Hunger strikers are ashamed of Britain turning a blind eye to Iranian murder plot

Activists in Iran and Britain have vowed to continue their hunger strike for three weeks until the government adds Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to its list of terrorist organizations.Vahid Beheshti last stopped eating solid food more than 24 days ago. I am eating and relying on liquid and salt supplements to stand outside the Foreign Office in London.

And last night he was visited by former Iranian hostage Nazanin Ratcliffe and her husband Richard, who staged a similar hunger strike at the exact same location in November 2021.

Vahid, 46, launched a protest after learning that a fellow Iranian journalist was being forced to leave the UK following death threats from the IRGC.

Iran International, an independent television network, has been criticized by the Islamic regime for a report that helped spark nationwide protests that began last September.

Scotland Yard has confirmed that more than 15 plots to kidnap or kill UK-based journalists considered enemies of the state by Tehran’s regime have been thwarted. I was a journalist for International.

But instead of offering protection and hunting down the blackmailers, the Home Office asked the network to pack up and move to the United States.

“The IRGC doesn’t just affect Iran. Here in the UK it operates with impunity. Instead of confronting it, the police tell victims to leave and the government turns a blind eye.” Vahid, 46, a British citizen, said.

“When I left Iran 24 years ago, I left a country without freedom. Iranians still have no rights.

“But Britain should be different. We should all have our nights and our freedoms, and they should all be protected by the government of our choosing. Where is this protection now? do you have?”

His voice was weakened by hunger – Vahid is now on liquid diet and salt supplements – he added: Ukraine But it is here in the UK that we have to fight for these rights and I will continue to do so. ”

Foreign Secretary James has subtly ordered the summons of Iran’s acting ambassador, Medhi Hosseini Matin, and sanctions have been imposed on the IRGC commander in the wake of the Iran international affair.

However, the FCDO continues to block requests to ban the IRGC because it cannot be defined as a terrorist organization because it is technically a state agency.

Richard Ratcliffe, who went on hunger strike for 21 days at the same location outside the FCDO now occupied by Vahid, added: I really felt like I had to.

I remember how hard it was to camp out on the pavement in the cold, hungry and unsure if the government would listen. What he was doing was by no means small and passed by without comment.

I remember how the days felt like no one was visiting, like the government was waiting for us.

“We wanted to see him and let him know that we care. I wanted to ask him, that was the hardest thing I can remember.

He added: “I think the IRGC should be held accountable for its crimes. The government’s current approach is not working. It’s also Pontius Pilate. Since then, the abuse has only grown.

“This week, our attorneys have applied for sanctions imposed on Iranian hostage-takers, including numbers from the IRGC, because there is currently such impunity.

“We are always very careful with what we say given the harm our families are doing, but many activists I respect are calling for the IRGC to be banned and the thresholds necessary for action. The value has long since passed.

“It is time for governments to prioritize protection.