IRAN TEMPORARY PAUSE OF THE STRIKE BY POLITICAL PRISONERS

• Iran
• NCRI

 NCRI - A group of political prisoners in Gohardasht - Karaj, west of the capital Tehran, after 40 days of hunger strike announced temporary pause of their strike on Thursday September 7.They said that despite the fact that so far none of our demands has been met, and we continue to be in inhumane conditions, at the request of individuals and social groups and labour activists, teachers and students,

current political prisoners and parliamentarians from the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and the European Parliament, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations and human rights activists and our families we temporary stop our strike from Friday, September 8, 2017 after 40 days, making it political protest fasting.

The political prisoners emphasize at the same time that if their demands are not met, they will begin hunger strike again.

The 40-day hunger strike of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Gohardasht prison had taken place in protest against the denial of basic human rights and violent treatment of the prisoners contrary to human dignity of the detainees by the Iranian regime.

In the statement addressed to the Iranian people and human rights organizations says during the strike, the prisoners have been deprived of the most basic facilities, even legalized in prison, access to legal proceedings in prison and access to medical treatment and the regime's judiciary and prison officials were trying to ignore and deny their hunger strike.

Gohardasht's political prisoners said they are grateful for the support they have received and added: “We all admit that our 40-day resistance in the difficult circumstances of Gohardasht prison was only possible with your support and sympathy and solidarity, and we believe that the realization of the cause of freedom and equality will be possible only through the unification of all political and social forces.”

BEWARE IRANIAN SLEEPER CELLS

• Iran
• NCRI

by  MICHAEL RUBIN

Iranian sleeper cells are nothing new.In 1992, as German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel relaxed German sanctions on Iran, the Iranian leadership activated a Berlin-based cell and assassinated several Iranian Kurdish dissidents at Berlin’s Mykonos Café.The 1994 Iranian attack on the Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires relied, in part, on Hezbollah operatives living in the triple border area where Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina meet.

The 1996 Khobar Towers attack, which killed 19 U.S. Airmen in Saudi Arabia, was conducted by Saudi Hezbollah operatives who had been recruited and trained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In effect, they were a sleeper cell for Iran in Saudi Arabia, which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operationalized to kill Americans and embarrass the Kingdom.

More recently, Arab states have complained about a resurgence of Iranian sleeper cells. In 2008, several Gulf Cooperation Council states accused Iran of establishing sleeper cells in their territories and, in 2010, Kuwait repeated the charges. After stating that it was monitoring Iranian cells in its territory, it subsequently rolled up an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps cell. In 2015, Kuwait said that they had interrupted a terror cell directed by the Iranian embassy in Kuwait City.

With Iran fully resourced by the lifting of many sanctions, new Asian and European investment and the cash provided by the Obama administration as ransom for American hostages, it seems Iranian efforts to sponsor cells in Africa and across the Middle East are increasing. Earlier this summer, Kuwait arrested alleged Iran and Hezbollah terror cell members.

Bahrain, too, is facing an increasing Iranian challenge that now seems to have hijacked and increased the lethality of the domestic unrest that erupted in 2011. Just last week, Bahrain broke up a ten-member terror cell. While some in the United States and Europe dismiss Bahraini complaints about Iranian provocations because of Bahrain’s sectarian troubles and previous human rights violations, each of the Bahraini interceptions of weaponry has turned out to be true. Simply put, non-violent oppositions do not need explosives and Kalashnikovs; terrorists do.

It seems blatantly obvious but, in a day and age where denial reigns supreme, it bears repeating: The presence of Iranian sleeper cells has long been the barometer of Iranian intention and the forerunner to Iranian terror attacks. They serve no other purpose. European leaders might consider Iranian President Hassan Rouhani a pragmatic or reforming voice inside the Islamic Republic, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif can woo more naïve diplomats and journalists enthralled with his personality and convinced of his sincerity. But it is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and intelligence ministries which call the shots, and the direction they are steering Iran is becoming all too clear.

IRAN REGIME IGNORES THE DEMANDS OF THE PENSIONERS

• Iran
• NCRI

NCRI - The Coordinating Council of Iranian Educational Organizations referred to the rough treatment of Iranian authorities towards the retirees, announcing that the retirees did not achieve favorable results through constant negotiations with government and Parliament. The authorities have only given them nothing but false promises.

The Coordinating Council on Tuesday, August 29 released a statement in support of the retirees, stating that they have no other choice rather than protesting against their situation so that their demands to be fulfilled. This Council also regretted to announce that the authorities did not treat the retired people quite well especially by giving them false promises although the retirees spend their life on raising awareness and training people in the society.

The statement also reads, "The pensioners have been persuing their rights through various means such as consultation, signing petitions, and rallies for many years. They expect a quiet life without any preoccupation as well as the most basic rights any citizen shall have."

The Coordinating Council in the statement raised demands concerning the increase of salary and receivables of the pensioners. The reports indicate that the retirees are more dissatisfied with their welfare and livelihood conditions in recent years.

Meanwhile, the government officials have been giving false promises to increase the pensions. On August 22, hundreds of Educational retirees and other government organizations staged protest in front of the Parliament of Iran. The protesters called for the law enforcement on the equality and promotion of insurance services.

The protesters were holding placards on which was written, "The poverty line is 4 million Tomans ($1200) , our Salary is 1 million Tomans ($300)", "Fighting against corruption and embezzlement, legal security, and welfare of retirees" , "We will keep on demanding as long as we are below the poverty line, until the realization of our rights".

The protester also chanted slogans of "Never seen the nation to bear this much of injustice", “The imprisoned teacher shall be released, Esmail Abdi shall be released." It is noteworthy that Esmail Abdi was the member of the board of Teacher's Association who was charged with endangering security. He is currently serving time in prison.

PROTESTORS FROM THE NCRI TO CALL ON MPS TO INVESTIGATE 1988 MASSACRE IN IRAN, WITH HELP FROM BARNET MPS THERESA VILLIERS AND MATTH

• Iran
• NCRI

Times, Aug. 31, 2017 - Barnet MPs will be joining with campaigners at a rally in support of Iranian political prisoners this weekend.
MPs Theresa Villiers and Matthew Offord will join members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), MPs and dignitaries in Trafalgar Square on Saturday to protest against executions and abuse of human rights in the country,

and to show support for those who have been imprisoned on political grounds.
The rally will also serve to call on the government to propose an independent investigation in the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran in 1988 during the upcoming UN General Assembly in September.
Ms Villiers said: ''The focus of the rally on Saturday is the mass killings which took place in 1988.
'Thousands of political prisoners were executed without trial and some of my own constituents lost family members.'
Ms Villiers also said she is working with the significant British Iranian community in Barnet to highlight the issue of human rights abuses in Iran, and wants more people to know what happened so those responsible can be brought to justice.
According to the NCRI, Iran holds the highest number of executions per capita in the world, and Iranian authorities carried out more than 100 executions, including hanging a juvenile offender, during the month of July alone.
Other people to speak at the rally include Margaret Owen OBE, a human rights barrister and director of charity Widows for Peace through Democracy, along with family members of those who were killed in 1988.
The rally begins at 1.30pm in Trafalgar Square on Saturday.