|
Washington, DC – The National Iranian American Council condemns the Iranian government’s arrests of aid workers providing for earthquake relief in northern Iran. NIAC calls on the Iranian government to release those who have been detained, halt any further such arrests, and stop impeding relief efforts. “The Iranian government’s disgraceful arrest of aid workers shows how much the regime fears its own people when they organize and take matters into their own hands,” said NIAC President Trita Parsi. “When the government punishes the Iranian people for their initiative and self-empowerment, it demonstrates how this regime sustains its grip on power through repression and disempowerment of its own population.” On August 20, responding to the calls of the Iranian-American community, the United States government issued a sanctions waiver for earthquake relief. NIAC commended the move as a critical step to help ensure that humanitarian relief to Iran is not impeded by sanctions, and said the onus was now on the Iranian government. NIAC reiterates its call for the Iranian government to end all practices of arrest and intimidation that violate both Iranian and international human rights law and to release all prisoners of conscience. ### |
|