Iran: Prisoners killed by security forces during COVID-19 pandemic protests

April 9, 2020; Amnesty International

Around 36 prisoners in Iran are feared to have been killed by security forces after the use of lethal force to control protests over COVID-19 safety fears, Amnesty International has learned.

In recent days, thousands of prisoners in at least eight prisons around the country have staged protests over fears of contracting the coronavirus, sparking deadly responses from prison officers and security forces.

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Iran Has Far More Coronavirus Cases Than It Is Letting On

March 9, 2020; The Atlantic 

The surprising number of Iranian government officials succumbing to COVID-19 offers a hint that the disease is far more widespread than the official statistics indicate.

You are standing before a huge barrel of apples. You can’t see the apples, but you can reach in and pick them out. Most are delicious, but a very small number of them are rotten—just about one in 12,000, your friend assures you. You reach in blindly and miraculously pick out a rotten apple. You reach in again and withdraw a whole heaping bushel of apples, maybe 50 in all. Most are good, but when you look closely you see them: one, two, three, four more rotten apples. One rotten apple is an amazing coincidence. Five means your barrel has lots of rotting apples in it and your friend was lying to you.

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North Texas Iranian-Americans celebrate while anxiously awaiting what happens next after U.S. strike

January 3, 2020; wfaa.com

"We thank President Trump for being decisive against the Iranian regime. The maximum pressure is working greatly," said Homeira Hesami. "It's great news."

DALLAS — The death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani is stirring protests and outrage in Iran and Pakistan and other corners of the Muslim world. But not at the North Texas home of Homeira Hesami.

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Iran Blocks Internet for 3rd Day as Death Toll From Protests Rises to Eight

November 18, 2019; VOA

WASHINGTON - This article originated in VOA's Persian service. Farhad Pouladi and Katherine Ahn contributed to this report.

Authorities in Iran have blocked internet service for a third day as part of a crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests in which at least eight people have been killed since the unrest began Friday.

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Senators Ted Cruz and John Boozman addressing the Iranian Regime’s Repression, Terrorism & Regional Meddling

November 8, 2019; EIN Press Wire  

OIAC held a congressional briefing in the U.S. Senate, to discuss the rise of domestic suppression and regional aggression by Tehran.

I will say to the Iranian people, to the men and women of Iran: America is with you. America is with you and your struggle against cruel, oppressive, torturing, murderous tyrants. Freedom matters.”— Sen. Ted Cruz

WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A, November 8, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On November 6, 2019, Organization of the Iranian American Communities (OIAC), held a congressional briefing in the U.S. Senate, to discuss the rise of domestic suppression and regional aggression by Tehran as anti-regime protests spread in

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