Iran dissidents say deal ignored human rights

Iranian anti-regime dissidents criticize the nuclear deal reached last month between Iran and six world powers and say world powers should “restore focus to the Iranian regime’s brutal human rights records.”

In a letter published on the Daily Beast website, 53 dissidents, many of whom spent time in Iranian prisons for their human rights advocacy, say they “share the world’s hope for a better future but believe that appeasing the Iranian regime will lead to a more dangerous world.

“Sadly, the world has not demanded real improvements in human rights,” they say. “Thousands of activists continue to languish behind bars (including several Americans) and it is tragic that their release was not included in these discussions…. Today in Iran, political prisoners are tortured. Bloggers, journalists and teachers remain behind bars. Sexual and religious rights are trampled. Women are treated as second class citizens.”