Iranian Human Rights Abuses Continue as JCPOA Appears Dead

For the international community, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was seen as a way to address the nuclear threat of Iran. and help Iranian regime to join the international community.  However, this not only didn’t happen because Iranian regime aggressiveness and meddling in Arab countries increase. In fact, Iranian regime violate the spirit of the agreement.  

The Iranian resistance continues to point to the fact that the Iranian regime benefited by the JCPOA financially, but nothing of that money was used for people of Iran. More people became poor after 2015 agreement.  In fact, they argue that the funds were used to expand the military influence of the regime in the region, and gave them license to increase their repression of the Iranian people.

Since the protests began in January 2018, there have been over 5,000 people arrested in Iran. These arrests are meant to be a warning for others, but there is also evidence that the Iranian people are not deterred by these arrests. The Iranian people are voicing their displeasure with the regime and its actions.

There is hope that the recent moves by the U.S. will help the international community to finally stand up to the Iranian regime and hold it to account for its human rights violations.

In the meantime, the Iranian people suffer with a judicial system that is quick to sentence individuals to execution, especially those that speak out regarding human rights violations and other abuses of the regime.

For example, two human rights activists, Khalil Agush and Soheil Mirbakhsh, were executed on May 14 by the regime in Orumieh Central Prison. The two had been jailed in 2014. Those who speak out against the regime risk either execution or long prison sentences. Both are meant to deter people from standing up against the regime or organizing protests and demonstrations.

Those arrested also face torture, physical abuse, and punishments meant to break them in mind and spirit. If an individual does not survive the abuse, then the regime claims they committed suicide before returning them to their families for burial.

In one case, a prisoner was returned to his family, where they found evidence of physical abuse, including a broken skull and smashed left eye. Witnesses say he was taken for interrogation by the prison authorities two days before his death.

Every day, the Iranian people suffer multiple indignities from the regime and its minions. The regime violates international law in its treatment of the Iranian people. The question is whether the international community is finally willing to move beyond the nuclear threat of the regime and address the issues plaguing the Iranian people.