Paris: SNHR was invited to talk on the Iranian interference in Syria by the Iranian Resistance. Held on Saturday 26 November at the Mutualité conference center in Paris, the conference, titled: “Call for Justice: Ending Impunity for Perpetrators of Crimes Against Humanity in Iran and Syria”, was headed by Mrs. Mariam Rajavi. The conference was attended by a number of human rights figures and politicians from France and Europe in addition to a massive rally.
Mr. Fadel Abdul Ghani addressed the early stages of the Iranian interference in Syria focusing on a number of key points including:
First: The Iranian military interference was in late-2011 in Daraa and preceded the Extremist Islamic groups’ emergence in Syria – Al Nussra Front (24 January 2012) and ISIS (9 April 2013).
Second: Amassing pro-Iranian regime militias in Syria relied on sectarian recruitment under the pretext of protecting the shrines -especially the Sayydiah Zaynab shrine- which have been in Syria for hundreds of years. On the other side, the Iranian regime exploited poverty to hire thousands of youths and turn them into militias for the Iranian regime. These youths are hired mainly from Iraq where government corruption, lack of security, and unemployment are rampant.