Exiled Members of Sufi Gonabadi Dervish Order Told to “Repent” or Serve Life in Prison
The sentences of a lifetime in exile issued against Mohammad Ali Shamshirzan and Hamid Arayesh of the Sufi order in Iran known as Gonabadi Dervishes ...
Assembly / Association
Attorney Calls Out Local Governor For “Empty” Promises to Iran’s “Kulbar” Border Couriers
An attorney representing Iranian border couriers, “kulbar” in Farsi, has criticized a local governor in northwestern Iran for making “unreasonable” and “empty” promises of financial assistance to the impoverished, unlicensed tradesmen. On ...
Iranian Bus Drivers and Activists Express Solidarity with Imprisoned Labor Activist Reza Shahabi
Update: With assurances from a senior official, labor activist Reza Shahabi ended his hunger strike in Rajaee Shahr Prison on September 27, 2017, after nearly two months of refusing food. “Reza announced the end of his hunger strike when a senior security official, in the presence of his family, promised to ...
Iranian Teachers’ Rights Activist Facing 14 Years Behind Bars for Peaceful Advocacy
Imprisoned teacher’s rights activist Mahmoud Beheshti-Langroudi is facing 14 years behind bars in Iran after the confirmation of his latest prison sentence, his son told the Center for ...
Freed Iranian Baha’i Leader Mahvash Sabet Describes Unjust Trial, Prison Conditions
“We never betrayed our country and never will.” Mahvash Sabet, a leader of Iran’s persecuted Baha’i faith who was released from Evin Prison on September 18, 2017 after completing a 10-year sentence, said she was convicted of espionage charges despite non-existent evidence. “There were seven charges against us,” she ...
Workers Peacefully Demanding Unpaid Wages Beaten and Arrested by Anti-Riot Police in Iranian City of Arak
“Poor workers don’t deserve to be beaten.” Anti-riot police forces stormed peaceful protests by workers at two industrial units in Arak, the capital of Iran’s Central Province, on September 19, 2017, and arrested several people, ...
Pro-Rouhani Activist Arrested on Heels as Iranian President’s Trip to New York for the UNGA
Update: Siavash Hatam was released on bail on September 27, 2017, 10 days after he was detained. Siavash Hatam, who has served time as a political prisoner for engaging ...
Baha’i Leader Released from Prison in Iran After 10 Years; Six Other Baha’i Leaders Remain Behind Bars
Mahvash Sabet Finally Free But State-led Persecution of Baha’i Community Continues September 18, 2017—The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) welcomes the release of the Baha’i leader, Mahvash Sabet, who was unjustly imprisoned in ...
Rouhani’s Broken Promises
Iranian President Rouhani is scheduled to speak this week at the 2017 UNGA in New York, but he won't mention his Broken Promises....
Iranian Journalist Gets Cancer After Being Denied Medical Care in Evin Prison
Iranian journalist Alireza Rajaee lost an eye and part of his face after his sinus cancer was left untreated as a political prisoner in Evin Prison....
Rouhani’s Intelligence Ministry is Keeping Prominent Rights Lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani in Prison, Says Daughter
Abdolfattah Soltani's daughter, Maede Soltani. Abdolfattah Soltani, who spent most of his legal career defending political prisoners before becoming ...
Imprisoned Teacher’s Rights Activist: I am Legally Entitled to a Public Trial
Iranian labor rights activist Mahmoud Beheshti-Langroudi. An Iranian imprisoned teachers’ rights activist is pledging to go on hunger strike until his ...
Iranian Labor Activist Peacefully Rejects New Prison Sentence
Labor activist Ali Nejati is refusing to serve a six-month prison sentence for engaging in lawful protests against one of Iran’s largest agro-industrial companies near the city of Shush in ...
Iranian VP for Women’s Affairs Calls Ban on Females in Sports Stadiums “Discrimination”
Three days after Iranian women were barred from entering a stadium in Tehran to watch an international soccer match, President Hassan Rouhani’s top female adviser described the ban as discriminatory. ...
Iranian Union Considers Mass Strike as Imprisoned Labor Activist’s Condition Deteriorates
An Iranian union is considering a mass strike to protest a prominent labor activist being returned to prison to serve an additional year behind bars two years after he ...
Iran’s Supreme Leader Forbids Discrimination Against Minorities in Rare Outreach to Sunnis
Iranian Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has expressed opposition to “discrimination and inequality” against ...
Rouhani Government Remains on Sidelines Amid House Arrest Controversy
The government of President Hassan Rouhani continues to avoid taking the initiative to resolve the six-and-a-half-year extrajudicial house arrests of ailing opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi, Mir ...
Iran Columnist Serving 10 Years Protests Illegal Prison Sentence Extension
Afarin Chitsaz’s Mother Also Receives Prison Sentence Imprisoned newspaper columnist Afarin Chitsaz has gone on hunger strike to protest the illegal extension of her two-year prison sentence that was scheduled to end ...
Journalist Loses Eye and Part of His Face to Cancer Untreated While in Prison
Journalist Alireza Rajaee loses an eye due to denied medical treatment for cancer during imprisonment. Iran’s Systematic ...
Imprisoned Labor Activist on Hunger Strike Needs Hospital Treatment, Wife Says
Reza Shahabi and his wife in their home grocery store. Three weeks on hunger strike in Rajaee Shahr ...
Critically Ill Political Prisoner Refused Medical Leave with One Month Left to Serve on Sentence
The lawyer for ailing political prisoner Ehsan Mazandarani has requested his client spend the month remaining for the completion of his sentence on medical leave but so ...
Pro-Rouhani and Reformist Social Media Admins Sentenced to Prison in Iran
Six administrators of Iranian reformist political channels on the Telegram messaging network have been sentenced to terms ranging from two to five years in prison. According to a verdict issued ...
Security Forces Exit Mehdi Karroubi’s Home, As Pledged By Government
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry agents retreated from inside opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi’s home in Tehran on August 29, a day before he was discharged from hospital, his son told the Center for ...
Education Ministry Withdraws Discriminatory Hiring Guideline
The Iranian Education Ministry is revising its hiring guideline which disqualifies or discourages several classes of citizens from being employed as teachers. The guideline...
In Letter to Judge, Iranian-American Demands Freedom for Himself and Wife
Art Gallery Owners Karan Vafadari and Afarin Neyssari Held on Baseless Charges More Than One Year Without Trial Detained Iranian-American art dealer Karan Vafadari has written a letter ...