Asma Jahangir’s dim report on the horrendous human rights violations in Iran

29.10.2017
By Zohair Ahmad
Earlier this year the special rapporteur on  human rights in Iran, Asma Jahangir delivered a dim report about all the violations committed in Iran and for the first time she mentioned the 1988 massacre of political prisoners by the Iranian regime, she also called for the assembly of a committee to investigate the Massacre and to bring the culprits to justice. 

Asma Jahangir UN special rapporteur on  human rights in Iran

As expected the Iranian regime was trying to cover up their crimes by making accusations against the UN special rapporteur claiming that all crimes were fabricated and accused her of being totally political against Iran. He claimed that all minorities in Iran are allowed to have activities unless they are harmful to Iranian society ( read the clerical regime). He also added that “we denounce the appointment of the country-specific Rapporteur …., no country should change its way of life because of western dictation” Mr. Hassaninejad seem to forget that murder is not a way of life, it is a crime. And any regime that legitimate murder like the 1988 massacre must be prosecuted and sentenced in an independent court of law. 

In her report, Jahangir expressed concern over the rate of executions in Iran. Reports indicate that at least 435 persons have been executed in the first half of 2017. At least 4 of them was children. And 86 children are on death row, this is the known cases, the actual figure might be higher. 

Mrs. Jahangir asked for a withdrawal of the death sentence that has been issued to the imprisoned teacher Mr. Taheri, she also called for his unconditional release. 
The massacre of 1988 in Iran was addressed as a crime against humanity and the Rapporteur added that the persecution of ordinary Iranians based on their political beliefs is not a recent phenomenon but is well ingrained in the Iranian regime’s DNA. She added that in 1988 the regime slaughtered more than 30 000 political prisoners in just a couple of months, the regime buried the victims in mass graves and tried to cover up the crime, to hide it from the rest of the world. 
 The rapporteur stressed that despite the recent acknowledgments of the genocide from the highest- ranking members of the regime, the international community has still been largely silent and this silence must end.  Jahangir said that the families of the victims have a right to remedy, reparation and the right to know the truth about these events and the fate of their loved ones without reprisal.
She repeated her call upon the government to ensure that a thorough and independent investigation into these events is carried out. 
Jahangir also paid tribute to the many human rights defenders who have risked their lives to speak to her about the situation in Iran. 
We will join Jahangir in her call to bring justice to the victims of the 1988 Massacre and we would like to urge the UN to assemble an inquiry committee to investigate the massacre.
 We might never know the exact number of victims of this hideous crime but we will continue our quest to bring the culprits to trial. And to get justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the phoenix of the Iranian resistance

21.10.17
By Zohair Ahmad
Since she joined the Iranian resistance more than 40 years ago, Maryam Rajavi has become the phoenix that has united the different organizations that the Iranian resistance is made up of. 
She was born into a middle-class family. She and her siblings, a brother, and two sisters were a part of the MEK, first during the reign of the Shah,(1973-1979) later under the rule of the Mullahs. Her Brother Mahmoud is a veteran member of the MEK and was a political prisoner during the Shah’s regime. Her sisters were both killed, her older sister Nargez by the Savak (the security police of the Shah)in 1975, and Massoumeh was killed by the mullahs regime in 1982, she was pregnant at the time. Maryam Rajavi was running for a seat in the parliament in 1980 but was a victim of an election fraud by the mullahs, a conduct the mullahs have continued up until this years election.

In 1993, during its plenary session, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition whose members include a number of Iranian opposition organizations and prominent personalities, elected Mrs. Rajavi as the President-elect for the period of transitioning power to the Iranian people. In these days we celebrate the anniversary of the election. 

As the president-elect of the NCRI Mrs. Rajavi has mounted an extraordinary political, social, cultural and ideological challenge to the ruling mullahs in Iran. Under her leadership, women of the resistance have obtained equality to men. Many women in the NCRI hold key positions in the organization and Half of the NCRI members are women. All of this has been made possible under the rule of Maryam Rajavi.

Maryam Rajavi president-elect of Iranian resistance

The very fact that the NCRI elected a female president has been a major problem for the mullahs in Tehran, they do not recognize women as equal persons compared to men. In the eyes of the mullahs regime, women are worth half of that of a man, and a woman must obey her husband, she can not do anything without the approval of her husband. 

Mrs. Rajavi has published 3 books on the subject of women’s role in Islam “Islam, women and equality.”  “Women, the force for change.”  And “Women against fundamentalism”. 
As early as in 1994, in a speech in Oslo City Hall, Mrs. Rajavi warned about the octopus of the religious tyranny and Islamic fundamentalism whose heart beats in Tehran. 
In  December 2004, at a speech in EU parliament, she proposed the third option for Iran. The two first was to compromise with the mullahs and the second was overthrowing of the mullahs by a foreign war, none of these options are optimal so she proposed a third option where the change in Iran comes from the people and the Iranian resistance. 
Mrs. Rajavi has become the beacon of hope for all Iranians that are working for a free and democratic Iran, the people of Iran know that under the leadership of Mrs. Rajavi this can be the future Iran, but they also know that an overthrow of the mullahs is a must. And the Iranian people know that Mrs. Rajavi will lead them well towards freedom. 

Newt Gingrich: The National Council of Resistance of Iran has a tremendous potential

21.10.17
By Zohair Ahmad
On October 20th, 2017 during a National Press Club Luncheon entitled New US policy: The way forward. Gingrich delivered a powerful speech where he praised President Trump’s decision to decertify the JCPOA nuclear deal and condemning the Iranian regime and its ideological arm, the IRGC. 

Newt Gingrich speaks in National Press Club

He stated that in his opinion the President made the right decision regarding the JCPOA, the very fact that he did not recertify the JCPOA show that the President is on the right path. He did not break out of the agreement. But he communicated that the agreement was vulnerable. 
Regarding the JCPOA, the former house spokesman noted that this is in the end about a dictatorship which defined in its very constitution that it is a revolutionary regime with global aspirations. He added that this is about a regime which just three weeks ago when parliament passed a defense bill chanted “Death to America”.  Gingrich described the regime as a dictatorship with the façade of democracy, he added that it would be in the best interest of the US to find a way to replace the dictatorship.

A briefing with Newt Gingrich, the former US house spokesman

Gingrich expressed his support for the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the NCRI. He stated that the NCRI has been the best source of information on the Iranian nuclear program. He added that the NCRI President-Elect Maryam Rajavi has done an amazing job of leading an organization through a very long, very difficult period. He expressed hope that at some point in the near future that Mrs. Rajavi would be invited to the United States and to have both the chance to meet with American leaders in Washington, but also to tour across the country. He added that Mrs. Rajavi is one example of a symbol of resistance to the dictatorship that would have a huge impact across the country. 
Gingrich concluded his speech by expressing his “strategic optimism” for Iran, he stated that we have an enormous amount of work ahead of us, but he thinks it is doable and the tide of history is with freedom, we will get stronger and they will get weaker he said. 
We have high hopes that the American President will be firm on his change of policy regarding the dictatorial regime of Iran and that he will show his support for the will of the Iranian people, a regime change. Only then can we bring the armed conflicts in the middle east to an end. It is a known fact that the Iranian resistance will remove the nuclear facilities from Iranian soil entirely, they are aspiring for a nuclear-free Iran. So the best solution to the Iranian nuclear threat would be to remove the mullahs from power and to insert a democratically elected government.  

The horrific truth about the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran

18.10.17
By Zohair Ahmad
It has become common knowledge that during the summer of 1988 the clerical regime murdered more than 30 000 political prisoners in the most brutal fashion. The UN special rapporteur Asma Jahangir mentioned the massacre in her rapport to the UN when she addressed the human rights situation in Iran this year. There has also been requested that the UN should assemble an inquiry committee to investigate the 1988 massacre.

Action in France in memorial for 1988 massacre victims

The audio tapes that were revealed by the late Ayatollah Montazeri’s son leave no doubt that Khomeini’s death Fatwa was a crime against humanity and must be dealt with accordingly. The fatwa about killing members and supporters of the PMOI was a crime against humanity and all the people that had a role in implementing this decree were involved in a crime against humanity. 

It is no secret that the same people that were involved in these killings are the same people that are now at the helm of the Islamic Republic of Iran and they are also involved in the suppression and destruction of different sectors of Iranian society. 
It is clear that the culprits behind the 1988 massacre will continue to abuse human rights until they are faced with a judge and a jury and are tried for this hideous crime. The first step will be to acknowledge the 1988 massacre, the second step will be to start an inquiry to reveal the extent of this crime, the third step is to seek justice for the 30 000 victims of this horrific crime. The very fact that everyone that had any connection with the PMOI was murdered, not even unborn babies were spared, they got killed with their mothers. Also, children were reported killed during this killing spree by the regime. Youngest victim we know about was 13 years old. The list of victims that were killed during the summer of 1988 might never be completed since the regime is doing whatever they can to cover this up, they have even resorted to demolishing the mass graves of the victims in an effort to destroy vital evidence of the crime. 
We, therefore, urge you all to join us in our request to the UN that the 1988 massacre must be mentioned as a human rights violation and that an independent inquiry committee must be appointed by the UN in an effort to seek justice for the thousands of victims that perished under this massacre.  

Iranian people protest the regimes plundering

16.10.17
By Zohair Ahmad
For the past 3 weeks, the people of Iran has conducted a 24-hour sit-down to protest the regimes plundering of their assets. The protesters are no longer afraid of the police and their slogan for the protests are “Shame on you #Rouhani “. There are videos of the protests spread all over the internet so the regime’s censorship agencies have failed in their strategy of trying to isolate the Iranian people from the rest of the world. It has been a long-term strategy of the regime to cut the Iranian society’s connections with the rest of the world but people are inventive in their ways of getting the messages out to the rest of the world.

 The Iranian wealth has been plundered from the people and have ended up in the pockets of the mullahs or have been used to monger war I Syria, Iraq and Yemen. This conduct has made the “Persian lion” angry, the mullahs are getting richer at the expense of the people and that is not acceptable. Many of the protesters have not been paid their lawful salaries and people are starving due to the rise in poverty that the regime is the main cause of. 
 The Iranian people show the regime exactly what they think of the regime and there is no doubt that the Iranian people want a regime change in the near future. We have seen during the presidential (S)- election that people are no longer playing along with the regime's games and made it very clear that their preferred president was the NCRI President-Elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi. Posters all over Iran brings testimony to this wish from the people. 
And during the second half of the year, we can see a significant rise in protests all across the country.  This is a clear sign of the beginning of the end for the clerical regime. People are letting the regime know that enough is enough, they will rather die standing than living their lives on their knees. The proud people of Iran are showing the mullahs that they stand tall and will never yield. 
 The only solution to the plundering and the poverty are a regime change, only when NCRI and the Iranian people are in charge of Iran will there be peace and democracy. The NCRI has pledged to establish a social security system that takes care of the children, the old and the disabled, in the future Iran no one will starve or be homeless. The government will be working to make lives better for the average Iranian, not like it is now, just the mullahs and their families are not starving. 
And it is this future Iran that the people are protesting for, they want a democratically elected President and they want basic human rights and above all they want freedom. 

What impact will Trump’s decertification of the JCPOA have on the Iranian regime?

 15.10.17
By Zohair Ahmad
 A few days ago Trump was addressing the JCPOA and all its flaws. He made it very clear that the days of appeasement of the Iranian regime is over and done with. He made it clear that the United States will make sure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. He also pointed out that the IRGC’s activities must be stopped at any cost.
 He further stated that the suffering of the regime’s longest suffering victims, its own people must come to an end. Trump claimed that if the nuclear deal had not been signed in 2015 the Iranian regime as we know it would cease to exist. The American President acknowledged the criminal actions of the regime and that steps would be taken accordingly.

Maryam Rajavi welcomed new US strategy for Iran

 The President-elect of the NCRI, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi welcomed the decision from the American President as a good step in the right direction. She added that a firm policy towards the regime is long overdue, however, the ultimate solution is the overthrow of the regime and the establishment of freedom and democracy in Iran by the Iranian people and its resistance.

 She stated that the appeasement policy towards Iran regime has been the one thing standing in the way of a regime change in Iran.  Mrs. Rajavi welcomed the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist entity under executive order 13224 and described it as an inevitable, necessary step for regional and global peace and security. She added that the IRGC is the prime means of suppression, execution, and torture in Iran, spreading terrorism throughout the world, warmongering and massacres in the region.  Mrs. Rajavi added some practical steps in the new US policy against the Iranian regime:
 -The regime’s crimes and particularly the 1988 massacre of 30 000 prisoners must be referred to the UN Security Council and the criminals must be brought to justice.
  -The clerical regime, the IRGC, and its mercenary militias must be expelled from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Yemen. And they must be prevented from shipping arms and dispatching forces to these countries.
 -In view of its support for terrorism and continued human rights abuses, the Iranian regime must be denied access to international banking systems.
  - And the previous UN Security Council resolutions on the clerical regime’s nuclear weapons project, ban on nuclear enrichment, as well as free and unconditional inspections of military and non-military centers must be implemented.  Only time will tell how the middle east puzzle will look like in a few years but one thing is certain, the Iranian people and its resistance will not rest until Iran is a free and democratic Iran. The Mullahs will no longer rule the oppressed Iranian people and the country will prosper and grow once again. 

How does Iran sponsor global terrorism with IRGC?

07.10.2017
By Zohair Ahmad
In a short but very informative video, we can see how Iran has been training terrorists in Iran and dispatching them across the globe. Iran is the very reason ISIS came to be. Even the United States Government, in their annual report on terrorism 2016, referred to Iran as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism. They also state in their report that Iran is, in fact, employing foreign nationals.
But how does Iran pull that off? We need not look any further than the IRGC’s extraterritorial arm, the Quds force, they are involved in terrorist activities all around the globe, not only in the Middle East area.

The history behind the IRGC is that the force was established to preserve the power of the clerical dictatorship of the regime. The IRGC is ensuring that by committing terror against its own people. The IRGC is also the main force that ensures the regime's pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

Iranian teachers cry for freedom and justice

04.10.2017
By Zohair Ahmad
As the world teachers day are approaching it is disturbing to see all the gruesome news from Iran. It is a paradox that the richest region in Iran does not have enough teachers for their schools. 40% of the schools do not have teachers.

 

Iranian children school under tents 

And the regime's crimes against teachers and students continues. The former director-general of Teachers’ Trade Association, Esmail Abdi is on a hunger strike in prison, another teacher from Gilan has been sent into exile for singing in art class. The human rights violations against Iranian teachers and students are increasing and are most likely to rise even more under the mullahs, the mullahs have effectively destroyed the Iranian educational system and they are not going to rectify their errors anytime soon.

Ismail Abdi, prisoner of conscience and Secretary General of Iran’s Teachers

 The protests across the country are a clear sign of the discontent of the people, not only teachers and students but the general Iranian population. 

Teachers are protesting to get their salaries and their fund back but this is dangerous, many teachers have been arrested and tortured or sent in exile, this must stop if the regime does not follow the human rights bill they must resign from power. This inhumane anti-social regime has no place in 2017.

Teachers protest in Iran

In her message on the opening of the school year, NCRI’s

The Syrian children keep dying while the world leaders are watching in silence

03.10.2017
By Zohair Ahmad
During the past days, Idlib province, Northern Hama province, Aleppo West and South countrysides, Douma in East Ghouta and many other liberated areas have been targets of horrific air strikes by the Assad regime Airforce with help from the Russians. In Madira, Eastern Ghouta the regime forces attacked a center for the disabled. Another airstrike killed at least 3 medical personnel and damaged a number of medical facilities. The regime forces also target the Civil Defence Centers. This kind of news from Syria, unfortunately, becomes the new normal for all Syrians in the liberated areas.

 

As a response to all the killing a group of activists, the same group that started the campaign #StandWithAleppo back in October 2016, started a new campaign after they received distressed messages from their friends. They told the group that the bombing of Idlib and Aleppo countryside reminded them of the siege of Aleppo. The Twitter storm on Sunday 01.10.2017 was their response to their friend's distress call.  
Idlib has been hit by over 500 airstrikes this week, even in a de-escalation area, a vegetable market was hit. Not even the facilities of the White Helmets are spared. And of course, as always Assad's forces bombed schools and hospitals. 
The words from Dr. Fariba speaks for all Syrians “We don’t need tears, we need action.”