IACNT members observed Shabe Yalda

On December 19, 2015, IACNT members observed a Persian holiday, Shabe Yalda.

Yalda is the longest night of the year which occurs around December 21st each year corresponding to the night of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice. Traditionally, Persians have celebrated this night for centuries by getting together with friends and family, eating, telling stories, reading poetry and so on. Persians celebrate this night because it stands for the darkness being defeated by the light of the Sun the following day.

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IACNT Protests the Attack on Camp Liberty

IACNT, November 2nd, 2015- On October 29, 2015, 7:40 PM local time, Camp Liberty, home to the Iranian regime's largest opposition group, the PMOI, was attacked by 80 rockets, resulting in 24 deaths and dozens with critical injuries. This is the fourth rocket attack on the Camp since 2012. Amnesty International reported: “The attack caused widespread destruction as it hit the camp’s electricity generators, while hundreds of residents have been left homeless after at least 200 trailers were destroyed.” It is without a doubt that the Iranian regime is behind this attack, as the Regime considers Camp Liberty and its residents to be its most direct threat to power.

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Iraq: Investigate deadly Camp Liberty rocket attack

Oct 30, 2015- Published on Amnesty International

A rocket attack on a camp of Iranian exiles in Iraq is a despicable and callous crime, Amnesty International said as it called for an immediate investigation, urgent protection and assistance for the camp’s residents.

Camp Liberty, in north-east Baghdad, was struck by a barrage of rockets last night, which killed at least 23 people, including one woman, and injured dozens. An Iraqi Shi’a militia, the al-Mukhtar Army, claimed responsibility for the attack and warned that the attack may be repeated.

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Iran’s Human Rights Remain Dismal Despite Nuclear Deal: U.N.

Oct 27, 2015- Published on NewsWeek

Iran’s human rights situation remains alarming and the country could execute more than 1,000 people this year despite the landmark nuclear deal that has opened up the country to international trade and investment, according to a new United Nations report.

In his annual report, published on Tuesday, the special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, said the nuclear deal and lifting of economic sanctions on Iran “can potentially have a beneficial multiplier effect on the human rights situation in the country,” while noting that hundreds of executions still happen every year and women are treated as second-class citizens. Iran executes more people per capita than any other country in the world and last year executed 753 people, according to the report, which Shaheed will present to the U.N. later this week.

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Iran dissidents say U.S. policies are appeasing Islamist rulers

Oct 18, 2015- Published on Washington Times

When the doorbell rang, it was longer and harder than normal, like someone was ramming an angry finger on the button. Then the window suddenly was smashed and the police were inside the house.

It was eight years ago in Tehran, but Parisa Kohandel, who was just nine at the time, remembers the authorities coming to take her father as if it happened yesterday.
“I was crying, and I hugged him, and they were just searching the home,” she says. “I hugged him so they wouldn’t take him.

“Then, they put a gun on my head and separated him from me.”

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