A ten-year-old boy, Kian Pirfalak who was shot to death by security forces in November
Three months into antigovernment protests in Iran, expression of international support continue, emphasizing that the regime must be held accountable for its crimes.
US State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Vedant Patel said the eyes of the world are upon Iran right now – and human rights violations – inflicted by Iran’s government on its own people must not go without consequence.
He told a press briefing on Friday Washington is gravely concerned that authorities reportedly continue to kill more of their own people in an effort to suppress peaceful protests.
“We also continue to remain deeply concerned about reports of mass arrests, sham trials, and now death sentences being handed down to protesters and carried out as well,” underlined Patel.
He further reiterated that the JCPOA is not the focus right now, and the US candidly remains very skeptical of anything coming out of Tehran on this issue, whether it be issues relating to the IAEA or other things.
Meanwhile, President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola expressed solidarity with Iranians in a Tweet Friday saying “the women, men and all those protesting in the streets of Iran have inspired the world. We have stood by you and will stay with you.”
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) announced in its latest report that from September 17 until Friday, December 16, at least 495 protestors have been killed, of which at least 68 were minors.