A Nowruz Message from Shirin Neshat
As we approach Nowruz and all its promise of a new beginning, the renowned visual artist Shirin Neshat brings a message of hope for Iran, and asks you ...
ART, CULTURE, SOCIETY
February 10, 2022
100+ Academics Across Globe Sign Letter Protesting Firing of Professors in Iran
Professors “Unjustly Dismissed” from Iranian Institutions for “Political Reasons” Universities Not Escaping Intensifying Repression in Islamic Republic In yet another reflection of intensifying repression in the Islamic Republic, a large group of prominent scholars and academics from around ...
January 20, 2022
Interview: Mina Khani on the “Serious Ramifications” for Women in Iran’s New Population Growth Law
Mina Khani is an author and active member of Iran's women's and civil rights movements. A ...
January 11, 2022
Imprisoned Journalist Keyvan Samimi is Being Led to His Death
The life of veteran journalist and political activist Keyvan Samimi is in danger as he continues to be unlawfully kept behind bars in Tehran’s Evin Prison despite state officials’ recommendations that he be released to receive treatment for serious health problems ...
January 8, 2022
Iranian Poet Baktash Abtin Dies After Being Arbitrarily Detained in Iran
Abtin, Jailed for Dissent, is Second Political Prisoner to Die in Iran in First Week of 2022 January 8, 2022 – The death of Iranian poet Baktash Abtin today in Tehran after contracting COVID-19 in ...
January 3, 2022
Writer in Coma, Another Political Prisoner Dead after Unjust Imprisonment in Iran
Baktash Abtin (left) and Adel Kianpour (right). Concerns Mount for Prisoners Under Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i COVID-19 in Crowded Jails and Routine Denial of Medical Treatment Put All at Risk Jan 3, 2022 ...
October 29, 2021
Raisi Government to Launch Religious “Vice-Prevention” Courses, Paramilitary “Community Patrols”
Two months after the inauguration of ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s state-run Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice organization has announced plans to launch religious college-level courses dedicated to the ...
September 29, 2021
Imprisoned Iranian Writers Among Countless Who’ve Been Jailed for Dissent
The Iranian government’s intolerance of dissent has resulted in systemic suppression of freedom of expression. To prevent the free flow of information and views, Iranian courts work with the intelligence-security establishment to identify civil rights activists, writers, journalists, ...
August 30, 2021
The Life of an Iranian Child Bride: An Animation by Marjan Farsad
By the age of eleven, “Raha” already had seven children. Married off to a man five times her age, she was in poor health when her situation was accidentally discovered in the Iranian city ...
August 24, 2021
Fact Sheet: LGBTQ Community in Iran Faces Deadly Violence and Severe Rights Abuses
Persecution and Discrimination by State and Society Pervades Daily Life August 26, 2021—In a new LGBTQ Fact Sheet published today by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), the extreme rights violations and deadly violence perpetrated ...
August 5, 2021
Musician Marjan Farsad’s New Song Pays Tribute to Iranian Political Prisoners
“My Song is About Stars That Go Missing Every Night” August 5, 2021 – Iranian American musician and songwriter Marjan Farsad released a new song today about political prisoners in Iran, a country where people ...
August 5, 2021
Q&A with Musician Marjan Farsad: “My Hope is for All Political Prisoners to Be Freed”
Editor’s Note: The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) conducted the following interview with Iranian American musician Marjan Farsad ahead of the release of her new song, “Mahtab” (Moonlight), which was produced by ...
March 31, 2021
Iran’s Intelligence Establishment is Spreading Propaganda Through Films and TV
Intelligence agencies in Iran are increasingly using state-funded entertainment productions to spread state propaganda and improve their image among the public, according to research by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi boasted about the ...
March 15, 2021
“Art for Change” Prints by Shirin Neshat, Kour Pour, Arghavan Khosrav to Benefit Center for Human Rights in Iran
Shirin Neshat film still from "Land of Dreams" signed and numbered limited ...
March 9, 2021
For Translating a Book About Syria, Arash Ganji Must Serve 5 Years in an Iranian Prison
Arash Ganji, a translator and secretary of the board of directors of the Iranian Writers Association (IWA), must serve five years of an 11-year prison sentence that was ...
December 9, 2020
Beautiful Holiday Gift: A Book of Illustrations and Essays on Human Rights
The book, published by the Center for Human Rights in Iran, highlights the days set aside by the international community for reflection and action on rights that are fundamental to the human condition—and the struggle for these rights in Iran. Days to Remember is not only ...
December 4, 2020
Iranian Authorities Go After More Members of Writers Association
Poet Amin Moradi Detained, Arash Ganji Released on Bail Manufactured National Security Charges Used to Silence Free Expression In yet another blow to the Iranian Writers Association, an independent group formed in Iran in 1968 to ...
November 24, 2020
A Special Holiday Sale: Persian-Inspired Designs to Support Human Rights
Shop this sale online at: https://www.amirtaghi.com/day-of-giving Shop for your holiday gifts AND support human rights! The Center for Human Rights in Iran announces its Virtual Holiday Sale ...
October 7, 2020
Prominent Iranian Writers Sent to Prison for Peaceful Dissent
Six-year and Three-year Sentences Begin for Senior Iranian Writers Association Members Lawyer: “These sentences are without legal and judicial merit. They are only political rulings” Prominent members of the Iranian Writers Association (IWA) have begun serving prison sentences ...
October 6, 2020
“We Must Not be Silent” Watch the New “Nasrin” Documentary
Available for viewing within the U.S. at the Globe Docs Film Festival from October 1-12, 2020, "Nasrin" is a new feature documentary about one of the world’s most courageous human rights activists and political prisoners, Iranian attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh--and ...
September 30, 2020
A Conversation with the Director and Producers of the New Documentary, “Nasrin”
Nasrin, a new documentary scheduled for its world premiere on October 1, 2020, tells the important and fascinating story of Nasrin Sotoudeh, the imprisoned human rights lawyer who has endured years behind bars for defending ...
June 30, 2020
Designer Amir Taghi Donates Net Proceeds from Mask Sales to Center for Human Rights in Iran
This July, Support CHRI by Purchasing Masks from Amir Taghi's Fashion Line June 30, 2020 – The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) is pleased to announce that Iranian American fashion designer Amir Taghi is generously ...
March 12, 2020
“They Want to Create Fear” More Artists Summoned to Prison Amid Iran’s Rising COVID-19 Death Toll
In addition to renowned filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, three members of the Iranian Writers Association (IWA)—Baktash Abtin, Reza Khandan Mahabadi and Keyvan Bajan—have been summoned to prison as other inmates are being reportedly released to ...
December 9, 2019
Interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: Iranian Art in the Shadow of a Crackdown
Violent state repression of protests in Iran is not unique, yet the lethal means government forces used to repress recent protests that broke out across dozens of cities reached new heights this year, resulting in at least 208 deaths between November ...
November 11, 2019
200 Film Personalities Condemn Censorship in Iran: “Our Profession Has Been Under Attack”
More than 200 members of Iran’s film industry signed an open letter dated November 2, 2019, condemning state censorship and demanding “freedom of expression and thought” in the Islamic Republic. Most of the signatories are based in Iran including Jafar ...