Shaheed Tells the UN Rights Council Deep Reforms Needed
“In order to progress, we must admit that despite existing laws or policies, violations are occurring. And while I can appreciate the possibility that death ...
March 15, 2014
Activist Who Met With Ashton Decries Defamation by Hardliners
Mohammadi told the Campaign, "I have held a pen in my hand for 20 years but never ...
March 15, 2014
“Personal attacks on UN Officials Show Iranians Not Free to Express Opinions,” Says Ahmed Shaheed
Ahmed Shaheed asked the Iranian Government to allow him to visit the country so that he can have discussions ...
March 14, 2014
Abdollah Momeni Released After Completing Five Year Term Without Furlough
Photo from Mr. Momeni's Facebook page shows him among friends and family immediately after release on March 13, 2014. Abdollah Momeni, former Spokesperson for the nationwide ...
March 14, 2014
Human Rights Activist Rejects Criticism of her Meeting with Ashton
"I and a number of women's rights activists were formally invited," to meet Ashton, Mohammadi said. "I saw nothing wrong with the invitation and therefore I accepted it. But what I ...
March 13, 2014
UN Rapporteur Slams Iran for Lack of Judiciary Independence and Execution Surge
For his research the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran interviewed more than 130 individuals in Iran and outside Iran who provided testimonies about human rights abuses, and received written reports ...
March 13, 2014
Joint Letter on Iran to the Human Rights Council
Support Resolution to Renew the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran. March 12, 2014 To: Member States of the Human Rights Council Your Excellency, We, the undersigned human rights ...
March 12, 2014
Paper Close to Revolutionary Guards Doctors Ashton Photo to Erase Image of Torture Victim’s Mother
Almost immediately after EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met with a group of activists in Tehran, Iranian authorities unleashed a barrage of angry remarks and insults about her visit. ...
March 11, 2014
Protesting Dervishes Beaten and Detained
Security agents and police verbally and physically assaulted Gonabadi dervishes before arresting them for their protest gathering outside the Judiciary in Tehran, a protesting dervish told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
March 11, 2014
New Campaign: Ten Days With Bahareh
A group of women and student activists have launched a campaign for the release of Bahareh Hedayat, a symbol of the student movement who has been serving a near-10-year prison sentence at Evin Prison’s Women’s Ward. ...
March 11, 2014
Critical Speech Lands Journalist-Activist in Jail
Iranian authorities arrested a reformist journalist and activist on March 6, one week after he gave a speech criticizing state bodies and authorities. Security forces have transferred Saeed Razavi Faghih, a former member of the Tahkim-e Vahdat student organization’s Central Council, to Rajaee Shahr Prison ...
March 10, 2014
Iranians Report Low Confidence in Justice System, Putting Iran 82nd of 99 Countries
A new report by the World Justice Project indicates Iran’s ranking at 82 among 99 countries measured for what citizens think of their justice system. The WJP Rule of Law Index measures how the rule of law is experienced in everyday life around the globe. ...
March 7, 2014
Release Shafipour, Hedayat, and All Other Women Prisoners of Conscience
As the world prepares to honor and promote the economic, political, and social achievements of women on International Women’s Day, Iran has sentenced yet another young woman, Maryam Shafipour, for her peaceful activities. ...
March 7, 2014
Polish Foreign Minister’s Criticism of Internet Access and Human Rights Censored
The Polish Foreign Ministry has released a video and published a report from Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski’s late February trip to Iran in which he spoke of violations of human rights in Iran. News and videos of the full statements were censored by the ...
March 7, 2014
Arab-Iranian Sunni Converts Arrested
Security agents arrested 20 Arab-Iranians on February 26 in Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, for converting from Shia’ Islam to Sunni, human rights activist Karim Dahimi told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
March 5, 2014
Javad Larijani: “Be Grateful” for Iran’s High Execution Rate
Mohammad Javad Larijani, Head of the Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Council, said on March 4 that Iran’s increased execution rate is a positive marker of Iranian achievement. Instead of criticizing Iran for its increasing number of executions, he said, “our expectation of international organizations and ...
March 5, 2014
Commentary: Rouhani’s Silent Allies
The president’s attempt to embolden his fans did not have the impact he was hoping for. The educated class did not break the silence. Instead, the comments angered “illiterates” who thought they were the subject of his ridicule. ...
March 4, 2014
Cartoon 78: No Movement on House Arrest
More than three years have passed, and yet there is still no sign of movement in the case of government critics Mir ...
March 4, 2014
Maryam Shafipour Sentenced to Seven Years for Strange Charges
A source close to the family of imprisoned student Maryam Shafipour, who was just sentenced to seven years in prison, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that Shafipour received the heavy sentence on strange and irrational charges such as “membership in Facebook,” ...
February 27, 2014
Kurdish Death Row Inmate Hospitalized After Prison Beating
Loghman Moradi was due to appear at Branch 74 of Tehran Province Criminal Court on February 23. That morning agents told him to put on prison clothes in order to be transferred to court. “Loqhman refused to wear prison clothes and said ‘I am a ...
February 26, 2014
Security Council Files Lawsuit Against Conservative Journalist for Critical Articles
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretariat has filed a lawsuit against a conservative journalist for “acting against the resolutions of the Council,” after he published four articles in a Tehran newspaper sharply criticizing Hassan Rouhani’s foreign policy and the Geneva Agreement about Iran’s nuclear program, ...
February 25, 2014
Petition to Lift House Arrest of Green Movement Leaders Gains Signatures
A petition addressed to Hassan Rouhani, president of Iran and head of its Supreme Security Council, requesting the release of Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard from house arrest has gathered more than 13,000 signatures since its online publication on February 12. ...
February 24, 2014
IRGC’s Basij Paramilitary Trains Special Battalions for Crackdown on Potential Protests
In an interview with Dana Website, Mohammad Reza Touyserkani, the representative of the Supreme Leader inside the IRGC’s Basij paramilitary organization, spoke of “special battalions” that have been formed inside the Basij to suppress civil and street protests. ...
February 22, 2014
Aseman Ban Exposes Conservative Intolerance
The independent centrist daily was shut down only after five days and yet its professional style had already created a refreshing buzz in the highly-controlled Iranian media market. The official reason for the shut-down is an article which described the Islamic “qesas” retribution laws as ...
February 20, 2014
Stop Death Sentence in Inquisition Trial
The Iranian Judiciary must rescind the execution sentence of Rouhollah Tavana for trumped-up charges of “insulting the Prophet,” and stop issuing death sentences for ever-expanding categories of crimes, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. ...