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world news Diaranson 25 augustus 2021

Iran official acknowledges videos of Evin prison abuse real

as bargaining chips in inter-
national negotiations. After Iran cracked down on Four former prisoners at
protesters following the dis- Evin, as well as an Iranian
Writing on Twitter, Hajmo- puted 2009 re-election of human rights activist abroad,
hammadi vowed to “avoid hard-line President Mah- told the AP that the videos re-
the repeat of such bitter inci- moud Ahmadinejad, many of semble areas from the facility
dents as well as confront the the arrested protesters ended in northern Tehran. Some of
perpetrators.” up in Evin. Lawmakers later the scenes also matched pho-
pushed for reforms at Evin, tographs of the facility previ-
“My apologies to the Al- following reports of abuses ously taken by journalists, as
mighty God, the dear Su- at the prison — which led to well as images of the prison
preme Leader, our great na- the installation of the closed- as seen in satellite photos ac-
tion and the noble prison circuit cameras. cessed by the AP.
officers whose efforts will
not be ignored because of the In one part of the footage, An online account that shared
(AP) — The head of Iran’s wrongdoings” of others, he a man smashes a bathroom the videos with the AP calls
prison system acknowl- The comment by Moham- wrote. mirror to try to cut open his itself “The Justice of Ali,” a
edged Tuesday that vid- mad Mehdi Hajmohammadi arm. Prisoners — and even reference to the Prophet Mu-
eos purportedly obtained came the day after The Asso- Hajmohammadi, however, guards — beat each other hammad’s son-in-law who
by a self-described hacker ciated Press published parts offered no plan on how to in scenes captured by sur- is revered by Shiites. It also
group that show abuses of the videos and a report address the abuses at Evin. veillance cameras. Inmates mocks Iran’s Supreme Lead-
at the Islamic Republic’s about the abuse at the facil- Since its construction in 1971 sleeping in single rooms with er Ali Khamenei. However,
notorious Evin prison are ity in northern Tehran, long under Iran’s shah, the prison bunk beds stacked three high the account did not respond
real, saying he took re- known for holding political has seen a series of abuses against the walls, wrapping to AP questions about its
sponsibility for the “unac- prisoners and those with ties that continued into the Is- themselves in blankets to stay membership or how it con-
ceptable behaviors.” to the West whom Iran uses lamic Republic. warm. ducted the hack.

Possible Havana syndrome case delays Harris trip to Vietnam

(AP) — U.S. Vice Presi- delay was because Harris’ of- Singapore, castigating China mation that a U.S. adversary And a declassified 2018 State
dent Kamala Harris’ trip fice learned about a report of for its incursions into the has been conducting damag- Department report cited “a
from Singapore to Viet- a “recent possible anomalous South China Sea, and a dis- ing attacks against U.S. per- lack of senior leadership, in-
nam was delayed several health incident” in the Viet- cussion of supply chain issues sonnel would unleash calls effective communications,
hours Tuesday by an in- namese capital. The embassy with business leaders. for a forceful response by the and systemic disorganiza-
vestigation into two pos- provided no details, but said United States. tion” in responding to the
sible cases of the so-called Harris’ office decided to trav- But the flight was delayed Havana cases. The report says
Havana Syndrome in Ha- el to Hanoi “after careful as- for more than three hours For now, the administration the cause of the injuries was
noi, administration offi- sessment.” and Symone Sanders, Harris’ is providing assurances that it “currently unknown.” The
cials said. chief spokesperson, refused takes the matter seriously, is document was published by
The U.S. government uses to explain. Unprompted, investigating aggressively and George Washington Univer-
The investigation was in “anomalous health incident” Sanders volunteered that will make sure those affected sity’s National Security Ar-
its early stages and officials to describe the syndrome. Harris was “well” although have good medical care. chive.
deemed it safe for Harris to Some of those impacted re- reporters had seen the vice
make her scheduled stop in port hearing a loud piercing president several times Tues- One key analysis identified Chris Miller, the acting de-
Vietnam, which is part of her sound and feeling intense day and had no reason to be “directed, pulsed radio fre- fense secretary during the last
trip across Asia meant to re- pressure in the face. Pain, concerned about her health. quency energy” as the most months of the Trump admin-
assure allies about American nausea, and dizziness some- plausible culprit. Published istration, created a Pentagon
foreign policy amid the tu- times followed. Congress has raised alarms in December by the National team to investigate the sus-
multuous evacuation of U.S. over such attacks, finding Academy of Sciences, the re- pected attacks. That was after
forces from Afghanistan. The Similar, unexplained health rare bipartisan support in port said a radio frequency he met a soldier late last year
Havana Syndrome is the ailments have since been re- House and Senate for contin- attack could alter brain func- who described how, while
name for a rash of mysterious ported by Americans serving ued government-wide inves- tion without causing “gross serving in a country Miller
health incidents first reported in other countries, including tigation into the syndrome, structural damage.” But the wouldn’t identify, he had
by American diplomats and Germany, Austria, Russia and response as well as millions panel could not make a de- heard a “shrieking” sound
other government employees China. A variety of theories in support for American per- finitive finding on how U.S. and then had a splitting head-
in the Cuba capital beginning have been floated to explain sonnel medical monitoring personnel may have been hit. ache.
in 2016. the incidents, including tar- and treatment.
geted microwaves or sonic
There have been two separate attack, perhaps as part of an The Biden administration
cases of unexplained health espionage or hacking effort. is facing new pressure to
incidents reported by U.S. resolve the mystery as the
personnel in Vietnam within Particularly alarming are rev- number of reported cases of
the past week, the officials elations of at least two pos- possible attack has sharply
said. It was not immediately sible incidents in the Wash- grown. But scientists and
clear who was impacted by ington area, including one government officials aren’t
the syndrome, though offi- case near the White House yet certain about who might
cials said it was not someone in November in which an have been behind any attacks,
who worked for the vice pres- official reported dizziness. if the symptoms could have
ident or the White House, ac- Administration officials have been caused inadvertently by
cording to the officials, who speculated that Russia may be surveillance equipment — or
were not authorized to speak involved, a suggestion Mos- if the incidents were actually
publicly about an ongoing in- cow has denied. attacks.
vestigation.
Harris was set to depart for Whatever an official review
The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi Hanoi on Tuesday evening concludes could have enor-
issued a statement saying the after delivering a speech in mous consequences. Confir-