Young Kurdish Activist’s Mother: “My son is dying in prison”
Prisoner of conscience Afshin Sohrabzadeh, 27, is suffering from cancer in Minab Prison in southern Iran and could die from internal bleeding if he does not receive outside ...
Assembly / Association
Concerts of Popular Iranian Musicians Canceled Due to Pressure from Religious Conservatives
Two of Iran’s top musicians have been prevented from performing in the city of Neyshabour and other locations in northeastern Khorasan Razavi Province by the local prosecutor. The ...
Iran Judiciary Vows to Punish Former President’s Daughter for Upholding Baha’i Rights
Faezeh Hashemi, Daughter of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Criticized for Meeting with Baha’i Leader A high-ranking member of the Iranian Judiciary has said that action will be taken against ...
Iran’s Fashion Industry under Assault; Details of Arrests of Models by Revolutionary Guards Surface
Eight Arrests and Scores Interrogated in "Project Spider 2" May 17, 2016—Eight people working in Iran’s fashion industry have been arrested and formally charged in an industry wide crackdown ...
Women Prevented from Attending Iran’s Premier League Finale
Ban on Women in Stadiums Upheld Under President Rouhani Iranian women were once again blocked from attending a major public sports event alongside men as the police ...
French Foreign Ministry Staffer with Dual Citizenship Awaits Appeal on Prison Sentence in Iran
Nazak Afshar, an employee of France’s Foreign Ministry who holds Iranian and French citizenship, is awaiting a ruling on her appeal against a six-year prison sentence issued by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court on unspecified charges. Afshar is a former staff member ...
Imprisoned Political Activist, Currently Appealing 21-Year Sentence, Denied Adequate Medical Care
Prisoner of conscience Amir Amirgholi, who has appealed the 21-year prison sentence he was issued earlier this year in 2016, has been denied medical treatment outside the prison for severe pancreatitis, his ...
Imprisoned Spiritual Leader Slapped with New Charges Upon Completing Sentence
Mohammad Ali Taheri, an imprisoned spiritual leader who was supposed to be freed more than two months ago after completing a five-year prison sentence, has again been charged ...
Imprisoned Teacher on Hunger Strike Sent Home After Hospitalization
The imprisoned teachers’ union activist, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, has been released from hospital and sent home after a 22-day hunger strike. Beheshti Langroudi was ...
Husband of Iranian-British Citizen Held in Iran Calls Her Detainment “Outrageous” and “Cruel”
“I have no idea how a young woman with a baby could be a danger to national security.” The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual citizen who has been detained in Iran without legal representation for ...
Iranian Political Prisoners Turn to Life-Threatening Hunger Strikes to Protest Unjust Sentences
Teacher’s Rights Activist Hospitalized The imprisoned spokesman of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, was hospitalized on May 8, 2016 after ...
Sexual Molestation Case Involving 9-Year-Old Exposes Iran’s Weak Child Protection Laws
The family of a nine-year-old girl from a village in northwestern Iran has vowed to pursue legal action against the well-connected male teacher who sexually molested her. ...
Baha’i Victim of Land Confiscation by Iranian Government Speaks Out
Photo caption: Ziaollah Motearefi’s farm was featured in the documentary film, "The Green Desert,” which was posted on YouTube on February 29, 2016. Towards the end of the film, Motearefi mentions that his land was taken ...
Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer’s Daughter: Help My Father Before It’s Too Late
Abdolfattah Soltani’s Condition Deteriorates; Needs Urgent Hospitalization Abdolfattah Soltani, an imprisoned human rights lawyer, requires immediate hospitalization following his most recent transfer to Evin Prison’s ...
Iranian Journalists Face Growing Threats and Intimidation by Authorities
Tactics Meant to Sow Fear among Independent Journalists in Wake of Reformists’ Parliamentary Election Gains Iran’s Intelligence Ministry officials are increasingly harassing and threatening independent journalists in an apparent move to dissuade ...
Young Artist Who Lampooned Iranian MPs Released From Prison
Atena Faraghdani Served 18 Months for Her Facebook Cartoons Artist and civil rights activist Atena Faraghdani was released from Evin Prison on May 3, 2016, a ...
Teacher’s Union Leader Conditionally Released on Parole
Teacher’s rights activist Rassoul Bodaghi, who was imprisoned in Iran for six years for his peaceful labor activism, was conditionally released on April 29, 2016. His ...
Female Journalist, Sentenced to Ten Years, Beaten in Iran Prison
Mother of Afarin Chitsaz’s Describes Brutality Aimed at Forcing a “Confession” The mother of imprisoned newspaper columnist Afarin Chitsaz will make a judicial ...
Imprisoned Teacher Begins Hunger Strike to Protest Years Behind Bars for Peaceful Union Activities
Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, a teacher and activist who was sentenced to five years in prison and an additional four-year suspended prison sentence during a trial that lasted less than eight minutes, ...
Revolutionary Guards Going after Family Members of Iranian Journalists Living Abroad
Brother of Journalist Sentenced to Five Years in Prison In a long-established practice of targeting the family members of Iranian journalists who live outside Iran, the Revolutionary Guards have ...
Four Iranian Rights Activists Summoned to Appear Together at Appeals Court
Rights activists Omid Alishenas, Atena Daemi, Ali Nouri and Aso Rostami have been summoned to appear together at an Appeals Court in ...
Journalists in Iran Slapped with Long Prison Sentences
Three journalists and the brother of a journalist have been given prison sentences ranging from five to ten years after spending months in detention, the lawyer representing two of the individuals told the International ...
Public Outcry in Iran Over Plan for Increased Morality Police Prompts Review
Deploying 7,000 undercover morality police in Tehran contradicts the principle of the presumption of innocence, Iranian lawyer Ali Rambod told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “We should move towards interpreting laws on the basis ...
Revolutionary Guards’ Cyber Attacks Now Directed at Rouhani Cabinet Members
IRGC Actively Recruiting Technical Experts to Staff New Hacking Team April 26, 2016—Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who have long waged cyber attacks against the country’s activists and journalists, have extended their hacking attacks to Rouhani ...
Prominent Human Rights Defender Narges Mohammadi Goes on Trial Behind Closed Doors
The trial of human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, postponed four times since its original date of May 3, 2015, finally began on April 20, 2016 at Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. ...