For Immediate Release

Human Rights Watch(HRW)

Iran: Night Raids Terrorize Civilians

Security Forces Wreck Homes, Destroy Property to Stop Protest Chants; News Access Curtailed(New York, June 26, 2009) – Iran’s paramilitary Basij are carrying out brutal nighttime raids, destroying property in private homes and beating civilians in an attempt to stop nightly protest chants, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch also said the Iranian authorities are confiscating satellite dishes from private homes to prevent citizens from seeing foreign news.“While most of the world’s attention is focused on the beatings in the streets of Iran during the day, the Basijis are carrying out brutal raids on people’s apartments during the night,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Witnesses are telling us that the Basijis are trashing entire streets and even neighborhoods as well as individual homes trying to stop the nightly rooftop protest chants.”Since the onset of protests against the disputed presidential election results on June 12, 2009, residents throughout Tehran and in other cities in Iran have carried out nightly rooftop protest chants of “God is Great” (Allahu Akbar) and other similar slogans........

Read more:

http://www.hrw.org/en/middle-eastn-africa/iran

To view stark footage of what appear to be Basiji night raids, please visit the following:
· http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1eeSqv5nY4