Posted on January 28, 2014 by chainsoff
A leading dissident has warned of worsening human rights violations under Iran’s new president.
Heshmat Tabarzadi, a leader of the Green Movement, issued a letter that warned that Iranian President Hassan Rowhani has failed to stop the deterioration of human rights. Tabarzadi said Iran, despite a rapproachment with the West, has executed nearly 400 people since Rowhani took office in August 2013.
“Ever since the election of President Rowhani, the number of executions in Iran has nevertheless increased substantially,” Tabarzadi said. “Keeping in mind that Iran already held the second highest record of executions after China, this represents an urgent human rights crisis.”
The letter by Tabarzadi, a 55-year-old journalist, marked a warning by one of the leading dissidents in Iran. In 2010, Tabarzadi was sentenced to eight years in wake of the crackdown on the Green Movement, which claimed to have won presidential elections during the previous year.
In late 2013, Rowhani ordered the release of Tabarzadi, who was jailed nine days after his letter was released. The letter warned that the Teheran regime could not be trusted to honor its nuclear agreement with the so-called P5+1 countries.
“Indeed, the lack of basic human rights and freedom in Iran reflects poorly on the prospect for the effective and peaceful resolution of the issues of the Iranian government with the international community,” Tabarzadi said. “One cannot be addressed in the absence of the other.”
Tabarzadi, declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, said his release in late 2013 depended on “his remaining silent.” But he said he could no longer remain silent amid the daily executions by the regime.
In his letter, Tabarzadi warned President Barack Obama against the rapproachment by the United States with Iran. The dissident predicted a revolt in the Teheran regime regardless of its support by Obama and other Western leaders.
“Iranian people, although short lived, have experienced secular democracy on different occasions and they will not tolerate for too long the religious, social and political limitations forced upon them, even if the major powers chose to turn a blind eye on their civil and human rights,” Tabarzadi said. “The question is, on which side of the history the United States, President Obama and the major world powers will stand this time?”
https://chainsoff.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/top-dissident-400-have-been-executed-since-rowhani-took-office-2/
