Kidnappers Murder Journalist and Her Husband in Mexico

MEXICO CITY – A journalist and her husband were murdered by kidnappers in the western Mexican state of Nayarit, a state Attorney General’s Office spokesman told Efe on Monday.

Jazmin Martinez was a former cultural and entertainment reporter for the Televisa network.

The 26-year-old Martinez and her 30-year-old husband, Alejandro Ramirez Topete had been kidnapped last week.

Two of the five suspected members of the kidnapping gang involved in the killings have been arrested.

“They were in the same vehicle when they were deprived of their freedom on Dec. 31 at night” on “the Tepic-Guadalajara highway, near the crossing called Jala, some 70 kilometers (43 miles)” from Tepic, the capital of Nayarit, the AG’s office spokesman said.

The victims were “taken to a rural spot that is near the Nayar bridge, some 10 or 15 kilometers (6.2 miles or 9.3 miles) away” and kept hidden while “they communicated with their relatives to demand a ransom of 2 million pesos,” the AG’s office spokesman said.

Martinez and Ramirez Topete, who were beaten to death with a stone, were apparently murdered due to “a lack of coordination” among the kidnappers, the official said.

“The ones who were holding them captive decided to kill them without knowing whether the negotiations were progressing,” the AG’s office spokesman said.

The murders “were something that happened, it’s something unrelated to journalistic activity,” the official said in response to a question from Efe about any possible links between the crime and Martinez’s work.

Martinez was “currently providing her knowledge to a Boy Scout troop,” the AG’s office spokesman said.

Ramon Cruz Aguilar, an 18-year-old identified as Martinez’s killer, and Luis Alberto Espinosa, another 18-year-old who served as the gang’s lookout, are under arrest.

“The other three have been fully identified, but they are fugitives,” the AG’s office spokesman said.

Over the weekend, officials in the Gulf state of Veracruz said they were trying to find a journalist who worked as a stringer for several newspapers and had been reported missing.

Moises Sanchez Cerezo’s whereabouts is not known since Friday, Veracruz Attorney General Luis Angel Bravo Contreras said.

The journalist covers the news and posts stories about local corruption and community issues on social networks, media reports said.

Sanchez Cerezo works as a reporter in the city of Medellin de Bravo, writing stories and taking photos for his small weekly, La Union, the Cronica de Xalapa newspaper reported.

He is also a community activist in several neighborhoods, where residents have banded together to fight crime, the newspaper said.

The Martinez and Sanchez Cerezo cases are the first two involving attacks on the press this year in Mexico, which is considered one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America for journalists

Hassan Rouhani remarks exposes Iranian regime ‘crisis and deadlock’: Interview

NCRI - The Sunday’s remarks by Hassan Rouhani, has exposed the Iranian regime’s 'weakness and internal conflicts' in the clerical regime, Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of the NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee, said in an interview.

Mr Mohaddessin's scathing assessment of the Iranian regime comes after Hassan Rouhani addressed the Iranian Economy Conference in Tehran on January 4.

Below is the full text of the English translation of the interview:

Q: Remarks by Hassan Rouhani, the president of the clerical dictatorship in Iran at a conference in Tehran has prompted analysis and various comments at both the national and international level, what is your view on that?

Mohammad Mohaddessin: Hassan Rouhani’s remarks offered a comprehensive picture of the crisis that the regime is engulfed in and the internal power struggle that has crippled the clerical regime. Once you carefully consider what is said and what is not being said in his speech, the regime’s fatal deadlock becomes evident.
Hassan Rouhani clearly acknowledges that after 16 months assuming the presidency not only has he been unable to solve any of the regime’s problems, but also none of the promises he made during the so-called “election period” have been realized and the situation has become more critical from every angle.

Of course, Rouhani who during the 35 year rule of the clerical regime, has been a part of the Iranian regime’s machinery of war, repression and killings, has never claimed he would improve the situation of human rights or social and political freedoms, and in this regard the situation has become worse in his tenure. His record of over 1200 executions since taking office is much higher than other regime appointed presidents over the past 25 years.

Rouhani claimed that he would resolve the problem of a dismal economy and the nuclear deadlock, and now in this speech, he admits that he has failed in both areas.

Question: So, in your view, referendum in this regime has no meaning?

Mohammad Mohaddessin: In Iran, only one referendum has meaning, a referendum to change the despised and worn regime of Velayat-e faqih and establish a pluralistic republic based on people’s votes, a referendum not in the framework of this regime, but under the supervision of the United Nations. Within the framework of the Velayat-e faqih regime neither election nor referendum has any meaning and will be used as tools for further repression and consolidation of the religious, fascist rule in Iran. If the regime stops torture and executions even for one day, the Iranian youth and women will dismantle its dictatorship. A referendum under the supervision of the UN would also mean the end of the regime.

Q: In your view, what could be the message of this speech to the international counterparts?

Mohammad Mohaddessin: I think Rouhani’s speech above all else, shows weakness of clerical regime and its severe internal conflicts, which take away any possibility of agreement or reform in the regime. At the same time, it shows that what brought the clerical regime to this point at the negotiating table was neither compromise nor concession, but a firm policy and no shortcomings regarding nuclear sanctions. If this policy continued with the same trend, it would have definitely been more effective in stopping the regime's nuclear program and in forcing the regime to abandon its ongoing nuclear bomb production program.

Q. So why has he resorted to the slogan of referendum?

Mohammad Mohaddessin: Look, the clerical regime is suffering from a crippling power struggle within. This power struggle reflects the impasse that the regime finds itself in and its confrontation with the people. As the economic crises flare up, this power struggle will exacerbate. This was the case when the Vienna nuclear talks failed. In this ongoing power struggle since one and a half years ago, Khamenei and his faction have increasingly attempted to limit the authority of the regime’s President Rouhani and turn him into a puppet that simply obeys orders.

In the realm of foreign policy he only makes the calls in minor matters. He even lacks the authority to shake hands with the U.S. President. In the nuclear negotiations all of the decisions are made by Khamenei with the government and the Foreign Ministry just carrying out his orders. Likewise, the Middle East policy is entirely in the hands of the Qods Force; Rouhani and his government just provide logistics for the atrocities of the Qods Force in Iraq and Syria.

Relatively, the only realm in which he was supposed to have the authority to make the decisions was the economy; and he is now saying that he even has no authority there. Examine what he says: “It is not that the Executive Branch is controlling everything; it isn’t even controlling the economy. There are also others who are active in the economy. Can the government make any decision with regard to the economy? There are places where we need legislation. We have to go to the parliament. Can we make the decision on the annual budget? It is the parliament that makes the final call. It is not even the parliament alone; the Guardians Council has to ratify. Thus the government, the parliament, the Guardians Council and the Judiciary they all need to cooperate with us.”

Thus, even the slogan of referendum is not a realistic policy for Rouhani since he knows all too well that such a thing is impossible under this regime. It is just a political maneuver against Khamenei’s faction in the hope of extracting concessions.

Q. What has been Rouhani’s achievement in the economy?

Rouhani himself has played the key role in creating this economic crisis. Look at next year’s budget (20 March 2015 to 20 March 2016) that Rouhani has presented to the parliament. While the oil income has been slashed by 45%, the official budget for the Revolutionary Guards has increased by 30%. The budget that has been officially allocated to countries such as Syria and Iraq is twice the budget allocated to all of the country’s universities with two million students. Set aside the fact that the true budget spent on Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq are never accounted for in country’s official budget.

You may argue that Rouhani does not determine these budgets. This is exactly the impasse of this regime and its inability to undergo any reform. If Rouhani wanted to live up to his slogan of moderation, then he should have told people the truth. He should have told them that this government has wasted the assets of the nation in wars and suppression, in Syria and Iraq and Yemen, and in the nuclear weapons program. He should come out and say that the tyranny, suppression and slaughter have caused a brain drain and also resulted in capital leaving the country. He should say that it is the regime of Velayat-e faqih that is causing all these problems. But talking about any of these would undermine him because he is part and parcel of this regime and part of the problem.

Q. So you are saying that referendum has no meaning in this regime?

Mohammad Mohaddessin: There is only one referendum in Iran that has any meaning and that is the referendum to change the ominous and worn out regime of Velayat-e faqih and to establish a pluralistic republic based on people’s votes; a referendum not in the framework of this regime, but a referendum by the United Nations. In the framework of the Velayat-e faqih regime neither elections nor referendums have any meaning. These are just tools for oppression and bolstering the dominion of the religious fascism.

This regime is even incapable of abandoning torture and execution for a single day since its tyrannical system will be overthrown by the Iranian youth and women, let alone acquiesce to a real referendum conducted under UN supervision.

Q. In your view, what may international parties surmise from these statements?

Mohammad Mohaddessin: In my view, this speech demonstrated the feebleness of the clerical regime and the extent of its internal schism that makes impossible any chance for a reform or agreement.

Meanwhile, this speech shows that up to this point, what has brought the clerical regime to the negotiating table and talks is not conciliation with this regime or offering concessions to it, but a resolute and firm policy regarding the sanctions. Had this policy continued, it would have surely been more effective in compelling the regime to forgo its nuclear program for production of the atomic bomb.
Naturally, going forward, it will be a policy of firmness that can contain regime’s nuclear threat and not a policy of appeasement and further concessions.

Journalist Reported Missing in Mexico

XALAPA, Mexico – A journalist who works as a stringer for several newspapers in the Mexican Gulf state of Veracruz has been reported missing, state prosecutors said.

Moises Sanchez Cerezo’s whereabouts is not known since Friday, Veracruz Attorney General Luis Angel Bravo Contreras said.

Bravo Contreras said he was personally coordinating the search for the missing journalist.

Sanchez Cerezo covered the news and posted stories about local corruption and community issues on social networks, media reports said.

Veracruz Gov. Javier Duarte, for his part, said investigators were trying to determine what happened to Sanchez Cerezo, who he described as a “taxi driver and neighborhood activist.”

“Our priority is to find him and reunite him with his family,” Duarte told Mexican media.

Sanchez Cerezo works as a reporter in the city of Medellin de Bravo, writing stories and taking photos for his small weekly, La Union, the Cronica de Xalapa newspaper reported.

He is also a community activist in several neighborhoods, where residents have banded together to fight crime, the newspaper said.

Sanchez Cerezo’s relatives contacted several Veracruz and national media outlets via e-mail and reported his disappearance.

The journalist had received “prior threats,” relatives said.

Veracruz, Mexico’s third most populous state, has been plagued by a turf war between rival drug cartels that has sent the murder rate skyrocketing in the past few years.

The Gulf, Los Zetas and Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartels, as well as breakaway members of the once-powerful Familia Michoacana criminal organization, are fueling the violence in the state.

Iranian regime denies agreement with US on transfer of uranium abroad

On Saturday Tehran denied that an agreement was made during negotiations with representatives of the P5+1 countries regarding the nuclear program.

Associated Press quoted diplomatic sources yesterday claiming that in some areas regarding Iran's nuclear program a general agreement was made. AP quoted two diplomats from Vienna who said that Iran and the US have agreed to the temporary transfer of a portion of the enriched uranium to Russia.

According to IRNA - official news agency in Iran - Marzieh Afkham, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said that "so far we have not reached any agreement on any of the topics discussed at the talks". According to Afkham, "this kind of media manipulation is done with political intentions and its main goal is the destruction of the negotiations' atmosphere and making the resolution of the issues more complex".

The Associated Press quoted two Western diplomats on Friday who said that in the nuclear negotiations held on December 17 negotiators were able to reach an agenda for the first time, while identifying possible areas of agreement and identifying different approaches for resolving the remaining disputes.

The Associated Press added that nuclear negotiators in the previous round of talks in December brought, for the first time, a list of possible areas of agreement as well as possible approaches to solve the remaining disputes, although the preparation of this list was not easy because of the extensive differences of two sides.

The P5+1 negotiations with Tehran to reach a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear program hit an impasse in November after one year of concentrated negotiations and was extended for 7 months. The Western countries are strongly suspicious of the military objectives of the Tehran regime nuclear program. The Tehran regime has so far evaded answering questions regarding the possible military dimensions of its nuclear program.

The next round of nuclear talks is supposed to resume in Geneva on January 15 at the level of deputy foreign ministers.

Rescued in Mexico: 2 Sisters Locked Up at Home for 30 Years

MEXICO CITY – An apparent combination of schizophrenia, marginalization and fear caused two Mexican sisters to be kept locked up for 30 years in a room of their house in the northern state of Chihuahua.

The inspector general of the State Human Rights Commission, or CEDH, in the Parral area, Amin Corral Shaar, told Efe on Friday that the two women are Francisca and Luz Ofelia Valles Campos, ages 35 and 38, respectively.

Both were rescued Tuesday from a room in their family’s home in the remote rural community of Bufalo, after Mayor Gilberto Garcia Mendoza of Allende, the state capital, contacted the CEDH.

As a result of the report, Corral traveled the 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Parral to Bufalo to investigate the case and found a surprising family scene in the home where the victims lived like prisoners.

Staying in the house were the father “who is growing old and doesn’t work” and the mother of the two daughters, as well as their three sons.

“Apparently the whole family suffers from mental disabilities” and cooperate on keeping the two women locked up. The only one who works is the eldest brother, who has a pig farm and provides them with food,” Corral said.

When they got to the house, the authorities had to force the door open to the room where the victims were hidden, supposedly “of their own free will,” according to the CEDH.

“The room smelled because they hadn’t washed in years” and the two women were “only covered with a blanket,” he said.

They were suffering from different infections and one of the sisters was taken to a public clinic in Allende to be treated for ulcerated injuries on different parts of her body.

“This is the strangest case we’ve seen in a long time, I never saw anything like it,” Corral said.

He said that at the time he stepped in with the aid of local police, several relatives and neighbors were present who refused to talk about the strange case.

In the remote area where the house stands, “ignorance prevails” and some 30 years ago the rumor was going around that local drug traffickers “were going to kidnap all the little boys and girls.”

Fear was also stirred up when one of the biggest shipments of marijuana in the history of Mexico was seized, nearly 10,000 tons, in an operation associated with the murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique Camarena.

Missing U.S. Tourist Found Dead in Mexico

MEXICO CITY – A U.S. man reported missing earlier this week in the central Mexican state of Morelos was found dead Friday, an official in the town of Tepoztlan told Efe.

The body of 25-year-old Hari Simran Singh Khalsa was discovered around 2:00 p.m. in a wooded area of the rugged mountains that surround the town, Gabriel Rivera said, adding that the cause of death remains unknown.

Khalsa and his wife came to Tepoztlan the day after Christmas for a yoga retreat.

On Tuesday, Khalsa decided to take a hike in the nearby mountains. He sent his wife several photos and texts, including one in which he spoke of being “half lost.”

The search got under way as soon as authorities were notified Khalsa was missing, according to Rivera, who said the town even hired a private company equipped with helicopters and infrared cameras.

“In the early hours of Dec. 31 the search had to be suspended for a few hours for questions of safety, as a member of the rescue team had an accident and almost fell into a ravine,” Rivera said. “The search resumed later with a brigade of 180 people from Morelos, Red Cross rescue workers from the Federal District (Mexico City) and two helicopters.

Iran: 14 including 4 women hanged on New Year’s Day

NCRI - The religious dictatorship ruling in Iran has hanged at least 14 prisoners on the New Year’s Day in several prisons in four cities in Iran.

A group of four women were hanged in Shahab prison in the city of Kerman (southern Iran). Two prisoners were hanged in city of Bandar Abbas.

Another group of seven prisoners were hanged in Shahab prison. In Qazvin, a 38-year-old prisoner sent to gallows in Boeen Zahra prison.

Meanwhile, the clerical regime’s henchmen amputated a hand of a 30-year-old man in a prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

The United Nations General Assembly last month slammed the violations of human rights by the Iranian regime.

The resolution criticized the Iranian regime's use of inhuman punishments, including flogging and amputations.

The UN’s 61st resolution also censured the mullahs’ dictatorship ruling Iran for the rise in executions, public executions and execution of juveniles.

In this resolution, the UNGA condemned the Iranian regime for cruel, inhumane and degrading punishments, especially the flogging and amputation of limbs and hands.

The Iranian regime unveiled a terrifying device in 2013 that they use to chop off fingers. The device that looks like something devised for a grisly horror movie operates as a circular saw that guillotines prisoners’ fingers.

Since Hassan Rouhani became president of the clerical regime, over 1,200 have been executed and hundreds more have been subjected to degrading and inhumane punishments such as amputation, flogging in public and being paraded in streets.

The Iranian Resistance has repeatedly condemned the carrying out of medieval punishments and executions by the clerical regime in Iran and has called for referral of the regime's violations of human rights record to the United Nations Security Council.