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☆ Iran's security forces crack down on protests a year after Mahsa Amini's death
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network, which said the incident was linked to the protests, said special forces entered the ward, beat up the women and fired pellet bullets. In a separate incident, human rights group Hengaw said security forces opened fire in the Kurdish city of Mahabad, wounding at least one person. Earlier, social media and reports by rights groups spoke of security forces taking up positions around Amini's home in Saqez, in western Iran. Speakers led the crowd in chants of "Say her name ... Mahsa Amini," and also recited "We are the revolution" and "Human rights for Iran!" Iran's Etemad daily reported in August that the lawyer for Amini's family also faced charges of "propaganda against the system".

Persons: Mahsa, IRNA, Hengaw, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mahsa's, Amjad Amini, Dilara, Amini, Joe Biden, Biden, Nasser Kanaani, Saqez, Saleh Nikbakht, Toby Chopra, Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Revolutionary Guards, Islamic, Kurdistan Human Rights Network, REUTERS, United Nations, White, Iran's Foreign Ministry, Amnesty International, Thomson Locations: Iran's, Tehran, Kurdistan, Kurdish, Mahabad, Kermanshah, Saqez, Iran, Fars, Karaj, Mashhad, Istanbul, Turkey, In Washington, Britain, U.S, State, Iran's Kurdistan

CNN —Iran executed at least 582 people last year, a 75% increase on the previous year, according to human rights groups who say the rise reflects an effort by Tehran to “instill fear” among anti-regime protesters. It was the highest number of executions in the Islamic republic since 2015, according to a report released Thursday by the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the France-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) groups. The vast majority of the executions – at least 544 – were of people accused of murder and drug-related offenses, said the report. “Iran’s authorities demonstrated how crucial the death penalty is to instill societal fear in order to hold onto power,” the report said. The human rights report said they were charged with “corruption on Earth.”Dozens of other protesters have received death sentences in recent months.

☆ Overnight protests rock Tehran, other Iranian cities, videos show
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Videos on Friday showed demonstrations in several neighbourhoods in Tehran as well as in the cities of Karaj, Isfahan, Qazvin, Rasht, Arak, Mashhad, Sanandaj, Qorveh, and Izeh in Khuzestan province. Reuters was able to confirm three of the videos on the protests in Zahedan and one of those in Tehran. Other videos showed large protests on Friday in Zahedan, capital of southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, home to Iran's Baluchi minority. [1/5] People take part in a protest in Zahedan, Iran in this screen grab taken from a social media video released February 17, 2023 and obtained by Reuters. In recent weeks Iranian media have reported closures of several businesses, restaurants and cafes for failure to observe the hijab rules.

☆ Images of emaciated Iranian prisoner on hunger strike prompt outrage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Imprisoned Iranian activist Farhad Meysami, who is reported to have gone on a hunger strike, is seen at Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, Iran, in this social media image released on February 2, 2023. Mohammad Moghimi/via REUTERS TFeb 3 (Reuters) - Social media images purported to be of an emaciated jailed Iranian physician who went on hunger strike in support of demonstrations against the compulsory wearing of the hijab have caused outrage and warnings that he risks death. But the Iranian judiciary denied the hunger strike claim and said the photos that have gone viral on social media were from four years ago when Meysami did go on hunger strike. "He went on hunger strike to protest the recent government killings in the streets." "Shocking images of Dr. Farhad Meysami, a brave advocate for women's rights who has been on hunger strike in prison,” tweeted Robert Malley, Washington's special envoy for Iran.

☆ Images of emaciated Iranian prisoner prompt outrage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Mohammad Moghimi/via REUTERS TFeb 3 (Reuters) - Social media images purported to be of an emaciated jailed Iranian physician who went on hunger strike in support of demonstrations against the compulsory wearing of the hijab have caused outrage and warnings that he risks death. But the Iranian judiciary denied the hunger strike claim and said the photos that have gone viral on social media were from four years ago when Meysami did go on hunger strike. "He went on hunger strike to protest the recent government killings in the streets." Images of Meysami show him curled up on what looks like a hospital bed, and another standing, his ribs protruding. "Shocking images of Dr. Farhad Meysami, a brave advocate for women's rights who has been on hunger strike in prison,” tweeted Robert Malley, Washington's special envoy for Iran.

☆ Iran sentences three more protesters to death amid international criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DUBAI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Iran's judiciary has sentenced three more anti-government protesters to death on charges of "waging war on God", its Mizan news agency reported on Monday, defying growing international criticism over its fierce crackdown on demonstrators. Pope Francis on Monday condemned Iran for using the death penalty on demonstrators demanding greater respect for women. Under Iran's Islamic law, treason is punishable by death. Amnesty International said last month that Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 26 others in what it called "sham trials designed to intimidate protesters". The European Union, the United States and other Western countries have condemned Iran for using the death penalty against demonstrators.

☆ Iran Executes Two Protesters Accused of Killing Militia Member
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( David S. Cloud | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Military personnel stood in front of an Iranian flag during a pro-government rally last month in Tehran. Iran hanged two men Saturday who were convicted of killing a militia member during antigovernment protests, according to Iranian state media, the third and fourth Iranians known to have received the death penalty in connection with the nearly four-month-old nationwide demonstrations. The executed men, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, 22 years old, and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, 39, were convicted in the Nov. 3 killing of Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the pro-regime Basij militia force. Prosecutors said Mr. Ajamian was stabbed and bludgeoned with rocks during protests in the city of Karaj, near Tehran.

☆ Female protesters are being shot in the face, breasts, and genitals by Iranian security forces, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Iran's security forces are shooting women's faces, breasts, and genitals, medics say, per The Guardian. One doctor told the paper that security forces "wanted to destroy the beauty of these women." Several doctors treating protesters in secret to avoid arrest told The Guardian they observed female protesters had different wounds to male patients. Another doctor from Karaj, a city close to Tehran, accused Iranian security forces of shooting at the private body parts and faces of female protesters because of "an inferiority complex," The Guardian reported. According to the human rights group HRANA, as many as 469 protesters may have been killed in violent clashes with security forces, per Reuters.

☆ Iranian city shops shut after strike call, judiciary blames 'rioters'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Iranian shops shut their doors in several cities on Monday, following calls for a three-day nationwide general strike from protesters seeking the fall of clerical rulers, with the head of the judiciary blaming "rioters" for threatening shopkeepers. Amini was arrested by Iran's morality police for flouting the strict hijab policy, which requires women to dress modestly and wear headscarfs. Iran's public prosecutor on Saturday was cited by the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency as saying that the morality police had been disbanded. Security forces would show no mercy towards "rioters, thugs, terrorists", the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the guards as saying. Kurdish Iranian rights group Hengaw also reported that 19 cities had joined the general strike movement in western Iran, where most of the country's Kurdish population live.

☆ Iranians strike to mark 2019 protests in fresh rebuff to ruling clerics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

In the latest protests, the rights activist HRANA news agency said 344 people have been killed, including 52 minors. Videos shared on social media showed strikes and gatherings in several cities and towns. On Monday, the European Union imposed additional sanctions over the crackdown on protests and French President Emmanuel Macron characterised the unrest as a revolution. A video on 1500Tasvir showed people running down a street in Tehran's western neighbourhood of Shahrak Gharb after several gunshots could be heard. The 1500Tasvir account also showed a video of people at a metro shouting "death to the dictator", a slogan referring to Khamenei.

☆ Iran indicts 11 over Basij agent's death, basketball team skips anthem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Videos posted on social media purportedly showed the national basketball team refraining from singing the national anthem during a match with China in Tehran on Friday - widely seen as another show of support from athletes for the protests. The activist HRANA news agency said 336 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of Friday, including 52 minors. Earlier this week, videos posted on social media showed the national water polo team failing to sing the national anthem at a competition in Thailand. 'STEP UP THE PRESSURE'On Friday, a cleric in the northwestern city of Urmia called during prayers for the punishment of athletes who refrained from singing the national anthem, according to Iranian news agencies. "We want to continue to step up the pressure on the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the political leadership," he said in a video posted on Twitter.

☆ President Raisi says Iran thwarted U.S. destabilisation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As Iranian authorities marked the anniversary this week of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran by radical students, President Joe Biden backed the protesters, saying: "We're gonna free Iran. In Syria, mass demonstrations against Iran's ally President Bashar al-Assad were confronted with force and the country spiralled into conflict which continues 11 years on. By contrast, Iranian cities were now "safe and sound", Raisi said, promising retribution for the unrest the country had seen. At least 14,170 people have been arrested, including 392 students, in protests in 136 cities and towns, and 134 universities, it said. The crisis has dragged Iran's currency to new historic lows.

☆ Cleric killed in restive Iranian city, protests rage on
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Amnesty International said security forces killed at least 66 people in a crackdown on protesters in Zahedan on Sept. 30. The Sistan-Baluchistan region around Zahedan is one of the country's poorest and has been a hotbed of tension where Iranian security forces have been attacked by Baluch militants. Forty prominent Iranian human rights lawyers publicly criticised Iran's Shi'ite theocracy, saying crackdowns that have crushed dissent for decades will no longer work and protesters seeking a new political order will prevail. Human Rights Watch said Iranian authorities had escalated their assault against widespread dissent and protests by filing dubious national security charges against detained activists and staging grossly unfair trials. Iran has denied allegations by human rights groups that it abuses prisoners.

What is the latest challenge for Iran's cleric-led government as it works to crush weeks of anti-government protests? “It’s an indication that this is a struggle for the future,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran. Last month the human rights group Amnesty International also said it had documented children among the people killed by the government in its crackdown. On Wednesday Human Rights Watch said that Iran's security forces have used excessive force against women protesting peacefully across the country. Human Rights Watch said assault rifles and shotguns have been employed against the demonstrators - even against people fleeing from the police and the military.

On Wednesday, OPEC+, the oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed to slash production by 2 million barrels per day, twice as much as analysts had predicted, in the biggest cut since the Covid-19 pandemic. “Saudi Arabia is looking to head off a repeat of 2008 when the market crash sent the global economy into a recession and oil prices suddenly plummeted, requiring emergency action by OPEC,” said Wald. Analysts also say Saudi Arabia cannot afford to let oil prices go below a certain level for budgetary reasons. For its budget to break even, global oil prices must be at around $79 a barrel, according to the International Monetary Fund. That was a warning sign for Saudi Arabia and other oil exporters, who depend on oil for a majority of their revenue.

☆ Iran security forces clash with protesters over Amini's death
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Videos posted on social media from inside Iran showed protesters chanting, "Woman, Life, Liberty", while women waved and burnt their veils. Videos on Twitter showed protesters chanting "Death to the dictator" in the city of Tabriz, a reference to Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In the Kurdish cities of Sanandaj and Sardasht, riot police fired at protesters, videos on Twitter showed. Several university teachers have resigned in protest against Amini's death, according to statements published by them on social media. Amini's death has drawn widespread international condemnation while Iran has blamed "thugs" linked to "foreign enemies" for stirring up unrest.

☆ Iran protests Western stance on mass protests over woman’s death
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

DUBAI — Iran summoned the British and Norwegian ambassadors over what it called interference and hostile media coverage of the nationwide unrest triggered by the death of a woman detained by morality police. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Iran should “immediately stop the violent crackdown on protests and ensure internet access. He also said that “acts of chaos” were unacceptable and that Iran must deal decisively with the unrest. Iran’s state television said 41 people have been killed since the protests broke out following Amini’s death on Sept 16. State media said 12 bank branches were destroyed in the unrest in recent days, and 219 ATMs have been damaged.

☆ Ebrahim Raisi Fast Facts
▼ + stars: | 2021-08-05 | by ( Cnn Editorial Research | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Here’s a look at the life of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. 1989-1994 - Prosecutor general of Tehran. 2006 - Raisi is elected to the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that appoints the supreme leader. 2012 - Becomes prosecutor general of the Special Court for the Clergy. March 12, 2019 - Elected deputy chief of the Assembly of Experts.

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