| UN Guterres
Serviced Iran Asset Afrasiabi Who Worked
For Branch of UN Now US Trades Him
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
EDNY COURT / UN
GATE, Sept 18 – 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withdrawn from the Federal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.
Now he is one of
the five released / traded by
the US Administration, along
with unfreezing $6 billion,
for Siamak Namazi, Emad
Shargi, Morad Tahbaz, and two
other U.S. citizens. Inner
City Press had already
reported Afrasiabi's inclusion
- and its confirmation of his
role - but now on September
18, 2023 in the docket it is
confirmed: "MOTION for Leave
to File Document cancelling
the trial date and seeking
other relief by Kaveh Lotfolah
Afrasiabi." And Guterres is
set to meet / celebrate with
Raisi hours later.
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."
Then on September
15, just as quietly: "Dear
Judge Korman, I write as
stand-by counsel to Dr.
Afrasiabi to inform the Court
that Dr. Afrasiabi has decided
to decline the government’s
plea offer. Accordingly, I ask
that this case no longer be
referred to Magistrate Judge
Reyes for a change of plea
hearing."
On September 23,
one more week given to
reconsider: "Minute Entry for
proceedings held before Judge
Eric N. Vitaliano:Status
Conference as to Kaveh
Lotfolah Afrasiabi held on
9/23/2022 via Video
Conference. Counsel for
parties present. While the
defendant informed the Court
that he has declined the
government's plea offer [148],
after today's discussion, the
Court allows 1 week for him to
reconsider and avoid
trial. Because the
purpose of the delay is to
allow discussions to take
place that could eliminate the
necessity for a trial, the
Court finds that the
considerations underlying the
Speedy Trial Act are
outweighed by the interests of
justice and the time is
excluded. Next status
conference scheduled for
9/30/2022 at 1pm. The
Court denies the defendant's
[147] MOTION in Limine seeking
a ruling on whether the
Iranian mission to the UN is a
"foreign principal" or
"foreign government.'"
On October
6, 2022 Judge Korman held a
conference and asked, What do
you want to do, Mr. Afrasiabi?
He said, I cannot
take the plea. I'll set a
trial date.
He said, January
9.
The Federal
Defender stand-by counsel said
she is on trial in the SDNY
January 3 for a month.
Afrasiabi asked
to push it to May. Judge
Korman said, No. He is trying
to assign the case to another
judge. He said, This is
simple, he wrote articles, he
was paid by Iran and knew he
was supposed to register.
Afrasiabi sputtered that his
articles were not for the
"humanitarian assistance." How
very UN.
Hours later, the
case was reassisgned to the
EDNY Judge currently hearing
the US v. Barrack UAE agent
case: " ORDER REASSIGNING CASE
as to Kaveh Lotfolah
Afrasiabi. Reassigned to Judge
Brian M. Cogan. Judge Edward
R. Korman no longer assigned
to the case. Please download
and review the Individual
Practices of the assigned
Judges, located on our
website. Attorneys are
responsible for providing
courtesy copies to judges
where their Individual
Practices require such.
Ordered by Chief Judge Margo
K. Brodie on 10/6/2022."
On October 11, a
trial date was set: "NOTICE OF
SCHEDULING: as to Kaveh
Lotfolah Afrasiabi: Jury
Selection set for 5/15/2023
before a Magistrate Judge,
with Jury Trial to follow
immediately thereafter before
Judge Brian M. Cogan. Pretrial
Conference set for 5/9/2023 at
04:45 PM in Courtroom 8D South
before Judge Brian M. Cogan."
Watch this site.
This in the
same EDNY courthouse where Tom
Barrack is on trial on UAE (as
foreign principal) charges.
Inner City Press is covering
that case too.
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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