Ground Subsidence In Heart Of Tehran Sparks Serious Concerns

Former political prisoner and civil rights activist Arash Sadeghi said on Wednesday that the sentence the prisoner who was tried for theft was executed in Evin prison infirmary. 

The sentence was reportedly carried out with a guillotine-like device in the presence of the prosecutor and judicial officials.

This is the second amputation sentence in the prison in less than two months. In June, four fingers of another prisoner were cut off with the guillotine reportedly installed at the infirmary a month earlier to carry out such sentences. 

Earlier in July, the chief prosecutor of Iran’s Khorasan Razavi province said several cases of amputations for robbery are currently at the execution stage, and called on judges not to hesitate to issue death and amputation sentences. 

Late in June, the head of the Iranian association of surgeons, Iraj Fazel, called on the judiciary not to sanction the amputation of fingers to punish thieves, describing the practice as "worrying and horrifying."

According to Islamic Sharia law, punishment for theft can be amputation of fingers or hands.

Iran’s judicial system is repeatedly criticized for ignoring standard human rights while right groups say the country has embarked on an execution spree at a “horrifying pace” with at least 251 deaths since the beginning of 2022. 

On Wednesday, four people were executed while one of them – identified as Mohsen Safari and charged over drug trafficking – was suffering from bipolar disorder, a condition that can make one act on impulsive decisions with no regard for consequences. 

In a message on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of her husband’s, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's death on Wednesday, the queen said the Iranian nation remembers the Pahlavi era while they are “under blood and fire,” of the clerical regime.

“Today, Iran has stood up and despite [government] killings in streets, repression, prisons, torture and executions, Iranian freedom fighters, Iran's unique women, alongside men, do not stop from expressing their outrage with the regime's leaders to the world,” she said. 

If the 1979 revolution did not happen, which was caused by the forces of ignorance and the interference of several foreign countries, that misled some of compatriots, today Iran would have been among the world’s advanced countries, instead of being isolated in the international arena and under back-breaking sanctions, Pahlavi added. 

Marking the death anniversary of his father, exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi also posted a video message on his Twitter account saying that "Although on that day, they did not see or hear your [the Shah’s] concerns and warnings; today's youth see and have taken the path you showed them."

In June, Reza Pahlavi addressed the nation over the recent waves of protests in the country, calling for a coordinated front to organize anti-government activities.

During protests in recent years people often chant slogans praising the Pahlavi monarchs.

The Prince added that today the biggest opposition and alternative to Islamic Republic is the Iranian people, who deserve to live in the best country possible and will reach their goal.

In a Wednesday statement signed by 81 French intellectuals, including Costa Gavras, Jacques Audiard, Michel Hazanavicius, Christine Angot, Catherine Corsini, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, and Edgar Morin, they said they will not stop supporting their colleagues until they are released. 

“We wish to express our anger against these arrests, intimidations and imprisonments... We extend our absolute solidarity to all Iranian authors, artists, filmmakers, who struggle every day to exercise their art, at the cost of their freedom. We admire your courage, your determination, your works, and the solidarity you show. Know that our support will be unrelenting until your release,” said the signatories.

Panahi, who has won numerous awards, including the Golden Leopard at Locarno Festival, the Golden Lion in Venice, and the Silver Bear at the Berlinale, was arrested July 11 as he was protesting the detention of the other award-winning filmmakers, who had been arrested July 8 as part of the Iranian crackdown on the signatories of a collective statement titled “Lay down the gun” issued by more than 100 film industry personalities in the end of May. The statement was a call on Iran’s military and security forces not to use weapons against civilian protesters.

In mid-July, France had urged the Islamic Republic to release the three film makers in the latest criticism of Iran's record over human rights by a major Western powers. Days earlier, the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlinale, the European Film Academy and the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk also called for the immediate release of the prominent filmmakers.

According to the country’s Red Crescent, rescue operations are still underway on Thursday to find at least 14 people who are reported missing. 

According to reports, at least one more died in the city of Roudehen, northeast of Tehran, and two children were killed in the city of Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

One of the places worst hit by mud and floodwater is the complex of the shrine of Imamzadeh Davoud, a Safavid-era mosque northwest of Tehran, where dogs are helping relief workers to find the bodies of victims or the trapped people. The mosque dates back to the era of Safavid dynasty (1501-1736) and lies close to Tochal ski resort in the Alborz Mountains, one of the city's popular trekking routes.

The flash floods started around 2:00 a.m. local time on Thursday after a heavy downpour resulted in landslides and mudslides in the foothills of Tehran’s Alborz mountains, officials said, adding that more precipitation is forecast for the area in the coming days. 

On July 22, heavy rains and subsequent flash floods in three cities of the southwestern Fars province left at least 22 dead. 

Iran has been suffering from drought for at least a decade and this year officials have been warning of a further decrease in precipitation. However, Iran’s metrology department had warned about possible heavy seasonal rainfall across the country. The dangers of flash floods have been exacerbated by the widespread construction of buildings and roads near riverbeds.

The protesters – some of whom were seen walking on tables, waving Iraqi flags and sitting in lawmakers' chairs – were followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, who seeks to curb the influence of the Islamic Republic in Iraqi politics. 

On Monday, the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties close to Iran, nominated Mohammed al-Sudani as the prime minister, a decision opposed by firebrand Shia cleric al-Sadr, whose party won last year’s general elections.

Protesters, who had forced their way into the Green Zone, which houses the parliament, after removing a number of concrete barriers, began making their way out of the parliament building when al-Sadr issued a statement on Twitter telling them their message had been received and "to return safely to your homes. 

Addressing the protesters, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Saleh Muhammad al-Iraqi, said, "I stand in reverence and respect. It is a wonderful spontaneous and reformist popular message, thank you."

It was the largest protest since federal elections were held in October and the second time al-Sadr has used his ability to mobilize the masses to send a message to his political rivals this month.

The protest took place after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force Chief Esmaeil Gha’ani arrived in Baghdad, one day after Iran-backed groups nominated Sudani, and met with leaders of Shiite groups.