Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
Al-Arabia – Iranian expatriates in Australia opposed to the Iranian regime have reported their families in Iran being targeted by authorities due to their political beliefs.
Massoud Modabber, a supporter of the protests in Iran, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that his opposition to the Islamic Republic led to his mother’s arrest and imprisonment in Iran for 28 days.
She is now facing trial on charges of “acting against internal and foreign security,” according to the report.
Modabber has been supporting the protests in Iran by participating in anti-regime protests in Australia.
He has urged the Australian government to recall the Australian ambassador from Iran and expel the Iranian ambassador, designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terror group, and target the assets of IRGC commanders’ relatives in Australia.
According to Modabber, the IRGC is a mafia-like organization and that sanctions must target the entire organization, not just individual members.
Iran has launched a deadly crackdown in response to protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Amini, who died on September 16 following her arrest by the morality police in Tehran.
The protests, which quickly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, have been met with a violent crackdown from authorities, resulting in the deaths of hundreds and the arrest of thousands, according to human rights groups.
In response to the crackdown on protests in Iran, Australia recently imposed sanctions on 16 regime officials, bringing the total number of sanctioned individuals by Canberra to 29.
Sahar Gholizadeh, another Iran-born Australian citizen and activist, told ABC that her parents in Iran have been visited by regime agents and her sister is regularly questioned at work by the Morality Police.
She believes it is time for Iranian Australians to unite and organize even larger protests to raise their voices against the Islamic Republic and the IRGC.
“I think that it’s time to unite and organize even better and bigger protests or whatever we can do to raise the voice … to put IRGC on the terrorist list, and get rid of the Islamic government,” the report quoted her as saying.
