Author: AIAINY

By Mehrnoush Cheragh Abadi   |   EQUAL TIMES 9 April 2018 “Dedicating [only] one day to the labourer, is as though we dedicate [only] one day to the light, [or only] one day to the sun,” said Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s first Supreme Leader. “Every day is the day of the light, and every day is the day of the sun,” he continued, on the occasion of first May Day celebrations after the 1979 revolution in Iran. But it has been 39 years since the revolution and Iran’s working people are still waiting for their moment in the sun. Independent trade unions are…

AUGUSTA FREE PRESS AUGUSTA FREE PRESS   |   Moe Alafchi   |   March 6, 2018 The nationwide protests in Iran, which began on December 28 in Mashhad, gave voice to the economic frustration of ordinary Iranians, but quickly expanded to slogans like “death to [President] Rouhani”, “death to the dictator”, and “reformists, conservatives: the game is over.” In short, the protesters were demanding democratic change in Iran. To no one’s surprise, Iranian authorities responded violently, with at least 8,000 arrests and upwards of 50 deaths. The predictability of the suppression should have prepared Western policymakers to respond appropriately and effectively. Despite such brutality, the…

February 11, 2018 Internationally renowned and leading Pakistani human rights advocate Asma Jahangir has died, a family member said Sunday, in a stinging blow to the country’s embattled rights community. She was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran in September 2016 and delivered regular reports on the prevailing situation in the country to U.N. bodies. Jahangir who was 66 died of cardiac arrest, according to her sister. “Unfortunately we have lost her,” Hina Jilani, also a prominent rights activist, told AFP. Jahangir’s supporters and former opponents alike took to social media to offer their condolences and…

Ken Blackwell      Jan 26, 2018 On November 9, 1978, the US Ambassador to Tehran, William Sullivan sent shock waves through the foreign policy establishment with a diplomatic cable to the White House titled, “Thinking the unthinkable. Iran without the Shah.” The Iranian monarchy had been a US ally for decades but in less than three months, the Shah and the monarchy were history. Pundits were surprised by that change, and they were surprised again when Iran erupted at the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018. As the principal opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) played an…

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November 14, 2017 The United Nations Third Committee’s Adoption of the resolution citing human rights abuses in Iran, for the 64th times is welcomed but no enough. Association of Iranian Americans in New York welcomes the 64th U.N. resolution condemning the violations of human rights in Iran adopted on November 14, 2017 by the U.N. Third Committee.

October 25, 2017 Association of Iranian Americans in New York applauds newly announced U.S. policy changes towards Iran.  We specially commend the administration for calling out Iran for its nefarious acts of terror, human rights violations, and support for rogue regional/international elements. We believe that a more robust and active U.S. leadership to challenge the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is urgently needed. Designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization is certainly the right but long overdue policy move.  The IRGC is first and foremost, in charge of keeping the religious tyranny afloat through suppression of the Iranian people. …

August 31, 2017 GENEVA – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Asma Jahangir, today expressed her deep concern about the situation of a number of prisoners who have been on prolonged hunger strike to protest against their transfer to a high-security section of Rajai-Shahr prison in Karaj, West of Tehran, and about their treatment while in detention. “I am deeply alarmed by reports about the deteriorating medical conditions of the prisoners on hunger strike, and that their torture and ill-treatment have continued since their transfer,” Ms. Jahangir said. Over the past few weeks, 53…

August 23, 2017 Twitter is blocked in Iran because it poses a risk to national security, not because it threatens the morals or culture of the country, according to the newly appointed Iranian Minister of Information Technology and Communication (ITC), Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi. Jahromi, 36, the youngest member of Rouhani’s new cabinet, also said: “ITC has not been behind filtering Twitter, therefore it is not up to the ministry to unblock it. It is not right to say that we can end filtering Twitter since the entity behind the decision has done it for [its own] considerations.” This statement…