THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 10:30 PM CEST
25-Year-Old Killed While in Tehran Police Detention Center
A 25-year young man arrested by the Tehran Awareness Police on drug-related charges has suspiciously died. The victim is identified as Milad Jafari, 25, from Kermanshah who lived with his family in Tehran.
According to a relative, Milad was arrested on Thursday, April 7, and beaten by the Shapur Intelligence Police in Tehran. Intensive searching for the boy by his family turned out futile as the police repeatedly denied knowing his whereabouts. After repeated follow-ups by Milad’s family, they were contacted by Kahrizak forensic pathology center and asked to accept his body. Upon arrival, photos of Milad’s body were shown to his father and the reason for his death was stated to be “a fall from a height” during detention.
The informed source stated: “Despite forensic claims, there were bruises on the body and we saw bleeding on Milad’s face. Hence his family considers torture to be the cause of his death.”
Milad Jafari’s body was transferred to Kahrizak Forensic Pathology Center in Tehran on Friday, April 7, but the police announced the date of death of Milad on Monday, April 11. According to the source, Milad Jafari’s family emphasized that they will refuse to deliver the body until the autopsy is performed and the cause of their son’s death is clarified.
UPDATE: 8:00 PM CEST
Upon Kian Tire Shut Down 1,200 Workers Lost Their Jobs
Following the shut down of the Kian Tire Rubber Factory, which was closed down a few days ago due to uncertainty over factory ownership, financial issues, and raw material problems, 1,200 workers are now dealing with unemployment and the fate of their families is unknown in the midst of nationwide economic crises. Today, the workers of this company held a protest rally and asked the state officials for salvation.
Dust Storms Are Swirling Over Iran
Air pollution in Kangavar, Kermanshah Province, forced primary and preschool schools to shut down. According to state media, the intensity of the dust storm and its influx into Kermanshah province on Tuesday crossed the environmental red lines and turned the situation of cities like Qasr Shirin and Sarpol-e Zahab to crisis mode.
In Khuzestan province, schools in 10 cities including Ahvaz, Hamidiyeh, Bavi, Karun, Dasht-e Azadegan, Hoveyzeh, Abadan, Khorramshahr, Bandar Mahshahr, and Shadegan, were closed due to dust storm.
The official IRNA news agency reported today: “Provinces like East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Kurdistan, Qazvin, Zanjan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Lorestan, Markazi, Isfahan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Qom, Tehran, Alborz, Semnan, and Fars will experience strong winds with dust tomorrow.”
UPDATE: 2:00 PM CEST
Three More Executions in Iran
In the last three days, the Iranian regime’s Judiciary has executed three prisoners at Karaj and Isfahan prisons.
According to sources, a prisoner named Behnam Golmohammad was executed in Karaj Central Prison on Monday, April 11, and Hamid Rastegar, 34, and Gholamreza Paki, 45, from Kashan, were executed in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan on Wednesday, March 13.
Seven Poor and Hardworking Freight Carriers Shot in Western Iran
During the last two days, at least seven ‘kulbars’ (poor people who carry heavy loads for a living) have been wounded by direct fire from the armed forces of the Iranian regime on the borders of Nosud and Baneh, Western Iran.
According to a report from a local human rights organization, on Tuesday evening, April 12, the forces of the Border Regiment stationed at the Nosud border fired at a number of ‘kulbars’, injuring at least five people named Salam Azami and Arman Mustafazadeh, Salam Moradi, Sattar, and Farzad (surnames unknown).
In the morning of the same day, a 30-year-old man named Adak was shot and wounded by the Border Regiment at the same border. At dawn on Wednesday, April 13, a 21-year-old ‘kulbar’ from Baneh, identified as Mohammad Moloudi, was severely wounded by direct fire from the Border Regiment.
IRGC Commander Resorts to Threatening Rhetoric
“If all American leaders are killed, it is still not a match for avenging Qassem Soleimani’s blood,” commander of the Revolutionary Guards Ground Forces Mohammad Pakpour said today. “We must avenge the blood of martyr Soleimani by continuing his path as well as other means. After the IRGC operation in Ayn al-Assad, we have taken action against the Zionist regime and the Americans, which were very serious and striking.
Iranian ‘Ghost Armada’ Ferries $22 Billion Worth of Illicit Oil to China
Iran’s fleet of “ghost ships” has ferried at least $22 billion worth of illicit oil to China since 2021, providing the hardline regime with a major source of revenue and raising questions about the Biden administration’s lax enforcement of sanctions.
In the first three months of 2022 alone, Iran shipped an average of 829,260 barrels of oil per day to China, according to new figures published by United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI), an advocacy group that closely tracks Tehran’s fleet of illegal tankers. A total of 337,882,520 illegal barrels—worth approximately $22 billion—have made their way to Beijing since President Joe Biden took office.
UPDATE: 9:30 AM CEST
A Sunni Prayer Hall Was Destroyed in Zahedan, Southeast Iran
A Sunni prayer hall was destroyed in Zahedan on Tuesday, April 12. The prayer hall called the “Bani Rahmat” (Arabic for ‘the Prophet of Mercy’) for Sunni citizens in Zahedan was destroyed for unknown reasons.
According to sources inside Iran, state agents destroyed the prayer hall by using heavy loaders in the early morning hours. The report quoted an informed source as saying: “This prayer hall, which was built in Danesh Street for several years, was set up under the supervision of Maki Mosque, and its imams and guardians were students of Maki Mosque in Zahedan.
Over 500 Iranian American Professionals Urge Biden To Keep Revolutionary Guard on Terror List
More than 500 Iranian American scientists, scholars and industry executives are urging the White House not to remove Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the U.S. foreign terrorism list, Tehran‘s key demand for reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.
In a letter to President Biden on Tuesday, the group said removing the IRGC from the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) would go “against the will and interest of the Iranian people” and would be “a direct threat to the advancement of democracy.”
2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran
On August 10, a Swedish court, drawing on the principle of universal jurisdiction, opened the trial of a former Iranian prosecutor, Hamid Nouri, for his alleged role in the executions of thousands of political prisoners in Iran in the 1980s. Human rights organizations and UNSR Rehman called for an independent inquiry into allegations of state-ordered executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, including the role played by newly elected President Ebrahim Raisi as Tehran’s deputy prosecutor at the time.
UPDATE: 12:00 AM CEST
Iran’s Internet Censorship Bill Hits Another Roadblock
Iran’s regime continues to face complications over its controversial internet censorship plan, dubbed the “Cyberspace Users Rights Protection” act, as the bill will return to the Majlis (parliament) floor to be discussed by lawmakers in an open session.
The decision came after 120 MPs voted in favor and 109 voted against the move in a closed session. While the details have yet to be revealed, it is clear that the regime is facing a quandary as to how to implement its plans to restrict access to internet services.
Iranians, MEK Supporters Demonstrated in Sweden, Norway, and Canada in Commemoration of Ashraf Martyrs on 8 April 2011
April 9, 2022: Freedom-Loving Iranians, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) supporters demonstrated in Sweden (Gothenburg), Norway (Oslo), and Canada (Toronto) in commemoration of Ashraf martyrs on 8 April 2011. Moreover, they are seeking justice for the 1988 massacre of martyrs.
In Death’s Waiting Room; Amnesty International’s Horrific Report on Iran’s Regime Prisons
April, 12, 2022: Amnesty International has published a report on the Iranian regime’s prisons; “In death’s waiting room: Deaths in custody following deliberate denial of medical care in Iran’s prisons”.
As it is written in the introduction of this report on the website of Amnesty International: “This briefing documents how Iranian officials are committing shocking violations of the right to life by deliberately denying ailing prisoners lifesaving healthcare and refusing to investigate and ensure accountability for unlawful deaths in custody. The briefing details the circumstances surrounding the deaths in custody of 92 men and four women in 30 prisons in 18 provinces across Iran since 2010.”
Read more: Iran News in Brief – April 12, 2022