Cartoon 136: Iran: Elections Without People’s Representatives
Iranian cartoonist Touka Neyestani's look at the widespread arbitrary disqualifications of female and reformist candidates by the Islamic Republic of Iran's Council of Guardians....
Citizenship Rights Charter
Iranian Artists Call for Immediate Release of Music Distributors
A coalition of Iranian artists have called for the immediate release of three music producers sentenced to six years in prison for promoting underground music in Iran. “This kind of sentencing by the Judiciary is more believable in ...
Internet Freedom in Iran Will Benefit From Sanctions Relief
Increased foreign investment and access to foreign companies’ technology products in Iran now that sanctions against Tehran have been lifted will not only aid the country’s ailing economy, it will also give Internet access a vital boost. Long hampered ...
US-Iran Prisoner Swap Raises Hopes for Iranian-Canadian Prisoners of Conscience in Iran
The release of Iranian-Americans in the recent prisoner exchange between Iran and the United States has given hope to the family of prisoner of conscience Saeed Malekpour that he too might also be freed. “When I ...
Why are Iranian-American Prisoners Released, but Not Iranian Ones?” Father of Imprisoned Blogger Asks
“Why has the Islamic Republic agreed to the release of Iranian-American prisoners but they won’t free our own prisoners who are the children of Iran?” asked Ahmad Ronaghi Maleki, whose son, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki,...
Nobel Peace Laureate Asks Iranian Government to “Make Peace with Its Own People”
While expressing joy at Iran’s recent release of four imprisoned Iranian-Americans, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has called on the Iranian government to “make peace with its own people,” now that it has shown the ...
Faraghdani’s Handshake with Her Lawyer is Not a Crime, Judge Rules
Prisoner of conscience Atena Faraghdani and her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, have been acquitted of “illegitimate relations” for shaking hands during a prison visit. “My daughter was mentally crushed by this accusation but she’s very happy since ...
Hardliners in Iran Moving to Shut Pro-Rouhani Forces Out of Upcoming Parliamentary Elections
Ahmad Jannati, head of Iran’s powerful Guardian Council, in charge of ...
Ageing Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer Should Be Released on Medical Grounds, Wife Says
The wife of the prominent lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh, who has been imprisoned since April 2011 for his work defending human rights and political prisoners in Iran, is hoping the appeal for his release ...
Ailing Imprisoned Journalist Could Face New Charges for Speaking Out against Prison Conditions
Imprisoned journalist Saeed Razavi Faghih has been threatened with retribution for writing letters complaining about abuse inside Rajaee Shahr Prison and could be facing new trumped-up charges. “About a month ago one of the prison authorities threatened my brother and some other prisoners that ...
Release of Iranian Americans Welcomed, Time to Release All Political Prisoners
Steps Towards Reconciliation with the West Are Good but Iran Needs National Reconciliation As Well January 16, 2016—The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomes the long-overdue release today of four Iranian Americans, including Jason Rezaian, the ...
Teachers Union Chief to Go on Trial for Peaceful Labor Activities
No Access to Counsel or Family Visits during 7-Month “Temporary Detention” After nearly seven months of “temporary detention” without access to his lawyer or family visits, Esmail Abdi, Secretary General ...
Reformist Journalist Begins Serving Prison Sentence for Her Writings on Facebook
The well-known reformist journalist Reyhaneh Tabatabaie surrendered herself to Evin Prison authorities on January 12, 2016, to serve a one-year prison sentence. Tabatabaie’s imprisonment follows a string of arrests of journalists and reformists, ...
Sunni Detainees Still Held a Year After Arrest, Reports of Torture and Forced Confessions
A year after the arrest of more than two dozen Sunni Muslim men in southeast Iran, some of them still remain in detention and have reportedly been subjected to torture aimed at ...
Detained Poet Describes Being Transported in a Cage and Watched “Like a Murderer”
Two-Day Ordeal Included Solitary Confinement and Incarceration with Criminals The poet Hila Sedighi, who was arrested and held for two days amidst an intensifying crackdown on independent artistic and cultural figures in Iran, ...
Journalist Resumes Hunger Strike to Protest His Continued Detention
After two months of detention, the prominent reformist journalist and political activist Issa Saharkhiz has resumed his hunger strike, in protest against his ongoing detention at Evin Prison. Mehdi Saharkhiz, told the International ...
Netflix Opening to Iran Ends State Broadcasting’s Decades of Monopoly
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s near total monopoly on the broadcast of film and television series has effectively ended following the January 7, 2016, decision by Netflix to make its vast archive available ...
Popular Telegram Messaging Application Survives Censorship Vote in Iran
State Filtering Body Refuses to Block the Service An official Iranian state censorship body has resisted calls by hardliners in Iran to block the Telegram messaging service, the most popular social media application in ...
Soccer Star Arrested for Online Photos With Women despite Evidence His Account was Hacked
Legal Expert Decries Refusal to Release Sosha Makani on Bail till Investigation is Completed Sosha Makani, Persepolis soccer club goalkeeper and member of the Iranian national soccer team at the 2014 World Cup, was ...
Judiciary Claims No Knowledge of Student Not Heard from Since His Arrest Almost 17 Years Ago
The mother of a student who has not been heard from since soon after his arrest in Tehran in 1999 has dismissed the Iranian Judiciary’s claim that there was no evidence he was ever arrested. Saeed Zeinali ...
Persecution of Christian Converts Continues under Rouhani
Christian is Arrested and Taken to Unknown Location Despite President Hassan Rouhani’s pledges during his election campaign in 2013 that “All ethnicities, all religions, even religious minorities, must feel justice,” the targeting of Christian converts ...
Judge’s Tirade Bodes Poorly for Independent Music Producers in Iran
An Appeals Court judge has admonished collaborators of a popular music site for ignoring repeated warnings that they were operating illegally and having ties with Iranian singers abroad opposed to the Islamic Republic. Mehdi Rajabian, musician/founder of BargMusic, ...
Highest Ranked Woman in Iran’s Government to Sue Extremist Publication
The Iranian government’s most senior female official plans to take legal action against an extremist publication for comparing her to a prostitute. The weekly Ya Lesarat, the mouthpiece of the shadowy, semi-official vigilante group Ansar-e Hezbollah...
Activist’s Health Worsens in Prison As She Awaits Appeal Hearing
A prolonged delay in hearing children’s rights activist Atena Daemi’s appeal against her 14-year prison sentence is causing a serious deterioration in her health, particularly as she has not been able to leave prison for the past ...
Retired Professor, 71, Held in Disease-Ridden Ward, Daughter Says
The daughter of prisoner of conscience Mohammad Hossein Rafiee fears her elderly father is in danger of attracting serious diseases, including HIV, because of a health epidemic in Ward 8 of Evin ...