Iran regime said to offer jailed protesters' families leniency in exchange for public displays of loyalty
CBSN
The families of jailed Iranian protesters say the country's rulers have proposed a cruel bargain: publicly celebrate the Islamic Revolution that brought them to power, or risk the lives of their loved ones. Seyed Rahim Bathaei contributed to this report. In:
The families of jailed Iranian protesters say the country's rulers have proposed a cruel bargain: publicly celebrate the Islamic Revolution that brought them to power, or risk the lives of their loved ones.
Human rights organizations say more than 12,000 Iranians were arrested amid the wave of anti-regime protests that swept the country in early January.
Bazdasht Shodegan is an organization formed by former Iranian prisoners that offers online support for detainees and their families. It says the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence contacted the families of some current prisoners offering what the group called "an inhumane dilemma" — either attend marches on Wednesday celebrating the 47th anniversary of the revolution, or put the lives of their children at risk.
Several other human rights groups that monitor events in Iran also reported the messages delivered to prisoners' families.
Holding families to ransom this way is not new. The Iranian regime has a long history of putting pressure on the families of anti-regime dissidents and demonstrators.
The online activity of the 18-year-old behind the deadly shooting inside a Canadian high school last week revealed an interest in firearms, mass violence and a history of consuming violent "gore" content, according to expert analysis. In:
On Valentine's Day at the Milan Cortina Olympics, a renewed supply of free condoms for the athlete villages was promised by the organizers after going short during the week. In:
The Olympic curling committee issued a warning after a heated fight filled with cheating allegations and audible curse words overshadowed a feisty match between Sweden and Canada. In:
The Iranian security agents came at 2 a.m., pulling up in a half-dozen cars outside the home of the Nakhii family. They woke up the sleeping sisters, Nyusha and Mona, and forced them to give the passwords for their phones. Then they took the two away. In:
A Slovak fugitive who had been on the run for 16 years was finally arrested when he turned up in Milan to support his national ice hockey team at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, police said Friday. In:
London — Britain's High Court ruled Friday that the government's decision last year to outlaw the protest group Palestine Action as a designated terrorist organization was unlawful, but it kept the ban in place pending an appeal. In:
The ice dance competition of the 2026 Winter Olympics may be over, but many fans can't stop talking about Madison Chock and Evan Bates' performance — or France's controversial win after the judges' scores left the Americans just 1.43 points shy of gold. Kiki Intarasuwan and The Associated Press contributed to this report. In:
Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman who became a global symbol of courage when she publicly stepped forward to testify against her ex-husband and dozens of other men in a mass rape trial, told "CBS Sunday Morning" that she believes her story "could be useful to others."
The families of jailed Iranian protesters say the country's rulers have proposed a cruel bargain: publicly celebrate the Islamic Revolution that brought them to power, or risk the lives of their loved ones. Seyed Rahim Bathaei contributed to this report. In:
Brussels — European allies at NATO on Thursday brushed aside concerns that the United States has stepped back from its leadership role of the world's biggest security organization, leaving them and Canada to do the lion's share of defending Europe. In:
Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy — Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych is out of the Milan Cortina Games after refusing a last-minute plea from the International Olympic Committee to use a helmet other than the one that honors athletes killed in the war with Russia. In:
Washington — The House voted on Wednesday to overturn President Trump's tariffs on Canada after six Republicans sided with nearly all Democrats to rebuke one pillar of the president's trade agenda. Jaala Brown contributed to this report. In:
At least nine people were killed and dozens more injured in shootings at a high school and residence in the northeast part of the province of British Columbia, Canadian police said Tuesday. The suspected shooter is dead, officials said. In: