Female Political Prisoners To Serve Additional Two Years For “Insulting” Supreme Leader
Political prisoners Atena Daemi and Golrokh Iraee Ebrahimi have been told they must serve an additional ...
Free Expression
15 Iran MPs Urge New Judiciary Chief to Stop Renewed Crackdown on Freedom of Speech
During a speech addressing Iran’s legislature, member of Parliament (MP) Parvaneh Salahshouri strongly criticized the recent crackdown on journalists and workers’ rights advocates and called on recently appointed Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi to uphold the rule of law. A group of MPs subsequently called on ...
Prisoners in Iran’s Gharchak Prison for Women Protest Inhumane Living Conditions
Prison Fails to Meet UN’s Minimum Standards for Treatment of Prisoners Two hundred inmates in Ward 5 of Gharchak Prison for women in the Iranian city of Varamin have sent an open letter to the head of the State Prisons Organization in Tehran Province protesting the prison’s inhumane living ...
At Least 13 Signers of Open Letters Urging Khamenei’s Resignation Are Arrested
Demonstrating the Iranian authorities’ continued intolerance for peaceful dissent, two open letters written since June 2019 by 28 political and civil rights activists urging Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to step down have led to the arrest of at least 13 of the signers by the security ...
Journalist Sentenced to 10.5 Years Imprisonment for Covering Labor Day Rally
Four months after being arrested while covering a Labor Day protest, Journalist Marzieh Amiri has been sentenced to 10.5 years in prison and 148 lashes by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh. If upheld upon appeal, Amiri, a reporter for the reformist Shargh ...
Iran Cracks Down on Instagram Celebrities
Instagram influencers in Iran are being forced to censor their posts and give their account passwords to intelligence agents amid a renewed crackdown on freedom of expression and speech. Investigations by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) indicate that dozens of Iranians with large followings on Instagram—including athletes, fashion models and actors—were summoned ...
Iran Sentences Satirist Keyomars Marzban to 23 Years Imprisonment
Marzban’s Only “Crime” Was Working for Foreign Media Outlets He Must Serve 11 Years if Appeals Court Upholds Sentence Before Eligibility for Parole Satirist Keyomars Marzban has been sentenced to 23.3 years in prison in Iran for working for foreign media outlets, his lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghasi ...
Arrests, Prison Sentences Fail to Stem Growing Public Opposition to Iran’s Mandatory Hijab Law
At Least 12 People Sentenced to Prison Since January 2018 August 19, 2019 – Mounting arrests and prison sentences have not enabled Iran's government to achieve broad public compliance with the country's mandatory hijab law, or stem growing protests against it. At least 12 people have been issued prison ...
Six-Year Prison Sentence Upheld Against Journalist Who Was Denied Right to Fair Trial
An Appeals Court in Tehran has upheld a six-year prison sentence against political affairs journalist Hamed Aynehvand without holding a hearing, his lawyer, Hossein Bayat, informed the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on August 13, 2019. “Before the preliminary court’s decision, there were people who told ...
Iran Cracks Down on Instagram Celebrities as It Tightens Noose on Freedom of Speech and Expression
Investigations by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) indicate that dozens of Iranians with large followings on Instagram—including athletes, fashion models and actors—were summoned by security officials in 2019 and in some cases charged with crimes for the content of their posts. Although most were ultimately ...
“Why Should We Be Silent?” Colleagues Condemn Photographer’s Unjust Detention
Film and theater photographer Nooshin Jafari has been detained at an undisclosed location in Tehran since August 4, 2019. Nooshin Jafari’s Supporters Push Back Against ...
Detained Anthropologist Kameel Ahmady Worked Independently and Transparently, Says Wife
Iranian-British anthropologist Kameel Ahmady has had no contact with his family since he was detained in Tehran on August 11, 2019. Except for a one-minute ...