Iran hosts police brutality conference: US cops “treat blacks like ISIS”

The Iranian regime is exploiting race tensions in the United States between police and African Americans by inviting the families of those killed by law enforcement to attend a discrimination conference in Iran Monday. The third annual "New Horizons" conference will focus on “police brutality against blacks in America,” according to the event announcement. “We have invited 30 anti-Israel blacks from America to attend,” Nader Talebzadeh, the event organizer said in an interview with Cinema Press, an Iran news outlet. “Blacks in America are the only group who utilize their right to protest, and Iran is the perfect place to host them and to initiate a direct relationship with this segment of the American population,” Talebzadeh said, referring to the 3-day conference as a gathering of “human rights defenders” and “social activists.” “This will be the start of a relationship based on culture, diplomacy and revolution. We hope to serve as an international example,” he said. Talebzadeh added that the treatment of blacks by law enforcement in America is of tantamount importance to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has previously stated that the treatment of blacks is like that of “ISIS against its victims.” “I believe this is the beginning of a cultural revolution and resistance and an international model for public diplomacy,” Talebzadeh said, stating that it is also a “great opportunity” for his country. Last month, the family of Kawanza Jamal Beaty, a 23-year old who was shot and killed in Newport News, Virginia in July, told the Telegraph that they were interested in attending the conference. "I'm not worried about going to Iran. A black man in America is just like a foreigner. They're killing us. We live in the land of the free and the home of the brave but we're not worried about terrorists, we're worried about the police," Clyde Dargan, Beaty’s stepfather said, dismissing any hints of fear or repercussions for traveling to Iran. Beaty was shot by police when they responded to calls about a man carrying a gun. According to the three officers who took the call, Beaty ran from them and then pointed his gun at them, moving one of them to shoot, hitting him in the head. It was later reported that Beaty was carrying a shotgun, which was not loaded, according to the Telegraph. His family has launched a wrongful death suit, suing for $10 million, saying that he was shot from behind. The three officers have been since suspended while the case is investigated. “In Tehran, individuals can express themselves freely, like nowhere else in the world,” Talebzadeh said. After the conference the participants will give talks around Iran, he said, adding that this will be the first of many more visits these individuals will make to the country after this relationship is forged. “During the Obama presidency conditions have worsened for blacks,” Marzieh Hashemi, a Press TV presenter said in an interview about the conference. Hashemi talked about observations she made about race tensions in the U.S. during a recent trip to St. Louis, Missouri to film a documentary about the life of Michael Brown, the unarmed 18-year-old African American who was killed by Darren Wilson, a Ferguson police officer in August 2014. Press TV is the Iran state-run media. “Due to pressure from white supremacists under a white president like George Bush, he was less able to do anything for the black community, but Obama could have done more for the blacks, but he didn’t,” Hashemi said. As the conference kicked off, a Press TV English language article Monday entitled, “Small percentage of US police killings result in conviction,” set the stage, stating: “The number of police officers in the United States charged in deadly shootings has surged to the highest level in a decade this year, but only a small percentage result in convictions, new research shows.” The announcement concluded with another conference organizer drawing correlations between police brutality against blacks in America and the influence of Israel’s “Zionist regime” on America’s most vital infrastructures. “Israeli and American forces are working together. It is evident that the way police treat blacks is identical to the treatment of Palestinians by the Zionist regime in Israel,” Reza Montazami said. “It is my belief that Americans should consider it imperative to start making their own decisions and not allow the Zionists to interfere in important intellectual matters.”