democracy movements in the Middle East and North Africa region.

There is currently no further information on the reason for Sharifzadegan’s arrest or the body responsible for his detention.

In addition, opposition website Jaras reported on Thursday that Saleh Noghreh-Kar, nephew of author and women’s rights activist Zahra Rahnavard was arrested after midnight on Wednesday by Intelligence Ministry forces who inspected his home for four hours before taking him away. The reason behind Noghreh-Kar’s arrest is unknown.

This is Noghreh-kar’s second arrest since the electoral coup d’état of June 2009. During the presidential election, he had been the chairman of the Mousavi campaign’s legal committee.

Also on Wednesday night, security agents detained veteran journalists Meysam Mohammadi and Omid Mohades at their homes. According to Kaleme, the two are also members of the recently founded Shahid Beheshti Foundation.

Meanwhile the Green Voice of Freedom has learned that Sadroddin Beheshti, the son of senior Mousavi aide Alireza Beheshti Shirazai was arrested at his workplace in Tehran on Thursday afternoon.

Fariba Ebtehaj, assistant to Tehran City Council member Masoumeh Ebtekar was also arrested on Thursday. Ebtehaj is also the head of Ebtekar’s office. Ebtekar was an advisor to former President Mohammad Khatami during his presidency.

Also in the long list of detainees were political activist Taghi Rahmani and Shiite cleric Mostafa Mirahmadizadeh, both advisors to Green Movement leader Mahdi Karroubi. The men were arrested on Wednesday.

A member of the Rahmani family told the Persian service of Deutche Welle that as a result of the raid on his house on Wednesday, his wife Narges Mohammadi suffered a nervous breakdown and was taken to Tehran’s Iranmehr hospital for medical attention. Narges Mohammad is a human rights activist, a journalist, Deputy Director of Defenders of Human Rights Centre, Operations Manager of Iran Peace Council, and former member of the Iran Alumni‪ ‬Association’s Policy Council. She was detained on 10 June 2010 and released on 1 July 2010‪ after a severe deterioration of her ‬health‪.‬ Following her release‪,‬ she spent a month in hospital to undergo medical treatment‪.

The recent wave of arrests is yet another sign of the ruling elite’s growing unease about Monday’s planned demonstration by the opposition. An unelected few who seem to resort to any means in the hope of prolonging the Pharaoh’s rule.

As we approach the fateful day of reckoning on 14 February, we will in all likelihood witness further acts of desperation by a regime terrified to its core.
— ‏As Iran’s opposition Green Movement gears up for a new round of demonstrations on 14 February, authorities have launched a fresh wave of arrests against journalists, politicians and activists including close associates and relatives of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard.