New UN Report on Iran Notes Decline in Executions, Ongoing Executions of Child Offenders
Javaid Rehman was appointed as the third Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in ...
Ethnic Discrimination
Sufi Woman Jailed in Iran Sentenced to 148 Lashes For Criticizing Gharchak Prison Conditions
Elham Ahmadi, an imprisoned member of the Sufi Gonabadi Order in Iran, has been sentenced to 148 lashes for speaking out about the denial of medical treatment and poor living conditions in Gharchak Prison located south of Tehran in the town of Varamin, ...
Baha’i Woman Sentenced to 11.9 Years in Prison, Banned From University in Iran
Yekta Fahandej Sa’di was sentenced to 11 years and nine months in prison for her Baha’i religious beliefs by a preliminary court in the city of Shiraz in south-central Iran on December 30, 2018, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has ...
Appeals Court Upholds One-Year Prison Sentence Against Azeri Activist Convicted Without Due Process
An Iranian Appeals Court upheld a one-year prison sentence against Kiumars Eslami for his peaceful activism, alleging he engaged in “pan-Turkish” activities, according to a verdict issued on November 22, 2018, a copy of which has been viewed by the Center for Human Rights ...
85 Countries Vote to Adopt UN Resolution Urging Iran to Halt Widespread Human Rights Violations
Editor's Note: This resolution was passed December 17, 2018, with 84 voting for, 30 against and 67 in abstention: http://undocs.org/A/73/589/Add.3. Serious Concern Expressed for Unlawful Executions and Arbitrary Detentions November 19, 2018 – With two more votes than the previous year, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee appr...
Iranian Police Relocate Buried Corpse of Baha’i Woman Without Family’s Permission
Iranian authorities have relocated the buried corpse of a deceased member of the Baha’i faith to a different cemetery without the family’s permission, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. After Shamsi Aghdasi Azamian died on October 22, 2018, in ...
Rouhani Should Be Called to Account for Human Rights Abuses in Iran at UN Gathering
Mobile Billboard with Photos of Iran’s Political Prisoners to Circle UN Headquarters During Meetings September 19, 2018—As President Hassan Rouhani comes to NY to attend the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) urges the international community to directly address ...
Four Christians in Iran Appeal Prison Sentences For Alleged Missionary Activities
Four Christians in Iran, including two converts, have appealed their prison sentences for alleged missionary activities, arguing that they’re innocent of the charges. “It is our expectation that the charges will be dropped and their sentences struck down because there is no ...
Mass Conviction of Sufi Protesters “Unprecedented in Iran’s Judicial History”
Twenty Sufi Muslims, all members of Iran’s Gonabadi Order, have been issued heavy prison sentences by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran since July 2018 for allegedly attended protests that included violent clashes with police and security forces in Tehran ...
IRGC-Affiliated Media Trying to “Prepare Public Opinion” For Execution of Kurdish Man
Relatives of Ramin Hossein Panahi, a Kurdish man on death row in Iran, have raised concerns that his chances of imminent execution have increased since several soldiers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in late July ...
Kurdish Activist Facing Prison Time in Iran For Criticizing Supreme Leader
Kurdish political activist Mokhtar Zarei was summoned and taken into custody in Sanandaj, the capital of Iran’s Kurdistan Province, on July 21, 2018, for criticizing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a letter, a close associate informed the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on ...
Iran Affirms Right of Constitutionally Recognized Religious Minorities to Run in Local Elections
Sepanta Niknam has reclaimed his city council seat in the city of Yazd, southeastern Iran, nine months after he was suspended by a local court because he’s a member of the Zoroastrian faith. “I think it would be best that under the current circumstances, ...
Detained Iranian Azeri Rights Activists Badly Injured During Interrogations
Several ethnic rights activists detained at an annual celebration at Babak Fort in Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province required medical attention after being violently interrogated. “All of the 20 people so far have been released from the [Intelligence Ministry’s] detention ...
Location of Baluchi Activist Arrested at Mass Rape Protest Concealed From His Family
The location of detained Baluchi ethnic rights activist Abdollah Bozorgzadeh remains unknown three weeks after he was detained in the Iranian city of Iranshahr in Sistan and Baluchistan Province. Bozorgzadeh was taken into custody on June 17, 2018, during a rally to protest the ...
Iran: Stop Imminent Execution of Kurdish Prisoner, Investigate Evidence of Torture and Denial of Due Process
Fear Grows After Bus Driver Was Executed in Iran Despite Similar Concerns June 20, 2018—The Iranian judiciary should immediately annul the death sentence issued against Kurdish prisoner Ramin Hossein Panahi and investigate credible concerns of ...
Arab Rights Activist Hatam Morammezi Dead After One Year of Detention in Iran
Hatam Morammezi holding his nephew. Family Threatened to Stay Silent About the Case, Which Marks Sixth Death in Custody in Iran in Last Five Months After a year in detention in Iran, 20-year-old Arab rights advocate Hatam Morammezi has been pronounced dead ...
“You Know What Your Problem Is:” Young Man Expelled From Iranian University For His Baha’i Faith
A young man has been expelled from the University of Gilan in northern Iran because of his Baha’i faith in another example of Iranian universities discriminating against students for their religious beliefs without consequences. A source close to Arash Razavian told the Center for Human ...
Lawyer: Dervish Bus Driver Could be Executed in “3 or 4 Days” Despite Innocence Plea
Mohammad Salas, a Sufi bus driver convicted in Iran of running over three policemen in the capital city of Tehran, could be hanged in a “few days” despite arguing that he caused the deaths by accident. “News that the execution has been ...
Iran’s Expediency Council Dragging Its Feet Over Fate of Religious Minority Candidates in Local Elections
Six months have passed and the Iranian government has still not resolved the dispute over the suspension of a Yazd City Council member, Sepanta Niknam, due to his Zoroastrian faith. “I think they want this issue to go ...
Hundreds Arrested as Anger Over State Discrimination Against Iranian Arabs Spills Into the Streets
Ahvaz Friday Prayer Leader Calls For Apology From State TV Over Discriminatory Children’s Show At least 200 people were arrested after a week of demonstrations in Iran’s mainly Arab-populated Khuzestan Province. On April 6, 2018, the Friday prayer leader of the flashpoint city of Ahvaz requested an apology ...
Iran Cracks Down on Kurdish Activists After Anti-State Protests
At Least Two Activists Facing “National Security” Charges Iran’s cyber police, known as FATA, and the Intelligence Ministry have summoned rights activists in mainly Kurdish-populated provinces of the country and accused them of protesting against the state. Some of the activists ...
Christian Property in Iran to Be Taken Over by Supreme Leader’s Organization
Very few photographs exist online of Sharon Gardens, a large and valuable piece of real estate located in the Iranian city of Karaj that has been confiscated from its Christian owners. Sharon Gardens, a valuable ...
Shiite Mystic Sentenced to Another Five Years Imprisonment in Iran
Death Sentence Struck Down Twice by Supreme Court Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of a mystical Shiite spiritual group in Iran, has been sentenced to five years in prison for a second time, this time for the charge of “corruption on earth,” his lawyer ...
Iranians Debate Use of Violence Against Security Forces After Clashes With Sufi Gonabadis Leave Three Dead
Clashes among members of a predominantly peaceful minority faith in Iran and security forces have resulted in a discussion on social media among Iranians about the use of violence as a form of self-defense. “Mr. Dervish! There is no common ground between peaceful ...
Follower of Sufi Order Expelled From Iranian University After Refusing to Sign Pledge
Sepideh Moradi Sarvestani Sepideh Moradi Sarvestani, a member of the Gonabadi Dervish Sufi order, was expelled from Tehran’s Tarbiat Modares University on February 3, 2018, for refusing to formally pledge not to engage in activities ...