Filmmaker’s Family Blocked From Boarding Flight in Tehran: “Iran is Sick and Making Everyone Sick”
Filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi poses for a photo beside his mother Iran Hamzehie. Several members of internationally acclaimed filmmaker Bahman ...
September 23, 2019
“His Health is Deteriorating” Imprisoned US Navy Vet Undergoes Melanoma Operation in Iran
Imprisoned American navy veteran Michael White is in poor health after undergoing an operation to remove his melanoma in the Iranian city of Mashhad, his family’s spokesman told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “He’s ...
September 20, 2019
Audio Message From Gharchak Prison Reveals Intense Pressure on Labor Activist Sepideh Qoliyan
Mehdi Qoliyan Acquitted of All Charges After Violent Home Raid On September 14, 2019, the BBC aired an audio file containing the voice of labor activist Sepideh Qoliyan saying that she was pressured to make a ...
September 18, 2019
No Budget or Implementation: Rouhani Government Fails to Implement Disability Rights Law
People with disabilities and activists in Iran signed petitions and held several rallies in 2019 to protest the government's unlawful refusal to allocate a budget for the implementation of the Law to Protect the Rights of the ...
September 17, 2019
Detained Iranian-British Anthropologist Says Charges Based on Government-Approved Research
Kameel Ahmady Was Held in Solitary Confinement for Nearly a Month, Detention Order Extended Held in solitary confinement since being arrested in Tehran on August 11, 2019, Iranian-British anthropologist Kameel Ahmady will remain in detention for a ...
September 6, 2019
Female Political Prisoners To Serve Additional Two Years For “Insulting” Supreme Leader
Political prisoners Atena Daemi and Golrokh Iraee Ebrahimi have ...
September 5, 2019
15 Iran MPs Urge New Judiciary Chief to Stop Renewed Crackdown on Freedom of Speech
During a speech addressing Iran’s legislature, member of Parliament (MP) Parvaneh Salahshouri strongly criticized the recent crackdown on journalists and workers’ rights advocates and called on recently appointed Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi to uphold ...
September 4, 2019
Authorities Ignored Serious Mental Health Condition of Defendant Who Set Herself on Fire Outside Courthouse
A 29-year-old woman set herself on fire outside a Tehran courthouse reportedly after hearing that she would have to serve six months in prison after being arrested while trying to ...
August 30, 2019
Prisoners in Iran’s Gharchak Prison for Women Protest Inhumane Living Conditions
Prison Fails to Meet UN’s Minimum Standards for Treatment of Prisoners Two hundred inmates in Ward 5 of Gharchak Prison for women in the Iranian city of Varamin have sent an open letter to the head of the State ...
August 29, 2019
At Least 13 Signers of Open Letters Urging Khamenei’s Resignation Are Arrested
Demonstrating the Iranian authorities’ continued intolerance for peaceful dissent, two open letters written since June 2019 by 28 political and civil rights activists urging Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to step down have led to the arrest ...
August 29, 2019
No Family Visits or Lawyer Allowed for Detained Anthropologist Kameel Ahmady Two Weeks Into Detention
Wife’s Requests for Charges and Medical Examination Go Unanswered After more than two weeks in detention, Iranian-British social anthropologist Kameel Ahmady has not had any contact with his family except three phone calls, the Center for Human ...
August 28, 2019
Blind Man’s Life-Threatening Fall Highlights Iran’s Lacking Safety Measures for People With Disabilities
Public transportation, roads, and buildings are frequently inaccessible in Iran, leading to increased accidents and isolation for people with disabilities. News of severe injuries sustained by a blind man who fell ...
August 28, 2019
Journalist Sentenced to 10.5 Years Imprisonment for Covering Labor Day Rally
Four months after being arrested while covering a Labor Day protest, Journalist Marzieh Amiri has been sentenced to 10.5 years in prison and 148 lashes by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh. If ...
August 28, 2019
Iran Cracks Down on Instagram Celebrities
Instagram influencers in Iran are being forced to censor their posts and give their account passwords to intelligence agents amid a renewed crackdown on freedom of expression and speech. Investigations by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) indicate that dozens of Iranians with ...
August 27, 2019
Iranian Authorities Force Detained Photographer to Threaten Activist With Eerie Voice Message
Nooshin Jafari Detained and Used as Bait to Gain Control Over Anti-Government Twitter Account A tearful audio message containing the voice of Nooshin Jafari, a photographer held under close supervision in an undisclosed section of Tehran’s Evin ...
August 26, 2019
Iran Sentences Satirist Keyomars Marzban to 23 Years Imprisonment
Marzban’s Only “Crime” Was Working for Foreign Media Outlets He Must Serve 11 Years if Appeals Court Upholds Sentence Before Eligibility for Parole Satirist Keyomars Marzban has been sentenced to 23.3 years in prison in Iran for ...
August 21, 2019
British Council Employee’s 10-year Prison Sentence Upheld Without a Hearing
The 10-year prison sentence issued against British Council employee Aras Amiri was upheld on August 18, 2019, without a hearing, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. “In order to expedite cases, [Judiciary Chief] ...
August 21, 2019
Iran Releases Detained Stadium Ban Protesters as Hardliners Cheer on Discriminatory Policy
Four women arrested by agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on August 17, 2019, for trying to enter Azadi Stadium in Tehran to watch a men’s soccer game were released on bail from ...
August 16, 2019
Six-Year Prison Sentence Upheld Against Journalist Who Was Denied Right to Fair Trial
An Appeals Court in Tehran has upheld a six-year prison sentence against political affairs journalist Hamed Aynehvand without holding a hearing, his lawyer, Hossein Bayat, informed the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on August 13, ...
August 16, 2019
Iran Cracks Down on Instagram Celebrities as It Tightens Noose on Freedom of Speech and Expression
Investigations by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) indicate that dozens of Iranians with large followings on Instagram—including athletes, fashion models and actors—were summoned by security officials in 2019 and in some cases charged with ...
August 15, 2019
“Why Should We Be Silent?” Colleagues Condemn Photographer’s Unjust Detention
Film and theater photographer Nooshin Jafari has been detained at an undisclosed ...
August 13, 2019
Female Plaintiff’s Battle to Get a Motorcycle License Exposes Arbitrary Restrictions on Women in Iran
In response to a complaint by a woman from the city of Isfahan, Branch 1 of Iran’s Administrative Justice Court ruled that the traffic police’s refusal to issue motorcycle driving licenses to women is unlawful. However, due to ...
August 12, 2019
Supporters of Detained Workers’ Rights Activists Arrested Outside Courthouse
The family of labor activist Roham Yeganeh has not heard from him since he was arrested in front of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on August 3, 2019, his mother, Atieh Nouri, told the Center for Human Rights ...
August 9, 2019
Disability Rights Activists Urge Apple to Allow Persian Speakers to Access VoiceOver Screen Reader
Apple’s screen reader technology enables blind and low-vision people to ...
August 8, 2019
Detained Conservationists Niloufar Bayani and Sepideh Kashani on Hunger Strike
Wildlife conservationists Niloufar Bayani and Sepideh Kashani have been detained in Iran without due ...