Iran Focus
London, 8 Jul – The annual gathering of the Iranian Resistance, to be held in Paris this Saturday, July 9, is expected to attract thousands of Iranian opposition members, Al Arabiya English reported on Thursday.
The rally, organised by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), is expected to attract many dignitaries and political activists from around the world including former Algerian Prime Minister Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Palestinian Fateh movement’s member Azzam Al Ahmad.
It aims to promote human rights within Iran and dismiss the notion that Iran, as it stands, is a moderate country. In fact, the NCRI says that the human rights situation is actually deteriorating and the regime is becoming more closed off and introverted.
According to Amnesty International, nearly 1000 people were executed in 2015 alone in Iran; not only does the country have the highest per capita execution rate in the world, they also execute minors. Their human rights abuses are especially brutal to women and minorities.
The Iranian regime is also a proponent of sham democracy. Ahmad Jannati, 90, was recently ‘elected’ to the head of the Assembly of Experts; he was already the head of the Guardian Council and is a strong supporter of the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The NCRI said: “He now heads two key bodies, which shows that elections under this regime are meaningless and the regime’s choices are ever more limited”.
The mullahs’ regime has interfered in other middle-eastern countries, like Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iraq. Iran is also continuing to test nuclear weapons in spite of the United Nation Security Council Resolution.
The NCRI states that “the Iranian regime is institutionally sowing discord in the [middle east] especially in Syria and is continuing to export Islamic fundamentalism”. According to intelligence obtained by the opposition group, People’s Mujahidin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), Tehran has dispatched more than 70,000 revolutionary guards, regular army, and foreign units to fight in Syria.
The rally aims to promote the 10-point plan of Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the NCRI which calls for the introduction of full democracy, gender equality, the abolition of torture and the death penalty and the separation of religion and state.
You can follow the hashtag #FreeIran on social media to see the truly staggering support, the rally is achieving.