Satirist Keyomars Marzban to Be Tried in Iran Under Hardline Judge Salavati
Iranian satirist Keyomars Marzban, who has been detained in Iran since August 2018, is due to face trial for the charges of “propaganda against the state” and ...
Free Expression
Sham Investigation of Labor Activist’s Alleged Torture Lacks Impartiality, Ignores Witnesses
Iran Must Re-Open an Independent and Impartial Investigation into Labor Activist’s Abuse Multiple Cases of Alleged Torture Must Be Thoroughly Investigated January 17, 2018—After a brief and deeply flawed investigation lacking any ...
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 ...
Musician Ali Ghamsari Banned From Performing in Iran After Refusing to Remove Female Singer
"Our Sing-Along Didn’t Violate Any Rules" After the Iranian authorities banned musician Ali Ghamsari from performing “until further notice” for refusing to remove a female singer from his most recent concert in Tehran, ...
Former Presidential Candidate Karroubi Did Not Receive Saudi Money, Son Says
False Claims Meant to Divert Attention from “Shame” of Eight Years of House Arrest Without Trial A son of the 2009 presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi...
Nasrin Sotoudeh and Baha’i Political Prisoner Refuse Phone Calls in Solidarity With Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Authorities Revoke Phone Privileges, Reduce Food Rations in Evin Prison’s Women’s Ward Two political prisoners held in the same ward as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran’s Evin Prison have given up ...
Famed Iranian Playwright Mohammad Rahmanian Charged for Allegedly Featuring Female Soloist
Complaint Brought by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Prominent Iranian theater director and playwright Mohammad Rahmanian has been charged with “propaganda against the state” based on a complaint by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ...
Labor Activist’s Revelation of Torture During Detention Prompts Wave of Reports of Abuse in Iran’s Prisons
Esmail Bakhshi’s lawyer says her client is under intense pressure to retract statements about his torture Labor activist Esmail Bakhshi’s public letter in which he revealed his ...
Iranian Journalist Sentenced to Six Years in Prison Without Lawyer
Revolutionary Court Blocked Hamed Aynehvand From Using Lawyer of His Choice Political journalist Hamed Aynehvand has been sentenced to six years in prison without the presence of his ...
Labor Activist Smaeil Bakhshi Tortured by Agents of Rouhani’s Intelligence Ministry
Held Without Access to Lawyer, Bakhshi Beaten During 25-Day Detention January 4, 2018—The beating and torture of the labor activist Smaeil Bakhshi (also spelled Esmail Bakhshi), ...
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 ...
Stricken With Chicken Pox, Political Prisoner Alireza Tavakoli Hunger Strikes for Medical Treatment
Prisoner of conscience Alireza Tavakoli, currently imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin Prison for his social media postings, is hunger striking to be “transferred ...
Political Activist Hengameh Shahidi Held for Six Months in Solitary Without Access to Lawyer
Imprisoned political activist Hengameh Shahidi has been held in solitary confinement for six months with extremely limited access to a lawyer since June 26, 2018, the day she ...
Food With “Rodent Feces” Served to Political Prisoners in Iran’s Great Tehran Penitentiary
The food served at the Great Tehran Penitentiary (GTP) is unsanitary and has been found to contain rodent feces, making some prisoners sick, the wife of a political ...
Imprisoned Attorney Mohammad Najafi Facing More Jail Time for Criticizing Supreme Leader
Mohammad Najafi has been in Arak Central Prison since October 2018 serving a three-year sentence (currently being appealed) for informing media outlets that a local police station ...
Law Student Begins Six-Month Prison Term for Social Media Posts Critical of State Policy
“They told me, ‘If you want to live in peace, stop writing, stop your activities.’” Amir Chamani Taken to Tabriz Prison, Lawyer Not Notified In a continuing assault on freedom of speech—particularly the peaceful ...
Iranian MP Calls Arrests of Protesting Ahvaz Workers “Violation of the Constitution”
At Least 31 Steel Workers Remain Detained Eleven workers detained during protests by employees of the Iran National Steel Industrial Group (INSIG) in southwestern Iran between December 17-18, 2018, were released on bail December 19, but at least 31 others remain behind ...
Dual National Imprisoned in Iran, Kamran Ghaderi, Struggling to Access Medical Treatment for Untreated Tumor
“He’s Just a Businessman Who Has Done Nothing Wrong” Kamran Ghaderi, an Iranian-Austrian dual national imprisoned in Iran since January 2016, is the latest in a ...
Open Letter From Evin Prison: Narges Mohammadi Calls on Tehran Prosecutor to Stop Denying Her Medical Treatment
Iranian political prisoner Narges Mohammadi has written an open letter calling on Jafari Dowlatabadi, the prosecutor general of Tehran, to stop denying her medical treatment. ...
Why Did Telegram Warn Users That Iranian Versions of the Telegram App—Talaeii and Hotgram—Are “Unsafe”?
Iranian Client Apps Are Violating Telegram's Terms of Service by Failing to Protect User Data December 17, 2018 – In response to a rising chorus of concerns by internet security experts, Telegram, the widely ...
Family “Worried” About Ailing, Elderly Labor Activist Held Incommunicado
The family of ailing labor activist Asghar Firouzi has been extremely “worried” about his condition since he was detained by unidentified security agents, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. ...
Iran’s Oil Minister Joins Twitter, Reigniting Calls for All Iranians to Be Allowed to Use Social Network
Twitter Banned in Iran Since 2009 But Many Officials Are Active Users Iranians from across the political spectrum responded to the new presence on Twitter by Oil Minister Bijan ...
Iran Must Address Crisis of Unpaid Wages, Not Prosecute People Who Demand Their Pay
15 Petrochemical Workers Sentenced to Prison, Flogging for Protesting Unpaid Wages in Latest Ruling Unpaid Wages Violates Iranian Law, Flogging Violates International Law December 13, 2018—In yet another ruling punishing workers for ...
Political Prisoner on Hunger Strike in Iran Has Died, Another in Grave Danger
Vahid Sayyadi-Nasiri Was on Hunger Strike to Protest Denial of Counsel and Prison Conditions Growing Crisis as Political Prisoners Left with No Recourse but to Refuse Food ...
Political Prisoner Saeed Shirzad Could Lose Kidney From Lack of Proper Medical Care
Iranian political prisoner Saeed Shirzad could lose a kidney if Iranian authorities continue to refuse to hospitalize him outside of Rajaee Shahr Prison where he has been held for ...