The Canada Revenue Agency CRA revoked the charity status of The Islamic Shia Assembly of Canada which has operated in the Toronto area for more than two decades, attracting members of parliament to its events and once raising the flag at City Hall, for its ties to the Iranian regime. According to Global news Feb 14, documents obtained by this news agency show that federal charity regulators have long had concerns about the group and what they claimed were its numerous links to Iran.
After auditing the charity, the Canada Revenue Agency alleged it was “acting as a facilitator organization to support the operational goals” of Iran’s Ahlul Bayt World Assembly (ABWA). Based in Tehran, ABWA is close to the Iranian regime, and its secretary-general is known as the “operational father” of Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist outfit, the CRA wrote. The auditors also made the remarkable allegation that the Canadian charity may have been established “to facilitate the spread of the Iranian revolutionary ideology in Canada.”
******
A former political prisoner, Mahin Akbari, has been recently arrested and transferred to the Lakan Prison of Rasht after lengthy interrogations and torture in the detention center of the Intelligence Department of Rasht.
Mahin Akbari, 57, was a political prisoner in the 1980s. She was rearrested in a raid some 20 days ago on her residence by agents of the Intelligence Department of Rasht. She was taken under interrogation and tortured physically and mentally. Mahin Akbari was subsequently transferred to the women’s ward of Lakan Prison of Rasht.
Mahin Akbari suffers from various illnesses, including inter-vertebral disc herniation, high blood sugar and high blood pressure. She had recently undergone inter-vertebral disc herniation and was recovering at home when she was arrested and taken away by agents of the Intelligence Department.
The latest reports indicate that Mahin Akbari is under a lot of pressure as she has been incarcerated among dangerous criminals threatening her life. The same reports say Ms. Akbari’s health has deteriorated in prison.
In another development on Sunday, February 17, 2019, civil activist Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbeigi was tried for the first time at a court in Tehran. Ms. Ahmad Khanbeigi suffers from epilepsy and her condition has deteriorated in prison. One of Evin Prison interrogators, Mohammad Nassirpour, illegally turned down the bail bond offered for this civil activist and extended her detention for an unlimited time. He has also prevented her lawyer from getting involved in her case.
Another civil activist, Mitra Taheri, was abducted from her home in Shiraz on February 5, 2019, by security forces who broke into her residence. She has contacted her family only once, telling them that she is detained in Soroush Detention Center. There has been no information of her since.
These latest arrests are a blatant attempt to silence those advocating for human rights in Iran.
******
The PSW bill, Provision of Security for Women against violence, needs to be fundamentally revised otherwise it cannot be reformed. These are the remarks made by Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’ii, first deputy minister and spokesman of the Iranian regime’s Judiciary Branch.
In response to a question on differences of opinion on this bill, Eje’ii said, “The PSW bill contained numerous problems so much that it could not be reformed. The solution is to draft a totally different bill or to reform the existing bill only in collaboration with the government.” (The official IRNA news agency – February 17, 2019)
Explaining the reasons for opposition to the PSW bill, Eje’ii added, “One of the problems is that our general policy is de-imprisonment. In the PSW bill, however, imprisonment has been predicted as a punishment for every minor violation in this regard. And in doing so, it jeopardizes the foundations of families.”
Earlier, Eje’ii had commented, “The objective of adopting this bill is to fortify the family environment so that women, spouses and others, would feel secure in every respect. Now, the question is whether the articles contained in the PSW bill provide such security or not.”
He had also expressed doubts on whether the lengthy jail sentences and heavy punishments stipulated in the PSW bill for some violations against women would reinforce the foundations of the family or will undermine them.
The Judiciary’s cultural deputy, Hadi Sadeqi, had also asserted, “The PSW bill against violence is apparently drafted to support women, but in essence it strikes the greatest blow to women and families. When a woman sends her husband to jail, then that man can never be a husband for her again, and the woman must accept the risk of getting divorced in advance.”
The remarks by Iranian Judiciary officials indicate that they do not take it serious that domestic violence and violence against women have a destructive impact on the foundations of families which will in turn lead to drastic social ailments.
A glance on cases of death-row female prisoners, women’s suicide, runaway girls and growing divorce rates in Iran which have already jeopardized the foundations of the family in Iran shows that in the majority of cases, these women were initially victims of violence and domestic violence.
Ironically, the Iranian regime’s Judiciary that has a habit of arresting and detaining people for any minor charge, to the extent that it faces the problem of shortage and overcrowding of prisons, has now become concerned about the policy of de-imprisonment to justify blocking the PSW bill for 13 years.
******
- Retired teachers gathered in front of the Iran regime parliament once again and demanded their rights such as: free health care, and the freedom of imprisoned teachers.
The protest gathering of the plundered clients of Sekkey-e Samen financial company in Tehran led to skirmishes and a number of protesters were attacked by the police and got arrested.
The plundered clients of Sekkey-e Samen gathered outside the Central Bank in Tehran-Iran on Saturday, February 23, to protest swindling of their assets by this company. Police and security forces reacted to this gathering. One of the women protesters kept crying out, “We just want our money. The plundered clients of Sekkey-e Samen just want their money.” In response to these cries, however, the protesters were beaten up and arrested.
The protests of the plundered clients of Sekkey-e Samen have been going on for months, but they have not yet received any answer to their demand.
Also on Saturday, the plundered investors of the fraudulent Caspian Institute held a gathering, in Ilam. Women’s participation in this gathering was remarkable.
Teachers working on temporary contracts in the city of Alborz in Qazvin Province, went on strike Saturday morning and did not attend classes, demanding nine months of their unpaid arrears and overtime fees.
Two groups of graduate students also held gatherings on Saturday, outside the regime’s parliament and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development in Tehran. (The official IRNA news agency – February 23, 2019)
The graduate students planning to take the proctorship examination have been protesting for four consecutive days.
Students of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Tehran University lined up their trays on the floor in protest to the poor quality of food served by the restaurant on campus.
Also a group of labor activists visited mother of labor activist Parvin Mohammadi who is presently imprisoned in Evin.
Parvin Mohammadi’s mother proclaimed in this gathering, “The regime thinks its problems will end by arresting Parvin. But there have been many people like Parvin and there are going to be more of them. I have suffered even since this regime took power. I am concerned for every one and not only for my own daughter.”
