Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

Thank you.

A new investigation by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center reveals how Iranian state media and the Islamic Republic constructed and amplified narratives about the January uprisings, often presenting accusations as established facts before even having any kind of evidence, uh, to back it up.

The investigation examines three cases: the killing of an eight-year-old girl, Anila Abu Talebian; the government's official death toll, which stands at 3,117; and allegations that the Mossad were behind the uprisings.

Joining me now is Shahin Milani of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.

He's the executive director.

He's also, uh, an international human rights lawyer.

Yeah.

And all of this is happening while there's an internet and landline blackout, so they're able to get out their information and their version of the story.

A new report documents thousands of Iranians caught in a legal system that can keep them behind bars even when they have no means to pay.

How does being poor become grounds for imprisonment? And could Iran's worsening economic condition put even more people at risk? Shahin Milani, executive director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, joins us to explain.

You know, went bankrupt.

Uh, his fam- his, his, uh, went out of business, and he was held, uh, in prison for 20 years.

[outro music] We talk frequently on this program about Iran's political prisoners, as we should, protesters, activists, and dissidents of the Islamic Republic, but there's another group behind bars that receives very little attention.

Iranians imprisoned because they can't pay what they owe.

A new report by Iran Human Rights Documentation Center says thousands of people can be jailed under Iran's financial enforcement system, not necessarily because they've committed fraud or hidden money or some sort of crime, but because they owe money and fail to convince a court that they simply don't have the means to pay it.

So how does someone end up behind bars simply because they are broke? And as Iran's economic crisis deepens, could many more people be vulnerable to the system and fall victim? Joining me now is Shahin Milani.