Videos Appear Defending Iranian Presidential Hopeful’s Role in 1988 Prisoner Massacre
Since Ebrahim Raisi announced his candidacy for Iran’s presidency, videos have been appearing online defending the 1988 massacre of thousands of political ...
Free Expression
Iranian Female Soccer Player Publicly Decries Ban For Playing Without Hijab
A professional soccer player who once played for the Iranian women’s national futsal team has publicly spoken out against a ban she says was imposed on her for not wearing the hijab while playing the ...
Iran’s Judiciary Blocks Instagram’s Live Video Service Weeks Before May 2017 Elections
Instagram’s live video feature has been blocked in Tehran by several internet and mobile phone providers since the early afternoon of April 27, 2017, according to investigations ...
Three Young Men to Serve 12 Years in Prison For “Insulting” Social Media Posts
Three 24-year-olds have been sentenced to 12 years in prison each in Iran for posting critical commentary about politics and religion on the popular Telegram ...
Female Former Council Member Advocates For Women Candidates in Iran’s Local Elections
Political parties and factions in Iran should promote more women candidates in the country’s local council elections to improve gender equality, Sedigheh Vasmaghi, a former Tehran city council member, told the Center for ...
Supporters Urge For Release of Ailing Iranian-Americans Siamak and Baquer Namazi Imprisoned in Iran
The American lawyer representing ailing Iranian-Americans Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer, serving 10-year sentences in Iran for unspecified espionage charges, has called for US President Donald Trump to immediately secure their release. “If not resolved ...
Political Commentator and Former Political Activist Released From Evin Prison
Issa Saharkhiz Facing New Trial Reformist political commentator Issa Saharkhiz and former political activist Navid Kamran were released from Evin Prison in Tehran on April 25, 2017, the ...
Iran’s Other Elections: Local Council Applicants Subjected to Arbitrary Vetting
In a surprising development, a few outspoken and prominent political activists have been approved to run in Iran’s elections for city and village councils on May 19, 2017. However, many well-known activists and reformists have been arbitrarily disqualified. ...
Dual National’s Husband Urges UK to Secure Her Release From Iran
Supreme Court Upholds Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Five-Year Prison Sentence The husband of Nazanin-Zaghari Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British citizen imprisoned in Iran since April 2016, is urging the British government to secure her release ...
Former MP: Guardian Council Has “No Legal Authority” to Exclude Religious Minorities From Elections
The Guardian Council’s attempt to ban religious minorities from running in Iran’s nationwide local council elections on May 19, 2017 is unlawful and infringes on their constitutional rights, a former reformist member ...
Student Arrested by Intelligence Ministry Held in Solitary Confinement Without Charge
Payam Shakiba, a political science graduate student at Tehran’s Allameh Tabataba’i University, has been held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison’s Ward 209 since his arrest by the ...
Swedish Resident Held in Evin Prison for One Year Denied Lawyer for Third Time
Ahmadreza Jalali, an Iranian-born Swedish resident detained in Evin Prison since April 2016, has been denied a lawyer of his choosing for the third time, an ...
IRGC Commander Publicly Criticizes Rouhani’s Refusal to Block Telegram Call Service Before Election
One month before Iranians head to the polls, a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has revealed that President Hassan Rouhani opposed pressure ...
Eight Baha’is Arrested Without a Warrant by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and Denied Legal Counsel
Seven Baha’i citizens were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry in Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, southern Iran, on April 18, 2017, an informed source told the Center for Human ...
University Student Groups Decry Security Climate on Campus, Rising Costs and Gender Segregation
Seventy-two student organizations from universities throughout Iran have issued a joint statement asking President Hassan Rouhani to end the security ...
Former MP Urges Iranian Government to “Trust” and Allow Sunnis to Run For President
In the run-up to Iran’s May 19, 2017 presidential election, a Sunni Muslim former member of Parliament has renewed his call for members of his faith to be allowed to run ...
Iranian Judiciary Blocks Popular Telegram App’s New Voice Call Service
Iran’s judiciary has ordered internet companies to block the Telegram messaging application’s newly released “Voice Calls” service, calling it a threat to national security, the Center ...
Low Female Participation Rate in Iranian Elections Symptom of Gender Inequality
Women's rights advocate Nahid Tavasoli is the editor-in-chief of Nafe, an academic women’s periodical. The low number of female participants in Iranian elections is an indicator of inequality in the political, social and cultural fabric of the ...
Iranian Media Banned From Covering Ahmadinejad’s May 2017 Presidential Campaign
Iranian media outlets have been ordered to stop reporting on former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s third presidential campaign for the country’s May 19, 2017 election. The Center for Human Rights in ...
Cartoon 166: From Executioner to Presidential Hopeful
The presidential bid of ultra-conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi has been strongly criticized by supporters of human rights. In 1988, Raisi was appointed to a special commission that sent thousands of political prisoners to their deaths by ...
“Be My Daughter’s Voice,” Pleads Mother of Hunger-Striking Activist Serving Seven Years
Imprisoned children and human rights activist Atena Daemi has been stricken with a kidney infection nine days after going on ...
International Law Expert Denounces Iranian Presidential Bid of Rights Violator Ebrahim Raisi
The candidacy of Ebrahim Raisi in Iran’s May 19 presidential election “shows great contempt for human rights, the rights of the ...
Nasrin Sotoudeh: Investigate Iranian Presidential Hopeful Ebrahim Raisi for 1988 Mass Executions
Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and former political prisoner Nasrin Sotoudeh has strongly criticized the candidacy of Ebrahim Raisi...
Reformists Barred From Isfahan’s May 19 By-Election for Parliament
After disqualifying the initial reformist winner, Iran’s conservative Guardian Council has now barred most reformist candidates from running in the second-round election for Isfahan’s vacant parliamentary seat. The vote will occur when Iranians ...
Ailing Former Political Activist Held Without Charge by Intelligence Ministry
Former political activist Majid Asadi has been detained without charge in Evin Prison’s Ward 209 under the control of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry ...