The head of Iran’s Department of the Environment says her organization is being threatened for its efforts to combat the illegal appropriation of public land and national property.
Massoumeh Ebtekar told ISNA that her department is being threatened by “influential individuals with a personal stake in the appropriation efforts”.
While she did not offer any further details, she stressed that the Department of the Environment will not back down on account of these threats.
She reported that her department’s efforts have retrieved appropriated lands in “Fars Province, in Hormozgan Province, in Minkaleh, Mazandaran and the Varjin protected area in Lavasanat.” She added that these efforts will continue.
The greatest incidence of illegally appropriated public land is in the provinces of Tehran, Alborz Isfahan and the northern provinces.
The judiciary has announced that at least 115,000 proceedings are underway across the country dealing with the illegal appropriation of public lands.
