Sentenced to Death
Dear friends,
It’s shocking–Iranian courts sentenced five people to death over the mass protests that have swept through the country.

Many more people are in immediate danger. Journalists, human rights defenders, university students, moms, and schoolchildren have been murdered and many of those arrested face torture, enforced disappearance, and unfair trials.

The regime is not backing down, and is now even resorting to public executions to crush the revolution. We must stand with the people in Iran!

Thousands of Iranians continue to protest, and we can help them keep the world’s attention on their struggle for freedom and justice.

So far, more than 300 demonstrators have been killed by the govern-ment’s repression–but the protests are not stopping. More than 1,000 indictments have been issued in Tehran alone, with hundreds more brought against people arrested across the country.

The US, the EU, the UK, and Canada have all adopted human rights sanctions on Iranian leaders and some institutions, but much more is needed!

Today, the UN Human Rights Council is holding a special session to discuss the Iran protests. This could lead to establishing an independent mechanism to investigate and address the most serious human rights violations committed in Iran during the recent crackdown.

Global solidarity is needed to echo the call for freedom, and our support can help show government leaders that the world stands with the people in Iran.

From the brutal crackdowns in Tibet and Burma to the Arab spring, over and over again, Avaaz community has stood side by side with pro-democracy movements. Now, let’s echo the call from all the brave people in Iran who are being crushed for wanting a government that brings justice, equality, and freedom.
With hope and determination,
Laura, Wissam, Fadi, Luis, Abdelrahman, Joana, Huiting and the whole Avaaz team

Honour Killing
It happened “in a fit of rage,” Nitesh Kumar Yadav reportedly confessed to the police. A few days ago, the police found the body of a 22-year-old BCA student, Aayushi Chaudhary, in a red trolley bag near Raya on the Yamuna Expressway.

Allegedly, Aayushi had a ‘secret’ wedding with Chhatrapal Singh Gurjar, a 24-year old young man she knew since her school days. She was trying to convince her parents to accept her husband, and therefore, told them that she was pregnant. However, the post-mortem report confirmed that she was not.

On Monday, November 21, Yadav (49) and his wife, Brajbala (45), performed Aayushi’s last rites in Mathura. The parents were reportedly aggrieved by their daughter’s ‘independent style’ of living. Their relationship worsened when she confessed to marrying Gurjar.

According to the police, Aayushi’s parents had ordered him to stay away from Gurjar. She got upset when she learnt about it, and in an argument with her parents, the woman said she was experiencing stomach aches probably because she was pregnant. Reportedly, Yadav shot her and his wife helped him in disposing of the body of their daughter.

MP Singh, SP (City), Agra, said, “Though her marriage was solemnised in an Arya Samaj Mandir a year ago and registered in a Shahdara court in October this year, Aayushi wanted her parents to accept it and ‘willingly’ marry her off to Gurjar publicly again.”

Herzindagi

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Frontier
Vol 55, No. 25, Dec 18 - 24, 2022