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Thursday, 25 February 2021 3:45 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 25 February 2021 3:45 AM ]

US Iran sanctions

The head of Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights says US sanctions have grossly violated the absolute rights of Iranian people to have access to humanitarian aid. Ali Baqeri-Kani was speaking at a high-level session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. He noted that sanctions have even deprived Iran of purchasing medicines for children suffering from Butterfly Disease. Baqeri-Kani said the so-called maximum pressure campaign launched by the former US administration has led to the maximum violation of the rights of Iranians. He slammed as politically motivated the claims of human rights violations made by some western countries against Iran. Further in his remarks, Baqeri-Kani lashed out at the US and Israel for assassinating the country’s top general Qassim Soleimani and nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhri-zadeh. He said such murders show that Iran pays the price for fighting terrorism.

Russia-West row

The Russian president has accused the West of QUOTE wanting to shackle his country. Vladimir Putin’s reaction comes as the European Union is set to impose new sanctions on Moscow over the jailing of opposition figure, Alexei Navalny. In his annual speech to the Federal Security Services, Putin also said that foreign efforts are still ongoing to weaken Russia and bring it under external control. He urged the country’s domestic intelligence agency to be on guard and make the Western threat a priority along with its task of countering terrorism. The comments came as relations between Russia and the West get even more strained in recent months over Navalny's alleged poisoning and his recent imprisonment.

Georgia protest

Hundreds of Georgians have held a protest outside the jail where opposition leader Nika Melia is held, calling for his release. The rally was held in the southeastern town of Rustavi. The demonstrators said protests will continue until all political prisoners are liberated and snap polls are called. Melia is the leader of Georgia's main opposition party, the United National Movement. He was arrested on Tuesday in a violent police raid on his party’s headquarters. Melia is accused of inciting violence in street protests in June 2019 but his arrest comes against the backdrop of a wider and more recent political crisis. Georgia has been rocked by protests since parliamentary elections in October 2020. The opposition dismissed the polls as rigged after the ruling party, Georgian Dream, claimed a narrow victory.

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