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, ...