By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Podcast
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
EDNY COURT / UN GATE, Sept 9 – UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres responded positively to entreaties by indicted Iran lobbyist Kaveh Afrisaibi, documents now sought to be withdrawn from the Federal court file but obtained by Inner City Press show.
Afrisiabi was illegal paid as a lobbyist by Iran Mission the UN for years, through the UN Federal Credit Union.
On August 25, 2021 Afrasiabi had a proceeding in the EDNY. Judge Korman arrived late, saying he'd needed oxygen supplements to arrive. He chided the AUSA for delays in discovery, and said the 33,000 audio files should be produced by Friday, with a next conference on December 1 at 2 pm. He mused that the US might not deport Afrasiabi to Iran if convicted, just as he said the US at least for a time did not deport to China. Afrasiabi cut in to say he had worked for "a branch of the United Nations."
On September 9, quietly, a notice that Afrasiabi is set to plead guilty. To what? The notice: "SCHEDULING ORDER as to Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi: Change of Plea Hearing set for 9/19/2022 at 12:00 PM in Courtroom 13D South before Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr on 9/9/2022."
Back on July 14, 2021 Inner City Press again in writing asked the UN for its role in Afrasiabi's payment, and other Iran cases. Spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino pretended there were no more questioned, and ended her briefing, providing no answers. Birds of a feather.
In April 2021 Afrasiabi wrote to PEN (which has done nothing about the UN roughing up and banning Inner City Press) that " in January 2021, the outgoing rogue Trump administration that made a mockery of US Constitution and international law orchestrated the fifth episode of my wrongful arrest and imprisonment, accusing me of violating the Foreign Agent Registration Act."
Reports to the UN, from a man now arrested under US FARA. And from Guterres and his spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming? Nothing. Impunity.
On February 17, Afrasiabi submitted to the EDNY court his lobbying to, and response from, jzarif [at] gmail.com to lobby UNSG Antonio Guterres, here.
Inner City Press, banned from the UN by Guterres, has repeated put in written questions about this to UN Spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming and to Guterres, including through SGcentral [at] un.org.
But despite an on-camera promise to at least answer Inner City Press' written questions, there have been no answers.
By contrast, when Iran illegal lobbyist Afrisiabi wrote to Guterres through SGCentral [at] un.org, he got an immediately response and solicitation to clarify and request a meeting, from Guterres staffer Susanne Rose.
A subsequent message from Rose to Afrasiabi makes clear that Afrasiabi was granted a meeting with UN official Darko Mocibob, and that Afriasiabi's illegal Iran lobbying was passed on to SG Guterres. Sample document on Inner City Press' DocumentCloud here, more on Patreon here including "Afrasiabi was operating under UN norms" and "Exhibit I: Afrasiabi’s email to UN Secretary General, responses from the Secretary General."
Likewise there have been not answers to this question, emailed and WhatsApp-ed on the morning of February 15 by Inner City Press to Guterres, Fleming, Dujarric and his deputy Farhan Haq, before publication of this article.
So where are the answers on this? And given Guterres' undisclosed links also with convicted UN bribery firm CEFC China Energy, and banning of the Press which asked, how can he be allowed the second five-year term is now seeking? Watch this site.
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