Iran: Widespread suppression of youths under the pretext of combating “thugs and hooligans”

NCRI – The semi-official news agency Fars on Sunday in what it called a major sweep of "thugs and hooligans" referred to the "widespread arrests across the greater Tehran." "The arrests are made in accordance with the 'public security plan' [already in progress since 2007] and various police units had participated," Fars added.

Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran's prosecutor-general, went along in the raids on the capital's youths with the Brig. Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, chief of greater Tehran's State Security Forces (SSF) – mullahs' suppressive police – to supervise the operations. He promised to expedite the legal procedure in passing harsh punishments. "We will setup a special 'branch of the judiciary' to had down strict and suppressive sentences when it comes to our policy of dealing with narcotics; such crimes, [referring to the youths], can be punishable by death sentence."

NCRI – The semi-official news agency Fars on Sunday in what it called a major sweep of "thugs and hooligans" referred to the "widespread arrests across the greater Tehran." "The arrests are made in accordance with the 'public security plan' [already in progress since 2007] and various police units had participated," Fars added.

Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran's prosecutor-general, went along in the raids on the capital's youths with the Brig. Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, chief of greater Tehran's State Security Forces (SSF) – mullahs' suppressive police – to supervise the operations. He promised to expedite the legal procedure in passing harsh punishments. "We will setup a special 'branch of the judiciary' to had down strict and suppressive sentences when it comes to our policy of dealing with narcotics; such crimes, [referring to the youths], can be punishable by death sentence."

On November 23, 2007, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Roozbehani, head of the "moral police" in the mullahs' regime announced that 4,800 were arrested under the pretext of combating "hooligans and thugs." There are 240 juveniles among them, the official news agency IRNA reported.

He added, "The plan to boost public moral is not going to stop any time soon. Thirty percent of those arrested were sentenced to long prison terms and 50 others are on the death row."

The mullahs' regime is faced with popular uprising and growing resistance at home as well as ever increasing international isolation. To survive, it has turned into more suppressive measures against youths under the pretext of "combating thugs and hooligans." Waves of street arrests, torture and public hangings are employed to scare various sectors of the society such as youths, women, students and workers.

The Iranian Resistance calls on the UN Secretary General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and all international human rights organizations, in particular, children's rights groups to condemn the Iranian regime and refer its dossier of systematic human rights violations to the UN Security Council.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
July 15, 2008