Behind the Headlines/May 20

Jamshid Chalangi:

In tonight’s program we will once again look at the ongoing violation of human rights in Iran and report on the escalation of the tension between Tehran and Washington, as President Donald Trump has set a red line for Iran by tweeting “Don’t try to get nuclear weapons or threaten America again or else”.

He has also said “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran”.

As some Arab countries of the region begin their naval manoeuvres in the Persian Gulf, the Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Al Mahdi has said he is doing his best to mediate between Iran and US to end the current standoff.

Our guests to discuss these issues tonight are political commentators Dr. Alan Toufighi and Khosrow Forouhar.

Dr. Alan Toufighi:

I believe the continuation of human rights abuses in Iran is an indication that the regime fears our people’s power.

If the country’s justice system was truly delivering justice to the citizens then the regime should not be concerned.

However, as we have seen all these last forty years, this regime’s justice system is based on personal interpretation of a group of clerics who do not even allow lawyers to defend their clients properly and this has led to the gross abuse of power and violation of the human rights of our people.

Jamshid Chalangi:

We now have this case where four people who are accused of supporting the Mujaheddin organization are being tried in closed doors.

Our people need to know who are the true people behind the acid attacks on our women and how does the justice system work?

Khosrow Forouhar:

As you correctly said, from its inception this occupying regime has been holding unjust trials to eliminate and purge its opponents by issuing long term prison sentences or mass executing them.

Even some of the senior ayatollahs like the late Taleghani who wanted to bring some kind of justice to the system had said that executions of political opponents instead of jailing them was in line with the regime’s religious ideology.



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