Downgraded Sentence for Teachers’ Rights Activist Issued Amid Ongoing Prosecution of Labor Leaders
Teachers' rights activist Taher Ghaderzadeh's sign reads: "A teacher's place is in a ...
Free Expression
Political Prisoners Including Swedish Resident Hidden from Ambassadors During Evin Prison Visit
Iranian-born Swedish resident Ahmadreza Djalali and his wife, Vida Mehran-nia. Shortly before Iranian officials took the Swedish and ...
Iranian State Censorship Body Blocks Websites Belonging to Persecuted Sufi Gonabadi Order
State authorities in Iran have blocked access to websites belonging to the Sufi Gonabadi Order to erase the religious minority’s presence on cyberspace, their lawyer told ...
Iran’s Telecommunications Minister Pledges To “Get Rid of” Foreign Social Media Despite Past Failed Attempts
President Hassan Rouhani’s Telecommunications Minister Mahmoud Vaezi has refuted criticism that he has been unwilling to block online content deemed immoral by state authorities and has pledged to “get rid of” foreign-based ...
11 Christian Converts Issued Long Prison Sentences in Iran in Less Than Two Months in Sham Trials
The Holy Savior Cathedral church in Isfahan, Iran. Judge Mashallah Ahmadzadeh on Sentencing Spree Since June 2017 July 20, 2017—The Iranian authorities must immediately halt the disturbing trend of arrests ...
UNESCO 2030 Educational Guidelines Scrapped by Iran Include Essential Protective Measures Against Child Abuse
Religious conservatives in Iran ...
Pro-Rouhani Journalist Tortured by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Acquitted of Anti-State Charges
More than two years after his arrest and torture by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reformist journalist Farzad Pourmoradi, a supporter of President Hassan Rouhani, has been acquitted of the charges laid ...
Details of US Student’s 10-Year Sentence in Iran Reveal Yet Another Arbitrary Prosecution of a Western National
Xiyue Wang, a graduate student in history at Princeton University, has been sentenced to ...
Activist and Mother of Slain Protestor Summoned to Court Same Day Intelligence Minister Denounces Arrests of Activists
Human rights activist Shahnaz Akmali was summoned to court for unspecified charges on the same day the head of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry—the authority that initially arrested her—announced his ...
Staged Visit by Foreign Ambassadors to Iran’s Evin Prison Condemned by Rights Activists
A member of the German embassy enters Evin Prison on a red carpet. Abusive Conditions and Political Prisoners Hidden from Visitors A state-choreographed visit...
Political Prisoner Ali Shariati Tricked Into Ending Hunger Strike With False Promise by Judiciary
Imprisoned civil rights activist Ali Shariati has been denied conditional release despite an earlier promise by judicial officials issued in exchange for him ending his hunger strike ...
Rights Activists Urge Rouhani to Nominate Women to His Cabinet
Asieh Amini, journalist and women’s rights activist. Photo by Javad Montazeri. “If women were given the opportunity, ...
Conservative MPs Pressure Culture Ministry to Ban Films Portraying “Realistic Picture” of Modern Iranian Life
A scene from "Atomic Heart" (2014) Director Ali Ahmadzadeh’s film “Atomic Heart,” about the lives of young, modern ...
Azeri Ethnic Rights Activists Beaten at Peaceful Protest Remain Detained Without Access to Legal Counsel
Iranian police units arrested several ethnic Azerbaijani rights activists at a peaceful protest gathering in Ghaleh Babak in East Azerbaijan Province on June 30, 2017, the Center for Human Rights (CHRI) in Iran has learned. An eyewitness, who ...
Four Christian Converts Sentenced to 10 Years Imprisonment in Trial Lacking Due Process
Three Azeri men from the Republic of Azerbaijan, and one Iranian man--all Protestant Christian converts--have been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Iran, according to Mansour Borji, the ...
Iranian Supreme Court Judge Describes 1988 Mass Executions of Political Prisoners as “Fair and Lawful”
A senior Iranian judicial official has publicly defended the state’s mass executions of political prisoners and extended incarcerations of dissidents in the 1980s. In an interview on July 2, 2017 ...
Telegram App Submits to Russian Registration Requirement. Will it Do the Same in Iran?
The announcement by the CEO of the Telegram messaging application that he has agreed to register his firm in Russia has raised concerns about whether he will do the same in Iran, where the app ...
Detained Pro-Rouhani Telegram Channel Admins Repeatedly Denied Legal Counsel Three Months After Arrests
Mohammad Taher Kanani, the lawyer representing Nima Keshvari, a Telegram channel ...
Iran’s Supreme Leader Comes to Judiciary’s Defense After Rouhani Criticizes Problematic Arrests
Iran’s supreme leader is continuing his public criticism of newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani, this time accusing him of not doing enough to aid the judiciary in protecting ...
Elderly Political Prisoner Repeatedly Issued More Prison Time After Completing Sentences
Iranian judicial authorities are refusing to free an elderly political prisoner who was incarcerated for visiting close family members that are members of a banned opposition group. Ali Moezzi, a 65-year-old ...
Reformist Ally: “Constructive Collaboration” With Iran’s Parliament Will Aid Rouhani’s Policy Battles
Iran’s newly re-elected centrist President Hassan Rouhani should engage in “constructive collaboration” with Parliament to implement his policies amid increasing opposition from powerful hardliners, a reformist politician told the Center for ...
Two Imprisoned Azeri Rights Activists on Hunger Strike in Iran
After being detained for more than one year on unsubstantiated espionage charges, Azeri political activist Habib Sasanian began a hunger strike on June 13, 2017, according to his wife. “They ...
Reformist Former MP: Rouhani Should Stand By His Voters Despite Opposition From Hardliners
Despite a spate of attacks from powerful conservatives, newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani should fulfill the promises he made to the people who voted for him, a reformist former legislator told ...
Reformist Politician: President Rouhani Must Stand Up to Supreme Leader Khamenei’s Hardline Policies
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s ongoing public criticism of President Hassan Rouhani is “rooted in the fact that the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize the people’s vote,” ...