(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Matthew Levitt - Iran has a long history of violating human rights at home, but some of its more recent violations are taking place in Syria, where Tehran is actively supporting Bashar al-Assad's government's targeting of the Syrian civilian population, and around the world, where Iranian agents and proxy groups like Hizbullah are targeting diplomats and civilians alike for assassination. It is frequently the case that the people who direct and oversee the regime's human rights abuses at home and abroad are the same people who direct and oversee the regime's foreign terrorist activities and its nuclear and missile programs. In 2012 Iran executed at least 580 people. Due to Iran's control of the press and opaque judicial system, it is difficult to get a more accurate number. Sixty of these executions were carried out publicly, including public hangings on cranes, in order to intimidate people even further. The number of executions increased dramatically following the 2009 Green revolution protests. The Iran Human Rights group reported that between April 16 and May 19 of this year, 62 people were executed. The writer is a senior fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. These remarks were delivered to the International Human Rights Subcommittee of the Canadian House of Commons on May 30, 2013.
2013-05-31 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive