US: There Are Over 800 Political Prisoners in Iran

Several senior officials from the US Department of State spoke on Friday, October 6, at the United Nations headquarters in New York during a session titled 'America's Call for Support of Human Rights in Iran.' Heather Nauert, the spokesperson for the State Department, was the first speaker at the event, who, while referring to human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran, stated: 'As countries from around the world gather at the United Nations, I want to remind you that there are now over 800 political prisoners in Iran who have been imprisoned solely for exercising their rights regarding human rights and religious freedom. We stand with them, are deeply concerned for their health, and call on the Iranian regime to release them immediately.' The spokesperson further mentioned the suppression of protests in December 2017, the Gonabadi Dervishes, protesters against the hijab, protests regarding drinking water conditions in Ahvaz, and Isfahan farmers. She added that no investigations are conducted regarding what the government does in prisons, such as torturing prisoners or suspicious suicides. Nauert noted that many of these prisoners seek positive change in the country and protest against lack of transparency and waste of national resources. The spokesperson emphasized that some of these prisoners claim the Iranian government ignores growing environmental issues to strengthen proxy groups in other countries. Nauert also urged US allies and partners to support the Iranian people's demands for freedom and human rights. Brian Hook, the head of the Iran Action Group at the State Department, was another speaker at the event who asserted that the Iranian government has shown over the past four decades that it is one of the main violators of the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions. Hook further accused the Iranian government of causing instability in the Middle East and continuing to violate human rights domestically. He stated: 'It is important for the Iranian people to know that we have exceptions in our sanctions for providing food, medicine, and medical equipment, which will be implemented very precisely.' He added: 'However, the hardships and difficulties that the Iranian people face economically are the consequences of actions by a regime that has plundered its people for decades and spends outside its borders for revolution.' Michael Kozak, a senior official at the State Department for democracy and human rights, also spoke at the event. Reports indicate that Ahmad Batebi and Mohsen Sazgara, two former prisoners in Iran, also spoke at the event. International organizations have repeatedly criticized human rights violations in Iran in recent years, while the Islamic Republic deems these reports 'unreliable and worthless.'