Iran: Labor activist says Tehran Prosecutor is lying about Shahabi’s charges

Following new charges brought against detained labor activist Reza Shahabi by the Tehran Prosecutor including “contacting and obtaining money from dissident groups”, a labor activist from the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Worker’s Syndicate, said that such charges had not been raised even during the interrogation phase.
“The Tehran Prosecutor is lying as a pretext for the judiciary’s illegal measures”, he said.
This worker activist said the Prosecutor’s goal was to use these charges as an excuse to illegally keep Reza Shahabi in prison.
“Shahabi was a bus driver before his arrest and after his release, he opened a family grocery store with his wife. This is their only source of income. Sometimes Syndicate members may help those who have family in prison but having contacts with other groups and receiving money is an absolute lie”, the labor activist added.

Female political prisoner writes letter about prison conditions and human rights violations

Detained human rights activist, Golrokh Iraie, who is detained in the Women’s Section in Evin Prison, wrote a letter about the non-independence and bias of the Prisons Organization and the inhumane treatment of political prisoners.
Her letter reads in part:
“As none of the officials in the Islamic Republic work according to their positions in the government, prison authorities also step beyond their specified boundaries…
We witness heads of prisons, continuously going into political prisoners’ dossiers, trying to disturb political activists in various ways, instead of attending to the affairs of the prison and prisoners.
The head of Evin Prison is not excluded from this practice. He is known by the name, Chaharmahali, and stands against political prisoners’ beliefs with aggressive measures…
My husband Arash Sadeqi is the victim of Evin Prison authorities’ hostility. He was transferred to another prisoner because he wasn’t willing to bow down and give in to their requests.
Section 350 and the Women’s Section of Evin Prison are located next to each other. It’s been a month since they’ve started harassing the prisoners of Section 350 in various ways trying to eventually force them to peacefully transfer…
They have announced in Section 350 that prisoners should be ready to be transferred to the quarantine in Section 4 of Evin. The conditions there are very bad without any open area…
The level of hegemonic power prison authorities wield and their hostility towards political prisoners is such that generally medical records sent from the hospital containing political prisoners’ medical histories are erased from their files after a short period of time. If families don’t succeed in receiving specific documents from the hospital, prison authorities deny the prisoner’s illness and prevent any further medical treatment.
Since the imposing of sanctions, which has led to the Prisons Organization’s budget cuts, they have put it up to the prisoners to provide their financial shortages. Instead of meeting the requirements of various sections, whether ordinary or political, they only say, ‘we have no budget’”.
Human rights activist Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraie is the wife of detained political prisoner Arash Sadeghi. She was arrested on September 13, 2014. Then in April of 2015, she was sentenced to 6 years of prison for blasphemy and spreading propaganda against the government. She is currently serving her sentence in the Women’s Section in Evin Prison.

Iran: Baha’is prosecuted in various Iranian cities

The pressure and abuse of Baha’i citizens has increased in the past few days with dozens of arrests, summonses and the shutdown of Baha’i businesses.
On Thursday, October 19, security officials went to a Baha’i religious ceremony and after disrupting the ceremony, arrested the owner of the home, Parisa Sadeghi. She was transferred to Evin Prison.
Another incident occurred in Birjand when on the morning of October 21, agents of the South Khorasan Intelligence Agents went to the homes of 10 Baha’is in this town and after an hour of house searches, confiscated books, religious images, computers, laptops and cellphones. The names of the detained Baha’is are Sheida Abedi, Bijan Ahmadi, Bahman Salehi, Firouz Ahmadi, Sagher Mohammadi, Simin Mohammadi, Maryam Mokhtari, Khalil Malaki and Sohrab Malaki.
The situation was similar in Tabriz. On October 21, agents of the Intelligence Agency went to the homes of three Baha’i citizens, Nahid Misaghi, Behjat Saberi, and Touraj Misaghi, and after disrupting their religious gathering, filmed the faces of all the participants and took their names and numbers.
Also, on Thursday and Friday, October 19 and 20, intelligence agents went to the homes of eight Baha’i citizens in Kerman, and after searching their homes and confiscating their religious books, verbally told them not to leave the city because they would be summoned in the future. They also warned that Baha’is were not allowed to convene any religious sessions on Saturdays and Sundays, and that if they did hold a religious meeting, the house where they were gathered would be closed.
In another measure, the businesses of 16 Baha’i citizens was shut down in the cities of Shiraz and Marvdasht in Fars Province.
According to the latest news, the businesses of at least 12 other Baha’i citizens in the cities of Gorgan and Gonbade Kavoos were shut down last Saturday and Sunday by the Golestan Province Location Police.

Down with the principle of supreme leadership #Iran #Cyrus #CyrusDay #F...

The busy traffic in D road of Shiraz 2 Pasargadae there is a 20-30kilome...

PPL trying to reach Pasargadae through the mountains #Iran #Cyrus #Cyru...

تحليق سمتيات لمنع تجمع المتظاهرين في منطقة باسارغاد

Iran: Report on child marriages in Iran

According to a shocking report, in the first 9 months of the Persian year, 181,133 girls under the age of 19 got married, which accounts for 34 percent of the marriages (in Iran), according to the state-run Iran Online website on October 22, 2017.
According to the Deputy Head of the Women and Family Department at the Presidential Office, the province of Khorasan Razavi ranks first in terms of child marriage with 6,759 cases; these are children, whose games suddenly turn serious, while their dolls turn into real children.

What kind of regime sends children to war?

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Although the US Treasury Department has been instructed by President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) because of its support for terrorism, the Iranian regime shows no signs of backing down from its violations of international laws and interventionist policies in the region, particularly in Arab nations. In fact, Tehran is ratcheting up breaches of international law, military adventurism and expansionist policies. 

One linked issue that has received less time in the spotlight is the intersection between the Iranian regime and the involvement of children in armed conflicts. 
There are six grave violations that are identified by the UN Security Council. One of them is recruiting, abusing or exploiting children during conflicts.
One prominent example of Iran’s involvement in such cases is the Syrian conflict. In the last six years of the Syrian conflict, the Islamic Republic has shown that it will resort to any tool in order to maintain Bashar Assad and his forces in power. One of these tools has been the increasing recruitment of foreign children, both in Iran and elsewhere, in order to fight in the front lines of the Syrian battlefields to enable the Syrian and Iranian forces and their militias to suffer fewer casualties and achieve victories.
Two particular Iranian organizations are behind the recruitment; the IRGC and its elite  Quds Force, whose mission is to operate beyond Iran’s borders in order to export the revolutionary principles of the Islamic Republic and safeguard Iran’s geopolitical interest. 
Leaders of the IRGC and Quds Force implement different tactics to recruit children. The Iranian regime normally preys on children and families who are vulnerable for various reasons. 
Some children come from immigrant families. The families are lured to give up their children to fight in conflicts in exchange for a better position in Iran. Other children are refugees who are seduced by promises of legal residency status and permits. It is extremely difficult to obtain a legal residency permit in the Islamic Republic even for those refugees who have been living there for decades. 
In addition, many of these children come from lower socio-economic class. The Iranian regime exploits their poverty and recruits them in exchange for financial incentives. Reports from human rights organizations indicate that currently not only does the Iranian regime recruit children, but Iran-backed militia are also engaged in such activities. 
The UN’s Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflicts states that ending such violations is “the focus of its Special Representative’s work and advocacy.” Nevertheless it does not seem that any concrete and successful actions have been taken to prevent the Iranian regime from abusing children in conflicts.

The IRGC, the Quds Force and Iran-backed militias are breaking international law by recruiting children to fight in Syria.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

Ironically, Iran is a signatory to the Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which focuses on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2000 and went into force in 2002. The Protocol states that 18 is the minimum age for participation in wars and armed conflict. It clearly states that the protocol is a commitment that states will not recruit children under the age of 18 to send them to the battlefield. States will not conscript soldiers below the age of 18. States should take all possible measures to prevent such recruitment — including legislation to prohibit and criminalize the recruitment of children under 18 and involve them in hostilities. States will demobilize anyone under 18 conscripted or used in hostilities and will provide physical, and psychological recovery services and help their social reintegration. Armed groups distinct from the armed forces of a country should not, under any circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities anyone under 18.
Human Rights Watch’s latest report raised alarm about the Iranian regime’s role in recruiting Afghan children. Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said: “Iran should immediately end the recruitment of child soldiers and bring back any Afghan children it has sent to fight in Syria. Rather than preying on vulnerable immigrant and refugee children, the Iranian authorities should protect all children and hold those responsible for recruiting Afghan children to account.”
More importantly, since reports by human rights organizations indicate that Iran recruits children as young as 15, Iran is committing another violation of international law which is considered a war crime by the International Criminal Court and is completely prohibited.
The increasing recruitment of children by the Iranian regime to fight in conflicts not only has serious psychological and physical implications for the children and their families, but also inflicts serious damage on the security and stability of the region. It is incumbent on the international community and human rights organizations to follow up on their promises, take immediate action and hold the Iranian leaders responsible for violating international law, abusing human rights and children, and committing a war crime. 
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

ANALYSIS: History of the IRGC’s grooming of top al-Qaeda members

Special to Al Arabiya EnglishWednesday, 25 October 2017

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There will always be those that ridicule the idea of a pact between Iran and al-Qaeda, due to the Shiite/Sunni divide, but it has been proven many times over, how Shiite Iran will side with radical Sunni groups such as al-Qaeda (AQ) when it comes to fighting a common enemy, and al-Qaeda will do the same, especially when the target is their most hated enemy the US.

The belief by certain commanders in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is if they could persuade al-Qaeda to come on side in any future conflict with the West, with the offer of financial assistance and weapons, as well as the use of the IRGC’s vast terror and sleeper network; with the aid of Hezbollah, the result would be catastrophic.

In July 2002, soon after the US invasion of Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden went on the run. Seeking a safe haven, the al-Qaeda leader crossed the border near Zabol with his close advisor Ayman al-Zawahiri, and making contact with the IRGC, he was given a safe house. As the months went by, other members of the al-Qaeda hierarchy joined the Sheikh, including his son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, and Saif al-Adel, said to be the successor of Khalid Shaikh, the commander of al-Qaeda’s military wing, a self-confessed mastermind of 9/11, presently in US custody, and also bin Laden’s sons Saad, Mohammad and Hamza. 

According to a US State Department official in 2006, Iran continued to host a group of senior al-Qaeda leaders, and some were not only using Iran as a safe haven, but also to facilitate terrorist operations in various countries. US Intelligence has for some time believed most of the surviving al-Qaeda leadership had been based in Iran at some point, many living in a luxury compound just outside of Tehran, protected by the IRGC.

During operation Enduring Freedom, one high ranking member who made his way to Iran was Musab Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the precursor of ISIS, who according to Western intelligence was harboured by the IRGC. During his time in Iran, Zarqawi made plans for a chemical attack in Europe, but luckily for Europe the plot was thwarted. Then in May, 2005, after a US missile attack on his convoy, Zarqawi suffered shrapnel wounds, and after being treated in Ramadi, as soon as he was fit to move, he headed for Iran to recuperate.

According to intelligence sources, this was the start of an ongoing relationship, as through the aid of the IRGC Qods Force, Zarqawi was able to set up terror cells in Europe, and with his organization having taken a battering from Coalition troops, he was supplied with resources by the IRGC to help reconstruct it.

Grade-A intelligence suggested that during Ahmadinejad’s term of presidency, he had come close to the goal of controlling al-Qaeda in the same way the Iranian regime controls Hezbollah. Since seeking refuge in Iran, high ranking leaders of the group had been carefully groomed by the IRGC, in the hope of persuading them to come on side. 

When considering an alliance between Iran and al-Qaeda, it must be remembered that since the death of Osama bin Laden, his successor Ayman al-Zawahiri was left with an organization suffering from a serious funding problem. But it wasn’t just funding that had hit the group hard, it also had a serious depletion of leaders through a series of drone attacks by the US, which had taken out its top-ranking members. 

As well as losing leaders, there was infighting within the organisation as to what direction it should now take, and due to this, loyalty problems with various affiliates became a problem. At the same time, there had been crackdowns in various countries that had thinned the ranks of its foot soldiers, making it a much less effective terror force, and since the forming of ISIS, al-Qaeda had lost numerous numbers of potential recruits to its ranks.

So, with al-Qaeda in complete disarray, there were many pluses for high-ranking leaders such as Saif al-Adel – a leader that had spent long periods in Iran - to align himself with the regime, and a big plus as far as al-Qaeda is concerned, would be a solid link with Hezbollah.

Although al-Qaeda has connections throughout the globe, it has nowhere near the extensive reach of Hezbollah, and by teaming up with Iran, Hezbollah would come with the deal, lengthening al-Qaeda’s area of operations vastly. This would also give AQ the essential backup it would need for foreign operations, where it could be supplied through a myriad of Hezbollah sleeper cells, to carry out attacks in areas where its operatives are thin on the ground. Plus, with al-Qaeda operatives carrying out attacks, Iran could in the same way as it does with Hezbollah, wash its hands of any involvement.

During his time with al-Qaeda, Saif al-Adel had built up the same shadowy aura as Osama bin Laden, and as far as his identity was concerned, the consensus is that Adel was in fact the former (Special Forces) Egyptian Army Colonel Mohammed Ibrahim Makkawi. But as far as his past history goes, Adel really is a force to be reckoned with, as on October 6, 1981, he was suspected of being one of the masterminds behind the assassination of Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat, but before he could be arrested, he had fled the country in 1988. 

Having headed for Afghanistan to join the mujahedeen, Adel took part in the campaign to repel the Soviet invasion of the country. While serving with the mujahidin, his prowess in battle came to the attention of Osama bin Laden himself, and Adel fast became a key player in al-Qaeda’s inner circle, as well as a legend amongst its foot-soldiers.

It has also been suggested Saif al-Adel was one of the commanders involved in the downing of the US Black Hawk helicopter in Somalia in 1993, resulting in the Battle of Mogadishu, a clash between US troops and Somali militia, during which 18 US Army Rangers lost their lives. As legend has it, Adel was also said to have been central to the planning of the bomb attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, he was also said to have played a role in training of some of the 911 hijackers, and Saudi intelligence put him in the frame for giving the green light for the attack on the residential compounds in Riyadh, in May 2003, which targeted Westerners, attacks which left 39 people dead and over 160 wounded. 

Rising fast through the ranks, Adel was eventually entrusted with much of the group’s operational planning, and having been taken under Osama bin Laden’s wing, he became the organisation’s military commander. During his reign as commander; Adel had built up quite a warrior mystique, especially following the 911 attacks.

Close to Zawahiri

Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Saif al-Adel has become very close to bin Laden’s successor Ayman al-Zawahiri, and being third in command in the al-Qaeda rankings, Adel would prove to be an illustrious conquest for the IRGC. Just to prove his worth to the Iranian regime, Adel is known to have been living for long periods in Iran, and with him constantly flitting in and out of the country, there have been no restrictions placed on him by Tehran; proving he is well established there. So, with Adel seeming to be so popular in the ranks of al-Qaeda, it looked at the time to be a big plus for his bid for leadership, should he have ever decided to actively pursue it. 

Then during the time of the meteoric rise of ISIS, with the new group taking all the headlines, with its talk of creating an Islamic State, plus the fact that it had seized vast amounts of territory in both Syria and Iraq as a solid base to build one, Ayman al-Zawahiri, soon lost face as the leader of the world’s most powerful terror group. Due to his organization playing second fiddle to the new arrival, al-Qaeda began to fade into insignificance. But what was the final humiliation for Zawahiri, was when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, refused to take orders from the fast-fading al-Qaeda leader, leaving Zawahiri looking jaded.

So, with ISIS a growing problem to Iran, which had sent troops to both Iraq and Syria, and organized militias to aid in a fight back against the group, al-Qaeda was no longer in the limelight. Adding this to the fact that Baghdadi had broken ranks with al-Qaeda, refusing to take orders from Zawahiri, after a very public falling out over the organisations direction, it left al-Qaeda wanting for allies.

But as far as the future leadership of al-Qaeda was concerned, just before Osama bin Laden’s untimely demise, rumours had been circulating about the Sheikh’s lack of interest in the organization, and some suggested that his son Hamza was being groomed to take over the leadership, and it was at this point, it was beginning to look as though Adel was being sidestepped by al-Qaeda’s hierarchy. Then on 9 May, 2006, the leadership stakes seemed to have diminished as far as Adel was concerned, when the then 24-year-old Hamza bin Laden, delivered an audio message, which contained the distinct warning that “Jerusalem is a bride and her blood is our dowry.”

Ready to take back its crown?

This message might not have seemed much at the time, but coming at a point when ISIS was beginning to find itself on the back foot, due to mounting losses of territory, it pointed at Hamza showing the world al-Qaeda was in the wings, ready to take back its crown from ISIS. Then in June of the same year, came the fall of Fallujah to Iraqi troops, which proved to be the beginning of the end for ISIS, and within months, ended its meteoritic rise.

As far as a future alliance between Iran and AQ is concerned, with the Donald Trump now US president, it could leave the door wide open for future co-operation between the IRGC and Hamza. With Iran outmanoeuvred over the nuclear deal, Trump has threatened to decertify it, and with his placing of new sanctions on Iran over its missile program, it could play into the hands of hardliners in both Iran and the USA.

In the US, neoconservatives within the administration have been itching for a war with Iran, and will push Donald Trump as far as they can to get one. While the hardliners in Iran’s administration, are itching to get their nuclear weapons program back on track. So, should the worst come to the worst, with too much pressure placed on Iran by the US administration over the deal, its path for nuclear weapons will soon be fast-forwarded, which could eventually lead to a military clash between the two nations. 

But in the meantime, Iran is certain to revert to its old terror tactics, and wanting to make the Trump administration deeply regret any decision to decertify the Iran Deal, it could carry out an effective terror campaign against American interests through proxy, and having al-Qaeda on board alongside Hezbollah, it would greatly strengthen its hand of plausible deniability.
 

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the viewpoint of Al Arabiya English.

Last Update: Wednesday, 25 October 2017 KSA 07:25 - GMT 04:25

Iran: State-run media confirms death of Kurd porter

A 24-year-old Kurd porter was shot dead in Sardasht, according to the state-run ILNA news agency on October 23, 2017.
“On the evening of October 21, on the border area of the canal near the village of Bityush, Sardasht, a 24-year-old porter, by the name of Poshtivan Moie, had an accident which led to his death”, the Governor of Sardasht said.
“The grieving family of this young man gathered with a number of townspeople outside of the Governorate and called for the identification of the culprits of the incident”, Nejad Jahani added.

Iran: Political prisoner not released despite court decision

Despite a ruling against the initial ruling for political prisoner Emadodin Mullazehi by the Sistan and 

Baluchistan Provincial Court of Appeals, ordering his release, the interrogators of the Ministry of Intelligence refuse to release this political prisoner.
Emadodin Mullazehi miraculously lived through an ambush set up for him by the Revolutionary Guards Corps in 2016 for his assassination. The agents mistakenly assassinated one of his friends, Khalil Jahan Dideh, instead of him.
When they realized they had killed someone else, they arrested Emadodin Mullazehi and physically and mentally tortured him for several days to force him into false confessions in order to cover up their mistake. This prisoner is now suffering from kidney complications and bleeding in his stomach as a result of the torture. Despite this, agents have deprived him of much needed medical treatment.

Trump Iran speech emboldening ordinary Iranians to speak out against regime

President Donald Trump followed up his Iran speech announcing that he would not be certifying the Iran nuclear deal by also making clear his administration stood in solidarity with ordinary Iranians. Just two days later, thousands of Iranians marched against the regime over charges of corruption. Some experts say the protesters were newly emboldened by Trump’s speech.

Speaking exclusively to Fox News before the protests, Maryam Rajavi, the head of that country’s most visibly active opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said that Trump’s new policy toward Iran gives ordinary Iranians hope.

“The Iranian people welcome a new approach by the U.S. government, recognizing the suffering of the Iranian people under the regime, ending years of misguided policy and siding with the Iranian people in their desire for regime change and the establishment of freedom and democracy,” she said in a recorded statement from her exiled headquarters near Paris.