The Iranian Diaspora Brief

The Iranian Diaspora Brief: January 28, 2021

Top Stories

Exposing Iran’s Covert Assets Should Lead To Erasure Of Propaganda Against Dissidents | Iran News Update

Federal prosecutors recently announced that the U.S. is pursuing prosecution of a supposed foreign relations expert who spent more than 12 years operating as an unregistered agent of the Iranian regime. Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi was paid at least 265,000 dollars through Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations during that time, in exchange for promoting a variety of Iranian talking points via his books and published articles. Afrasiabi was interviewed and quoted by a number of mainstream news outlets and even went so far as to assist a U.S. congressman in the drafting of a letter to President Barack Obama.

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‘Iran’s Nelson Mandela’ Is Back In Prison. Biden Must Push For Her Freedom | Jeff Kaufman For The Washington Post

Nasrin Sotoudeh, an attorney and human rights activist often called “Iran’s Nelson Mandela,” is back in an overcrowded prison cell, separated from those she loves. Under arrest since 2018, she was granted a brief medical leave this month, but it was abruptly canceled on Jan. 19, the same day the government froze her family’s bank accounts. That afternoon, her husband, Reza Khandan, drove her to Qarchak’s prison for women, accompanied by their daughter Mehraveh and son Nima. Imagine what each of them was thinking and feeling during that hour-long drive — the dread and the heartbreak.

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Iran Executes Another Wrestler Despite US, International Outcry, Reports Say | Fox News

This time last year, Mohammad could still just about afford fruit and chicken for his three children. But as US sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic have devastated the economy and spurred inflation — almost tripling the price of fresh fruit — the unemployed 47-year-old and his family survive on bread, potatoes and eggs and only then because he has received state “bonuses”, sold some home appliances and dipped into his savings.

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Regime Abuses

Tehran Continues Arbitrary Arrests And Human Rights Violations | Iran Focus

The Iranian government has arrested at least 26 Kurdish citizens and activists from Kurdish cities or areas with a large Kurdish population in the past week. These people were arrested without warrants across Bukan, Mahabad, Marivan, Rabat, Sarvabad, and Sardasht, and are now detained in intelligence institutions. Some of those arrested by intelligence agents were beaten, while their homes were raided and their belongings seized. Let’s look at it in more detail.

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33 Executions Carried Out In Iran In The Span Of One Month | Iran Human Rights Monitor

Two executions carried out in the prisons of Sanandaj and Zahedan on January 18 and 19, brought to 33 the number of prisoners executed in Iran in just one month from December 20 to January 19. This number does not include those prisoners who are secretly executed and it is not possible to ascertain their names and places of execution. These executions were carried out in the prisons of Ahvaz, Qom, Zahedan, Ardabil, Sanandaj, Karaj, Rasht, Mashhad, Meshkinshahr, Zabol, Tabriz, Yazd and Qazvin.

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Iran Sentences 2 Bahai Women To 10 Years Of Prison | Iran Press Watch

A Revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced two Bahai women to five years of prison each for following the outlawed faith yesterday. According to the Human Rights News Agency, the two women, identified as Sofia Mobini and Negin Tadrisi, were arrested on October 26, 2017 during an occasion to mark the 200th birthday of Baháʼu’lláh, the founder of the Baha’i faith. They were transferred to Evin Prison but were later released on bail. The two women were charged with “acting against national security by promoting the Bahai faith” according to Article 498 of the Islamic Penal code.

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Prisoner Of Conscience Saeid Sangar Re-Sentenced After 20 Years In Prison, Tortured For Supporting MEK | NCRI

Saeid Sangar, 47, from Piranshahr, one of Iran’s longest-incarcerated political activists was again sentenced to 11 months in prison in Urmia after already severing more than 20 years in prison for supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Sanger, imprisoned since his arrest in August 2000, was interrogated and tortured in solitary confinement in Evin Prison until 2003 and sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of “moharebeh” and “contacts with the MEK.”

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Political Prisoner Loghman Hakimpour Receives A 10-Year Prison Sentence | Iran Human Rights Monitor

Political prisoner Loghman Hakimpour was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He is presently detained in Evin Prison in Tehran. Political prisoner Loghman Hakimpour has been detained for seven months. He was summoned to court and tried on January 12, 2021. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security” and to another 5 years for “membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).”

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Five Arab Political Prisoners Go On Hunger Strike In Shaiban Prison Of Ahvaz | Iran Human Rights Monitor

Five Arab political prisoners have started a hunger strike in Shaiban Prison of Ahvaz, capital of southwestern Iranian Province of Khuzestan. Jasem Heydari, Ali Khasraji, Hossein Seilavi, Ali Motiri, and Ali Mojaddam sewed their lips and started a hunger strike on Saturday, January 23, 2021. The Arab political prisoners are refusing food to protest mistreatment of inmates by prison guards and authorities and depriving them of visitation. They are also protesting the use of the death penalty.

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Prisoner Of Conscience Saba Kord Afshari Violently Relocated Within Qarchak Prison | Iran Human Rights Monitor

Prisoner of conscience Saba Kord Afshari was violently moved out of ward 8 of Qarchak Prison on Tuesday, January 26, and taken to ward 6 where inmates with common crimes are held. An informed source said: In a bid to terrorize inmates in ward 8, male and female prison guards entered ward 8 while hitting their batons and stun guns on the doors and walls. They intimidated the prisoners and said Saba Kord Afshari must move out of that ward. 

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Political Prisoner Akbar Bagheri In Dire Health, Denied Treatment | Iran Human Rights Monitor

Political prisoner Akbar Bagheri is detained in the Great Tehran Penitentiary (GTP). He is in dire health condition and needs to be treated at a civic hospital, but the GTP warden, Asghar Fat’hi, has prevented his hospitalization. The life and health of this prisoner is in danger. Akbar Bagheri has a gastrointestinal illness and his physical condition is deteriorating in detention. The prison’s doctor says he must be treated at a civic hospital and operated on. He has a hemorrhoid and serious anemia. He also suffers from kidney and liver complications. 

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Unprecedented Violations Of Human Rights Against Iranian Baluchis | Iran Focus

In recent weeks, Iranian Baluchis have faced unprecedented oppression by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and other repressive apparatuses. According to Baluchi human rights activists, at least 16 citizens have been hanged at the Zahedan Central Prison in only 35 days. The number of executions in one prison has severely shocked the people. Activists say this number is unprecedented.

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While The World Focuses On Saving Lives, Iran Murders Hundreds More Resistance Fighters | Tsarizm

While the international community is involved in combating the coronavirus pandemic, vaccinating populations, and the US elections, the Iranian regime is engaged in leveraging the JCPOA, piracy, firing missiles, terrorism, bombings in neighboring countries and threatening the former US president on social media with revenge. The Iranian regime seeks to break the embargo on isolation by extortion and threatening the international community. Inside Iran, however, the mullahs try to prevent protests and uprising by executions, repression, and putting pressure on political activists, to delay its overthrow.

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In the News

How Iran’s Regime Enjoys Impunity To Continue Human Rights Abuses | NCRI

On the third anniversary of the major Iran protests in January 2018, Amnesty International released a statement, underlining how the international community’s inaction has granted impunity to the regime’s authorities to kill, detain and continue harassing protesters. “On the third anniversary of the nationwide protests of December 2017 and January 2018, Amnesty International renews its calls for justice for the dozens of protesters, including children, who were killed by Iran’s security forces across the country, and their bereaved families.

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Freed Academic Urges Support For Iran’s Innocent Detainees | Arab News

A British-Australian academic detained in Iran for two years has spoken out two months after her release to call for freedom for other innocent people currently jailed by the Tehran regime. Kylie Moore-Gilbert spent more than two years in jail in the Iranian capital on unsubstantiated charges of espionage, before being freed late last year. She initially faced a 10-year sentence, but was released early as part of a prisoner swap with Iran.

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EU Must Adopt Punitive Measures Against Tehran In Assadollah Assadi’s Case | Iran Focus

On February 4, a criminal court in Antwerp, Belgium, is supposed to issue its final sentence about Iran’s third counselor Assadollah Assadi in Vienna. On July 1, 2018, in a joint operation between European law enforcement, Assadi was arrested in the German state of Bayern for transferring and delivering 1lb of explosive material and a detonator to a terrorist couple in Luxemburg to attack a major gathering of Iranian dissidents in Paris. 

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Iranian Media Admits To MEK Role In Sanctions And Protests | Iran News Update

As infighting among the Iranian regime grows, the state-run media is openly admitting that the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) is playing a vital role in organizing the resistance against the regime, both by the Iranian people and the international community. In a Sunday editorial, the state-run Mardom Salari daily admitted that increased sanctions against the Iranian regime could be linked back to the PMOI/MEK’s revelation about the mullahs’ nuclear weapons program in 2002.

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Opinion

Dissidents First: A Foreign Policy Doctrine for the Biden Administration | Bret Stephens For The New York Times

Would Iran like to resume nuclear negotiations? Then let Sotoudeh, Alinejad and every other political case in Evin Prison go. In that connection, it beggars belief that the White House is reportedly considering former diplomat Robert Malley as a special envoy for Iran. Malley is widely seen as one of Tehran’s premier apologists in Washington; in November 2019 he went so far as to suggest that massive public protests in Iran justified Tehran’s paranoia about an Israeli-Saudi-U.S. plot. A Malley appointment would signal that, on the things that matter most, Biden’s foreign policy will be coldly transactional.

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It’s Time To Hold Iran Regime Leaders Accountable For ‘Crime Against Humanity’ | Ali Safavi For Townhall

The preamble of the Rome Statute, a treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), says that all peoples are united by common bonds, forming a “delicate mosaic” that may be “shattered at any time.” It adds that there are grave crimes committed that “threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world.” Such crimes must not go unpunished and the impunity for the perpetrators must end so that further crimes can be prevented.

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Iran: Regime Intimidates Public In Bid To Prevent Uprisings | Hassan Mahmoudi For Eurasia Review

While the international community is involved in combating the coronavirus pandemic, vaccination, and US elections, the Iranian regime is engaged in leveraging JCPOA, piracy, firing missiles, terrorism, bombings in neighboring countries and threatening the former US president on social media with definite revenge. The Iranian regime seeks to break the embargo on isolation by extortion and threatening the international community. Inside Iran, however, the mullahs try to prevent protests and uprising by executions, repression, and putting pressure on political activists, to delay its overthrow.

Read the full article here.

Non-English Language Media

بازداشت ده‌ها شهروند کرد در ایران؛ ‘خانواده‌ها از مکان و وضعیت زندانیان بی‌خبرند’| BBC News

نهادهای حقوق بشری کردستان از بازداشت ده‌ها فعال کرد در غرب ایران خبر داده‌اند. شمار بازداشت‌شدگان بین ۵۰ تا ۶۷ نفر گزارش شده است.

موج اخیر بازداشت شهروندان کرد در ایران از دو هفته قبل شروع شده است. شبکه حقوق بشر کردستان می‌گوید پیگیری‌های این گروه بازداشت دست‌کم پنجاه نفر را تایید می‌کند “اما با توجه فشار نهادهای امنیتی بر خانواده بازداشت‌شدگان در خصوص عدم اطلاع‌رسانی درباره بازداشت و وضعیت آنها، احتمال داده می‌شود شمار بازداشت‌شدگان بیش از این تعداد باشد.”

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فشار بر فعالان بلوچ ایران؛ تخریب زیربنای یک مکان مذهبی و بازداشت یک روحانی اهل سنت | BBC News

در پی تخریب زیربنای یک مکان مذهبی متعلق به اهل سنت در ایرانشهر و بازداشت یک روحانی سنی، نگرانی موج برخوردهای امنیتی در سیستان و بلوچستان افزایش یافته است. همزمان گزارش‌هایی از جو امنیتی و تیراندازی در ایرانشهر منتشر شده است. در هفته‌های گذشته هم اعدام شماری از فعالان و شهروندان بلوچ با اعتراض شهروندان و هشدار نهادهای ناظر بر وضعیت حقوق بشر در ایران مواجه شد. گزارش‌ها حاکی است، بامداد شنبه ۴ بهمن ماه ۹۹ زیربنای عیدگاه (مکان مذهبی اهل سنت) در شهر ایرانشهر تخریب شده است.

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عفو بین‌الملل:‌ جامعه جهانی «چرخه خونریزی‌ توسط مقام‌های ایرانی» را متوقف کند | Voice Of America

عفو بین‌الملل در سومین سالگرد اعتراضات سراسری دی ماه ۱۳۹۶ با انتشار بیانیه‌ای، بار دیگر بر ضرورت اجرای عدالت در حق ده‌ها تن از معترضان و کشته شدگان این اعتراضات در سراسر کشور و خانواده‌‌های آنها تاکید کرد. سازمان عفو بین‌الملل روز چهارشنبه ۱ بهمن ماه با انتشار این بیانیه‌ اعلام کرده است که به رغم سپری شدن سه سال از آن سرکوب‌ مرگبار مقام‌های ایرانی از انجام تحقیقات کیفری «حتی درباره‌ یک مورد از مجموعه جرایم و تخلفات حقوق بشری ارتکاب یافته شامل کشتارهای ناقض قوانین بین‌المللی، ناپدیدسازی‌های قهری، شکنجه و سایر رفتارهای بیرحمانه، غیرانسانی و تحقیرآمیز توسط نیروهای امنیتی چه در جریان اعتراضات و چه در پی آن» خودداری کرده‌اند.

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مسعود کردپور: موج بازداشت‌ فعالان کُرد در ایران نگران‌کننده است | Voice Of America

برخی منابع خبری محلی در استان کردستان در ایران می‌گویند ده‌ها فعال مدنی کُرد طی ده روز اخیر در شهرهای نقده، مریوان، سنندج، و کرج بازداشت شده‌اند. برخی از خانواده‌های افراد بازداشت شده به صدای آمریکا گفته‌اند که هیچ جزئیاتی از دلیل این بازداشت‌ها به آنها اعلام نشده است. پیشتر، کانون مدافعان حقوق بشر ضمن ابراز نگرانی از بازداشت گسترده فعالان مدنی، دانشجویی، و سیاسی در کردستان، با انتشار بیانیه‌ای خواستار آزادی هر چه سریعتر بازداشت‌شدگان شد. مسعود کردپور، سردبیر آژانس خبری «موکریان‌» در سنندج، به صدای آمریکا می‌گوید موج بازداشت‌ها موجب نگرانی فعالان مدنی شده است.

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 ادامه سرکوب شهروندان کُرد در ایران؛ کانون مدافعان حقوق‌بشر بازداشت گسترده فعالان کُرد را محکوم کرد | Voice Of America

کانون مدافعان حقوق بشر ضمن ابراز نگرانی از بازداشت گسترده فعالان مدنی، دانشجویی، و سیاسی در کردستان، با انتشار بیانیه‌ای خواستار آزادی هر چه سریعتر بازداشت‌شدگان شد. این نهاد حقوق بشری روز دوشنبه ۶ بهمن ماه، با انتشار این بیانیه ضمن اعتراض به امنیتی کردن فضای کردستان و تداوم شیوه‌های سرکوبگرانه در این منطقه، خواستار آزادی هر چه سریعتر افراد بازداشت شده، پایان دادن به تضییع حقوق متهمان، و نگرانی خانواده‌های بازداشت‌شدگان شد. کانون مدافعان حقوق بشر در ادامه این بیانیه، ضمن اعتراض به بی‌توجهی نهادهای قضایی و امنیتی به بدیهی‌ترین حقوق متهمان بازداشتی، از جمله «نحوه بازداشت» و «عدم دسترسی به وکیل.

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