During his 2013 presidential campaign, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani promised to uphold the “rights of the people” enumerated in the country’s constitution. Millions of his supporters demanded social and political rights, including the release of political prisoners from prison and house ...
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani should take concrete steps to curb widespread human rights abuses by the government of Iran and reinstate the rule of law in the country, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. ...
On August 11, President Hassan Rouhani appointed Elham Aminzadeh to the post of Vice President for Legal Affairs, touting her “scientific, legal, and legislative qualifications and credentials.” Though some activists have welcomed her appointment after much criticism of Rouhani’s all-male cabinet, many are concerned about her history of denying human rights abuses. ...
With the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the death sentences of four young Arab men from Ahvaz on charges of “moharebeh” (enmity with God) and “corruption on earth,” the prisoners are currently in danger of imminent execution at Karoon Prison in Ahvaz. The four Arab citizens and their families were informed of the Supreme Court’s ...
Since the arrests of several Khuzestan Province civil activists in Ahvaz in April, no information has been available on the conditions of Adel Seymari, Majid Bavi, and Mohammad Jaberi, a source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
Ahmad Tamouee, a Kurdish political prisoner at Rajaee Shahr Prison, ended an illegal exile this week when he was first summoned by the Sentence Enforcement Unit and then transferred to Orumiyeh Prison on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 17, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
After 37 days of lawyer Massoud Shamsinejad’s detention, Branch 5 of Orumiyeh Special Crimes Courts informed him of political charges against him, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Shamsinejad, an Orumiyeh lawyer who has represented many Kurdish political prisoners, has been charged with “supporting Kurdish parties,” “contacting foreign media,” ...
One month after the arrest of three Christian converts in Isfahan, their conditions remain unknown and there is no news about their fate. According to reports from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran’s sources, since the May 29 arrests of Mohammad Reza Farid, Saeed Safi, and Hamid Reza Ghadiri, their families have been ...
A lower court ruling in the Kahrizak case issued yesterday indicates that the three suspects in the case were permanently dismissed from judicial positions, and further dismissed from government employment for five years. To the astonishment of observers, Saeed Mortazavi, the prime suspect in the case, was acquitted from the charge of “participation in murder,” ...
In recent years, many Iranian musicians have left Iran in search of the freedom to create without censorship or fear of punishment for their work. Some have ended up in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region, which is known for its relative stability and security. There they can perform and release music without having to get government ...
On the morning of June 10, eight Sunni prisoners at Rajaee Shahr Prison were asked to confess to certain actions for a documentary film, a source familiar with conditions of religious minority prisoners at the prison told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The source said that agents from Ministry of Intelligence told ...
At Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj, 20 Sunni prisoners, facing charges such as “acting against national security” for their proselytizing activities, have been convicted of “moharebeh” [enmity with God], a capital crime, and face an unsuitable atmosphere in prison where they are constantly disrespected by prison forces for their beliefs, a source with knowledge of ...
In a report issued May 21, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights found that Baha’is face “widespread and entrenched discrimination” in Iran, particularly in employment and education. The report also covered several other pressing human rights issues in Iran, including discrimination against women and ethnic minorities, as well as the lack of ...
At least 100 new IRGC forces have been stationed in the Kurdish border regions in Western Iran in recent weeks, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The forces are engaged in patrolling the area and setting up inspection posts, which have limited local traffic into the mountain regions, as ...
Several Mahabad citizens arrested in February have been released on bail from Mahabad Prison over the past several weeks, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Two detainees, Farough Samani and his cousin Reza Samani, however, remain in “temporary detention” in a state of limbo. Another Kurdish citizen, Khedr Rasoul ...
A Kurdish political prisoner sentenced to death has been transferred back to Orumiyeh Central Prison after spending 15 months inside the Semnan Central Prison, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Habibollah Golparipour had been transferred from Semnan Central Prison to an undisclosed location in the second week of May. ...
Habibollah Golparipour, a Kurdish political prisoner on death row, was summoned by the Semnan Central Prison officials on May 9 and informed that he must prepare himself for transfer to an undisclosed location, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Golparipour was not informed of the reason for his transfer. ...
Afshin Sohrabzadeh, 23, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in exile at Minab Prison on charges of “moharebeh (enmity with God) through membership in Komalah Party,” a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Sohrabzadeh was transferred from the Sanandaj Central Prison to Minab Prison 14 months ago and ...
Since the Iranian authorities won’t allow us to report from within Iran, this month we speak to several Iranian refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan who were imprisoned in Iran for their human rights activities. Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan has become known for its economic growth, relative stability, and security, and is attracting investors, workers, and ...
Four United Nations Human Rights experts urged Iran to release the seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders today, according to a press release issued by the UN Office of the Baha’i International Community. Nearly five years since they were arrested, the seven leaders remain imprisoned solely because of their religious beliefs. ...
The Kurdistan Province IRGC Intelligence Unit has twice summoned the family members of slain members of Kurdish political parties in the past few months, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. During the meetings, the families have had to watch videotapes of confessions of Kurdish political prisoners. ...
Haj Ali Chilan, 103, is currently serving an eight-year prison term at Maku Prison on charges of “cooperating with PJAK [Party of Free Life of Kurdistan],” a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Chilan, from Zolka Village near Maku, is in dire physical condition as a result of old age ...
Kasra Nouri, 22, a Gonabadi Dervish imprisoned at Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, has been sentenced to four years and four months in prison in part to intimidate other youth and prevent them from joining the Dervish sect, a close family friend told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Sedigheh Khalili added that ...
Over the past several months, Orumiyeh and Mahabad Intelligence Offices have summoned, detained, and harassed several Kurdish former political prisoners on the pretext of concern over their continued political activities after their release from prison, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. In most reported cases, security forces have gone ...
A group of Kurdish activist women from Marivan, along with a few citizens of the city, held a demonstration April 16 on the main streets of the city in protest of the authorities’ parading a man in Marivan after dressing him in the traditional women’s clothing of Kurdistan, a local source told the International Campaign ...