RSS
Iran’s Executions in August Jump 70 Percent Compared to Previous Year as Rights Groups Warn of Troubling Surge
Illustrative: A February 2023 protest in Washington, DC calling for an end to executions and human rights violations in Iran. Photo: Reuters/ Bryan Olin Dozier
The Islamic regime in Iran accelerated its execution machine last month, killing at least 152 prisoners according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.
The figure represents a surge of 70 percent compared to the 94 executions conducted in August 2024.
While Hengaw has identified 148 of those killed last month, four individuals remain unknown. Two people killed include Roozbeh Vadi, alleged to have engaged in “espionage for Israel,” and Mehdi Asgharzadeh, an alleged ISIS member. Iran executed at least five women for murder and one woman on drug charges.
According to Hengaw, two or more of the executions took place in public in Beyram and Kordkuy, cities in the country’s southern and northern provinces, respectively.
On Monday, the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) released a report of human rights violations in Iran during August, noting that the number of executions had increased 40 percent compared to June and July, bringing the total execution count to 837 for the year. In comparison, the Islamic regime executed 930 people for the entire year of 2024.
HRANA broke down last month’s executions by charges, finding 87 drug offenses, 60 murder charges, two rapes, one for security offenses, and one person’s offenses are unknown. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, during the first half of 2025, nearly half of Iran’s executions targeted those convicted over drugs.
Iran killed one person on the charge of “corruption on earth,” which translates from the Koranic term “mofsed-e fel-arz” (مفسد فی الارض), a vague concept that Islamic judges have often applied toward political dissidents, alleged spies, or religious converts.
One tool that HRANA identifies Iran regularly deploying in its judicial system is forced confessions.
“Extracting forced confessions from political and ideological defendants, followed by broadcasting them on state television, is one of the regime’s routine practices against its opponents,” the human rights group stated. “In 2024, HRANA documented 28 cases of forced confessions. This month as well, Iran’s state television aired the forced confessions of a group of Christian converts.”
HRANA also found 73 arrests last month for citizens speaking out about their political views and beliefs; in addition, the state sentenced 27 people to 658 months in prison, 132 months of exile, and 130 lashes for speech offenses.
United Nations spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani warned last week that the human rights situation in Iran could be even worse than documented figures suggested.
“The high number of executions indicates a systematic pattern of using the death penalty as a tool of state intimidation, with disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants,” Shamdasani said. “Public executions add an extra layer of outrage upon human dignity … not only on the dignity of the people concerned, the people who are executed, but also on all those who have to bear witness”
Shamdasani warned that “the psychological trauma of bearing witness to somebody being hanged in public, particularly for children, is unacceptable.” She argued that the death penalty “should never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday announced the capture of eight people accused of aiding Israel’s Mossad espionage agency. During Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June, police arrested as many as 21,000 individuals.
Australia announced the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador on Aug. 26, giving the diplomat seven days to leave following the discovery that the Islamic regime had directed antisemitic terrorism against the country’s Jews.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community.”
Mike Burgess, director general of Australia’s security agency, said “they’re just using cut-outs, including people who are criminals and members of organized crime gangs to do their bidding or direct their bidding,”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Aug. 24 that “they want Iran to be obedient to America. The Iranian nation will stand with all of its power against those who have such erroneous expectations … People who ask us not to issue slogans against the US … to have direct negotiations with the US only see appearances … This issue is unsolvable.”
RSS
UEFA President Reiterates Objection to Banning Israel as Spanish Club Sparks Backlash for Signing Israeli Player
Udine, Italy, August 13th 2025, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin with Palestinian girl Tala and 9-year old Mohamed from Gaza during the medals ceremony at the UEFA Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain (France) and Tottenham Hotspur (England) at Stadium Friuli, Udine, Italy. Photo: Natasa Kupljenik / SPP/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Aleksander Čeferin, the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), repeated his opposition to banning Israel from international competitions in a new interview with Politico.
The head of European soccer’s governing body made the remarks amid calls to bar Israel from participating in soccer matches around the world, and just as the Spanish soccer team Villarreal caused an uproar among fans for signing Israeli soccer star Manor Solomon.
Čeferin said last month that, in general, he is against banning athletes from competitions. He told Politico the same in relation to Israeli athletes, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, and at the same time condemned what he described as “reckless politicians” for contributing to the “slaughter” of children around the world.
“Look, first of all, what’s happening with civilians there is personally hurting, killing me,” the UEFA president said of Gaza. “From the other point of view, I’m not a supporter of banning the athletes. Because what can an athlete do to their government to stop the war? It’s very, very hard. Now, the ban for Russian teams is, I think, three and a half years. Did the [Ukraine] war stop? It didn’t … I cannot say what will happen. There are talks about everything, but me personally, I’m against kicking the athletes out.”
“I cannot understand how a politician who can do a lot to stop the slaughter, anywhere, can go to sleep seeing all the children and all the civilians dead,” he added. “I don’t understand it. You know, the idea football should solve these problems? No way.”
The UEFA received backlash from pro-Israel supporters in August for displaying a banner on the pitch at the UEFA Super Cup final in Udine, Italy, that said, “Stop killing children. Stop killing civilians.” The UEFA invited two children from the Gaza Strip to participate in the medal ceremony at the same match. The organization was accused of double standards for displaying the banner, since the UEFA bans political messaging at matches and recently launched disciplinary proceedings against the Israeli team Maccabi Haifa after its fans displayed an anti-Polish banner.
Talking to Politico, Čeferin defended the “Stop killing children” banner and insisted that it was not political. He even claimed that he had “full, full support” from the president of the Israeli Football Federation, who he said is a good friend. While expressing support for the banner, Čeferin also suggested that Israel is waging a war in Gaza because of “geopolitical interests,” and not in response to the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, or in an effort to rescue the hostages abducted by the terrorists and held captive in Gaza.
“When you see children dying all around the world because of — it’s a diplomatic statement, if I say — reckless politicians. Whoever thinks that ‘Stop Killing Children, Stop Killing Civilians’ is a political message is an idiot, for me,” Čeferin said. “We don’t interfere in politics, but we will not say that killing children anywhere or civilians is a good thing. We have to say we despise it, and we will always say it.”
“If such a big thing is going on, such a terrible thing that doesn’t allow me to sleep — not me, all my colleagues — nobody in this organization said we shouldn’t do it. No one. Then you have to do what is the right thing to do,” he told Politico. “It’s terrible that children are dying because of political interest, starving to death. Mohamed, who was giving the medals [at last month’s UEFA Super Cup] with me, lost his mother and his father [in Gaza]. And he was heavily injured. I’ve never seen a child hugging me so much as he did. He needs love. He doesn’t need another bomb on his head because of a geopolitical interest.”
In August, the Association of Italian Coaches demanded, “on behalf of the Palestinian people,” that Israel be temporarily suspended from international competitions held by the Italian Soccer Federation, UEFA,and FIFA. Earlier in the month, the German soccer club Fortuna Düsseldorf backed out of signing Israeli striker Shon Weissman after the athlete expressed support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza during its war targeting Hamas terrorists who orchestrated and perpetrated the attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The Norwegian Football Association also recently condemned what it claaimed were “disproportionate attacks” against civilians in Gaza and said it will donate profits from an Oct. 11 game against Israel to aid humanitarian causes in Gaza.
On Monday, Spain’s soccer club Villarreal announced that it signed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to have Solomon join the Spanish team on loan. The news resulted in a social media frenzy in which Villarreal fans said the left winger was “not welcome at Villarreal and does not deserve the affection of its supporters.” Fans urged the team to boycott the Israeli forward while the Kfar Saba native, who previously played for Israel’s national team, was accused of being a “genocide supporter” and called antisemitic names for being a Zionist.
RSS
Distributor Seeks UK Broadcaster to Back Docuseries About British Monarchy’s Ties to Hitler, Nazi Germany
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor photographed with Adolf Hitler, Oct. 22, 1937, during their visit to The Berghof, his country house in Berchtesgaden. Photo: Provided
The content producer and distributor Keshet International (KI) has signed a deal with the Scottish production company Caledonia TV to co-develop a three-part historical docuseries about the British royal family’s controversial connections to Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, KI announced on Wednesday.
Keshet International and Caledonia TV are looking to partner with a British broadcast on “Hitler’s Favorite Royals” before launching pre-sales at MIPCOM, the annual trade show for the television industry held in Cannes, France, that will take place in October. The series is being produced by Caledonia TV.
“From Queen Victoria’s dynastic ties to Germany to Hitler’s attempts to leverage those connections during World War II, the series will expose secret meetings, coded correspondence, and covert diplomacy between London and Berlin,” according to a description of the docuseries provided by KI. “With newly uncovered evidence and expert insight, it reveals how these links were later concealed through buried archives and suppressed records, shining new light on the monarchy’s entanglement with Nazi Germany.”
“Hitler’s Favorite Royals” is being executive produced by award-winning producer and historian Dean Palmer. The docuseries will be created based on Palmer’s 2021 book, Tea with Hitler: as well as research with the University of London of new archival materials. KI’s SVP of Acquisitions and Co-production Anke Stoll said the “extensive research and access to new archive materials adds layers of extra color, depth and detail to what we already think we know about the Royal Family’s connections to Hitler and the Nazis.”
“This series rips the lid off one of the monarchy’s darkest secrets – what the Queen’s German cousins did during World War II and their ties to Hitler,” said Palmer.
RSS
Israel’s Shin Bet Says It Thwarted Attack on National Security Minister Ben Gvir
Israeli National Security Minister and head of Jewish Power party Itamar Ben-Gvir gives a statement to members of the press, ahead of a possible ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Jan. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon
Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence service said on Wednesday it had thwarted a plan to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and that members of a Hamas cell had been arrested.
The planned Hamas attack against the far-right cabinet minister would have involved use of explosive drones, the Shin Bet said.
The Shin Bet said members of a Hamas cell from the Hebron area in the West Bank had been arrested and that drones had been seized. It said it believed the cell had operated a Hamas headquarters in Turkey “with the intent of carrying out an assassination attack on Ben Gvir.”
An investigation was under way, it said.
The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, with which Israel has been at war in the Gaza Strip for nearly two years, was not immediately available for comment. Turkey did not immediately comment.
Ben Gvir said in a statement he would not be deterred or afraid.
“Hamas has already tried five times to assassinate me, and each time they failed,” he said, thanking God and Israel’s security forces.
The war in Gaza began in October 2023, when Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, including children, into Gaza. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza.
Since then, Israel has waged a military campaign to free the hostages and destroy Hamas in Gaza.