Iran news in brief, June 27, 2019

Iran news in brief, June 27, 2019

Iran Regime Is Torturing Families of Victims of the 1988 Massacre

Amnesty International says Iran's regime is torturing the families of the victims of the 1988 massacre.

The Iranian authorities are systematically violating the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment by cruel practices targeting family members of the thousands of prisoners who were forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in prisons across Iran in 1988, said Amnesty International on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Three decades on from when the Iranian authorities forcibly disappeared and killed thousands of political dissidents in secret, dumping their bodies in unmarked mass graves, they continue to torment relatives by refusing to disclose when, how and why their loved ones were killed and where their remains are buried. Family members who have sought truth and justice have faced threats, harassment, intimidation and attacks.

Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said on Wednesday: “There is no doubt that the agonizing suffering inflicted on victims’ families for more than 30 years violates the absolute prohibition on torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment under international law.”

US Pushes UN to Tighten Iran Sanctions Blacklist

The United States has asked the UN Security Council to update its sanctions blacklist on the Iranian regime after complaining of lapses in enforcing travel bans and asset freezes, according to a letter seen by AFP on Wednesday.

The push for tougher enforcement of UN sanctions came amid soaring tensions between the United States and the Iranian regime following Washington's decision to impose new sanctions on Tehran and recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.

The UN blacklist contains the names of 23 individuals and 61 entities linked to the regime’s nuclear activities, including the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Quds force.

Brian Hook: If Nuclear Deal Continued, Iran Would Be Stronger Aggressor Today

If the US had not pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, the Iranian regime would be a stronger aggressor today because the restrictions on its nuclear program would have been lifted eventually, US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said on Wednesday.

“We have put in place the right foreign policy at the right time- it is long overdue. And everything that we’re dealing with now is in many ways inevitable because this Iran deal, the nuclear restrictions are going to lift eventually and Iran would probably be doing exactly what they’re doing today down the road but they’d be stronger,” Hook told Al-Arabiya English.

Tehran’s School of Social Science Students Hold Protest Rally for a Second Day

For a second day, on Wednesday, a group of students in the School of Social Science at Tehran University gathered on campus to protest repressive measures imposed by authorities against students.

The protesters condemned the continuous arrest warrants issued by the judiciary against students. They demanded answers from the university authorities as to why these arrests warrants are being issued constantly, and they warned that if arrested students are not released, they will continue with their protests and strikes.

Violent Arrest of a Young Woman by Plainclothes Agents Causes Outrage

The violent arrest of a young woman in Tehran caused public outcry in Iran. Plainclothes agents of the State Security Force arrested five young women and men in a park in Tehranpars where they were playing water guns on Saturday, June 22.

A video clip posted on social media shows a male plainclothes agent grabbing a young woman, said to be about 15 or 16, and violently pushing her into the police car. The driver of the car and all other surrounding agents were wearing plainclothes.

On Monday, Chief of Tehran’s Police Hossein Rahimi told reporters that the youngsters were "charged with refusing to comply with the orders of police, breaking the social norms, clashing with police agents, and also removing the veil. They are still in the custody of police.”