Tag: Political prisoner
Swedish court establishes life sentence in Iran execution case
STOCKHOLM – A Swedish appeals court on Tuesday upheld the conviction and life sentence of a former Iranian official convicted last year of his role in a 1988 mass execution of political prisoners in Iran. In 2022, the Stockholm District Court's verdict found Hamid Noury guilty of murder and serious violations of international law, drawing…
Iran sentences Swedish EU employee for “Spying for Israel”
Dubai – Iran said on Sunday it had opened the trial of a Swedish citizen employed by the European Union on charges of spying for Israel and “corruption on earth”, a crime that carries the death penalty. Sweden said on Saturday that the trial had begun against Johan Floderus, who was detained in April 2022…
Iran starts trial against Swedish EU employee detained in 2022
STOCKHOLM – An Iranian court has opened the trial of a Swedish citizen employed by the EU who was arrested last year, Sweden's foreign minister said Saturday. – I have been informed that the trial against Johan Floderus has started in Tehran, says Foreign Minister Tobias Billström to the Swedish news agency TT. “The Swedish…
Angela Davis – Activist, Icon and FBI Most Wanted
Angela Davis grows up in racially divided Alabama during the 40s and 50s. This is a time when the Ku Klux Klan is trying to intimidate black families into silence and Southern politicians seem to be doing their best to preserve the status quo. In time, Angela Davis will snowball into an academic career. She…
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to imprisoned female Iranian activist
OSLO, Norway – This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Narges Mohammadi, a women’s and human rights activist imprisoned in Iran. Mohammadi has been arrested by the Iranian government 13 times, convicted five times and sentenced to 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. The Nobel committee said Mohammadi’s life embodies the “Woman…
Ground offensive launched against Gaza, 25 years since the Backfire, and the battle for Avdijivka
One o’clock Israeli ground troops have entered Gaza and the bombing of Hamas targets in the area is intensifying. Hear the Middle East Correspondent Johan-Mathias Sommarström, Peter HaldénUniversity of Defense, Bitte Hammargren, Middle East analyst at the Institute for Foreign Policy, Aaron Lund Total Defense Research Institute (FOI) and Mia HeidenbergMSF. His entire family was…
Family of Swede imprisoned in Iran calls for international support
Stockholm – The family of a Swedish EU employee jailed in Iran has called on the international community to help secure his release after more than 500 days in prison for alleged espionage, his family said on Sunday. The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Tuesday that Johan Floderu’s prison sentence had been raised…
Iran executes Swedish Iranian dissident
Iran said on Saturday that it had executed a Swedish-Iranian dissident. Habib Farajollah Chaab was convicted of the charge of “being corrupt on earth” for his activities with the Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, an Arab separatist group in Iran. State television said the group launched an attack on a military parade in…
Slovakia joins Poland, Hungary in banning imports of Ukrainian grain
Slovakia’s government on Monday approved a ban on imports of Ukrainian grain and other food products, following similar moves by Poland and Hungary. The news came after US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she had made a first visit in jail to Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter accused by Moscow of spying,…
Iran upholds the death sentence for a Swedish-Iranian Arab dissident
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a Swedish-Iranian dual citizen convicted of leading an Arab separatist group accused of attacks, including one on a 2018 military parade that killed 25 people, state media reported Sunday. Iran said in 2020 that its security forces arrested Sweden-based Habib Farajollah…
Trump’s shadow over American democracy
Conflicts Robin Olin travels to the state of Arizona in the USA. Out there in the dry desert landscape, he tries to find out what happens when suffragettes gain power. Before the mid-term elections on November 8, there are hundreds of candidates around the United States who, like Donald Trump, believe that the 2020 presidential…
The children risking their lives in the protests in Iran
The protests in Iran have been going on for more than a month. The spark was when 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini died after being arrested by Iran’s moral police. She has become a symbol that has caused schoolgirls and elderly women to take to the streets. Several other young women have also died in connection…
Ex-Iranian official imprisoned in Sweden for executions
The Stockholm District Court on Thursday sentenced a former Iranian official to life in prison for war crimes and the murder of political prisoners during the war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s. At the time of the killings, Hamid Noury was a 27-year-old assistant to the deputy prosecutor at the Gohardasht prison in…
Who is the Swedish doctor facing execution in Iran
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Vida Mehrania tries to save her husband’s life. Iran is scheduled to kill him within nine days – by May 21. For Iran, 50-year-old Ahmad Reza Jalali is a spy for Israel. To his colleagues, he is a respected doctor specializing in emergency medicine, a very demanding field. To Mehrunnia,…
Iran must execute Swedish-Iranian citizens by 21 May
Iran will later this month execute a Swedish-Iranian citizen whom they have imprisoned since 2016 and been convicted of spying for Israel, media reported. Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA released a report on Wednesday in which Iranian officials stated that Tehran will carry out the death penalty against Ahmad Reza Jalali by May 21. Jalali,…
Farda Briefing: Why is Iran so worried about protesting teachers?
Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, a new RFE / RL newsletter that tracks key issues in Iran and explains why they are important. I’m RFE / RL senior correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here is what I have been following for the past week and what I am looking forward to in the coming days. The…
What role did Viborg play in Russian history?
The city managed to be part of four different states. For the Swedes, it served as a window to the east; for the Russians – a crucial link in the system of defense of their capital and empire. Viborg is one of the most colorful cities in all of Russia, in terms of culture. There…
China has used draconian surveillance laws to suppress dissent: Report
Peking [China]February 8 (ANI): China has used draconian surveillance laws to suppress dissent against the country’s communist leadership. Tens of thousands appeared to have been detained in China, under “a systematic and secret detention policy”, which allows authorities to keep anyone in jail for up to six months, The HK Post reported. The rights group…
Turkey calls on the Finnish ambassador to support political prisoners
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has called on the ambassadors of ten countries, including Finland, to be reprimanded after their embassies have jointly submitted a petition calling for the release of a Turkish activist. The ambassadors’ petition called for the immediate release of the Turkish benefactor Osman Kavala who has been in prison for years without…
Right open doors for spyware – curtains remained rolled down
In the case, three men are charged. According to the prosecution, they have assisted a Saudi intelligence service in – on Danish soil – spying on Iran and Iranian military conditions. They are also accused of raising money for terrorist militias and of publicly approving a terrorist act in the form of an attack on…
Trial Of Iranian Charged With War Crimes Begins In Sweden
A former Iranian prosecutor accused of involvement in the 1988 execution of thousands of political dissidents has gone on trial in Sweden on August 10 in a landmark case likely to stoke tensions in the Islamic republic. Hamid Nouri, 60, appeared in Stockholm District Court on August 10 charged with ‘intentionally taking the life of…
Norway adopts further restrictive measures against Belarus
– Today, Norway has adapted to the EU’s new sector sanctions against Belarus in response to the major human rights violations committed by the country’s authorities, says Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide. The situation in Belarus continues to deteriorate, with the imprisonment of opposition members, the harassment of human rights defenders and the…
Tikhanovskaya, a representative of the Belarusian opposition, urges Finland to resolve the crisis
Leader of the Belarusian opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya Finland can play a key role in resolving the political crisis in Belarus. "Finland is a great country. Many countries underestimate their power and influence. Finland is a neutral country with a unique opportunity to help us find a solution," he told Yle. Tikhanovskaya has repeatedly appealed to…
Myanmar demand: Stop dead protesters
The countries that attended the ASEAN summit today, the Southeast Asian Cooperation Organization, called on the military junta to stop killing protesters and release political prisoners, such as the country’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Exactly what the junta leader responded to the demands is not known, but according to a formal communiqué from…
Political prisoner in Egypt released after 19 months
Thousands of political prisoners in Egypt spend years in prison without trial. Liberal reformists are also accused of associating with terrorist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. One of those detained is journalist Khaled Dawoud, who was once the spokesman for a group that opposed the Muslim Brotherhood. The other day, he was suddenly released…
Aung San Suu Kyi – The freedom fighter with the halo at an angle
During his 15 years under house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi became one of the world’s most famous political prisoners and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She was seen as chosen, a symbol of democracy. But her life has not been without sacrifices. In 2010, the Burmese freedom fighter is released. Since then, she…
Norwegian Secretary of State in talks with Belarusian opposition leader
“We are impressed by the courage and perseverance of the Belarussian people, and by the exhausting efforts of Mrs Tikhanovskaya,” he said. State Secretary Audun Halvorsen. State Secretary Audun Halvorsen in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has today had political talks with the Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. ‘We are very concerned about the situation…
From Iceland – Russia’s planned protest to take place in Reykjavík
Russian citizens have planned to protest outside the Russian consulate in Reykjavík, according to a statement from the organizers to the media. The planned protest will take place on Saturday 6 February. Russian citizens will protest against human rights abuses committed by the Russian government. The protests have been heated recently imprisonment of Alexei Navalnybut…
The hug arouses great anger in the opposition
“Mr. President!” exclaimed René Fasel, President of the International Ice Hockey Federation, in Russian, when he was received by Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk and greeted by a warm embrace from the President. A hug that has aroused strong criticism as many believe that this spring’s ice hockey World Cup must be moved away from Belarus.…
Belarusian opposition leader in Copenhagen: Tik tock Lukashenko
It would be a significant challenge to find any media in the world that would introduce Svetlana Tikhanovskaya as a housewife. But that was exactly what she was only a few months ago. Now the Belarusian opposition leader has turned into a full-fledged politician – communicating with both European leaders and international organizations. And this…
88-year-old Vera: “I am terrified that there will be war again”
Today is the tenth Sunday in a row that the center of Minsk is filled with protesters who want Alexander Lukashenko to resign. But not everyone wants that. Our correspondent Jesper Lindau visited villages out in the Belarusian autumn fields, where he met 88-year-old Vera. She is terrified of the demonstrations. – It used to…
More and more rights activists are being arrested in Vietnam
In Vietnam, a popular and leading human rights and democracy activist has been arrested. The arrest is one of many in recent times aimed at activists who in some way criticize the government of the communist one-party state. Pham Doan Trang is a 42-year-old activist who has fought for freedom of speech, democracy, and human…
Macron wants to mediate in Belarus
French President Emmanuel Macron will help mediate in the political crisis in Belarus. He promised this today in a conversation with opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya in Lithuania. – He is really involved in the situation and has promised to participate in negotiations on the political crisis in our country. This is what Svetlana Tichanovskaya said…