Iranian Pop Singer Sentenced To Prison, Lashes

Jan 9, 2024, 15:20 GMT

Iranian singer Mehdi Yarrahi

Mehdi Yarrahi, a prominent Iranian pop music composer and singer, has been handed a verdict of two years and eight months of imprisonment along with 74 lashes.

The sentencing was confirmed by Yarrahi's attorney, Zahra Minooei, who explained that, as per Islamic penal law, the most severe aspect of the punishment, one year of imprisonment, is enforceable.

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Iran Claims Key Suspect In Ukrainian Airliner Downing Still Detained

Jan 9, 2024, 13:17 GMT

Iran claims the "primary suspect" in the case of the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane by Revolutionary Guard missiles remains in custody and has not been released on bail.

Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary stated on Tuesday: "The primary suspect in the case, charged with unintentional manslaughter, has been in custody since the beginning of the investigation, and no bail order has been issued for his release."

Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, the lawyer representing some of the families of the victims of the PS752 airliner reported on Monday that during the investigation into the complaint against the perpetrators and accomplices of the incident, only the primary suspect had been detained, and he has now been released.

Tabatabaei said: "The primary suspect has served more than half of his sentence, and since the sentence was not final, he has been released on bail. The other suspects are not arrested yet until their sentences are finalized."

Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was targeted by Revolutionary Guard missiles on the morning of January 8, 2020, moments after takeoff. All 176 passengers, including a fetus, were killed.

In April, the Tehran military court sentenced the operator of the system, responsible for firing the missiles at the plane, to 13 years in prison and ordered him to pay compensation.

Among the military personnel accused, none of the high-ranking military or government officials of the Islamic Republic are named.

On Monday, marking the fourth anniversary of the downing of the plane, many Iranians inside and outside the country honored the memory of the victims of the tragedy. Some families of the victims gathered at the crash site in Shahedshahr, blaming the Islamic Republic directly for the incident.

Canada Reiterates Resolve To Designate IRGC

Jan 9, 2024, 12:03 GMT

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Iran International Newsroom

In an event to mark four years since Iran’s Revolutionary Guards downing of Flight PS752, Canada’s premier reiterated his resolve to label the IRGC a terrorist organization.

During the Monday ceremony, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is looking at ways to list the Guards, which shot down the Ukrainian airliner by two missiles shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people onboard, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.

He criticized the Iranian government's "disregard for the rule of law" and expressed Canada's ongoing efforts to responsibly designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, citing sanctions against select IRGC officials.

"We know there is more to do to hold the regime to account and we will continue our work, including continuing to look for ways to responsibly list the IRGC as a terrorist organization," Trudeau said.

The Iranian government claimed in a 2021 report that the airliner was shot down accidentally after being "misidentified" by an air defense unit as a "hostile target" — a conclusion Canadian safety officials say Iran failed to support with evidence.

Canada has been wrestling with designation of the IRGC as a terrorist entity for years, but calls grew louder after the Flight PS752 incident. Canada’s federal government has referred to the IRGC as a terrorist organization, described its leadership as terrorists, announced measures to make its senior members inadmissible to Canada, and has listed the outfit’s extraterritorial expeditionary division Quds Force as a terrorist entity.

However, despite numerous calls from the federal Conservative party, activists and even US lawmakers as well as the families of victims of the Ukrainian flight, the government has refused to designate the whole entity as a terrorist entity under the country’s Criminal Code. In June, Canada's Senate passed a non-binding motion to designate the the Guards as a terror organization, echoing a similar motion in 2018. The country's Liberals supported the Tory motion in the House of Commons back in 2018, but have not done so since.

Trudeau’s government argues that such a listing would be a blunt-force approach that could affect low-level people who were forced to serve in the force as part of their mandatory military service. According to the CIA, conscripts make up more than 50 percent of the IRGC.

In addition to the prime minister, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez and Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman attended Monday's ceremony in Richmond Hill.

Lantsman, who serves as Canada’s opposition deputy, criticized Trudeau's government for its handling of Iranian officials on Canadian soil, promising a definitive designation of the IRGC as a terrorist group. Canada’s Official Opposition emphasizes the need to end legal activities of IRGC members in Canada and their luxurious lifestyles funded by embezzled Iranian money.

Lantsman repeated her party's call to designate the IRGC a terrorist organization, saying "This evil act of murder ... underscored a truth that our country has known for a very long time — the IRGC is a terrorist group."

She highlighted that “the IRGC terrorists have given safe harbor in Canada by a Liberal government without the courage to ban them. To this day, over 700 IRGC terrorists have been able to legally operate on our soil and live in luxury with the money they stole from the Iranian people.”

Critics argue that existing measures, including expanded sanctions and amendments to the Magnitsky legislation, are insufficient to address the issue of regime-connected officials residing in Canada. The debate surrounding the designation of the IRGC continues, with members of the diaspora expressing concerns about accountability for crimes committed abroad by those holding Canadian citizenship.

In November, the Canadian opposition leader, running to be the next prime minister, said the IRGC poses the most significant security threat to his country. Describing the IRGC as the “most sophisticated, well-financed terror group on Planet Earth,” Pierre Poilievre, the leader of Canada's Conservative Party, said that the group was also behind the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and is an ally of Hezbollah, which has been designated in Canada as a terrorist group.

The ceremony for the fourth anniversary of the downing of Flight PS752 was held a few hours after Canada, Britain, Ukraine, and Sweden filed a complaint with the UN civil aviation agency against Iran. The four countries, announcing their complaint to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, said Tehran had used “weapons against a civil aircraft in flight in breach of its international legal obligations."

Ex-Bodybuilding Champion Faces Renewed Sentence Amid Health Concerns

Jan 9, 2024, 11:32 GMT

Khaled Pirzadeh, a former bodybuilding champion and political prisoner, revealed on Monday that he has received a new prison sentence of nearly six years.

In an Instagram story, he disclosed convictions of "assembly and collusion" for five years and "propaganda against the system" for eight months. The story also noted his acquittal on charges of "spreading lies" and "illegitimate financial gain."

The latest conviction comes within a week of reports from a former political prisoner indicating Pirzadeh's deteriorating health following a nine-day hunger strike. Last week, Pirzadeh was urgently hospitalized in Tehran due to "convulsions," "muscle cramps," and "chest pain," specifically in the cardiology ward. Despite his reported physical distress, human rights media later revealed his return to Evin Prison a few days later.

Pirzadeh was arrested at Ahvaz airport in southwestern Iran on September 19 as he prepared to travel to Turkey with a valid passport. Intelligence agents detained him without presenting an arrest warrant.

Previously sentenced to seven years in prison in June 2019, Pirzadeh engaged in hunger strikes and sewed his right eyelid shut in protest during his incarceration. Upon release in February 2023, he faced mobility issues resulting from a spinal cord injury and an anxiety disorder.

Exiled Prince Calls For Accountability In Ukrainian Airliner Downing

Jan 9, 2024, 09:45 GMT

Iranian exiled prince Reza Pahlavi says the perpetrators behind the downing of the Ukrainian flight in 2020 killing 176 passengers, will not escape justice.

The Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was downed by two air-defense missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after departing from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport.

In a message released on various social media platforms on Monday, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane by Revolutionary Guard missiles over Tehran, Prince Reza Pahlavi underscored that the survivors of the victims continue to seek justice.

In the message, he stated: "Four years ago, the Revolutionary Guard committed a heinous act, killing 176 passengers of the Ukrainian plane. After four years, the families of the victims are still seeking justice."

Pahlavi said, "The perpetrators and planners of that terrorist act along with their leader, Ali Khamenei, should know that they cannot escape justice. One day, not long from now, the Iranian nation will try them and hold them to account in a free and fair trial."

Pahlavi's message was released simultaneously with the commemoration ceremony of the fourth anniversary of the incident held in Shahedshahr, Tehran, the site of the plane's downing. Government forces prevented citizens from attending and joining the families of the victims during the ceremony.

Iran's Chief Justice Calls For Legal Action Against Kerman Blasts Critics

Jan 8, 2024, 21:31 GMT

Iran's Chief Justice has threatened people who criticize the government in the aftermath of last week’s deadly terror bombings with legal consequences.

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei stated that “prosecutors should not overlook the actions of those who, following the Kerman incident, supported the enemy, whether in legal or illegal domains.” The comments come in the wake of two explosions during the fourth memorial of former IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani on January 3, that killed around 90 people.

Iranians have been demanding answers as to why the government failed to ensure the security of the gathering, and why senior officials did not attend, insinuating foreknowledge by the government.

In response, at least 9 social media users have been arrested for their critical comments.

Deputy Police Chief Ramin Pashaei revealed on Saturday the identification of 500 internet pages deemed "insulting to the martyrs of Kerman," with operators under cyber surveillance and some facing warnings to remove criminal content.”"

Reports indicate citizens in various cities, including Tehran, Yazd, Bushehr, Semnan, and North Khorasan, have been detained for allegedly “insulting Qasem Soleimani and his anniversary ceremony.”

Morteza Motiee, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Semnan province, condemned those attributing the Kerman incident to the Islamic Republic, accusing them of "following the devil.”

Meanwhile, Ali Shamsipour, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Science, threatened to expel students critical of the government for the Kerman terrorist incident.

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