Feb. 3 – The European Union said it was looking at legal options to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization, following a resolution which was overwhelmingly approved in the European Parliament.
The proposal was put forward in response to the Iranian regime’s supply of drones to Russia for its illegal invasion of Ukraine, and the Iranian government’s ill treatment of protesters in Iran.
The US blacklisted the IRGC in 2019. Meanwhile, the UK said it was also looking at options to designate the military unit after a resolution in the UK House of Commons was approved, but paused its investigation over fears raised by the Home Office that the move would make negotiating with Tehran more difficult.
An Iranian couple in their early twenties, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for dancing in front of Iran’s Freedom Tower and then posting the video online.
Astiazh Haqiqi, and Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, were charged with “promoting corruption and prostitution, colluding against national security, and propaganda against the establishment.”
The couple’s video, which has not been linked to Iran’s current anti-government protests, follows a wave of nationwide demonstrations as Iranians in the country voice their discontent at the regime’s oppressive laws, mass government corruption and a rise in acute poverty.
And at least 11 women child rights advocates in Iran have been imprisoned for trying to uphold children’s human rights, according to rights watchdog the Center for Human Rights in Iran.
The women worked with underprivileged and at-risk youth. The watchdog said the women were being targeted as part of an effort to stem dissent amid largely peaceful anti-government protests.
More than 70 children are believed to have been killed by Iran’s security forces during the demonstrations, and at least 170 children and 717 students were arrested by Iranian officials.
