{"id":211097,"date":"2018-12-23T20:38:16","date_gmt":"2018-12-23T20:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/211097-iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018"},"modified":"2020-01-24T17:47:50","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T17:47:50","slug":"iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018\" style=\"width:853px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_Jd6tIAvz2vE\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FJd6tIAvz2vE%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Jd6tIAvz2vE\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT4M6S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2018-12-19T13:52:48Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_Jd6tIAvz2vE\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FJd6tIAvz2vE%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Jd6tIAvz2vE\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FJd6tIAvz2vE%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018\" width=\"853\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"\u2022 Maryam Rajavi Meets With Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy, Ingrid Betancourt in Albania Maryam Rajavi met and held talks on Saturday, December 15, 2018, with Mr. Pandeli Majko, senior Minister of State and former Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Patrick Kennedy and Ms. Ingrid Betancourt. Mr. Pandeli Majko expressed his pleasure at the progress he had seen in the construction of Ashraf 3, and the PMOI\u2019s settlement in their new home. He stressed on the need to provide and guarantee their security. Mr. Patrick Kennedy expressed his delight on his first visit to Ashraf 3 and meeting with Iran\u2019s freedom fighters. He added: I consider myself an Iranian and an Ashrafi. One of the best periods of my life has been when I supported the protection and security of Ashraf residents. Maryam Rajavi expressed her appreciation to Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy and Ingrid Betancourt for their constant and unsparing support and their ceaseless efforts for the protection of the PMOI members in Ashraf and their relocation to a safe place. She reiterated that these efforts will remain forever in the history of the Iranian People\u2019s Resistance. \u2022 Three Girl Students Lose Their Lives in Fire in Zahedan The pre-school and elementary girl students lost their lives in a fire on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at a non-governmental girls&#039; school in Osveh Hassaneh in Zahedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran. three girl students died in fire at a girls&#039; preschool. The accident was due to the use of oil and non-standard heaters for schools. \u2022 Arrests of Steel Workers Continue in Ahvaz - 41 Detained Iran\u2019s Free Labor Union (FLU) reported on Tuesday that security forces arrested ten more steel factory workers in Ahvaz, bringing the total number to 41 detainees. On Tuesday, the raids continued in a more violent manner, dragging workers out of their homes, according to FLU. Reports received from Ahvaz indicate that many workers spend their nights in the streets to avoid being arrested in raids on their homes. The presence of a Revolutionary Guard senior officer at a labor protest and his attempt to engage with the workers could mean that IRGC is responsible for the arrests. \u2022 Iranian Christian Couple Arrested in Front of 7 Year Old Daughter According to religious freedom charity Middle East Concern, Amir Taleipour and wife Mahnaz Harati had their home raided earlier this month and were then arrested in front of their 7-year-old daughter. It&#039;s reported they remain in detention and haven&#039;t been allowed to communicate with family members or legal professionals. The charges they&#039;re facing have not been revealed. Church leaders in the area say local Christians are increasingly targeted around Christmas but this year is more severe than previous years. \u2022 Long Prison Term for Dervish Attorney in Iran Mostafa Daneshjoo, a lawyer from Iran\u2019s persecuted Gonabadi Dervish religious minority has been sentenced to 8 years in prison. According to his attorney Ali Sharifzadeh, he received five years for \u201cassembly and collusion to act against national securiey,\u201d two years for \u201cdisturbing public opinion,\u201d and one year for \u201cspreading propaganda against the system.\u201d Mostafa Daneshjoo was arrested on 8 July when armed security forces violently broke down the door to his mother\u2019s home in Tehran, arresting him in front of his elderly mother, wife and young daughter. Prior to his arrest, he had defended numerous Gonabadi Dervishes facing prosecution by the authorities.\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:853px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&bull; Maryam Rajavi Meets With Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy, Ingrid Betancourt in Albania Maryam Rajavi met and held talks on Saturday, December 15, 2018, with Mr. Pandeli Majko, senior Minister [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[178],"class_list":{"0":"post-211097","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-iran-news-in-brief","7":"tag-save"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018 - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u2022 Maryam Rajavi Meets With Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy, Ingrid Betancourt in Albania Maryam Rajavi met and held talks on Saturday, December 15, 2018, with Mr. Pandeli Majko, senior Minister of State and former Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Patrick Kennedy and Ms. Ingrid Betancourt.Mr. Pandeli Majko expressed his pleasure at the progress he had seen in the construction of Ashraf 3, and the PMOI\u2019s settlement in their new home. He stressed on the need to provide and guarantee their security.Mr. Patrick Kennedy expressed his delight on his first visit to Ashraf 3 and meeting with Iran\u2019s freedom fighters. He added: I consider myself an Iranian and an Ashrafi. One of the best periods of my life has been when I supported the protection and security of Ashraf residents.Maryam Rajavi expressed her appreciation to Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy and Ingrid Betancourt for their constant and unsparing support and their ceaseless efforts for the protection of the PMOI members in Ashraf and their relocation to a safe place. She reiterated that these efforts will remain forever in the history of the Iranian People\u2019s Resistance.\u2022 Three Girl Students Lose Their Lives in Fire in ZahedanThe pre-school and elementary girl students lost their lives in a fire on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at a non-governmental girls&#039; school in Osveh Hassaneh in Zahedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran.three girl students died in fire at a girls&#039; preschool.The accident was due to the use of oil and non-standard heaters for schools. \u2022 Arrests of Steel Workers Continue in Ahvaz - 41 DetainedIran\u2019s Free Labor Union (FLU) reported on Tuesday that security forces arrested ten more steel factory workers in Ahvaz, bringing the total number to 41 detainees.On Tuesday, the raids continued in a more violent manner, dragging workers out of their homes, according to FLU.Reports received from Ahvaz indicate that many workers spend their nights in the streets to avoid being arrested in raids on their homes.The presence of a Revolutionary Guard senior officer at a labor protest and his attempt to engage with the workers could mean that IRGC is responsible for the arrests.\u2022 Iranian Christian Couple Arrested in Front of 7 Year Old DaughterAccording to religious freedom charity Middle East Concern, Amir Taleipour and wife Mahnaz Harati had their home raided earlier this month and were then arrested in front of their 7-year-old daughter.It&#039;s reported they remain in detention and haven&#039;t been allowed to communicate with family members or legal professionals.The charges they&#039;re facing have not been revealed.Church leaders in the area say local Christians are increasingly targeted around Christmas but this year is more severe than previous years.\u2022 Long Prison Term for Dervish Attorney in IranMostafa Daneshjoo, a lawyer from Iran\u2019s persecuted Gonabadi Dervish religious minority has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.According to his attorney Ali Sharifzadeh, he received five years for \u201cassembly and collusion to act against national securiey,\u201d two years for \u201cdisturbing public opinion,\u201d and one year for \u201cspreading propaganda against the system.\u201dMostafa Daneshjoo was arrested on 8 July when armed security forces violently broke down the door to his mother\u2019s home in Tehran, arresting him in front of his elderly mother, wife and young daughter. Prior to his arrest, he had defended numerous Gonabadi Dervishes facing prosecution by the authorities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/multimedia\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018 - NCRI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2022 Maryam Rajavi Meets With Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy, Ingrid Betancourt in Albania Maryam Rajavi met and held talks on Saturday, December 15, 2018, with Mr. Pandeli Majko, senior Minister of State and former Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Patrick Kennedy and Ms. Ingrid Betancourt.Mr. Pandeli Majko expressed his pleasure at the progress he had seen in the construction of Ashraf 3, and the PMOI\u2019s settlement in their new home. He stressed on the need to provide and guarantee their security.Mr. Patrick Kennedy expressed his delight on his first visit to Ashraf 3 and meeting with Iran\u2019s freedom fighters. He added: I consider myself an Iranian and an Ashrafi. One of the best periods of my life has been when I supported the protection and security of Ashraf residents.Maryam Rajavi expressed her appreciation to Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy and Ingrid Betancourt for their constant and unsparing support and their ceaseless efforts for the protection of the PMOI members in Ashraf and their relocation to a safe place. She reiterated that these efforts will remain forever in the history of the Iranian People\u2019s Resistance.\u2022 Three Girl Students Lose Their Lives in Fire in ZahedanThe pre-school and elementary girl students lost their lives in a fire on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at a non-governmental girls&#039; school in Osveh Hassaneh in Zahedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran.three girl students died in fire at a girls&#039; preschool.The accident was due to the use of oil and non-standard heaters for schools. \u2022 Arrests of Steel Workers Continue in Ahvaz - 41 DetainedIran\u2019s Free Labor Union (FLU) reported on Tuesday that security forces arrested ten more steel factory workers in Ahvaz, bringing the total number to 41 detainees.On Tuesday, the raids continued in a more violent manner, dragging workers out of their homes, according to FLU.Reports received from Ahvaz indicate that many workers spend their nights in the streets to avoid being arrested in raids on their homes.The presence of a Revolutionary Guard senior officer at a labor protest and his attempt to engage with the workers could mean that IRGC is responsible for the arrests.\u2022 Iranian Christian Couple Arrested in Front of 7 Year Old DaughterAccording to religious freedom charity Middle East Concern, Amir Taleipour and wife Mahnaz Harati had their home raided earlier this month and were then arrested in front of their 7-year-old daughter.It&#039;s reported they remain in detention and haven&#039;t been allowed to communicate with family members or legal professionals.The charges they&#039;re facing have not been revealed.Church leaders in the area say local Christians are increasingly targeted around Christmas but this year is more severe than previous years.\u2022 Long Prison Term for Dervish Attorney in IranMostafa Daneshjoo, a lawyer from Iran\u2019s persecuted Gonabadi Dervish religious minority has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.According to his attorney Ali Sharifzadeh, he received five years for \u201cassembly and collusion to act against national securiey,\u201d two years for \u201cdisturbing public opinion,\u201d and one year for \u201cspreading propaganda against the system.\u201dMostafa Daneshjoo was arrested on 8 July when armed security forces violently broke down the door to his mother\u2019s home in Tehran, arresting him in front of his elderly mother, wife and young daughter. Prior to his arrest, he had defended numerous Gonabadi Dervishes facing prosecution by the authorities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/multimedia\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NCRI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-23T20:38:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-24T17:47:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ncri-logo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"402\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@iran_policy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@iran_policy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/multimedia\\\/iran-news-in-brief\\\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/multimedia\\\/iran-news-in-brief\\\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-23T20:38:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-24T17:47:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/multimedia\\\/iran-news-in-brief\\\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":14,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"save\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Multimedia: Iran news in brief\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/multimedia\\\/iran-news-in-brief\\\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/multimedia\\\/iran-news-in-brief\\\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\\\/\",\"name\":\"Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018 - NCRI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ncr-iran.org\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-23T20:38:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-24T17:47:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"\u2022 Maryam Rajavi Meets With Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy, Ingrid Betancourt in Albania Maryam Rajavi met and held talks on Saturday, December 15, 2018, with Mr. Pandeli Majko, senior Minister of State and former Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Patrick Kennedy and Ms. Ingrid Betancourt.Mr. Pandeli Majko expressed his pleasure at the progress he had seen in the construction of Ashraf 3, and the PMOI\u2019s settlement in their new home. 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He stressed on the need to provide and guarantee their security.Mr. Patrick Kennedy expressed his delight on his first visit to Ashraf 3 and meeting with Iran\u2019s freedom fighters. He added: I consider myself an Iranian and an Ashrafi. One of the best periods of my life has been when I supported the protection and security of Ashraf residents.Maryam Rajavi expressed her appreciation to Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy and Ingrid Betancourt for their constant and unsparing support and their ceaseless efforts for the protection of the PMOI members in Ashraf and their relocation to a safe place. She reiterated that these efforts will remain forever in the history of the Iranian People\u2019s Resistance.\u2022 Three Girl Students Lose Their Lives in Fire in ZahedanThe pre-school and elementary girl students lost their lives in a fire on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at a non-governmental girls' school in Osveh Hassaneh in Zahedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran.three girl students died in fire at a girls' preschool.The accident was due to the use of oil and non-standard heaters for schools. \u2022 Arrests of Steel Workers Continue in Ahvaz - 41 DetainedIran\u2019s Free Labor Union (FLU) reported on Tuesday that security forces arrested ten more steel factory workers in Ahvaz, bringing the total number to 41 detainees.On Tuesday, the raids continued in a more violent manner, dragging workers out of their homes, according to FLU.Reports received from Ahvaz indicate that many workers spend their nights in the streets to avoid being arrested in raids on their homes.The presence of a Revolutionary Guard senior officer at a labor protest and his attempt to engage with the workers could mean that IRGC is responsible for the arrests.\u2022 Iranian Christian Couple Arrested in Front of 7 Year Old DaughterAccording to religious freedom charity Middle East Concern, Amir Taleipour and wife Mahnaz Harati had their home raided earlier this month and were then arrested in front of their 7-year-old daughter.It's reported they remain in detention and haven't been allowed to communicate with family members or legal professionals.The charges they're facing have not been revealed.Church leaders in the area say local Christians are increasingly targeted around Christmas but this year is more severe than previous years.\u2022 Long Prison Term for Dervish Attorney in IranMostafa Daneshjoo, a lawyer from Iran\u2019s persecuted Gonabadi Dervish religious minority has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.According to his attorney Ali Sharifzadeh, he received five years for \u201cassembly and collusion to act against national securiey,\u201d two years for \u201cdisturbing public opinion,\u201d and one year for \u201cspreading propaganda against the system.\u201dMostafa Daneshjoo was arrested on 8 July when armed security forces violently broke down the door to his mother\u2019s home in Tehran, arresting him in front of his elderly mother, wife and young daughter. Prior to his arrest, he had defended numerous Gonabadi Dervishes facing prosecution by the authorities.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/multimedia\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018 - NCRI","og_description":"\u2022 Maryam Rajavi Meets With Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy, Ingrid Betancourt in Albania Maryam Rajavi met and held talks on Saturday, December 15, 2018, with Mr. Pandeli Majko, senior Minister of State and former Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Patrick Kennedy and Ms. Ingrid Betancourt.Mr. Pandeli Majko expressed his pleasure at the progress he had seen in the construction of Ashraf 3, and the PMOI\u2019s settlement in their new home. He stressed on the need to provide and guarantee their security.Mr. Patrick Kennedy expressed his delight on his first visit to Ashraf 3 and meeting with Iran\u2019s freedom fighters. He added: I consider myself an Iranian and an Ashrafi. One of the best periods of my life has been when I supported the protection and security of Ashraf residents.Maryam Rajavi expressed her appreciation to Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy and Ingrid Betancourt for their constant and unsparing support and their ceaseless efforts for the protection of the PMOI members in Ashraf and their relocation to a safe place. She reiterated that these efforts will remain forever in the history of the Iranian People\u2019s Resistance.\u2022 Three Girl Students Lose Their Lives in Fire in ZahedanThe pre-school and elementary girl students lost their lives in a fire on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at a non-governmental girls' school in Osveh Hassaneh in Zahedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran.three girl students died in fire at a girls' preschool.The accident was due to the use of oil and non-standard heaters for schools. \u2022 Arrests of Steel Workers Continue in Ahvaz - 41 DetainedIran\u2019s Free Labor Union (FLU) reported on Tuesday that security forces arrested ten more steel factory workers in Ahvaz, bringing the total number to 41 detainees.On Tuesday, the raids continued in a more violent manner, dragging workers out of their homes, according to FLU.Reports received from Ahvaz indicate that many workers spend their nights in the streets to avoid being arrested in raids on their homes.The presence of a Revolutionary Guard senior officer at a labor protest and his attempt to engage with the workers could mean that IRGC is responsible for the arrests.\u2022 Iranian Christian Couple Arrested in Front of 7 Year Old DaughterAccording to religious freedom charity Middle East Concern, Amir Taleipour and wife Mahnaz Harati had their home raided earlier this month and were then arrested in front of their 7-year-old daughter.It's reported they remain in detention and haven't been allowed to communicate with family members or legal professionals.The charges they're facing have not been revealed.Church leaders in the area say local Christians are increasingly targeted around Christmas but this year is more severe than previous years.\u2022 Long Prison Term for Dervish Attorney in IranMostafa Daneshjoo, a lawyer from Iran\u2019s persecuted Gonabadi Dervish religious minority has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.According to his attorney Ali Sharifzadeh, he received five years for \u201cassembly and collusion to act against national securiey,\u201d two years for \u201cdisturbing public opinion,\u201d and one year for \u201cspreading propaganda against the system.\u201dMostafa Daneshjoo was arrested on 8 July when armed security forces violently broke down the door to his mother\u2019s home in Tehran, arresting him in front of his elderly mother, wife and young daughter. Prior to his arrest, he had defended numerous Gonabadi Dervishes facing prosecution by the authorities.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/multimedia\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/","og_site_name":"NCRI","article_published_time":"2018-12-23T20:38:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-24T17:47:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":402,"height":100,"url":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ncri-logo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@iran_policy","twitter_site":"@iran_policy","twitter_misc":{"Written by":""},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/multimedia\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/multimedia\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018","datePublished":"2018-12-23T20:38:16+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-24T17:47:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/multimedia\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/"},"wordCount":14,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/#organization"},"keywords":["save"],"articleSection":["Multimedia: Iran news in brief"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/multimedia\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/multimedia\/iran-news-in-brief\/iran-news-in-brief-december-19-2018\/","name":"Iran news in brief, December 19, 2018 - NCRI","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-12-23T20:38:16+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-24T17:47:50+00:00","description":"\u2022 Maryam Rajavi Meets With Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy, Ingrid Betancourt in Albania Maryam Rajavi met and held talks on Saturday, December 15, 2018, with Mr. Pandeli Majko, senior Minister of State and former Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Patrick Kennedy and Ms. Ingrid Betancourt.Mr. Pandeli Majko expressed his pleasure at the progress he had seen in the construction of Ashraf 3, and the PMOI\u2019s settlement in their new home. He stressed on the need to provide and guarantee their security.Mr. Patrick Kennedy expressed his delight on his first visit to Ashraf 3 and meeting with Iran\u2019s freedom fighters. He added: I consider myself an Iranian and an Ashrafi. One of the best periods of my life has been when I supported the protection and security of Ashraf residents.Maryam Rajavi expressed her appreciation to Pandeli Majko, Patrick Kennedy and Ingrid Betancourt for their constant and unsparing support and their ceaseless efforts for the protection of the PMOI members in Ashraf and their relocation to a safe place. She reiterated that these efforts will remain forever in the history of the Iranian People\u2019s Resistance.\u2022 Three Girl Students Lose Their Lives in Fire in ZahedanThe pre-school and elementary girl students lost their lives in a fire on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at a non-governmental girls' school in Osveh Hassaneh in Zahedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran.three girl students died in fire at a girls' preschool.The accident was due to the use of oil and non-standard heaters for schools. \u2022 Arrests of Steel Workers Continue in Ahvaz - 41 DetainedIran\u2019s Free Labor Union (FLU) reported on Tuesday that security forces arrested ten more steel factory workers in Ahvaz, bringing the total number to 41 detainees.On Tuesday, the raids continued in a more violent manner, dragging workers out of their homes, according to FLU.Reports received from Ahvaz indicate that many workers spend their nights in the streets to avoid being arrested in raids on their homes.The presence of a Revolutionary Guard senior officer at a labor protest and his attempt to engage with the workers could mean that IRGC is responsible for the arrests.\u2022 Iranian Christian Couple Arrested in Front of 7 Year Old DaughterAccording to religious freedom charity Middle East Concern, Amir Taleipour and wife Mahnaz Harati had their home raided earlier this month and were then arrested in front of their 7-year-old daughter.It's reported they remain in detention and haven't been allowed to communicate with family members or legal professionals.The charges they're facing have not been revealed.Church leaders in the area say local Christians are increasingly targeted around Christmas but this year is more severe than previous years.\u2022 Long Prison Term for Dervish Attorney in IranMostafa Daneshjoo, a lawyer from Iran\u2019s persecuted Gonabadi Dervish religious minority has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.According to his attorney Ali Sharifzadeh, he received five years for \u201cassembly and collusion to act against national securiey,\u201d two years for \u201cdisturbing public opinion,\u201d and one year for \u201cspreading propaganda against the system.\u201dMostafa Daneshjoo was arrested on 8 July when armed security forces violently broke down the door to his mother\u2019s home in Tehran, arresting him in front of his elderly mother, wife and young daughter. 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