20 JUNE, 2020 INTERNATIONAL ONLINE CONFERENCE: It is a great honor to join cross-party colleagues and prominent personalities from Europe and the US in your celebration of the days of martyrs and political prisoners.

On December 27, 2019, a U.S. civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, U.S. officials said, the Reuters reported.

“Several U.S. service members and Iraq personnel were also wounded, the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State said in a statement, adding that Iraqi security forces would be leading the response and investigation into the incident.”

“One official said the United States was looking into the possible involvement of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslim militia group.”

It is reported that security forces had found a launchpad for Katyusha rockets inside an abandoned vehicle near the base.

“If American blood was shed by an Iran-backed group, Tehran ought to face swift and severe consequences.” Senator Tom Cotton tweeted, responding to the attack.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iranian regime that U.S. troops are co-located on the bases with Iraqi Security Forces and that any attack by Iran or its proxies that “harm Americans, our allies, or our interests will be answered with a decisive U.S. response.”

“We must also use this opportunity to remind Iran’s leaders that any attacks by them, or their proxies of any identity, that harm Americans, our allies, or our interests will be answered with a decisive U.S. response,” Pompeo said on Dec. 13.

It is worth noting that on Friday the acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said Iran could carry out “provocative actions” in the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere in that region in the future despite a period of relative calm.

“I think they’re going to continue to perform provocative actions over there… and I think they’ll look at every opportunity they can to do that,” Modly told Reuters.

“There’s nothing that suggests to me, short of a regime change there, that you have a different tone set from the leadership, that would suggest to me that they’re going to stop doing what they’ve been doing,” he added.

The attack comes at the time that the Iranian regime is engulfed with a crisis inside the country, and there have been widespread protests against the regime. MEK Iran has several times before emphasized the fact that the clerical regime in Iran deals with its problems and internal crisis with the export of terrorism abroad.

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, December 26th marked the 42nd consecutive day of protests since the beginning of the November Uprising. It was also the traditional fortieth day anniversary memorial for the more than 1500 protesters killed in the uprising.

Internet Blackout

The regime, fearing that the memorials would spark new protests, restricted Internet access in Tehran, Khuzestan, Alborz, Isfahan, Lorestan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Zanjan, and Bushehr Provinces, according to sources in the MEK Iran network. The restrictions, which began on Wednesday, have also affected some mobile networks.

#MEK #Iran: Iranian regime shuts down mobile internet access to overseas sites in several provinces ahead of new wave of #IranProtests https://t.co/0WP5Nz2J3o#Christmas

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) December 25, 2019

The state-run Khabar-e Fori news agency reported on Wednesday that “mobile 4G networks have been shut down in 5 provinces since this morning. Apparently, these measures are being taken to confront the calls for protests on December 26.”

Netblocks, an organization that tracks Internet connectivity throughout the world, reported on Wednesday that connectivity had fallen to 5% of normal levels on specified networks in Iran after four separate cuts.

Update: Mobile internet connectivity has fallen further in #Iran amid reports of security reinforcement; real-time network data show connectivity at 5% of ordinary levels on specified networks after four distinct cuts; incident ongoing 📉#Internet4Iran

📰https://t.co/BNTPP9wEyt pic.twitter.com/Wh2uy5xIxp

— NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) December 26, 2019

Memorials

Memorials were held throughout Iran on Wednesday, despite attacks by regime security forces.

In Karaj, mourners gathered at the Bibi Sakineh cemetery. Reports from the MEK Iran network indicated that security forces clashed with mourners at the cemetery.

Dec 26 – Karaj, #Iran
Mourners in Behesht-e Sakineh cemetery pay homage to protesters killed by security forces during the Nov uprising.
Plainclothes agents & security forces attacked the mourners and arrested several people. Helicopters patrolling the area in fear of protests. pic.twitter.com/rlCZ6Qvn1B

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 26, 2019

A large group of mourners at the Behesht-e Sakineh cemetery in Karaj were attacked by security forces during their memorial service. The mourners were chanting, “No fear! We’re all together!”

“Our pain is your pain! People, join our ranks!”

“Viva Iran!”

“People did not die for us to compromise & praise the murderous leader!”

Several mourners were arrested, and the regime deployed helicopters to patrol the area in order to suppress further protests.

In Behbahan, Southwest Iran, hundreds of mourners attended a memorial for Mahmoud and Mehrdad Dashtinia, two brothers who were killed by security forces during the November Uprising.

In Shahriar, Tehran, mourners gathered at the

Amir-al-Momenin mosque for the memorial of

Alireza Nowrouzi, who was killed during the November Uprising. Regime security forces surrounded the memorial ceremony, going so far as to prevent shops close to the mosque from opening.

Memorials Outside of Iran

On Wednesday, MEK Iran supporters in Paris held a memorial for the protesters who were killed by the regime during the November Uprising.

December 26 – Paris
Freedom loving Iranians & PMOI/MEK supporters holding a ceremony in memory of civilians killed by the mullahs' regime during the November uprising in #Iran.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/jjeB2ih2c6

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 26, 2019

In Albania, a memorial was held at Ashraf-3, the MEK’s headquarters, for the martyrs of the November Uprising. Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), gave the keynote address at the ceremony.

#MaryamRajavi:"the massacre of1,500 youth intensifies the #Iranian nation’s rage &strengthens Iranian ppl’s resolve 4freedom.The bloody Nov.uprising dashed certain myths&illusions. It showed that no one in #Iran has pinned any hope on change from within the regime".#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/lUJ7ZYx1Oc

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) December 24, 2019

“These martyrs are still alive because they are eternal. They are the flowers of a rebellious generation. They burst into life out of the sacred will and determination of an arisen nation. They are the harbingers of freedom in Iran,” she said. You are the mothers and fathers of heroes who shook the clerical regime to its foundations, so much so that the regime has no escape from it.”

Mrs. Rajavi has once again called on the United Nations to send an international fact-finding mission to the Iranian regime’s prisons to determine the status of the 12,000 people arrested during the protests.

 

On Tuesday, November 8, 2019, 111 countries participated in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the human rights situation in Iran. The UPR is a peer-review mechanism whereby the United Nations member states can make recommendations to governments that are under review.

The Working Group in Geneva on Tuesday had a lot to say about the regime’s treatment of women, the execution of minors, the use of torture, and overall human rights abuses, making a total of 329 recommendations to the Iranian regime.

111 countries participated in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the #HumanRights situation in #Iranhttps://t.co/fihUVcGZRR#MEK #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/StJFqdz8QG

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 14, 2019

The recommendations made by the Working Group of the UPR were adopted on November 12th at a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council. The MEK has reported previously that the U.N. has condemned the Iranian regime 65 times over the last four decades for its human rights abuses.

Recommendations Made

A number of countries called on Iran to ratify the

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Denmark, Estonia, and Moldova recommended that the regime ratify the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Germany called on Iran to

“ratify core international human rights conventions, in particular, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.”

Germany also called on the regime to

“establish a formal moratorium on the death penalty. In particular, cease all planned executions of juvenile offenders and prohibit the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by minors.”

Albania called on the Iranian regime to cooperate with all U.N. Special Rapporteurs who wish to visit the country.

Sweden agreed, saying that Iran must “fully cooperate with and grant immediate and unfettered access for the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

simultaneously with 34th session of Universal Periodic Review, supporters of Iranian resistanc and the families of the victimes of the #1988Massacre held an exhabition outside of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.#UPR #UPRIran #UPR34 pic.twitter.com/0OhP38vV6a

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) November 8, 2019

Belgium recommended that Iran should

“abolish the death penalty at least for crimes committed by persons under 18 years of age, in accordance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and commute all death sentences for juvenile offenders.”

The United States called on the Iranian regime to immediately end the use of torture and to credibly investigate and prosecute all allegations of torture.

Ukraine called on Iran to

“remove all national law provisions that allow for punishments that amount to torture or cruel and degrading treatment.”

Australia said Iran must

“Immediately investigate all allegations involving the torture and other ill-treatment of those arrested or detained during the demonstrations in December 2017 and hold those responsible to account.”

Australia also called on the regime to

 “guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, and release political prisoners, including women’s rights activists, labor rights activists, environmentalists, scholars, lawyers and journalists, detained for exercising these rights.”

#Iran: #AmnestyInternational Calls for Condemnation of #Iran’s Deterioration of #HumanRights Record at the UN Human Rights Council
https://t.co/hkRSDj4NrN#MEK #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 9, 2019

The United Kingdom called on Iran to

“Immediately demonstrate that all detainees in prison are neither tortured nor subject to cruel or inhumane treatment or punishment.”

Switzerland called on the Iranian regime to

“release all persons detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and repeal or amend laws and other provisions criminalizing or restricting the exercise of those rights.”

Argentina said Iran must

“guarantee freedom of expression, particularly of men and women human rights defenders and journalists, and repeal legal provisions that affect these rights.”

 

Facing the growing popularity of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK), the Iranian regime and its apologists try to run a new demonizing campaign against the main opposition, MEK. The recent example is an article posted on NBC Website.

This shameful article raised the anger of many Iranians diaspora who find the MEK as their only hope for democratic change in their beloved homeland, Iran. the following our letters by two Iranians expressing their feelings about the biased article of the NBC.

"These outlets are mainly pro-engagement and pro-appeasement vis-à-vis the fascist mullahs’ in Tehran despite this regime’s atrocious human rights record with the world’s highest number of executions per capita."#Iranhttps://t.co/b7dVNn9mq8

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 21, 2019

The first letter is from Mr. Ehsan Qaraee; he writes:

“I am an Iranian-Norwegian civil engineer, and human rights activist. Several days ago, I read an article on your website regarding the MEK, the largest and most organized opposition against the theocratic dictatorship in Iran. Unfortunately, this article is filled with slanders and lies about the history and reality of the MEK and sadly repeats baseless accusations made by the propaganda apparatus of the Iranian regime.

Here I only refer to one of those accusations; your writers claim that the MEK killed several Americans back in the 70s. Unfortunately, they deliberately ignore the fact that several courts in your own country dismissed this allegation (among many others). These lies are made by the Iranian regime just to smear the MEK.

Unfortunately Mr Daniel Benjamin has proved many times in the past that his intentions are not right about the MEK particularly and Iran policy in general and because of that he gets so much coverage by the IRGC’s news media, a real terrorist organization which has blood of many Iranians, Iraqis, Syrians,… and Americans on their hands. I’ll attach some of those coverages here.

As a direct victim of the Iranian regime, I sincerely hope that you don’t let your news outlet become a mouthpiece for the dictatorship in Iran.”

Another rebuttal to lies about the #MEK– Fake News published at NBCNews
https://t.co/2TIuekVYGn#NBCNews #Iran #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) October 26, 2019

The second letter MEK- Iran received is from Amir Seifi, a political refugee, Irish citizen, Mechanical Engineer and the General Manager of a medical technology company, living in Dublin, Ireland. In his letter, Mr. Seifi wrote:

” This is a rejoinder to the NBC News inflammatory and partial article published on October 17th, 2019, titled: “Giuliani’s work for Iranian group with bloody past could lead to more legal woes”.

As an Iranian, I found nothing surprising and new about this hatchet job or any of its false, misleading and tendentious points. A prime example of Fake News. Iranians are very well familiar with such threadbare tactics of the brutal theocracy holding Iran hostage for the past four decades. It is not only victim-blaming but also siding with the perpetrators.

I have no intention of defending the current White House administration. However, with the upcoming campaign for the American presidential elections, this hit piece seems perfectly timed to fuel a specific political agenda; using attacks against political opponents to target the Iranian opposition. One stone and two birds. The Ayatollahs and their lobbyists are great at finding allies with direct and indirect common interests.

The baseless accusation of the PMOI/MEK killing Americans has been examined in courts and by the various American agencies and dismissed as there was not a shred of evidence to back this claim. On the contrary, the Iranian regime has a colorful track record of killing hundreds of Americans in terror attacks such as the Beirut barracks bombings, Khobar Towers bombings in Saudi Arabia, the use of the IEDs in Iraq and so on. It is easy to realize how people like the authors of the article and Daniel Benjamin can turn a blind eye to the latter and but insist on targeting the MEK without any form of investigation on the claims.

The designation of the MEK as a terrorist organization does not need much explanation but just that it happened as part of an appeasement policy towards the Iranian regime, which didn’t yield any fruit in the end. It was thanks to the impartial and independent judiciary system of the United States that found this label unjust and baseless and ruled and forced the resisting administration to remove it.

Leaving aside all baseless accusations, it does not appear really difficult to identify the just side. On one side we have a resistance whose members and supporters have been imprisoned, tortured and murdered. A resistance that has time and time again announced and pledged its commitment to its clear ten-point plan for a free, secular and democratic future for Iran. On the other side, we have bloodthirsty tyrants (needless to say unpopular inside and outside Iran) and their lobbyists like NIAC and supporters such as Benjamin who constantly seek opportunities to serve the Ayatollahs’ regime and its allies. And on this path, they do not care one iota when it comes to sacrificing the values within the Human Rights Declaration and the American Constitution for their own political agenda.

Finally, questioning the source of the MEK/PMOI funds and calling it a mystery is another astounding tendentious remark from the authors of the article and the people whom they quote. To call this lazy journalism is an understatement. I proudly announce that I personally am one of the financial sources of the MEK, along with countless other patriotic Iranians who yearn for a free and democratic Iran. I can back my claim with evidence of my contributions to the MEK/PMOI/NCRI. We, the ordinary Iranians, are whom the resistance relies on upon to fund its struggle against the regime. We understand what the Iranian regime truly is and what it takes to claim our country back again. I was forced to leave Iran after the student uprising of 1999 and 20 years later, people are coming to the streets every day to demand the mullahs go. We will continue to support their opposition and will not stop until our country is free of dictatorship.”

Staff Writer

 

The Iranian regime’s foreign policy has increased in its brazenness, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacking or seizing commercial vessels in the Gulf, bombing Saudi oil infrastructure, and continuing its aggressive policies in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, but Professor Ken Blackwell warns that the US should not decrease pressure on the mullahs.

#IRANIAN REGIME USES TERRORIST PROXIES TO CARRY OUT OPERATIONS WORLDWIDE.@gobadi–#MEK spokeperson:“The expansion of the regime’s conduct in the region did not stem from its strength &prowess. Rather it was the consequence of the weak approach of the intnl community.”#FreeIran

— MEKIran (@MEK_Iran) August 6, 2019

He wrote: “The regime’s recent actions cannot simply be interpreted as a response to rising levels of pressure from the US. Its abuses both at home and abroad have been getting worse for quite some time. And they have done so not because of newfound foreign pressure but because of the predictable absence thereof.”

In his op-ed for Townhall, he quoted the head of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI),  Maryam Rajavi, as saying that the impunity enjoyed by the regime’s leaders have resulted in emboldening them to export terrorism and warmongering.

The regime’s crimes have been overlooked in favor of appeasement for four decades now, the most heinous of which was the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners who refused to disavow the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), the main Iranian opposition. The massacre was the subject of an extensive exhibition at the NCRI’s international conference in July, where Rajavi noted that even after they brought this evidence to the West, they remained silent.

Blackwell wrote: “America is known to be the foremost defender of human rights around the world and has taken on the scourge of terrorism head-on. Human rights abuses and terrorism are the two pillars of the clerical regime’s strategy for survival… As long as Tehran is not held directly accountable for more than 30,000 deaths, the regime will be emboldened to carry out more violations with impunity. Why would Tehran see any reason to scale back its malign activities, unless the US leads the way by making it clear that its standards for regime behavior have changed?”

The #Iranian Resistance is calling for an independent and international inquiry into the #1988Massacre and it is the responsibility of the international community to support it in any way it can.https://t.co/EGEWX4DTsP#Iran #MEK #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/bFnmppVoRu

— MEKIran (@MEK_Iran) October 23, 2019

He advised that the only way to do this is by holding the regime accountable for its past crimes and bringing those responsible to justice. They must be shown that their actions have consequences. He further noted that while the “maximum pressure” policy is a step in the right direction, economic sanctions are not enough on their own. Instead, the regime’s crimes must be referred to the UN Security Council.

Blackwell wrote: “A proper investigation of the massacre will undoubtedly lead to a conviction in the International Criminal Court for a number of high-ranking Iranian officials, including the current Justice Minister and the current judiciary chief. The US should clearly send a message that Iranian officials are not immune from their wrongdoing. The Iranian people will see that the world supports them as never before and will rise up to demand, once and for all, a new, democratic government. The American administration needs to bring Tehran’s human rights violations into focus to force the regime to rethink its aggression.”

Protests of the workers as well as other sectors of the society in Iran raised dramatically in the recent one and a half years. The protests have always been supported by the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/ MEK).

Figures released by the MEK on the protest actions from 21 June to 21 July show a comparative increase compared to the first three months of the year, based on the Iranian calendar. During this period of time, there have been at least 267 protests in seventy- eight cities, villages, and industrial- commercial districts in Iran.

MEK- #Iran: Uprising, What Mullahs Fear the Most https://t.co/sGboJZxeNj#MEK #FreeIran @USAdarFarsi

— MEKIran (@MEK_Iran) October 16, 2019

The MEK’s report shows that on average, there have been 9 protests by workers, educators including teachers, pensioners, people affected by recent floods, and … per day in Iran. This MEK report also indicates that there have been one hundred and thirty protests by workers in forty-one cities due to unpaid salaries, lack of official employing, lack of insurance, the firing of workers, and low payment.

MEK’s social network covered the news of protests of workers, farmers, teachers, pensioners, and nurses in Iran. The MEK social network tries to be the voice of voiceless in Iran. The MEK supporters abroad also tirelessly echoed the voice of the suppressed people of Iran in the past four decades.

The MEK has always been a source of inspiration amongst Iranian people particularly the youth and the women.

The Secretary of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on 20 October 2019 stated:

“On Sunday, October 20, 2019, workers at Azarab factory in the city of Arak (central Iran) continued their demonstrations for the 12th day running despite repeated threats and suppressive measures by the regime. Protesting about the lack of response to their just demands, the enraged workers blocked the Tehran-Ahvaz railway. The suppressive forces attacked the protesting workers, fired teargas to disperse them and arrested a number of the workers.”

The NCRI added:

“Since the start of the new round of protests by Azarab workers a number of them have been summoned and threatened by the intelligence and security agencies.”

The President-elect of the NCRI hailed the courageous and resilient workers of Azarab and urged the people of Arak, especially the defiant youths, to rise in support of the protesting workers.

Incompetence, corruption & mismanagement are more reasons why people in #Iran are continuing their anti-regime protests.#IranProtestshttps://t.co/e1CUUOUz5Z

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 14, 2019

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi urged the International Labor Organization, labor syndicates, and unions as well as all advocates of workers’ rights to condemn the anti-labor policies of the mullahs’ regime and support the rights of Iranian workers.

Staff Writer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Ashraf, previous home to Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) members in Iraq, was targeted by terrorist agents of the Iranian regime and its Iraqi proxy forces on September first, 2013. This brutal attack left 52 killed, 7 hostages and millions of dollars’ worth of damages to the camp’s property.

It was not the first time MEK members and camps were subjected to the Iranian regime’s attacks; however, this time, the MEK’s camp was subjected to an attack while one hundred of MEK members remained in Camp Ashraf based on a quadripartite agreement between the Iraqi government, the US, the UN, and the MEK. MEK members were left to protect MEK’s property while other members had been transferred to Camp Liberty. All one hundred MEK members were protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Iranian agents killed fifty-two in cold blood and took seven hostages, including six women.

The State Dept. Reveals new details

The US State Department in its new report entitled: Iranian Regime Malign Activities During Negotiation With Iran and During JCPOA and published on October 17, 2019, revealed new details, saying:

       “On September 1, 2013, an attack by Iranian proxies Kata’ib Hezballah (KH) and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) on Camp Ashraf in Iraq, led to the deaths of 50 members of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq, or MeK.  Press reports claim members of the QF not only planned the attack, but also played a direct combat role in it. The QF, along with KH and AAH members, also abducted seven MeK members and smuggled them back to Iran, according to the press.  The missing seven members haven’t been seen or heard from since the attack.”

Some other facts on the event

Mr.Tahar Boumedra, the former UN advisor on Camp Ashraf- in his testimony in the hearing of British House of Commons on September 13, 2013, said:

“The reality about Camp Ashraf is …. sealed. Nobody could penetrate Camp Ashraf without the active participation of the Iraqi Security Forces. In the east, south of Lion’s Gate, you have the base for the HQ of the Army in Ashraf and you have the police.”

The New York Times on September 3, 2013, wrote:

“Iraq’s security forces, trained by the American government at a cost of billions of dollars, were sharply rebuked by the United Nations on Tuesday for a deadly raid on Sunday at Camp Ashraf, a compound near the Iranian border that houses a group of Iranian dissidents. United Nations officials, after visiting Camp Ashraf on Monday, said they had seen 52 bodies, most of them shot in the head and upper body, some with their hands tied.”

Reuters on September 1, 2013, reported from Baghdad:

“Two Iraqi security sources said that army and special forces had opened fire on residents…”

#Iran #News #PMOI supporters in Iran commemorate 2013 #CampAshraf massacre http://t.co/XpEDr7m7v9 pic.twitter.com/uYHqw3ZyAz

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 9, 2015

Collaborating with the then Iraqi government, Nouri al-Maliki administration, the terrorist Quds Force was in charge to conduct the attack. The plan was the total annihilation of all one hundred members of the MEK at once; however, they could not keep up to their malign plan and forty- two could survive to tell the world the true story.

Staff Writer

 

The Iranian Opposition (The National Council of Resistance of Iran- NCRI) has called on the UN Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and related UN rapporteurs, Amnesty International and all other human rights organizations to take efforts to ensure that all political prisoners in Iran are freed.

It especially wants action taken so that two political prisoners currently on hunger strike can be released.

The two political prisoners in question are Ibrahim Khalil Sedighi Hamedani and his son Salar. They are currently on a hunger strike since Wednesday 25th September after being sentenced to 19 years imprisonment each.

The plight of political prisoners continues in #Iran's dungeons.#HumanRightshttps://t.co/4ctCoSdqPQ

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 18, 2019

The two men are in Urmia Central Prison in the north-western part of the country.

The health of the two men is of major concern. After twenty days on hunger strike, their blood pressure has dropped to a worrying level and they are exhausted. The father and son have written to the clinic to inform staff that they would no longer be accepting blood pressure tests to be carried out on them.

The official in charge of the jail and the prison warden met with Ibrahim Khalil and his son. They made a number of promises to the men, with the aim of getting them to end their hunger strike, but they failed to follow up and ultimately ignored their concerns.

They have said that they will continue their hunger strike for as long as their demands are not met.

Ibrahim Khalil and his son were accused of being affiliated with the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) The ruling against them is ludicrous and the main opposition to the Iranian regime has raised its concern.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), in a statement, said: “Messrs Ebrahim Sadeqi Hamedani, 60 years old, and his 22-year-old son, Salar Sadeqi Hamedani, went on hunger strike in protest to inhuman treatment and medieval sentences of the mullahs’ regime against them since September 25, 2019”. The NCRI urges the relevant authorities and organizations to urgently establish a fact-finding mission to see how political prisoners in Iran are treated.

The organization emphasizes that the mission must include participation on an international level and political prisoners must be interviewed.

Political prisoners in Iran have been horribly treated for many decades. Dissidents and political opponents are still being arrested, tortured and thrown in jail, simply because they do not agree with the despotic rule of the mullahs.

One of the most violent and shocking events in recent decades is the 1988 massacre in which the country’s Supreme Leader issued a fatwa calling for the execution of political prisoners across the country. It was a truly tragic crime against humanity in which more than 30,000 political prisoners lost their lives, most of whom, were members and sympathizers of the people’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK).

During the course of summer 1988, the #Iranian regime executed more than 30,000 political prisoners – most of whom were supporters or members of the People’s #Mojahedin Organization of #Iran (#PMOI / #MEK)https://t.co/oTOZAZvVTr pic.twitter.com/k4b8QXfgi4

— MEKIran (@MEK_Iran) October 15, 2019

There are renewed calls for justice for the victims of this massacre because the regime is still basking in impunity all these decades later. And worse, some of the officials involved in the 1988 massacre of the MEK members, are now occupying high-level government positions.