Paying tribute to the martyrs of the November 2019 uprising, on the event of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), sent a message to the Iranian people expressing her congratulations.
coronavirus,coronavirus (COVID-19),coronavirus in Iran,Human Rights,Iran human rights,Iran Opposition,Iran Protests,Iran Uprising,Maryam Rajavi,MEK,Mujahedin-e Khalq,National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI),NCRI,People's Mojahedin organization of Iran,PMOI
Iranian regime refuses telling the truth about victims of coronavirus and November uprising in Iran
The Iranian regime is still hiding the true number of people killed by the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during their brutal suppression of the November 2019 uprising against the mullahs.
coronavirus,coronavirus (COVID-19),coronavirus in Iran,Iran human rights,Iran Opposition,Iran Protests,Iran Uprising,Maryam Rajavi,MEK,Mujahedin-e Khalq,National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI),NCRI,People's Mojahedin organization of Iran,PMOI
In the meantime, according to most reports published by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK) the death rate is accelerating with more than 2600 deaths to date.
The most important use of face masks according to medical authorities is to issue them to those who have COVID-19 so as to protect the further transmission of the virus. They are of little use as a protective device for those who want to protect themselves from getting the virus unless they are a very specialized design. Despite this, the Iranian regime is allegedly hoarding both masks and disinfectant, therefore, denying them to those who most need them to help reduce transmission rates.
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The MEK’s revelations have only angered regime officials and now, rather than equip hospitals or enforce a quarantine zone around infected cities; the regime has decided to fall back on a favorite way to deflect negative attention. They’ve started a propaganda campaign against the MEK using their state-run media.
At least 1800 people have died of the coronavirus in Iran, according to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), and the crisis is only getting worse because of the regime’s inaction.
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The Greater Tehran Penitentiary is known for its poor sanitation and there are huge numbers of prisoners crammed into very small spaces. The prisoners face many health-related risks on a normal basis, but with the spread of Coronavirus, the risk has become significantly higher.
Soheil Arabi, a political prisoner in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary, has been denied medical treatment and his health is deteriorating. He is in severe pain and he has been asking for medication – to no avail. He also requires surgery because of a physical injury and has an infection that is spreading.
Soheil Arabi, a political prisoner in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary, has been denied medical treatment and his health is deteriorating. He is in severe pain and he has been asking for medication – to no avail. He also requires surgery because of a physical injury and has an infection that is spreading.
The Greater Tehran Penitentiary is known for its poor sanitation and there are huge numbers of prisoners crammed into very small spaces. The prisoners face many health-related risks on a normal basis, but with the spread of Coronavirus, the risk has become significantly higher.
— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) March 4, 2020
Last year, it was reported that Soheil Arabi had been in serious danger after suffering massive blood loss after having a broken nose. His nose was broken by prison authorities during an interrogation at the IRGC-controlled ward 2A and he was severely beaten.
Soheil Arabi was sentenced to death in 2013, but a few years later it was reduced to several years imprisonment and two years of mandatory study on the topic of Islamic theology. He was charged with insulting religious leaders in postings on social media.
Human rights organizations have called on the Iranian government to vacate the prisoner’s sentence, with many expressing their shock and disgust that the people of Iran risk imprisonment and the death penalty for issues related to the freedom of speech. Arabi is not the first prisoner in Iran that has been handed a death sentence for peacefully exercising his rights with regard to the freedom of expression.
the political prisoners in Iran
Arabi has said that he was punished after “writing and publishing an article about the conditions of prisoners detained in ward 1 of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary”.
He explained that during an interrogation, a prison official kicked him violently in the testicles and when he regained consciousness he was in the hospital. A doctor explained to him that he had blunt force trauma and that he requires immediate surgery to remove one of his testicles. However, months passed and he was not granted the surgery he needed, meaning that infection took hold and has spread across his body, especially these legs.
Prison authorities in Iran take no responsibility for the health of the prisoners under their care and there are widespread reports that this is happening in prisons across the country, and political prisoners, in particular, are neglected and denied the most basic of health care.
There are major concerns in the country with regard to the spread of the Coronavirus. The prisoners of Iran are at particular risk because of the close confinement that they are subject to, as well as the poor sanitary conditions. The regime’s cover-up of the health crisis is despicable and it is becoming clearer and clearer why the people want regime change.
— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) March 3, 2020
Compared to the response by governments across the world, the Iranian regime has let down the people in one of the most serious ways possible. The already vulnerable people have been once again disappointment by the regime’s reaction.
They Shot Our Children:’ Killings of Minors in Iran’s November 2019 Protests details the illegal and brutal actions taken by the Iranian regime against its citizens during last year’s protests, which included using lethal force on children as young as 8 to 12 years old.
On Wednesday, Amnesty International published a report describing the brutal deaths of at least 23 children at the hands of Iranian regime security forces during the November Uprisings last year. ‘They Shot Our Children:’ Killings of Minors in Iran’s November 2019 Protests details the illegal and brutal actions taken by the Iranian regime against its citizens during last year’s protests, which included using lethal force on children as young as 8 to 12 years old.
22 of the victims were boys ranging in age from 12 to 17, and one was a girl who appeared to be between the ages of 8 and 12.
According to the Amnesty report, 22 of the victims were boys ranging in age from 12 to 17, and one was a girl who appeared to be between the ages of 8 and 12. At least 22 of the victims were killed by live ammunition by security forces who illegally opened fire into crowds of unarmed protesters and bystanders during the uprisings.
“In recent months an increasingly gruesome picture has emerged of the extent to which Iranian security forces unlawfully used lethal force to crush last year’s nationwide protests. However, it is still devastating to learn that the number of children who fell victim to this brutality is so shockingly high,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International in a briefing about the report.
“There must be independent and impartial investigations into these killings, and those suspected of ordering and carrying them out must be prosecuted in fair trials,” he emphasized.
Amnesty gathered evidence for its report from a number of sources, including videos, photos, death certificates, eyewitnesses accounts, family interviews, and information from local human rights activists and journalists. The report found that ten children died from bullet wounds to the head or chest, which backs up earlier claims from MEK sources that security forces used kill shots when firing on crowds.
Two children died from massive trauma, according to their death certificates. One of the children suffered a “crushed brain and a shattered skull.” The other died from “extensive internal bleeding, and a pierced heart and lung.”
In another case, some reports say that the child was beaten to death by security forces, sustaining massive head trauma in the process. Conflicting reports say that the child was fatally shot multiple times in the face at close range by metal pellets.
The children’s deaths occurred between November 16-18, leading Luther to remark: “The fact that the vast majority of the children’s deaths took place over just two days is further evidence that Iranian security forces went on a killing spree to quash dissent at any cost.”
The report also describes the regime’s attempts to cover up the violent deaths by refusing to hand over the children’s phones to their parents, handing over bodies over victims wrapped in shrouds minutes before their funerals, demanding that families bury their loved ones quickly and quietly, and threatening to kill parents’ surviving children if they spoke out.
“As if the loss of their loved ones was not cruel enough an experience to bear, families of children killed during the protests are facing a ruthless campaign of harassment to intimidate them from speaking out,” said Luther.
According to the MEK, 1,500 people were killed by regime security forces during the November Uprisings and another 12,000 were arrested. MEK sources have reported that many of those arrested during the protests have been tortured.
Many believe that this uprising is a turning point in Iran’s political &ocial spectrum. Based on the information of Iran’s main opposition group,#MEK,at least 1500 #IranProtesters have been slaughtered in cold blood in the 1st few days of #Iranprotests. pic.twitter.com/3NZTOqNhz7
Picture of a boy in mud up to his knees in Pol Dokhtar (Lorestan Province – Western Iran)
Floods have yet again hit Iran causing tragedy for all those in the water’s path and it’s especially devastating that it’s affecting the same areas as were flooded in March 2019. But it brings up the perfectly reasonable question of why the regime has not done anything in the past year to prevent these floods?
In last March’s flood, much of Lorestan and Ilam provinces were affected, with bridges destroyed, villages buried beneath water, and communications cut off. The regime vowed that the Revolutionary Guards’ (IRGC) Khatam-al Anbiya Base, would rebuild the area with its commander, Saeed Mohammad, and the IRGC’s aerospace commander, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, visiting Ilam on March 8, 2019, to examine the needs there.
It may not surprise you to learn that Khatam Al-Anbiya is actually one of supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s main looting institutions, so the promise about rebuilding those areas, including the erection of flood dams, were not fulfilled.
They basically just looted the Iranian people’s wealth by doing sub-par work and pocketing the additional money. That’s why the floods were able to damage and destroy the exactly same cities – Poldokhtar, Mamoulan, Khoramabad, and Kouhdasht.
By destroying the environment, the mullahs have worsened the floods, doing nothing to help the victims. They squandered the nation’s wealth to pursue nuclear & missile projects & warmongering, leaving our compatriots defenseless in the face of natural disasters #Iranpic.twitter.com/pRcPukObTm
Meisam Ghadami, deputy of the Directorate General of Road Administration and Transport, said on February 27 that, regarding the re-building of bridges destroyed in the March floods, there was a “lack of funds” and a desperate need to “speed up traffic in the area”. That’s why the Department of Roads and Transport “temporarily” installed metal decks of bridges at the same locations.
He admited : “Damages piled up, promises of spring reached summer and were forgotten in autumn. Now in winter, the Lorestan flood victims are again in pain and suffering and the only thing to do is to hope that the flood will not hit Lorestan in the spring since until now the floods and rainfalls have not wakened up government officials.”
The damages caused in March’s floods were tens of billions of tomans’ worth to urban and rural infrastructures, residential homes, the agricultural sector, and more. The majority of this has not been compensated and the recent February flood has added another 2 billion tomans in damages.
It is clear that the Khatam-al Anbiya has profited from the Iranian people’s suffering, using substandard materials and shoddy labor. Worse still, the stage is set for them to do it again. This is the regime’s regular playbook and it is why they should be overthrown by the people.
coronavirus,coronavirus (COVID-19),coronavirus in Iran,Iran Protests,Maryam Rajavi,MEK,Mujahedin-e Khalq,National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI),People's Mojahedin organization of Iran,PMOI
What is most worrying about the situation is that the deaths in Iran are around twenty times the official number being reported by the mullahs.
The spread of Coronavirus COVID-19 has been a challenge for governments across the world. Most governments are prioritizing the containment of the virus and are putting measures in place to prevent further citizens from becoming ill.
However, the same can not be said of the government of Iran that has been covering up the extent of the outbreak and lying about the number of people who have tested positive. It has also claimed that around 92 people have died, while in actual fact it has been more than 1300.
What is most worrying about the situation is that the deaths in Iran are around twenty times the official number being reported by the mullahs. John Hopkins University believes that the number of fatalities in Iran is around 978, giving the country a 5.5 percent mortality rate (compared to the 3.5 percent mortality rate in China).
Iran is susceptible to becoming the channel in which the virus spreads to its nearest neighbors. Instead of accepting that the virus is rampant in the country and taking measures to prevent it from spreading even further, the Iranian regime is putting more resources into downplaying the severity of the crisis and denying the number of cases and deaths that have been recorded.
The Iranian government is trying to pass the blame off on others, saying that sanctions have had a major impact. However, whatever the cause, whatever the origin of the virus and regardless of any other external factors, the fact remains that the people of Iran are increasingly vulnerable to contracting the virus because of government mismanagement and mishandling of the problem.
Iraq, Iran’s neighbor, is particularly vulnerable to an outbreak of Coronavirus COVID-19. Unless something drastic happens very soon, Iran is going to be responsible for another crisis in Iraq.
The Iranian government has blamed the United States for the worsening crisis, stating that sanctions are preventing it from being able to take control of the situation. It has said that the economic sanctions imposed by the Trump administration are doing nothing but ensuring that more Iranians die from the Coronavirus. However, it must be noted that the economic sanctions imposed by the United States do not include drugs and medical supplies.
The main opposition to the Iranian regime, the People Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK), has revealed that the country’s notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been hoarding and stockpiling medical supplies. This is a disgrace because it is taking away medical kit and drugs that the people are in dire need of. This is just one more example of the regime’s malign intentions and its corruption.
— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) March 3, 2020
The President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the main opposition to the Iranian regime, has called on the regime to release the supplies and drugs and to give them back to the people.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi has also called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to take urgent action to assess the situation in Iran and to guide the people through this crisis that is very concerning for many.
In March 2019 devastating floods ravaged Lorestan Province, stranding residents on rooftops, trees, and mountaintops for days waiting for government aid. The regime bungled the response to the floods, angering residents who were left homeless.
Floods swept through Iran once again in February, devastating provinces that were still reeling from the March 2019 floods. Almost a year later, little has been done to repair the crumbling roads and bridges in the affected provinces or take action to prevent another tragedy, despite promises from regime officials after the 2019 floods.
In March 2019 devastating floods ravaged Lorestan Province, stranding residents on rooftops, trees, and mountaintops for days waiting for government aid. The regime bungled the response to the floods, angering residents who were left homeless. The regime appointed the deeply unpopular Revolutionary Guards’ (IRGC) Khatam-al Anbiya Base to rebuild the areas damaged by the floods.
On March 8, 2019, the state-run Mehr News agency wrote: “Saeed Mohammad, Commander of the IRGC Khatam al-Anbiya Base, and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the IRGC’s aerospace force, have been traveling to Majin Dareh Shahr in Ilam Province. During this visit, they were supposed to examine the latest situation of the flood-stricken people in Majin and their needs for building communication ways and new bridges.”
The director of Khuzestan’s Water and Power Organization also promised to take action to prevent a future disaster, declaring: “We are building flood dams 26 kilometers northwest of Ahvaz to prevent floodwaters of Karkheh and Dez.”
Broken Promises
In February 2020 the same cities were damaged from floods as in 2019. Poldokhtar, Mamoulan, Khorramabad, and Koohdasht all sustained heavy damages. Some of this destruction should have been mitigated by the promised repairs to neglected bridges and infrastructure that led to the bulk of the devastation in 2019. However, a closer look makes it clear that the IRGC constructed shoddy and unsafe bridges that were quickly destroyed in the floods and pocketed the profits.
On February 27, 2020, Meisam Ghadami, deputy of the Directorate General of Road Administration and Transport told the state-run Mehr news agency: “Regarding Davazdah Cheshmeh Bridge and five other bridges, I have to say that they were destroyed in the March floods, and due to the lack of funds needed for the construction of new bridges and to speed up traffic in the area, the Department of Roads and Transport temporarily installed metal deck bridges at the same location.”
Broken promises: On March 8, 2019, the state-run Mehr News agency wrote: “Saeed Mohammad, Commander of the IRGC Khatam al-Anbiya Base, and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the IRGC’s aerospace force, have been traveling to Majin Dareh Shahr in Ilam Province. During this visit, they were supposed to examine the latest situation of the flood-stricken people in Majin and their needs for building communication ways and new bridges.”
The Davazdah Cheshmeh Bridge was a beautiful and historic bridge with cultural significance. It has stood since the 18th Century and was allowed to fall into disrepair under the mullahs’ regime due to their mismanagement and disrespect for Persian culture and history. The failure to restore it and provide a safe and sturdy bridge for the people of Lorestan is a further act of disrespect and corruption by the IRGC and the regime.
In the interview with Mehr, Ghadami described the damage caused by the floods, saying: “According to officials, [the floods caused] tens of billions of tomans in damages to urban and rural infrastructures, residential homes, the agricultural sector, etc., a huge amount of damage that has not yet been compensated. This happened again in February and this time too, the province suffered more than 2 billion tomans in damages. Now, despite the March losses, the February catastrophe is added to it.
— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) April 5, 2019
“Damages piled up, promises of spring reached summer and were forgotten in autumn. Now in winter, the Lorestan flood victims are again in pain and suffering and the only thing to do is to hope that the flood will not hit Lorestan in the spring since until now the floods and rainfall have not woken up government officials,” he added.
During the floods, MEK members provided aid to flood victims when the regime failed to do so. In 2019 some MEK members were arrested for doing so. No government should punish its people for helping each other while simultaneously failing to provide basic assistance to citizens it has placed in harm’s way. This is one of the many reasons why Iranians are fighting for freedom and democracy.
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The main opposition to the Iranian regime, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK), has been monitoring the situation and it has reported that more than 1200 Iranians have died, with the number increasing all the time.
The death toll in Iran is rising as the Coronavirus COVID-19 situation grows increasingly worrying. There are major concerns that Iran is facing a national crisis but the Iranian regime is continuing to act with secrecy and deception, denying that hundreds of people have already died after contracting the virus.
Despite what the Iranian regime claims, there have been at least 300 deaths in Qom, more than 215 in Tehran, and at least 100 in the province of Mazandaran. The PMOI / MEK has also established that 23 people have died in Lorestan, 45 in Arak and Saveh, 46 in Isfahan, Homayounshahr and Najafabad, 24 in Kashan, 82 in Gilan, 60 in Mashhad and 11 in Sorkh Hesar. Several deaths have also been reported in Bandar Abbas, Kermanshah, Karaj, Semnan, Yasuj, Yazd, Ilam, Neyshabour and Hamadan.
#Breaking: 03/02/20, Voice: This the washroom for Behesht-e Masoumeh cemetery in #Qom. Bodies of #COVIDー19 victims ready for burial. Some waiting for days, but not enough time to bury them. May God help us! Regime continues to lie. #MEK says 1,000+ @NCRIUS@AP@AFP@FoxNewspic.twitter.com/mpccwj2O3O
Despite these reports, the regime is maintaining that less than 50 people have died and that only 650 people have contracted the virus.
The people of Iran are understandably worried and anxious about the situation, and also angry that the regime has hidden information from them and tried to conceal the reality. This is why people across the country have been taking to the streets, accompanied by MEK Resistance Units. They are blaming the Iranian regime for the deaths of the people that have contracted Coronavirus.
Such was their anger that they are burning pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the streets. The people and the Resistance Units were writing slogans against the regime on walls and made it very clear that they are working towards the overthrow of the violent and corrupt mullahs that are in control of the country.
In the country’s capital, slogans on the wall conveyed the overriding sentiment. Resistance Units described the regime as the “main virus”. Elsewhere, in cities the whole way across the country, protesters burned posters of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that was killed during a drone strike carried out by the United States in Iraq at the beginning of January.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to urgently intervene in Iran to assess the Coronavirus COVID-19 situation. More and more people in Iran are going to become vulnerable to the illness that can be deadly for vulnerable people.
The regime’s shocking mismanagement of the crisis should not come as a surprise, considering that the people of Iran are never made a priority. Thankfully the people are supported by the MEK that is present both inside and outside the country. Without the MEK, the rest of the world would be less aware of the regime’s belligerence.
