Maryam Rajavi participates in the European Parliament Conference on International Human Rights Day

Brazilian Police Accused of Racketeering

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian police on Wednesday busted a violent gang comprising at least five police officers that controlled three Rio de Janeiro shantytowns.

Authorities said 15 suspected gang members were arrested in the first few hours of the operation, among them Rio de Janeiro state police Pvt. Carlos Roberto Bernardo.

The gang, according to authorities, employed torture, homicide, assaults and threats to hold sway over the Campinho, Fuba and Caixa D’Agua “favelas,” all located on Rio’s north side.

Police Inspector Alexandre Capote described the gang as “extremely violent” and said members would post photos of their dead victims on the Internet.

The gang extorted “security fees” from favela residents and merchants and maintaining monopolies over utilities, cable television and Internet and public transportation.

About 450 police officers were deployed for the operation that closed two gambling parlors and seized a sizable arsenal of firearms and ammunition.

At least three suspected gang members resisted and attempted to shoot at arresting officers.

In recent years Rio de Janeiro has seen the emergence of self-proclaimed “militias,” usually made up of current and former cops.

Militias have expelled drug trafficking gangs from tens of favelas only to impose their own criminal rule over the neighborhoods.

Mexican Judge Kicked Off the Bench for Sexual Harassment

MEXICO CITY – A federal judge has been removed from the bench after he was found to have engaged in sexual and workplace harassment, the Mexican Federal Judiciary Council said.

Rafael Zamudio Arias is also being investigated in connection with financial transactions totaling more than 4.49 million pesos ($326,453), a sum that cannot be accounted for based on his salary as a judge, the CJF said.

Zamudio Arias was the senior federal judge in the Second Circuit in Toluca, a city located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Mexico City.

The judge was found to have engaged in the “serious conduct” of sexual and workplace harassment “against several and different public servants,” the CJF said.

Zamudio Arias’s banking transactions are under investigation because the funds could be related to illicit enrichment and illegal transactions, the Federal Judiciary Council said.

Iran loses right to stage Asian Volleyball championship ( After woman arrested at game )

Iran's hosting of Asian Men's Volleyball Championship has been cancelled, the Iranian Volleyball Federation has acknowledged.

The prestigious men's event will instead be held in Taipei in August, and the 1st Asian Men's U23 Championship will be held Nay Pyi Taw city in Myanmar in May, the Asian Volleyball Federation has ruled.

An Iranian Volleyball Federation official told the state-run news agency ISNA that he did not know why the games had been axed and accused the head of AVC of 'lacking firmness'.

Saeed Derakhshandeh added: "I do not know why they have taken back the hosting of these games and transferred to Myanmar. I think the head of AVC lacks firmness."

Last month the International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) sanctioned Iran from hosting international events for as long as women are not allowed to watch the games.

The announcement from FIVB came a week after a woman was jailed in Iran for trying to attend a volleyball match.

Maryam Rajavi: West must show resolve to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear bomb

 Wednesday, 10 December 2014 16:06

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Conference in European Parliament

Maryam Rajavi: West must show resolve if it is to stop Iranian regime from obtaining nuclear bomb

Cooperation with Iranian regime under pretense of fighting ISIS is not a solution but a recipe for disaster

Maryam Rajavi, Iranian Resistance President-elect Maryam Rajavi told a conference at the European Parliament on Wednesday, December 10: "The West needs to show resolve to stop Iran from obtaining the nuclear bomb."

She stressed: "This nuclear program enjoys no legitimacy in the eyes of the Iranian people. According to government figures, 12 million Iranian people are suffering from hunger. They do not want this program to continue."

Rajavi pointed to the increase in atrocities by the fundamentalists in Syria and Iraq, and asked: "Why are Western governments not standing up to a regime that is the 'Godfather of ISIS' with a record a hundred times worse than ISIS. How can European governments justify their silence vis-à-vis the regime’s suppression?  More regrettable is the fact that the regime’s lobby has been encouraged to promote collaboration with the Iranian regime as the solution to defeating ISIS. This is not a solution, but a recipe for disaster."

In the conference held on the internationally recognised Human Rights Day,  Mrs Rajavi referred to the bloody record of the velayat-e faqih regime and the gloomy record of its so-called moderate President Mullah Rouhani with atrocities such as the splashing of acid on defenseless women or the stabbing of female students and said: "The regime of velayat-e faqih lacks any capacity to reform. Since Rouhani became President, at least 1,200 have been executed. In the past 25 years, we have not seen as many executions as in the first year of Rouhani’s presidency. Nor have we seen so many opposition members being massacred or taken hostage. Nor have we seen Iranian women being the target of criminal campaigns to this extent.

Mrs Rajavi condemned the conduct of some Western governments that sacrifice human rights in Iran for their relations with the religious dictatorship and said: "Look at the bitter outcomes of European delegations’ visits to Tehran in the past year. The mullahs used each and every one of them to increase executions."

This conference was held with the participation of senior representatives of the European Parliament from various political groups. In another part of her speech Mrs Rajavi said  "Now is the time to intensify the pressure on the regime. The mullahs agreed to negotiate due to mounting pressure.  They stalled on signing the agreement due to West’s concessions. The only way forward is more pressure and more sanctions.

"There is no light at the end of tunnel of marathon talks. There is a nuclear bomb at the end of the tunnel."

Mrs Rajavi said in another part of her speech: "The regime is entangled in a destructive power struggle at the top, while Iranian society is deeply discontent and on the verge of another uprising."

Mrs Rajavi expressed her abhorrence for the continuation of the six-year siege against Iranian dissidents in Iraq (Camp Liberty) and urged the EU to 'change its policy and show resolve in face of the brutal theocracy ruling Iran'.

She said that in this new policy: 

• Any ties with the Iranian regime should be linked to the improvement of the situation of human rights; the leaders of this regime should face justice; the regime should be forced to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions, halt the uranium enrichment, and accept international inspection of all suspect sites and centers.
• And the siege on Camp Liberty, especially the medical blockade, should be completely lifted and the Camp Liberty file should be handed over to institutions with no ties to this regime instead of the Iranian regime’s agents.

This conference that was presided over by MEP Gerard Deprez, Belgian State Minister and EP representative, a number of political figures also spoke at this conference including Howard Dean, former U.S. Presidential candidate and former Chairman of the Democratic Party; Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice-President of European Parliament (1999-2014) and President of International Committee In Search of Justice (ISJ) ; Struan Stevenson, President of European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA); and a number of European Parliament legislators, including Mairead McGuinness, Vice-President of European Parliament; Patrizia Toia, Eduard Kukan, José Bové, Anna Záborská, Julie Ward, Tunne Kelam, José Manuel Fernandes as well as former MEP, Stephen  Hughes  and Paulo Casaca, former members of the European Parliament.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

December 10, 2014

Iran - Man being executed beats "hangmen" before his death

Palestinian official killed in West Bank protest

A Palestinian official in charge of the settlement portfolio was killed in a West Bank protest on Wednesday, according to Reuters news agency.

Ziad Abu Ein died shortly after being hit and shoved by Israeli soldiers during the protest in the occupied West Bank, a Reuters photographer who witnessed the incident and a medic said.

Following Abu Ein’s death, Palestinian authorities said they cut off security cooperation with Israel, a Fatah official told Al Arabiya News Channel.

Palestinian and Israeli authorities usually meet and exchange information on humanitarian and security affairs, which entails coordination of passage of medical aid, issuance of work permits for Palestinians working in Israeli-controlled areas in addition to facilitating the travel of Palestinian officials.

About 100 foreign and Palestinian activists with the Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall, the government-run protest organisation that Abu Ein headed, were on their way to plant trees and protest near an Israeli settlement when they were stopped at an improvised checkpoint, witnesses said.

A group of around 15 Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at the protesters and began scuffling with them.

Ziad Abu Ein was rushed by ambulance from the scene in the village of Turmusiya, but died en route to the nearby Palestinian city of Ramallah.

Abu Ein, who was in charge of dealing with the issue of Israeli settlements within the Palestinian Authority, "was martyred after being beaten in the chest," Ahmed Bitawi, the director of the Ramallah hospital, told Agence France-Presse.

Mahmoud Aloul, a leading member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, said he and Abu Ain had been among dozens of protesters carrying olive tree saplings during a protest against land confiscations when Israeli troops fired tear gas at them.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned “the brutal assault that led to the martyrdom” of Abu Ein, calling it “a barbaric act that cannot be tolerated or accepted,” official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

“We will take the necessary measures after the results of the investigation into the incident,” Abbas said.

Later on Wednesday, EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini demanded an “immediate” inquiry into the death of the official.

“Reports of excessive use of force by Israeli Security Forces are extremely worrying: I call for an immediate, independent investigation into... Abu Ein’s death,” she said in a statement.

Following the incident, Jibril Rajoub, a Palestinian official, announced the halt of security coordination with Israel.

The Israeli military said it is looking into the report and had no immediate comment.

Abu Ain headed a Palestinian Authority department dealing with Israeli settlements and the Israeli separation barrier, and had the rank of Cabinet member.

Previously, he served as deputy minister for prisoner affairs.