Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
HUMAN rights abuses in Iran continue to be an issue for young people, women, trade unionists, ethnic and religious minorities, and the political opposition.
The regime does not see the judiciary as being independent from the ruling theocracy in the country.
The Islamic Republic’s judicial system criminalises dissent and even imprisons lawyers for doing their job.
The Committee for the Defence of Iranian People’s Rights (Codir) welcomes demonstrations across Iran, which have put pressure upon the theocratic dictatorship, but warns against intervention by the United States to force Iran in a particular direction
Payam Solhtalab talks to GAWAIN LITTLE, general secretary of Codir, about the connection between the struggle for peace, against banking and economic sanctions, and the threat of a further military attack by the US/Israel axis on Iran
The Islamic Republic is attempting to deflect from its own failures with a scapegoating campaign against vulnerable and impoverished migrants, writes JAMSHID AHMADI
In the second of two articles, STEVE BISHOP looks at how the 1979 revolution’s aims are obfuscated to create a picture where the monarchists are the opposition to the theocracy, not the burgeoning workers’ and women’s movement on the streets of Iran


