Ben Yedder attempts soccer comeback in Iran after suspended prison sentence
Former France international Wissam Ben Yedder is trying to revive his career in Iran after almost a year on the sidelines and a suspended prison sentence for sexually assaulting a woman.
Ben Yedder, who was out of contract, signed a deal with five-time Iranian champion Sepahan FC, the club said in a statement. Terms of their agreement were not disclosed.
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5 hours ago
Iran executes man over 2022 protest killings. Activists say he was framed
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran on Wednesday executed a man convicted in the fatal shootings of seven people during a 2022 protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, though human rights activists say he was tortured into confessing to killings likely carried out by security services. The hanging of Abbas Kourkouri, also known as Mojahed Kourkouri, marks the first execution in nearly a year for someone arrested in the protests surrounding the death of Amini, who had been detained by police allegedly over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to their liking. Her death sparked months of demonstrations. Even today, some women refuse to wear their headscarves in public, openly defying a hijab law instituted by the country's theocracy. It's unclear why authorities chose now to execute Kourkouri, 42, though tensions have been rising regionally over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, and the result of talks with the United States remains uncertain. Iran is one of the world's top executioners and has been cracking down in other ways on society in the time since the Amini demonstrations. Kourkouri 'was sentenced to death without a fair trial and without access to a lawyer of his choice,' said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights, which tallied an average of one execution in the Islamic Republic every six hours over the last eight months. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported at the time that on Nov. 16, 2022 two gunmen on motorcycles shot at protesters and security personnel gathered at the central market in the southwestern city of Izeh in the country's restive, oil-rich Khuzestan province. The assault killed seven people, including a 9-year-old boy, and wounded three police officers and two members of the Basij, the all-volunteer arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The death of the boy, named Kian Pirfalak, drew anger from Iranians, particularly after his family reportedly said it was security forces — not other gunmen — who opened fire. Kourkouri was accused of being one of the gunmen. He was charged with a spate of offenses, including 'moharebeh' – an Islamic term meaning waging a battle against God. Authorities arrested him in December 2022 after reportedly shooting him in the leg. Activists say he was denied medical treatment beyond the bullet's removal. State media described Kourkouri as a drug dealer and 'instigator' with a history of extremist beliefs. But rights advocates say he isn't the violent person authorities have made him out to be and was himself an innocent protester. 'He was arrested during the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests, and the Islamic Republic authorities attempted to blame him" for the attack, Amiry-Moghaddam said. He added that the slain boy's parents and uncle believed Iranian security forces were responsible. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which also monitors Iran, similarly dismissed the Iranian government's claims. 'While authorities continue to describe the events of Nov. 16 in Izeh as a 'terrorist attack,' eyewitnesses and the families of victims have presented accounts that contradict the government's narrative,' it said Wednesday. The group quoted Kian's mother as saying, 'On our way home, officers opened fire on our car.' State media earlier broadcast videos of Kourkouri taking blame for the attack. But Amnesty International has said that authorities subjected him to solitary confinement and coerced his confessions, and that he wasn't at the scene at the time of the killings. One videotaped confession that had been aired on state TV showed Kourkouri in bed with his arm visibly bandaged and bloody, the rights group said. The footage resembled that of many other suspected coerced confessions broadcast in Iran. Kourkouri's death brings the tally of executions related to violence at the Amini protests up to 11. The last such execution came 10 months ago, after Reza Resaei, 34, was sentenced to death over the killing of a security officer. Rights groups also said his confession was forced. The United Nations-established Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran said Wednesday that proceedings against Kourkouri had been 'marred by gross human rights violations.' It called on Iran to halt executions, including those against women's rights activists. On the streets of Iranian cities, it's becoming increasingly common to see a woman pass by without a mandatory hijab, as the third anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked approaches this fall. The government has targeted private businesses where women are seen without their headscarves. Surveillance cameras search for women uncovered in vehicles to fine and impound their cars, and authorities have gone as far as to use aerial drones to monitor women. The country's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian campaigned on a promise to curb the morality police's harassment of women. But the country's ultimate authority rests with its 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei has in the past said 'unveiling is both religiously forbidden and politically forbidden.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Iran executes man over 2022 protest killings. Activists say he was framed
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran on Wednesday executed a man convicted in the fatal shootings of seven people during a 2022 protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, though human rights activists say he was tortured into confessing to killings likely carried out by security services. The hanging of Abbas Kourkouri, also known as Mojahed Kourkouri, marks the first execution in nearly a year for someone arrested in the protests surrounding the death of Amini, who had been detained by police allegedly over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to their liking. Her death sparked months of demonstrations. Even today, some women refuse to wear their headscarves in public, openly defying a hijab law instituted by the country's theocracy. It's unclear why authorities chose now to execute Kourkouri, 42, though tensions have been rising regionally over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, and the result of talks with the United States remains uncertain. Iran is one of the world's top executioners and has been cracking down in other ways on society in the time since the Amini demonstrations. Kourkouri 'was sentenced to death without a fair trial and without access to a lawyer of his choice,' said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights, which tallied an average of one execution in the Islamic Republic every six hours over the last eight months. Shooting happened during Amini protests Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported at the time that on Nov. 16, 2022 two gunmen on motorcycles shot at protesters and security personnel gathered at the central market in the southwestern city of Izeh in the country's restive, oil-rich Khuzestan province. The assault killed seven people, including a 9-year-old boy, and wounded three police officers and two members of the Basij, the all-volunteer arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The death of the boy, named Kian Pirfalak, drew anger from Iranians, particularly after his family reportedly said it was security forces — not other gunmen — who opened fire. Kourkouri was accused of being one of the gunmen. He was charged with a spate of offenses, including 'moharebeh' – an Islamic term meaning waging a battle against God. Authorities arrested him in December 2022 after reportedly shooting him in the leg. Activists say he was denied medical treatment beyond the bullet's removal. State media described Kourkouri as a drug dealer and 'instigator' with a history of extremist beliefs. But rights advocates say he isn't the violent person authorities have made him out to be and was himself an innocent protester. 'He was arrested during the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests, and the Islamic Republic authorities attempted to blame him" for the attack, Amiry-Moghaddam said. He added that the slain boy's parents and uncle believed Iranian security forces were responsible. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which also monitors Iran, similarly dismissed the Iranian government's claims. 'While authorities continue to describe the events of Nov. 16 in Izeh as a 'terrorist attack,' eyewitnesses and the families of victims have presented accounts that contradict the government's narrative,' it said Wednesday. The group quoted Kian's mother as saying, 'On our way home, officers opened fire on our car.' State media earlier broadcast videos of Kourkouri taking blame for the attack. But Amnesty International has said that authorities subjected him to solitary confinement and coerced his confessions, and that he wasn't at the scene at the time of the killings. One videotaped confession that had been aired on state TV showed Kourkouri in bed with his arm visibly bandaged and bloody, the rights group said. The footage resembled that of many other suspected coerced confessions broadcast in Iran. Kourkouri's death brings the tally of executions related to violence at the Amini protests up to 11. The last such execution came 10 months ago, after Reza Resaei, 34, was sentenced to death over the killing of a security officer. Rights groups also said his confession was forced. The United Nations-established Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran said Wednesday that proceedings against Kourkouri had been 'marred by gross human rights violations.' It called on Iran to halt executions, including those against women's rights activists. Iran still faces dissent years later On the streets of Iranian cities, it's becoming increasingly common to see a woman pass by without a mandatory hijab, as the third anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked approaches this fall. The government has targeted private businesses where women are seen without their headscarves. Surveillance cameras search for women uncovered in vehicles to fine and impound their cars, and authorities have gone as far as to use aerial drones to monitor women. The country's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian campaigned on a promise to curb the morality police's harassment of women. But the country's ultimate authority rests with its 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei has in the past said 'unveiling is both religiously forbidden and politically forbidden.'
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Here's what we know about the school shooting in Austria
GRAZ, Austria — A 21-year-old former student opened fire inside his school in Austria's second-biggest city Tuesday morning, killing 10 people, in what appeared to be the deadliest attack in Austria's postwar history. Nine students were killed — six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17, one with Polish citizenship — as well as a teacher, police said. Another 11 people were wounded. The attacker killed himself in a bathroom at the BORG Dreierschützengasse school in Graz, officials said. The shooting has triggered a debate about the country's gun laws, which are among the more liberal in the European Union. Investigators said Wednesday they had not been able to draw conclusions on the motive. Here's what we know: Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker expressed shock and sharply condemned the shooting. 'A school is more than just a place of learning,' Stocker said. 'It is a space of trust, of security, of the future. The fact that this safe space was shattered by such an act of violence leaves us speechless.' By Wednesday morning, the authority that runs hospitals in Graz said nine patients were still in intensive care. Police said the wounded people were aged between 15 and 26. Two are Romanian nationals and one is an Iranian citizen. The 21-year-old Austrian man lived near Graz and was a former student at the school who hadn't completed his studies. Police said he used a shotgun and a pistol, which he owned legally. His name was not released in line with Austrian privacy rules. Police said he lived with his mother. Investigators searching his apartment found two farewell messages, a pipe bomb that wouldn't have worked and abandoned plans for a bombing. They didn't elaborate on those findings in a post on social media Wednesday. 'He says goodbye to his parents. But no motive can be inferred from the farewell letter, and that is a matter for further investigations,' Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria's Interior Ministry, told ORF public television Tuesday night. Officials said they're looking at whether people were targeted or shot at random. Stocker has announced three days of national mourning. The country stopped for a moment of silence Wednesday morning, marking a day since the attack. Hundreds of people lined the central square in Graz, a city of 300,000. Some laid candles and flowers in front of city hall. Some people hugged each other as they tried to come to terms with the tragedy. Hundreds joined Austrian officials at a service Tuesday evening in the Graz cathedral. In the capital, Vienna, the local transport authority had trams, subway trains and buses stop for a minute. Pope Leo XIV prayed for the victims and their families in the predominantly Catholic country, telling his weekly general audience in the Vatican on Wednesday that he prayed that 'the Lord receive these his children into his peace.' Traditionally, many people in Austria hold weapons, which they often use to go hunting in the Alpine country's vast forests. In general, it's more common to carry a weapon for that and less for self-defense. According to the Small Arms Survey, Austria ranks 12th in the world when it comes to holding civilian firearms, with 30 firearms per 100 residents. That's far less than in the U.S. which tops the ranking with 120 firearms per 100 residents, but more than Austria's neighbor Germany, which ranked 23rd with 19 firearms per 100 residents. In Austria, some weapons, such as rifles and shotguns that must be reloaded manually after each shot, can be purchased from the age of 18 without a permit. Gun dealers only need to check if there's no weapons ban on the buyer, and the weapon is added to the central weapons register. Other weapons, such as repeating shotguns or semi-automatic firearms, are more difficult to acquire. Buyers need a gun ownership card and a firearms pass. Austria Press Agency reported Wednesday that the suspect had a gun ownership card, but this document merely entitles a holder to acquire and possess, but not to carry weapons such as the handgun. That weapon also would have required a firearm pass.
