UK: Human rights abuses in Iran are of “great concern”

NCRI - The United Kingdom has classified Iran as a "Human Rights Priority Country," warning that the high number of executions carried out by the regime is of "particular concern."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2015 Human Rights and Democracy Report, published on Thursday, April 21, 2016, said that in 2015, "Iran’s human rights record continued to cause great concern."

"President Rouhani pledged to improve the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Iran when he was elected in 2013. He also promised reforms on discrimination against women and members of ethnic minorities, and on greater space for freedom of expression and opinion. However, there has been little evidence of positive change," the report said.

"In some cases, the situation in Iran appears to have worsened. The high number of executions is of particular concern."

"The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran believes that between 966 and 1,025 people were executed in Iran in 2015, a substantial increase on 2014 and the highest number in over a decade."

"The majority of newspapers, TV and radio are government-controlled, and the internet and social media sites are heavily restricted. Journalists, bloggers and human rights activists are regularly arrested and detained. In November, over 170 individuals were arrested for messages they published on social media apps."

"Women do not enjoy the same rights and privileges as men in Iran and continue to face discrimination. For example, married women need the consent of their husbands to leave the country and can be banned from travelling abroad if their spouses do not sign the paperwork needed to obtain or renew a passport."

"While some religious minorities are formally protected in the constitution, the reality is that many non-Muslims face discrimination and attempts by Muslims to change their faith may lead to criminal prosecution. For example, there are regular reports of the arrest of members of Christian 'house churches' and in 2015 a number of Baha’i-owned businesses were reportedly closed by the authorities for observing non-sanctioned holy days."

The report said there were "concerning trends" in Iran "such as the increase in use of the death penalty, juvenile executions, and continued persecution of religious minorities."

The report pointed out that the UK has helped to maintain the listing of over 70 officials of the Iranian regime under the "Iran human rights sanctions regime."

"We welcome the renewal of the mandate for the UN Special Rapporteur in Iran. We will continue to support this mandate," the report added.

Alleged ISIS Jihadist Commits Suicide in Turkish Prison

ANKARA – A suspected member of the Islamic State arrested in Turkey last week has hanged himself in his cell in a Turkish prison, Dogan News Agency reported Thursday.

According to Dogan, the suspect, who was identified as 35-year-old Syrian citizen Nedim Bellush, was found hanged from his bunk bed in the prison in Iskenderun city, Hatay province, near the Syrian border.

Bellush was arrested last week along with two other people in an operation against IS in Hatay province.

Turkish authorities have launched a probe into his death.

Cop Rapes Teen Girl at police station

LA PAZ – The office of the Bolivian children’s advocate reported that a 16-year-old girl was raped by an officer at a police station in the central city of Cochabamba, Pagina Siete newspaper said Wednesday.

The abuse occurred on Tuesday, after the teen was arrested and taken to police headquarters, the daily said, citing the representative of the advocate’s office, Andrea Garcia.

The adolescent, according to Garcia, went Monday night to the Cochabamba bus terminal with her boyfriend, and was stopped because she lacked a travel permit from her parents, which is obligatory for teenagers in Bolivia.

Garcia said that the boyfriend escaped, while the girl was taken to a police station where she was allegedly assaulted.

Reports of sexual abuse by police officers and members of the military have increased in the Andean country in recent years.

The Attorney General’s Office reported Wednesday that a soldier was sentenced to 30 years in jail for repeatedly raping a 13-year-old girl in the Amazon region of Pando.

A court found that Roland Alfonzo Bartolome raped the minor on at least three occasions, with the complicity of someone in the girl’s family who has also been sentenced to 30 years.

6 Colombian Tourists Missing in Mexico

MEXICO CITY – The emergency management office in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas is looking for a group of Colombian tourists who disappeared during an outing to a volcano, officials told EFE on Wednesday.

Someone called the emergency management office about the tourists, but an official missing persons report has not been filed, officials said.

Six Colombian tourists disappeared on April 15 while touring the crater of the Chichonal volcano in the northern part of the state, media reports said, citing a member of the tour group who turned back because he was tired.

“Emergency management office personnel are conducting a search around the volcano and on the trail. Nothing guarantees that the report is true, but we continue searching,” the agency said.

The man who phoned in the report has not been heard from again, officials said.

Mexican Cops Busted for Extorting Cash from Migrants

MEXICO CITY – Two officers of Mexico’s Federal Police are in custody on charges they sought to use their position to extort money from undocumented immigrants, the Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday.

The cops and two civilian accomplices – one of them using a stolen Federal Police credential – were caught in the act by municipal police in Mexico City, the AG Office said in a statement.

When surprised by the municipal officers, the suspects claimed that an investigation of migrant traffickers had led them to a residence being used as a safe house for migrants.

In reality, according to the AG Office, the suspects burst into the residence and tied up the migrants before demanding money in exchange for not turning them over to immigration authorities.

One of the migrants managed to tip off the municipal police, who arrested the two federal agents and their accomplices.

The detainees were turned over to the Mexico City district attorney’s office, which is also in the process of aiding the victims to regularize their migration status, the AG Office said.

Media accounts said the victims were a dozen women who worked as dancers at a nightclub in the capital’s upscale Condesa neighborhood and were living in the nearby area of Napoles.

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