THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:30 PM CET
Amid Execution of A Man from the Bakhtiari Tribe, Protests Erupted in Southwest Iran
Firooz Bahrami was executed by the Iranian regime’s Judiciary after eight years in prison on charges of killing a police colonel. As a member of the Bakhtiari tribe in Dezful, Southwest Iran, he was tortured in prison for 7 years.
The officials refused to deliver the body to his family and ordered them to pay 500 million tomans (equal to $19,300 by current market rates) while forbidding them to bury him in Dezful.
Protesting the inhuman treatment, a group of the Bakhtiari tribe staged a rally in front of the Dezful governor’s office on Saturday, March 5, demanding the return of Firuz Bahrami’s body, threatening they will take up arms if needed.
Another Bakhtiari Is Sentenced to Death
During a staged trial in Shiraz, a young man from the Bakhtiari tribe, Iman Sabzikar, was sentenced to death for killing a police officer who was famous for extortion and coercion.
Protesting the sentence, the people of Jooneghan in the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province have threatened to rally if the death sentence is carried out.
In a hasty trial without any standard legal procedures, Iman Sabzikar, a hardworking worker, was sentenced to death. Following the ruling, Iman’s younger brother, Amin Sabzikar, committed suicide and died.
Iman Sabzikar is sentenced to death, 11 years in prison, 74 lashes, and his family is forced to pay a big fortune called Diyeh or “blood money”. Iman’s lawyer, who had participated in preliminary investigations, had witnessed the torturing and breaking of the bones of his client’s arms and legs.
UPDATE: 1:30 PM CET
State-run Newspaper Discloses Stats about Brain Drain
On Sunday, March 6, the state-run Sharq daily published some statistics about Iranian immigrants in the United States.
According to the newspaper, throughout US history, the 1.9 million strong Iranian community has had the highest rate of educational background. Sharq daily wrote:
- 51% of Iranian-Americans have more than a bachelor’s degree, which is twice as many as Americans.
- Iranians have the highest business ownership rates among the top 20 immigrant groups.
- According to statistics from MIT University, Iranian professors, scientists, engineers, and businesses in the United States own or manage about $1 trillion.
- There are about 15,000 Iranian physicians working in the United States.
- 12,000 Iranian professors study and teach in American universities and institutions of higher learning.
Raisi Commands To Eradicate Absolute Poverty in Two Weeks
PHOTO: IRANIAN PRESIDENCY/ZUMA PRESS
Posing at a ceremony called “Unveiling the Relief Committee’s Achievements”, the Iranian regime’s president Ebrahim Raisi ordered the eradication of absolute poverty in the country in the next two weeks.
“Organize your meetings and plans so that in the short term and even before this year’s Eid Nowrouz, you can help the poor and needy in society through jihadist actions,” he said during his speech.
According to the state-run website Tejarat News on February 11, thirty percent of Iran’s population are living under the poverty line according to official statistics. According to global definitions, the absolute poverty line is equivalent to $57 per month. Considering the current dollar exchange rate, the poverty line in Iran is equivalent to the poverty line in Africa.
Facebook Deletes al-Alam TV Page Permanently
According to the Judiciary-run Mizan news agency, Facebook has suspended the official page of the Iranian regime’s Arabic-language television, al-Alam.
According to Facebook, al-Alam did not comply with the company’s policies in terms of promoting the Lebanese Hezbollah and posting photos of its flag and leader, as well as other militias in Yemen. Facebook has imposed severe restrictions on the Tehran-owned network regarding the publication of world news on its page.
In January 2020, following the killing of IRGC-Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani by the United States, the al-Alam Facebook page was closed for several weeks.
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET
Iran’s Regime Parliament Approves Removing the Official Exchange Rate
On Sunday, the Iranian regime’s parliament hastily approved the removal of the official exchange rate. The official exchange rate of 42000 rials for a dollar was introduced in 2018 by Hassan Rouhani’s government, in a bid to control rising prices. However, Rouhani, other regime officials, and their relatives used the official exchange rate to import basic goods but sell them at a much higher price to profit. Ebrahim Raisi intends to remove this rate not to help people, but to increase prices of basic necessities, keep the currency for wasting in on terrorism and fueling proxy wars, and impose economic hardships on people.
Banishing Into Prison Exile, Additional Punishment for Peaceful Activism in Iran
The Iranian regime’s judiciary has a documented history of banishing into prison exile those held for politically motivated reasons.
By sending prisoners to exile, judicial authorities seek to isolate prisoners, and escalated pressure on them as a form of additional punishment.
The practice of sending prisoners into prison exile is also unlawful and could be challenged in the Supreme Administrative Court, as it violates Note 3 of Article 513 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which states that prisoners should serve their terms in prisons close to where they live.
Baluch Man Killed by Security Forces in Southeast Iran
A Baluch man was killed Saturday by the state security forces in Zahedan, southeastern Iran.
Loghman Narouii, a 33-year-old Baluch man, was shot in the head by security forces after he refused to stop at a police checkpoint for not having a driving license.
The Iranian regime’s armed forces, shoot, kill, or injure innocent civilians without being held accountable.
Read more: Iran News in Brief – March 6, 2022
