Desperate Iran?
Why does it seem that violence and hate seem to perpetuate themselves on each other. They seem to grow as tumors. A malignancy that has a goal of choking off the world from whatever decency we have. But they will not win. We fight back and others join the cause until in the end, we have won. The fight continues in Iran and seems to maintain its momentum despite the Regimes best efforts to violently put it down. The people are holding and the world needs to do a better job of supporting these modern-day heroes.
Recent statistics believe that over 18,000 people have been arrested, to date, protesting in Iran. It is impossible to get correct numbers from the Iranian government so these statistics are provided by watchdog groups around the world. In Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, it is easy to arrest someone or even to have them executed. Charges of “enmity of God” and “corruption on earth” are vague enough to cover any act and the penalty can easily become death.
Female prisoners are reportedly being threatened with rape in Iranian prisons. Detainees have told horror stories of female prisoners being placed in cells with criminals and being sexually abused by them. People who face interrogation are also subjected to physical and mental tortures.
One figure in the drama is an Oscar winning actress. Iran has been trying to extend its crackdown to cultural and sports celebrities that had been considered too popular for the regime to arrest. Taraneh Alidoosti is arguably Iran’s most famous actress. She was recently arrested for voicing support for the protestors and solidarity with the anti-government movement. She also denounced the death penalties that were handed down to protestors that were arrested. In a compelling post she recently wrote on her now deleted Instagram page:
“Every International organization who is watching this bloodshed and not taking action, is a disgrace to humanity.”
In another part of the middle East, in the country of Qatar, the Men’s World Cup was being played. Other problems were developing here for Iran. The team representing Iran chose to protest the Iranian regime by not singing when their national anthem was played in their first game. Promised cars and money before the game as reward for playing well, the carrot was quickly replaced with a stick. A meeting was held with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) in which the players were told that their families faced “violence and torture” if they did not start singing the national anthem or joined in any other protests against the regime in Tehran.
Dozens of officers of the IRGC were drafted into monitoring the players and keeping them from mingling with others. They even had the gall to bring in hundreds of “actors” to cheer for the Iranian squad in the game against Wales. For the game against the United States the regime allegedly brought in thousands of these so called “supporters”.
Hopefully these are signs of desperation and the religious regime in Iran is fated to tumble soon. Only time will tell but until then we need to support the women of Iran.
