Iran Human Rights Archives - IAC Virginia

Tehran’s Spy Arrested in Sweden: A Grim Reminder of Rooted Terrorism in Europe

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 21:41:45 +0000

NCRI | Mahmoud Hakamian | Sept. 25, 2021

Swedish newspapers, including Aftonbladet and Expressen, reported that a former Swedish security police chief had been arrested for spying on behalf of the Iranian regime between 2011 and 2015. His arrest once again highlights the need for a joint-European action to address the Iranian regime’s terrorism. As identified by local and Persian language websites, the arrested spy is Peyman Kia, 40 years old. He had obtained Swedish citizenship and worked as a director in the Swedish Security Police (SPO) and an analyst in a Swedish military organization while he was spying for Tehran.
Kia was arrested on Monday. On Thursday, the court decided to order detention for this person on charges of grossly and unlawfully abusing his position as someone with access to classified information and violating national security to avoid him destroying documents or escaping. The arrested person is accused of espionage for reasonable reasons, the Swedish Security Service said in a statement.
His arrest comes a month after the arrest of an Iranian couple, who had obtained refugee status in Sweden by presenting a false Afghan identity. They were the agents of the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
In February 2021, a court in Antwerp, Belgium, condemned Assadollah Assadi and his three accomplices to nearly 70 years of prison for attempting to bomb the Iranian opposition’s rally in 2018 in France. Assadi was a Vienna-based diplomat-terrorist who had used his diplomatic privileges to smuggle 500 grams of the TATP explosives to Europe and handed over to his two operatives, Amir Sadouni and Nasimeh Na’ami. Sadoun and Na’ami, along with another operative, Mehrdad Arefani, had obtained Belgian citizenship and posed as supporters of the Iranian opposition movement.
Assadi’s trial and conviction once again highlighted what the Iranian Resistance had said for years: the regime’s embassies and diplomats are promoting terrorism and espionage. During Assadi’s trial, the authorities in Germany, where Assadi was arrested in 2018, opened another case about a network of terrorism and espionage he had managed across Europe. The German officials found a notebook in Assadi’s car with important information about the 2018 bomb plot, Assadi’s actions travel, and the amounts of money he had given to different operatives.

“The Iranian Resistance has specific information of the Iranian regime’s sleeper cells across Europe, which Assadi commanded. The Iranian regime’s MOIS has a network of agents in Europe supported by the regime’s embassies that misuse their diplomatic facilities. Assadollah Assadi was at the head of the Iranian regime’s intelligence network in Europe,” Mr. Javad Dabiran, the deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) representative office in Germany, told Al-Arabiya on January 22. “40% and specifically 144 out of 289 meetings of Assadi with his agents were held in Germany. This implies two things. First, a large part of [the regime’s] network is located in Germany, and Germany is the scene of the Iranian regime’s terrorist activities,” Mr. Dabiran added.
On the eve of Assadi’s conviction, another plot of the MOIS against the Iranian Resistance in Germany was revealed. The regime had tried to persuade Iranians residing in Germany to spy on the NCRI’s office in Germany and Javad Dabiran, then receive “good money.”
The recent arrest of another spy in Sweden, holding a top security position, is the most recent in chains to arresting the regime’s spies in Europe. It also implies how rooted the regime’s espionage network is in Europe, overshadowed by the European leader’s persistence on the failed appeasement policy toward Tehran.
In July 2017, Ali Fallahian, the former head of the MOIS, acknowledged in an interview how the regime’s agents work under many covers in Europe. “The ministry needs cover for its works to collect information both inside the country and outside. Obviously, we don’t send an agent to Germany or America and, for example, say, ok, I am an agent of the information ministry, and I am here to collect information, please give that to me. He would work under cover of business or other jobs, including reporters. You know many of our reporters are the MOIS agents,” Falahian said.

Arrested Iranian agent Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi in U.S. is the tip of the iceberg
As revealed during Assadi’s trial, the Iranian regime is involved in terrorism at top levels. On April 28, 2021, the regime’s then-president Hassan Rouhani confirmed the regime’s Supreme National Security Council takes all decisions regarding Tehran’s malign activities.
“All the complex issues of foreign policy and the field of defense are discussed in the Supreme National Security Council, whether when we want to [carry out] a defensive operation and whether when we have to carry out an offensive operation somewhere or whether when we want to undertake an important political task,” Rouhani acknowledged.
Before Rouhani, his Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who oversaw the 2018 bombing plot led by Assadi in Europe, acknowledged how his Ministry is entirely involved in terrorism and espionage in a leaked audiotape.
What you should know about Iran’s network of terrorists and spies in EU

“Most of our Foreign Ministry ambassadors have a security structure. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been facing security issues since it began operating. The Foreign Ministry’s agenda has been a political-security agenda since the beginning of the revolution. In the 1990s, they closed down the Ministry’s economic directorate and instead created regional directors whose tendencies were more political and security-related,” Zarif said. The European officials should take the recent arrest of another spy in Sweden seriously and consider it a mounting threat of terrorism from the regime.
Unfortunately, the European leaders are more concerned about keeping the dialogue with the Terrorist regime in Tehran. This comes when the regime’s new government does not have the “moderate” façade anymore. The new Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, has been considered a “field agent” and is a known member of the terrorist “Quds Force.” Yet, the EU leaders, particularly Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, did not lose the chance of meeting and praising Amir-Abdollahian and the terrorist regime he represents during the recent United Nations General Assembly.

The EU leaders should adopt a firm policy toward the regime. Appeasing this regime would only embolden it to continue its terrorist activities. As the Iranian Resistance has reiterated, the EU should close down the regime’s embassies and expel its agents operating in the European Union under various pretexts. This would certainly increase the security of the EU’s citizens.

https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/tehrans-spy-arrested-in-sweden-a-grim-reminder-of-rooted-terrorism-in-europe/

The post Tehran’s Spy Arrested in Sweden: A Grim Reminder of Rooted Terrorism in Europe appeared first on IAC Virginia.

Former Iranian refugee represents US as karate world champion

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 17:34:21 +0000

UNHCR | By Andrea Mucino-Sanchez | 20 June 2021

Soolmaz fled Iran as a child with her family and embarked on a harrowing journey to safety. She is now a 14-time U.S. Champion and World Champion in traditional karate.

Dr. Soolmaz Abooali, a 14-time U.S. Champion and World Champion in traditional karate, hopes that her story will inspire others to play a role in helping refugees around the world.

In the 1980’s, Soolmaz Abooali’s parents found themselves in a precarious situation. Both were activists and making a future for their family in Iran was becoming increasingly difficult. When she was four, Soolmaz and her mother made the dangerous journey to Pakistan and eventually to Bangladesh in search of safety.

With the help of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Soolmaz and her family received funding and assistance. While the modest support offered was of use, her family had to find scrappy ways to not only survive but attempt to thrive.

“My parents made it doable for me.” She said. “Fruits were expensive and hard to come by in Bangladesh, but with whatever money they had they’d buy an apple and slice it into seven pieces, so I’d have a piece of fruit every day of the week.”

It was simple experiences like this that made Soolmaz realize what conflict felt like. “I really had this mind, body, and spirit awareness. I knew that something was not right. Something was not safe or accessible. We were always having to fight for something.”

The awareness of conflict manifested itself in various ways. She remembers the weariness in which they approached people, questioning their motives and where they could be from. Yet it was this very feeling that allowed a sincere enchantment with martial art movies. How the heroes of the story would find themselves in an ominous situation and battle their way to victory – a concept Soolmaz could relate to at such a young age.

“For me, in my child imagination, karate came to represent a way out of conflict.”

Soolmaz’s introduction to karate came initially from her father who had practiced martial arts. As a young child, he had promised Soolmaz that when they were in a safe place where they could start rebuilding their lives, he would put her in a karate class. Years later when they were resettled in Canada, Soolmaz’s father kept his word. At first it was her parents who kept her motivated to continue training, then slowly karate started to mean so much more to her personally.

“It represented a way for me to use my own sense of power with what I had to resolve conflict. It kind of took off from there.”

A straightforward list of Soolmaz’s karate accolades and accomplishments hardly do them justice. Through unimaginable odds as a refugee in Bangladesh dreaming of taking a karate class, to now a 14-time US Champion, one-time World Champion, gold medalist across all categories in form (Kata) and fighting (Kumite) events, and a member of Team USA at a national and global level for the last 14 years, her journey is one of perseverance and grit.

Soolmaz Abooali (right) represented the United States at the 2016 World Traditional Karate-Do Championships in Kraków, Poland. © Latos Adam

“The more I practiced, the more I realized it was making me feel really strong. I sacrificed more, I put more time and focus into it,” she said, “and the more I achieved the more I felt a deeper sense of confidence.”

While karate gave Soolmaz an outlet to test herself in conflict simulated scenarios, it also provided a sense of community, one that as a refugee had immeasurable value.

“Because we have to leave everything behind and we come with almost nothing but ourselves, our skills and our passions to a new place, feeling a sense of belonging is huge for refugees. And I think that’s what karate has given me. It’s given me this space where I can belong,” she said. “The relationships I’ve built have been fundamental and I wouldn’t be where I am without my coach or my teammates.”

Among the impressive accomplishments Soolmaz has under her karate belt, one has evaded her reach out of pure omission of the art in one of the most internationally well-known sporting competitions in the world: the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee selects twenty-five core sports that are mandatory events in Olympic competitions. However, the host organizing committee has the ability to add sports they believe represent the values of the games.

For the first time, karate will make its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. For the second time, a team of refugee athletes will compete at the summer games as part of the IOC’s Refugee Olympic Team. Two of those refugee athletes will compete for one of the 8 medals in karate. Wael Shueb from Sryia in the Kata category, and Hamoon Derafshipour from Iran in Kumite.

“Everyone needs inspiration, especially refugees,”

“Everyone needs inspiration, especially refugees,” Soolmaz said. “I think the Olympic refugee team is one way of how that’s done for refugees.”

Soolmaz’s story, from refugee to world champion, instilled a passion for further understanding the intersection of sport, conflict, and diplomacy. In 2019, Soolmaz obtained her PhD in conflict resolution from the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, another testament to the possibility to succeed against all odds, to find a sense of belonging, and find a sense of community.

“This is home. I’ve been able to not only take but to give back. And that’s what makes this country beautiful and valuable for everyone of any background,” she said. “I hope some part of my story will resonate with others and especially those who are looking in from the outside to see how they can play a role to help refugees. At the end of the day we are all in this together.”

https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/stories/2021/6/60cde22b4/former-iranian-refugee-represents-the-united-states-as-karate-world-champion.html

The post Former Iranian refugee represents US as karate world champion appeared first on IAC Virginia.

Dozens of former UN officials call for inquiry into 1988 Iran massacre

Sun, 16 May 2021 05:11:43 +0000

The Hill | BY JOHN BOWDEN | 05/04/21

Dozens of human rights experts, including former United Nations officials, in a Tuesday letter called on the UN to open an inquiry into a series of killings of Iranian political dissidents by Iran’s government in 1988.

An open letter signed by more than 150 international legal and human rights experts, including former UN High Commissioner Mary Robinson and former deputy UN Secretary-General Mark Malloch-Brown, urges the “establishment of an international investigation” looking into the killings of followers of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran which occurred throughout 1988 on an order from Iran’s then-supreme leader.

“There is a systemic impunity enjoyed by those who ordered and carried out the extrajudicial executions,” they said, adding: “Many of the officials involved continue to hold positions of power including in key judicial, prosecutorial and government bodies.”

Among those named in the letter as involved in the killings, which numbered in the thousands, include Iran’s current justice minister, Seyyed Alireza Avaei. Iranian officials have defended the executions as recently as 2016, referring to the dissidents as “terrorists.”

While the initial killings targeted members of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, a left-leaning group that advocates for the overthrow of Iran’s government, members of other left-wing groups were also targeted.

“We appeal to the UN Human Rights Council to end the culture of impunity that exists in Iran by establishing a Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 mass extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances. We urge High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to support the establishment of such a Commission,” read the letter, which was provided to The Hill by Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran.

Altogether, 45 of the signatories formerly held positions at the UN. Other notable former government officials on the letter include former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, whose country declared the 1988 killings a “crime against humanity” in 2013.

The post Dozens of former UN officials call for inquiry into 1988 Iran massacre appeared first on IAC Virginia.

Trafficking In Iran; A Major Concern

Sat, 01 May 2021 05:07:21 +0000

Iran Focus | By SIA RAJABI | APRIL 22, 2021

The trafficking of women in Iran is a real problem, with most of the victims smuggled out of the country from the provinces of Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Khuzestan

Lawyer Hossein Komeili said: “In Sistan and Baluchestan, where forced marriages are common, women are given to men in Afghanistan and Pakistan. [It’s a form of] organized trafficking [where] corruption in the bureaucracy [and cooperation between] “smugglers and the police” [make the issue worse].”

Of course, the government hides the relevant statistics, so it’s impossible to know for sure how many victims there are, but the state-run ROKNA News Agency says that the women are moved under the pretext of finding employment, smuggled into countries, and forced to become sex workers because their identification documents are stolen before they even leave Iran.

Despite its opacity, the government is still considered tier 3 by the US State Department for failing to make the minimum effort to combat human trafficking and the US said that the domestic Iran trafficking networks appear to enjoy anonymity.

One Iranian strategist, Hassan Abbasi, publically exposed the trafficking of women to other Middle Eastern countries as far back as 2008, condemning the President, the Information Minister, the Expediency Discernment Council, the Revolutionary Guards, the Bassij, the Judiciary Chief, the commander of the State Security Force, and Tehran’s mayor for failing to address the issue.

But, of course, one of the main reasons for the increased rate of trafficking is poverty because people are desperate to escape the hardships in Iran, tricked with thoughts of a better life. This is worse in more deprived areas.

Komeili said: “The University of Tehran has a law clinic in the Oudlajan area of Tehran. A woman came to the clinic and said, ‘My daughter has been missing for 2 weeks! Her friends said she went abroad.’ We asked, ‘What did you do in these 2 weeks?’ I did nothing. I thought she was going abroad to earn money and send it to us,” the mother replied. Therefore, the principal reason for human trafficking is poverty, and victims fall into traffickers’ traps thinking they are finding jobs. Laws must be changed, and the victim must not be seen as a criminal.”

While sex trafficking is a major part of this criminal industry, we shouldn’t forget about the nasty blood and organ trafficking business, whereby victims (including children) are held for some time abroad before they are killed for their blood and organs.

https://www.iranfocus.com/en/human-rights/46810-trafficking-in-iran-a-major-concern/

The post Trafficking In Iran; A Major Concern appeared first on IAC Virginia.