26/10/2021 - The trial of Hamid Nouri, one of the henchmen and perpetrators of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran, continues in Sweden. So far over a dozen witnesses have given their statements to the court, these include 2 volunteers of AWYAF.

Just recently in the week beginning 18th October, 5 witnesses in Albania, gave their testimonies via webcam. These 5 are members of the Iranian dissident group who, for many years, resided in Iraq, under numerous deadly attacks by the regime. It is only because of the many years of an international campaign to save their lives, which AWYAF and our dear supporters were a part of, that they were able to relocate to safety in Albania.

As summer temperatures soared in the Iranian province of Khuzestan, water shortages became a pronounced crisis, sparking mass protests in a number of cities and towns including Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, Hamidiyeh, and Mahshahr. The first such demonstrations were recorded on July 15, and these helped to establish the messaging that would define the protests for two weeks and counting.

Many participants in the first night’s protests chanted, “We will not accept humiliation.” Over time, that slogan has been adapted to reflect the government’s violent response, so that many current participants are chanting, “Iranians die, but we will not accept humiliation.” The first known fatality from the unrest took place on the second day, July 16, and the victim was identified as 26-year-old Mostafa Na’imawi.

The trial of Hamid Nouri, one of the 1988 massacre henchmen, started on Tuesday 10th August. Nouri has been identified as one of the main perpetrators of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. At the time, he was assistant to the deputy Prosecutor in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj (west of Tehran).

He was the executioner of a large number of prisoners. Before that, he was a member of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and worked for many years as an interrogator and torturer in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran.

3rd July 2021 - Graduate teachers held a rally in front of the education ministry, protesting the unemployment conditions. The teachers were chanting, “We have science degrees, what we don't have are jobs,” “Our demand is employment,” and “We will not leave until we get our rights.”

These teachers have been regularly protesting in the past few months. The protesters are graduate teachers, known as karnam-e sabz (green report cardholders), who have passed the education ministry’s employment exam with an acceptable grade.

Strikes by workers of various sectors in different cities across Iran have taken place, simultaneous with the nationwide uprising in support of the people of Khuzestan province.

26 June 2021 - In a 45-page report, Amnesty International has analyzed a letter written by prisoner of conscience, Habib Afkari, brother of Navid Afkari (champion wrestler executed by the regime for his participation in the nationwide peaceful protests in 2019), and Vahid Afkari also currently in prison.

Habib's letter is a detailed and harrowing account of the brothers' arrest by the regime security forces following their participation in the 2019 uprisings in Iran. Amnesty International has explained that the accounts in this letter are part of a widespread problem in Iran, all going back to the regime.