Latest news with #brutality
France 24
2 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Exiled MEK group condemns execution of two members in Iran
"This brutality only intensifies the outrage of the Iranian people and reinforces the determination of Iran's courageous youth to bring an end to this theocratic tyranny," Maryam Rajavi, leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), said on X. Rajavi is president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the political wing of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, which Tehran regards as a "terrorist" group. The men, identified as Mehdi Hasani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, were found guilty of manufacturing improvised launchers and mortars and conducting attacks that targeted civilians, homes and public and charitable institutions. The Iranian judiciary said they aimed to "disrupt social order and endanger the safety of innocent citizens". Both men were described as long-time affiliates of the MEK. The timing and details of their arrest were not immediately disclosed, but Rajavi praised the two men's "three years of unwavering resistance under torture, pressure, and threats." "I call upon the United Nations, its member states, and all defenders of human rights to take decisive action in response to this brutal crime. Mere words of condemnation are no longer sufficient," Rajavi said. "The time has come for concrete and effective measures against a regime built on executions and torture. Continued inaction serves only to embolden this bloodthirsty regime at a moment when it is at its most vulnerable." Several NGOs say that Iranian authorities have arrested hundreds of people and executed dozens in a wave of repression following the 12-day war with Israel, accusing the Islamic republic of using fear to compensate for weaknesses revealed by the conflict. Iran enforces capital punishment for a range of serious crimes and ranks as the world's second-most prolific executioner after China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.
The Sun
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Inside Putin's ‘Unit 31831' where troops are electrocuted like dogs – and face suicide missions if they don't pay bribes
A BRUTAL Russian unit ties its soldiers up like dogs and sends them on suicide missions if they don't pay bribes, The Sun can reveal. Unit 31831 has become renowned for its brutality among the Vladimir Putin's flailing army - already known for its executions of Ukrainians. 9 9 9 And its commander is so hated that soldiers' families are making a desperate appeal to Vlad to get Major Petrosyan Oganes sacked. The unit - which sits within the 54th Motorised Rifles Regiment - is currently fighting on the front line in Donetsk. But soldiers have complained online that they are "expendable" and are treated like "meat". Their families say troops are dying like "cockroaches under slippers". Russia's murderous army is struggling to beat the brave Ukrainians defending their homeland and a summer offensive is moving at a pace slower than a snail. But Unit 31831's commander Major Oganes has become known for disciplining soldiers by horrific beatings. That includes tying them to posts like dogs, beating one soldier with an electric fan, and trapping soldiers in electrified cages. Oganes exacts the beatings against soldiers who have been found to have broken the unit's rules - like being drunk. Soldiers are tied together with a rope around their neck and handcuffed shirtless around posts where they're forced to sleep the night on the ground. Commanders in Unit 31831 also take bribes from soldiers to not send them into the fighting. Those who don't pay the 50,000Roubles (£476) are sent to parts of the front are forced to participate in attacks where they will likely not survive. Russian commanders are intentionally killing so many of their own soldiers that the practice now has a slang term: zeroing out. They also extort soldiers for cash - robbing them of 30,000Roubles (£285) to buy perfume for their wives. 9 9 Anger against Oganes and the unit is now spilling over to Russian social media where a campaign has been launched to bring the commander down. One person who tore into Oganes said: "May you be damned, dog and coward!" Another wrote: "What b*******s. Sadists and maniacs!!! They act a hundred times more sophisticated in prison." While a third posted: "This is called an internal enemy and betrayal. "Such commanders should be put in jail for a long time." They're desperately trying to get the dictator to step in and fix the unit. 9 9 They wrote: "Dear Vladimir Putin... "We are forced to turn to you for help, as guarantors of the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of servicemen, as well as members of their families!" The Russians don't bother to tell families that soldiers have died at the front or gone missing. Dozens of posts on Russian social media site VK feature families appealing for information about their lost son in Unit 31831. One post from April reads: "My son is missing, military unit 31831, regiment 54. "He signed a contract in Persianovka. "He went to the combat zone on February 25. He went missing. Maybe someone knows, please respond, call sign Khottabych." It paints a picture of a corrupt, violent, and short life for Vlad's boys - and that's before they try and break through the Ukrainian dronegrinder. The Russian families continue to support Vlad's unjust invasion of Ukraine, but just want better treatment for their soldiers. A desperate campaign has now been launched by the families of the soldiers to have them treated with more respect. They want them to be able to kill as many Ukrainians as possible. To the Russian public, everything in the army is presented as being well-functioning and respectful. One school in the southern city of Volgograd, Secondary School No. 95, raised "humanitarian" funds for Unit 31831. Photos posted to the school's social media showed children dressed in combat fatigues proudly standing with a letter of recognition for the cash they'd raised. 9 9 Another commander of Unit 31831 wrote back: "Your assistance and caring attitude deserve deep recognition. "We wish you peaceful skies, good health, energy, optimism, and success in your work." The 54th MRR sits within the 9th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade - which was formerly under the Donetsk People's Republic, but the brigade was later incorporated into the Russian Army. In March, the Centre for European Policy Analysis assessed that Russia could be 12 times more corrupt than Europe on average. That means equipment is stolen, salaries are embezzled, and bribes are paid. The massive amount of corruption within Russian trenches is one reason why its far larger army has become ineffective and ground to a halt by Ukraine. Estimates have said that between 50,000 and 100,000 have vanished on the battlefield.
CBC
15-07-2025
- CBC
Baseball-bat killer who successfully challenged murder parole provision in B.C. court gets life
The B.C. Supreme Court has sentenced a man to life in prison with no parole or 25 years for beating his ex-girlfriend to death with a baseball bat as she slept beside her young daughter in 2021. The court ruling posted Monday says Luciano Mariani's killing of Caroline Bernard in her home in Bowser, B.C., was a crime of "obscene brutality" that was planned in advance for months. Mariani had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, but filed a successful constitutional challenge against a provision in Canada's Criminal Code preventing those convicted of the crime from applying for parole for 25 years. The court agreed in January that it was unconstitutional to treat all offenders convicted of first-degree murder the same, but Justice Robin Baird says in sentencing that there was "nothing disproportionate about the mandatory penalty" for Mariani. Baird's ruling says the murder was "exceptionally violent," cold-blooded and against a vulnerable former intimate partner. Judge Baird's ruling says Mariani may apply to reduce his parole eligibility period after 15 years, but there's no "guarantee that it will be granted." "This was, it goes quite without saying, a crime of obscene brutality with maximally aggravating features fully justifying the severe penalty that the law requires me to impose," Baird's ruling says. "The damage that you have done to Ms. Bernard's family and friends is profound and permanent. The magnitude of the insult and injury that you have inflicted upon our local community is enormous. And first and foremost, you have brutally extinguished the life of a fine young woman who was beloved by all who knew her."
CTV News
14-07-2025
- CTV News
‘Obscene brutality': Baseball-bat killer gets life term despite constitutional ruling
The Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, is seen in Vancouver, on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck The B.C. Supreme Court has sentenced a man to life in prison without parole eligibility for 25 years for beating his ex-girlfriend to death with a baseball bat as she slept beside her young daughter in 2021. The court ruling posted Monday says Luciano Mariani's killing of Caroline Bernard in her home in Bowser, B.C., was a crime of 'obscene brutality' that was planned in advance for months. Mariani had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, but filed a successful constitutional challenge against a provision in Canada's Criminal Code preventing those convicted of the crime from applying for parole for 25 years. The court agreed in January that it was unconstitutional to treat all offenders convicted of first-degree murder the same, but Justice Robin Baird says in sentencing that there was 'nothing disproportionate about the mandatory penalty' for Mariani. Baird's ruling says the murder was 'exceptionally violent,' cold-blooded and against a vulnerable former intimate partner. Judge Baird's ruling says Mariani may apply to reduce his parole eligibility period after 15 years, but there's no 'guarantee that it will be granted.' 'This was, it goes quite without saying, a crime of obscene brutality with maximally aggravating features fully justifying the severe penalty that the law requires me to impose,' Baird's ruling says. 'The damage that you have done to Ms. Bernard's family and friends is profound and permanent. The magnitude of the insult and injury that you have inflicted upon our local community is enormous. And first and foremost, you have brutally extinguished the life of a fine young woman who was beloved by all who knew her.' Baird said murderers serving life sentences get denied parole for many years after becoming eligible to apply, 'and of course the most serious, dangerous and high‑risk offenders never succeed in getting it.' This report by Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press, was first published July 14, 2025.
New York Times
10-07-2025
- New York Times
‘They Beat Me Like a Slave': Signs of Violence in Sheriff's Office Dated Back Years
For nearly two years, the embattled sheriff of Rankin County, Miss., has tried to distance himself from brutality in his department, saying he was unaware of assaults like those carried out by deputies who called themselves the Goon Squad. But department records and interviews with a former F.B.I. agent reveal that the sheriff, Bryan Bailey, had evidence of his deputies' violent acts going back to his earliest days in office. In 2012, the year Mr. Bailey became sheriff, the department and the F.B.I. had reviewed video footage of a deputy ramming his car into a teenager fleeing arrest and threatening to kill him. Eight years later, a man sued the department claiming that deputies hit him with a metal rod and shoved a gun in his mouth while he was handcuffed. Then, in 2022, a deputy was caught on video using his Taser to shock a handcuffed man in the back of a patrol car. The Rankin County Sheriff's Department confirmed that it had investigated all three cases, and so had the F.B.I. One of the deputies involved was suspended and another was reassigned, but none of them were fired, and none faced prosecution. Several were later tied to violent raids by the Goon Squad or were convicted for their roles in torturing two men, Eddie Parker and Michael Jenkins, in 2023. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
