Iranian Football Coach Criticizes Regime Censorship
An Iranian football coach has expressed criticism regarding sport censorship in Iran after coverage of a female referee raising the hand of a male wrestler was banned from TV.
An Iranian football coach has expressed criticism regarding sport censorship in Iran after coverage of a female referee raising the hand of a male wrestler was banned from TV.
Mahmoud Fekri, who serves as the head coach of Havadar football club, voiced his concerns on Tuesday, noting the scene's ban from state TV.
The incident occurred at the Belgrade Wrestling World Championships, during which a female referee raised the hand of Iranian wrestler Hassan Yazdani.
Iran's state TV is tightly controlled by the office of Iran's authoritarian leader, Ali Khamenei, and has been experiencing a decline in viewership due to its extensive religious programming and heavy-handed censorship of news. Critics argue that it serves primarily as a propaganda tool, benefiting from significant government subsidies without any accountability.
Athletes have come under fire in the last year for supporting protests. Those who have spoken out have undergone social media bans, bank account freezes and even pay cuts. Those who have competed without hijab on the world stage have either been forced into exile or arrested and dealt severe legal consequences.
They made an emotional return, ending their imprisonment "nightmare", after being arrested, falsely accused of espionage and convicted in sham trials without due process of law.
Coming off the plane, the returning Americans were embraced by family and friends with smiles, laughs, and visible emotion, video footage from the airport showed. One of the returnees briefly waved a small Stars and Stripes handed to him.
"The nightmare is finally over," said Babak Namazi, speaking with his arm around his returning brother Siamak at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
As part of the deal, five Iranians charged or convicted of non-violent crimes were also freed by the US. Only two of the five chose to return to Iran and were handed to the Iranian officials in Doha airport when the five Americans landed there.
Siamak Namazi, one of the freed Americans, issued a statement immediately after leaving Iran, in which he praised President Biden and his administration for making ‘incredibly difficult decisions’ to secure his release.
“Thank you... for ultimately putting the lives of American citizens above politics,” Namazi said in his statement.
Not everyone was so thankful, however.
Gazelle Sharmahd, whose father Jimmy, another American, was kidnapped and is on death row in Iran, issued a press release almost at the same time as Namazi.
“How does it make sense to leave hostages behind,” Sharmahd writes, “especially the only US hostage who does not hold an Iranian passport, who did not travel to Iran but was kidnapped, who was NOT sympathetic to the hostage takers…”
Addressing President Biden, she continued, “instead of wasting your time on national TV trying to convince us that our hostage takers will use the money for humanitarian reasons, explain to us how and when will you bring Jimmy Sharmahd back home to us?”
The Biden administration came under attack also from many prominent Republicans in the Capitol.
Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, slammed those who have negotiated the prisoner swap on Fox News: “They are so naive... It was a hostage swap for $6 billion... It's going to go into terror proxy operations, it's going to go into building their nuclear...offensive system for a nuclear war."
Republican congressman Mike Turner was another vocal critic of the deal. Appearing on CBS, he warned of the future risks involved. “Whenever you put a price on American heads, you get an incentive for people to take more hostages.”
The exchange at the Doha airport –reminiscent of Cold-War exchanges between the US and the Soviet Union– was timed to perfection for the Islamic Republic. The hostages left Iran immediately after the anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini, and just as Raisi arrived in New York for the UN General Assembly.
The plight of the freed Americans is now bound to dominate airtime, diverting attention from Raisi and his regime’s brutal crackdown of every dissenting voice.
“I'm heading to New York… to tell the world not to legitimize murderous dictators like Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi,” wrote Hillel Neuer, an international human rights lawyer and the executive director of United Nations Watch.
Raisi was a member of the infamous Death Committee which oversaw summary execution of at least two thousand Iranian political prisoners in 1988.
Speaking particularly about the way the Hijab Enforcement bill was handled by the parliament (Majles), Behrouz Nemati said in an interview with Khabar Online website that Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf should accept his responsibility for handing over decision making about the bill to a committee of 15 lawmakers rather than putting it to vote by all the 290 lawmakers.
The entire Majles, including Ghalibaf are responsible for this non-democratic act, Nemati argued, one day after The Speaker criticized the Paydari party-dominated government in a bid to distance himself from the ultraconservative party and its members at the Majles. Nemati further reiterated that Ghalibaf cannot evade his responsibility for the developments at the parliament.
Nemati also cautioned against government officials manipulating data to exaggerate President Ebrahim Raisi's "achievements."
The presidential administration, which is harshly criticized for mishandling the economy and weak governance, has been making outrageous claims about reducing inflation, boosting employment and improving living standards, while tens of millions have sunk deeper into poverty.
Furthermore, Nemati discussed Ali Larijani's disqualification during the 2021 presidential election, alleging that the Hojjatieh Association, acting like a powerful clan, influenced his disqualification despite his 12-year tenure as the Majles Speaker.
Hojjatieh is a fundamentalist Shia group known for its fanaticism. Even Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei does not want to appear too close to them.
Now, Larijani hesitates to announce his candidacy for the March 2024 parliamentary elections due to concerns that the Guardian Council may disqualify him once more. Ultimately, the Council obeys Khamenei, and only his approval can secure Larijani's candidacy.
Regarding the upcoming elections, Nemati mentioned that approximately 800 reformists have registered to run. These candidates include conservatives aligned with Expediency Council member Mohammad Javad Bahonar, moderate conservatives close to Larijani and former President Hassan Rouhani, as well as neo-cons affiliated with Ghalibaf - all competing against the ultraconservative Paydari Party members.
In an interview with Rouydad24, lawmaker Morteza Mahmoudvand remarked that "Iranian politicians lie about their affiliation. They lie about being conservative or reformist. They all equally benefit from government resources."
Nonetheless, he asserted, "There are infiltrators among government officials who aim to facilitate a regime change." However, he refrained from naming specific individuals, but emphasized, "Politicians hold the people's livelihood hostage to their factional interests. They should realize that without these disadvantaged citizens, there would be no country or Islamic Republic."
Mahmoudvand added that a large part of the problems in the country are created by politicians who belong to the leading political factions. They keep blaming the opposite camp for existing difficulties that might have been created even by themselves. This is childish, he said.
He expressed deep disappointment that in a country as resourceful as Iran, its citizens are unable to afford medical treatment. He criticized government officials for refusing to admit their shortcomings and the ineffectiveness of their management approach.
