Nov.18 – The British government said the people of Iran “had suffered enough,” in a statement delivered at the United Nations on Wednesday.
The UK welcomed the announcement of a special session at the UN next week, to discuss Iran and said it hoped the meeting would result in a full investigation into protest-related human rights violations in the country.
The statement was made on the same that MI5 — Britain’s top intelligence agency — said Iran posed a critical security threat for the UK through it use of “coercion, intimidation, and violence to pursue its interests.”
New research from human rights watchdog Amnesty International found that 21 people in Iran were at risk of execution for taking part in the nationwide protests.
The report raised concerns about failures to follow due process in Revolutionary Court proceedings, including the fast-tracking of trials and public executions for minor offenses.
Iran’s lawmakers have called for the harshest punishments for protesters. More than 15,000 people have been arrested in a crackdown on demonstrators, while 1,024 indictments have been issued in Tehran province alone.
And a violent attack in the city of Izeh in Iran’s Khuzestan province on Wednesday, left a least 7 people dead, including two boys aged nine and 13, and injured nine people.
The reason for the attack, carried out by two people on a motorbike who opened fire on a crowd, is unknown. Social media users blamed the authorities for the violence, while the government said the attackers were unknown assailants.
Several more people were killed by security forces around the country this week, and at least five protesters were sentenced to death for their connections to the demonstrations.
Kayhan Life’s thoughts remain with Iranians demonstrating for their freedom.
