Report: Iran’s Civil Society Advises Against Military Strike

A report released by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran featured interviews with 35 prominent Iranians living within Iran including, activists, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and members of the political oppositions and addressed the possibility of a military strike against Iran.  The interviewees expressed “grave concern” of the possibility of a military conflict, which would negatively impact the human rights situation and provide a “pretext for the full militarization of the Iranian state, all the while increasing civil and political repression.”

Human rights violations continue to increase in Iran as human rights defenders, including many human rights lawyers, are finding themselves imprisoned.  Additionally, most of the human rights lawyers that worked with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi are also now imprisoned in Iran.

Alternatively, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei has hired a mediator to help resolve the conflict between him and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Former judiciary chief, Ayatollah Mahmud Shahrudi, an ally of Khamanei, will head the arbitration body that will now be responsible for “mediating” the disputes between Khamenei and Ahadminejad.