Tagged: anti-government protests

January 12th, 2018 Breaking News

Iranian protestors being tortured, killed and detained in prison

(AMERICAN MILITARY NEWS) — By Melissa Leon

Government protests in Iran might have calmed, but the two-week movement continues to draw international attention, as new reports reveal that protestors are being tortured and possibly even killed while in custody. And, many of those Iranians in custody are being held without charges against them.

One Iranian spoke to Fox News from outside Evin Prison in northern Tehran and said that people in custody are being tortured – “maybe tortured to death.” The Iranian is a 31-year-old activist and business owner whom Fox said declined to give his last name out of fear.

Amir told Fox that one of his friends was arrested “by plainclothes police at the beginning of the protests in Tehran. […] Then he was beaten badly. He said 400 to 500 people were forced into a room that should only hold 120 persons. They suffered all the torture – sleep deprivation, lack of food, all the things.”

Fox reported that Amir said conditions inside the prison are “beyond abhorrent,” and that prison officials are attempted to force detainees to film videos insisting they’re being treated well, known as “stage managing.”

“People are very concerned about the health of the arrested people. Mothers are there and they don’t know anything about their child’s situation, or even if they are alive,” another protestor told Fox.

Protests began late last year, on Dec. 28, in Iran’s second largest city and one of Iran’s holiest places, Mashhad, due to the country’s high inflation, economic policies and economic inequality, and unemployment. The protests have spread to more cities and the message has turned more toward regime change.

The White House Press Secretary released a statement on Wednesday calling for the immediate release of all protestors, following reports of torture and death.

The White House said:

The Trump Administration is deeply concerned by reports that the Iranian regime has imprisoned thousands of ‎Iranian citizens in the past week for engaging in peaceful protests. Further reports that the regime has tortured or killed some of these demonstrators while in detention are even more disturbing. We will not remain silent as the Iranian dictatorship represses the basic rights of its citizens and will hold Iran’s leaders accountable for any violations. The protesters in Iran are expressing legitimate grievances, including demanding an end to their government’s oppression, corruption, and waste of national resources on military adventurism. Iran’s regime claims to support democracy, but when its own people express their aspirations for better lives and an end to injustice, it once again shows its true brutal nature. ‎The United States calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Iran, including the victims of the most recent crackdown.

These are the biggest waves of protests since the nationwide protests in 2009 that the world watched through Twitter.

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December 31st, 2017 Breaking News

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vow to crush dissent as protests extend into fourth day

(ZERO HEDGE) — by Tyler Durden

On the fourth day of “spontaneous” protests to sweep Iran just days after Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US reached a secret agreement to do everything in their power to destabilize the Iranian government by diplomatic means or otherwise, Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to “crush dissent” and take tough action if the unrest continued.

Protesters “must certainly know that improper behavior will be to their detriment, and the nation will come out and stand against these actions and throw a hard punch in their faces,” the Revolutionary Guard’s commander for security in Tehran, Brigadier General Esmail Kowsari, said according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency late Saturday.

The threat from the IRGC came a day after Iranian authorities blocked the nation’s internet, interrupted the main networks, and restricted access to the country’s most popular social media platform, Signal, in response to one of the biggest shows of dissent against its leadership in years, in which as we reported yesterday two people were killed in clashes with security forces in the western city of Dorud, the first casualties since anti-government protests erupted on Thursday. The deputy governor of Lorestan province blamed foreign agents for the deaths.

“No shots were fired by the police and security forces. We have found evidence of enemies of the revolution, Takfiri groups and foreign agents in this clash,” Habibollah Khojastehpour said on state television. Takfiri is a term for extreme Sunni militants such as Islamic State.

Protesters also attacked banks and government buildings and burned police vehicles.

Protesters defied the police and Revolutionary Guards who have used violence to crush previous unrest. The demonstrations could be more worrying for authorities because they seem spontaneous and lack a clear leader… Almost as if the protests were organized from abroad.

As Bloomberg notes, the rare public challenge to the government and the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “has erupted at a time of deepened strains between Iran and the U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed additional sanctions on Tehran and threatened to quit Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers.” It also “surprisingly” comes days after we reported that “US And Israel Reach “Secret Plan” To Counter Iran”, and one month after Israel said it was “Ready To Share Intel With Saudis “Against Iran” Ahead Of Possible War”, and also a “”Bombshell” Leaked Secret Israeli Cable Confirmed Israeli-Saudi Coordination To Provoke War with Iran.”

Almost as if the events are connected…

Meanwhile, in another Twitter post on the unrest Sunday, Trump said, “The people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism.” The president also added that it “[l]ooks like they will not take it any longer. The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations!” Violations which the CIA may or may not have been itching to tweet it was sponsoring.

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