November 16 - 39th trial session of Hamid Noury, an Iranian prison official charged with torturing inmates in Gohardasht prison (Karaj) during the 1980s and being directly involved in #Iran's #1988Massacre, continues in the district court of Durres, Albania. #ProsecuteRaisiNOW
In Tuesday's session, Mahmoud Royaei, a former political prisoner who spent ten years in prison for supporting the MEK, testifies on the atrocities in the regime's horrific prisons. #1988Massacre #ProsecuteRaisiNOW
[File photo]
Royaei, arrested in 1981 at the age of 18, has described the crimes #Iran’s regime committed against political prisoners in a series of five books. His writing also includes the role Hamid Noury played in the #1988Massacre as one of the senior prison guards in Gohardasht prison.
Royaei's testimony indicates #Iran's #1988Massacre was years in the making.
“In March 1988, a group of prisoners were brought from Kermanshah to Gohardasht... under a plan to classify prisoners, employed by Davoud Lashgari, Nasserian [Mohammad Moghiseh] & Hamid [Noury]," he said.
“These series of events reminded us of the dark memories of 1981. Every night, hundreds of prisoners were executed while the authorities shouted ‘Death to the Monafegh’ [the term the regime uses to refer to the MEK,” Royaei said. #1988Massacre #Iran
[File photo]
“It became clear to us that the first executions were from the prisoners of Karaj because [current regime president Ebrahim] Raisi was the prosecutor of Karaj and personally knew them,” Royaei said. #ProsecuteRaisiNOW #1988Massacre #Iran
"33 years ago, I was in the same room with Iran's new president when he voted to execute political prisoners"
Raisi was a member of the “Death Commission” that decided the fate of each political prisoner. Those who did not disavow their support for the MEK would be sent to the gallows.
The Death Commission was acting on direct orders from regime supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini.
On August 2, 1988, Royaei was summoned along with several other prisoners. The prisoners were taken to a corridor that became known as the “Death Corridor,” where prisoners waited for their turn to meet the Death Commission. #1988Massacre #Iran #ProsecuteRaisiNOW
At the end of the Death Corridor was the “Death Hall,” the warehouse where prisoners were hanged in groups. As one group of inmates were hanged, the prison authorities forced the others to watch until it became their turn to have the noose thrown around their neck. #1988Massacre
"After about half an hour, I recognized the voice of Hamid Abbasi [Noury] calling names. I pushed up my blindfold a bit and saw Hamid Abbasi standing in the middle of the hallway and reading names,” Royaei said. #1988Massacre #Iran
“Around 5 or 6 pm, Nasserian took me to the Death Commission,” Royaei said. “There was [Hossein Ali] Nayyeri; intel ministry representative [Mostafa] Pourmohammadi, [Morteza] Eshraghi, and [Ebrahim] Raisi whom I thought to be a prison guard," he added. #ProsecuteRaisiNOW #Iran
In the Death Corridor, Royaei heard Noury calling 10-15 names, those being taken for execution.
“I was sitting less than a meter from [Noury]. I could see a few meters from under the blindfold. The guards were wearing military attire. But Nasserian & [Noury] wore plain clothes.”
November 16 - Stockholm
Rally of supporters of the Iranian Resistance and the Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK coinciding with the Hamid Noury trial in Durres, Albania.
Royaei:
I came to Gohardasht prison in 1986 & I would see Hamid Abbasi & Nasserian from then on. I’ve remembered his face ever since… In total I had seen Hamid Abbasi about five or six times from 1986 to the days of the Death Corridor. #1988Massacre #Iran
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November 3 - Karaj, west of Tehran, #Iran
Locals marking the 40th day of Hadith Najafi's murder by the regime's oppressive security forces chant "Death to the dictator!" and clash with the regime's security forces. #IranRevolution2022 #آزادی_آزادی_آزادی
November 3 - Karaj, west of Tehran, #Iran
Locals establish roadblocks to prevent the regime's oppressive security forces from disrupting their ceremony marking the 40th day of Hadith Najafi's murder by the regime. #IranRevolution2022 #آزادی_آزادی_آزادی
November 3 - Karaj, west of Tehran, #Iran
More footage of people marking the 40th day of Hadith Najafi's murder by the regime's oppressive security forces and chanting "Death to the dictator!" #IranRevolution2022 #آزادی_آزادی_آزادی
October 2 - Tehran, #Iran
Scenes from inside the Sharif University of Technology campus where security forces have opened fire on the students. #IranProtests2022 #MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی
October 2 - Tehran, #Iran
More footage of Sharif University of Technology showing how security forces have surrounded the campus and blocked entrances. #IranProtests2022 #MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی
In the past two weeks, optimism over the #Iran nuclear talks has fizzled. According to news reports and statements made by the parties involved, the key point of tension is the removal of the IRGC from the U.S. State Dept’s FTO list.
The terror designation of the IRGC, instated by the Trump administration in 2019, is not related to the regime’s nuclear program, which makes it a tough sell as part of any agreement reached in Vienna.
2/10
Why is the regime predicating any deal on the removal of the IRGC from the terror list?
The IRGC has a disproportionate share of all levers of power in Iran, including the economy, domestic politics, and foreign policy.
The Iranian regime’s Majlis recently approved the government’s plan to remove the “42,000-rial dollar” (preferential currency). Supposedly aimed to fight corruption, the new plan will cause a rise in prices and exacerbate corruption. #Iran
In 2018, the regime pegged the official exchange rate of the rial at 42,000 against the US dollar, while the free-market rate, adjusted by supply-and-demand dynamics, continued to plunge and near the 300,000 mark.
2/9
The regime’s declared policy was to prevent the fluctuation of the prices of basic goods and medicine. But in effect, the new policy created a black market run by regime-backed entities, which obtained dollars and made huge profits by selling them at the free-market rate.
3/9
March 8 - Shiraz, south-central #Iran
Retired communications workers protesting in different cities and provinces seeking answers to their long-raised demands. #IranProtests #اعتراضات_سراسری
November 26 - Isfahan, central #Iran
Initial reports early Friday morning local time indicate anti-riot police viciously attacking protesting locals at the city's famous Pole Khaju bridge. #IranProtests #اعتراضات_سراسری
November 26 - Isfahan, central #Iran
Regime officials are dispatching oppressive anti-riot units to the dried river bed of Zayandehrud River to scatter and disrupt any possible gathering. #IranProtests #اعتراضات_سراسری
November 26 - Isfahan, central #Iran
Regime officials are dispatching oppressive Revolutionary Guards, anti-riot units, and IRGC Basij units to the dried river bed of Zayandehrud River to prevent today's gathering. #IranProtests #اعتراضات_سراسری