Iran upping repression of women 2 years after Mahsa Amini’s death: UN experts

Iran upping repression of women 2 years after Mahsa Amini’s death: UN experts
People hold placards and wave Iranian flags during a global protest in solidarity with Iranian women in New York on September 16, 2023, on the first anniversary of the death of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in custody.(AFP)
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Updated 13 September 2024
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Iran upping repression of women 2 years after Mahsa Amini’s death: UN experts

Iran upping repression of women 2 years after Mahsa Amini’s death: UN experts
  • Iranian Kurdish Mahsa Amini died while in custody, sparking nationwide protests
  • UN experts say repression had stepped up noticeably since April in fresh update

Geneva: UN experts accused Iran Friday of “intensifying” its repression of women two years after Mahsa Amini’s death in custody, which sparked nationwide protests, including an apparent pattern of sentencing women activists to death.
Amini, 22, was an Iranian Kurdish woman who died three days after her arrest in Tehran in September 2022 for allegedly breaching Iran’s dress code which requires women to wear a headscarf.
Two years on, “Iran has intensified its efforts to suppress the fundamental rights of women and girls and crush remaining initiatives of women’s activism,” the independent UN fact-finding mission on Iran warned in a statement.
The UN Human Rights Council appointed the experts to investigate the deadly crackdown on nationwide protests that rocked Iran after Amini’s death.
“Although mass protests have subsided, the unabated defiance of women and girls is a continuous reminder that they still live in a system that relegates them to ‘second class citizens’,” said the experts, who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.
In a fresh update, they said repression had stepped up noticeably since April.
State authorities had “increased repressive measures and policies” through the so-called “Noor Plan,” which encourages sanctioning rights violations against women and girls who flout the mandatory hijab, they said.
“Security forces have further escalated pre-existing patterns of physical violence, including beating, kicking, and slapping women and girls who are perceived as failing to comply with the mandatory hijab laws and regulations,” the team said in a statement.
They also warned that state authorities had enhanced surveillance for hijab compliance, including in private spheres like vehicles, and with a range of tools, including drones.
At the same time, a new “Hijab and Chastity” bill, which is in the final stages of approval, provides for harsher penalties for women who do not wear the mandatory hijab — including soaring fines, long prison sentences and travel bans.
In their statement, the experts expressed particular concern about “an apparent new pattern of sentencing to death of women activists... following their convictions for national security offenses.”
“Over the last two years, the death penalty and other domestic criminal law provisions, in particular those related to national security, have been used as instruments to terrorize and deter Iranians from protesting and expressing themselves freely,” they said.


Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison

Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison
Updated 5 sec ago
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Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison

Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison
  • It was the third prison sentence imposed on Ayachi Zammel in two weeks
  • Zammel, head of the opposition Azimoun party, has been jailed since last month

TUNIS: A Tunisian court sentenced presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel to 12 years in prison on Tuesday, amid growing opposition anger against President Kais Saied, whose critics accuse him of using the judiciary to sideline his opponents.

It was the third prison sentence imposed on Zammel in two weeks, just five days before the presidential election in which he is one of just two candidates permitted to stand against Saied. Three other high profile opposition figures were barred.

Abdessattar Massoudi, Zammel’s lawyer, said that Zammel was sentenced to 12 years in prison by Tunis court on charges of document falsification. Massoudi described the verdict as “unfair and a farce.”

Zammel, head of the opposition Azimoun party, has been jailed since last month on charges of falsifying voter signatures on his candidacy paperwork, accusations he described as manufactured by Saied’s government. He has been allowed to continue to stand in the election while jailed.

Political tensions in the North African country have risen ahead of the Oct. 6 election since an electoral commission named by Saied disqualified three other prominent candidates last month, amid protests by opposition and civil society groups.

Tunisia was the only Arab country to emerge with a peaceful democracy from the 2011 “Arab Spring” protests against autocratic rulers across the Middle East and North Africa.

But since being elected in 2019, Saied has gradually amassed greater powers, arguing that he needs them to combat a corrupt elite. He dissolved the elected parliament and began ruling by decree in 2021, a move the opposition described as a coup.

The electoral commission has rejected a ruling by Tunisia’s administrative court to reinstate the barred candidates for the upcoming election. Lawmakers loyal to Saied then approved a law stripping the administrative court of authority over election disputes.

The opposition and civil society groups called for a mass protest on Friday against what they describe as Saied’s authoritarian rule, and said they would continue escalation and demonstrations.


Israeli forces have carried out raids in Lebanon for months, military says

Israeli forces have carried out raids in Lebanon for months, military says
Updated 24 min 15 sec ago
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Israeli forces have carried out raids in Lebanon for months, military says

Israeli forces have carried out raids in Lebanon for months, military says
  • Hagari said the details were being declassified
  • Dozens of such operations had uncovered detailed plans by Hezbollah to enter Israel

JERUSALEM: Israeli forces have been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon for months, uncovering Hezbollah tunnels and weapon caches under homes and uncovering invasion plans by the group, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday.
Hagari said the details were being declassified, hours after Israel announced a ground operation against the Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon.
Dozens of such operations had uncovered detailed plans by Hezbollah to enter Israel and carry out an attack similar to the one led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year.
The findings and evidence discovered under homes in villages in southern Lebanon during the raids will be presented to the international community, Hagari said. He presented videos from soldiers’ body-cameras and maps.


KLM suspends Israel flights until year-end: spokeswoman

KLM suspends Israel flights until year-end: spokeswoman
Updated 22 min 20 sec ago
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KLM suspends Israel flights until year-end: spokeswoman

KLM suspends Israel flights until year-end: spokeswoman

Dutch national carrier KLM on Tuesday extended a suspension of flights to Israel until the end of the year, citing the deteriorating situation in the region.
"Given the situation in the region we've decided to extend a suspension of flights to Tel Aviv until the end of the year," KLM spokeswoman Elvira van der Vis said.


China says it opposes ‘infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty’

China says it opposes ‘infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty’
Updated 34 min 56 sec ago
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China says it opposes ‘infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty’

China says it opposes ‘infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty’
  • The foreign ministry said: “China... opposes infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity”
  • Beijing urged Israel “to take concrete actions to de-escalate the situation“

BEIJING: China said on Tuesday it opposed “infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty” after Israel said it had launched a ground offensive there, and that Beijing was “highly concerned” about growing tensions.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had launched a ground offensive targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, further escalating the conflict after a week of intense air strikes that killed hundreds of people.
However, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said the Israeli operation did not amount to a “ground incursion,” while Iran-backed Hezbollah denied any troops had crossed the border.
There was no way to immediately verify the claims, which came as Israel targeted south Beirut, Damascus and Gaza despite international calls for restraint to avoid a regional conflagration.
“China is highly concerned about the current situation between Lebanon and Israel and is deeply concerned about the further escalation of regional tensions due to related military actions,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
“China... opposes infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and opposes any actions that exacerbate conflicts and lead to a further escalation of the regional situation.”
Beijing urged Israel “to take concrete actions to de-escalate the situation,” the statement said.


Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it fired missiles at Mossad HQ near Tel Aviv

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it fired missiles at Mossad HQ near Tel Aviv
Updated 01 October 2024
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Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it fired missiles at Mossad HQ near Tel Aviv

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it fired missiles at Mossad HQ near Tel Aviv

BEIRUT: Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Tuesday said it had targeted the Israeli military intelligence base of Glilot near Tel Aviv.
The Iran-backed group “launched salvoes of Fadi 4 rockets at the Glilot base of the military intelligence’s unit 8200 and the Mossad headquarters located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv,” it said in a statement.