Conservative Clerics, IRGC Pressured Court to Convict Rouhani Campaigner
Ali Mohammad Mohammadi, a former local chief campaigner for President ...
Free Expression
Students, MPs Protest Against Rouhani’s Conservative Nominee for Iran’s Science Ministry
Students protest against President Rouhani’s nominee to head the Science ...
Iranian-Born Swedish Resident Sentenced to Death Based on Forced Confession
Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-born Swedish resident who has been imprisoned in Iran since April 2016, was sentenced to death for “moharebeh” (enmity with God) ...
Iran’s Expediency Council to Decide Whether Religious Minorities Can Run in Elections
Yazd city councilman Sepanta Niknam holds up a book called Ghathas, the ...
Photo of Smiling Political Prisoners in Iran’s Evin Prison Lands One in Prison Known For Harsh Conditions
Arash Sadeghi (right) and Soheil Arabi in the courtyard of Evin Prison. Lawyer: Arash Sadeghi’s transfer was ...
Mousavi’s Daughters: Officials “Hoping and Planning” for Death of Opposition Leaders Under House Arrest
Former presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavian addresses a cheering crowd during the protests following Iran's disputed 2009 presidential election. In an open ...
Husband: Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Jobs and Britishness “Exaggerated” to Use Her as “Bargaining Chip”
Iranian judicial officials are misrepresenting Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s past jobs and her British citizenship to persuade the UK government to negotiate with the Iranian government for her release, her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, told the ...
Reformist Political Activist Turned Refugee Briefly Arrested Upon Return to Iran
A reformist political activist who fled Iran in 2011 after years of being harassed by the Intelligence Ministry was summoned to the Revolutionary Court in Evin Prison upon returning to the country. A source close to ...
Reformist Journalist Sasan Aghaei in Prolonged Solitary Confinement Despite Calls for His Release by MPs
The Iranian judiciary is refusing to release reformist journalist Sasan Aghaei, who has been detained for more than two months in solitary confinement despite calls ...
Tehran Prosecutor: Streaming TinyMoviez Website Shut Down For “Indecent” Content
Case Highlights State Sanctioning of Copyright Infringement in Iran The popular Iranian streaming movies website, TinyMoviez, which featured pirated material, was shut down for distributing “indecent” foreign films, announced Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari ...
Seven Reformists MPs Plan to Sue Iran’s State Broadcasting Agency IRIB for Defamation
Seven reformist members of Iran’s Parliament who were recently sentenced to prison for their political views will sue the state TV and radio broadcasting agency for alleging the MPs engaged in ...
Family of Late Iranian President Rafsanjani Banned From Traveling Abroad
Four family members of the late Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani have been banned from traveling abroad by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), while one ...
Former MP: Don’t Underestimate the New Restrictions on Reformist Ex-President Khatami
Iran's former reformist President Mohammad Khatami. The increasingly restrictive judicial bans issued against reformist leader Mohammad Khatami could morph into something much bigger and enflame the current political climate, an ally of the former president told the Center for ...
“Suspended” Zoroastrian Member of Yazd City Council Facing Uncertain Future
The head councilman of the city of Yazd, in southeastern Iran, has refused to carry out a court order suspending the membership of a fellow councilman who is a member of the minority ...
Rouhani’s Criticism of Judiciary for Tightening Ban on Reformist Ex-President Spurs Debate
President Hassan Rouhani’s criticism of the judiciary for arbitrarily punishing critics of the state, including ally and reformist former President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), has been met with a flurry of responses from adversaries ...
Rights Organizations Urge US to Aid Access to Information in Iran by Expanding General License D-1
In a joint statement, nine rights organizations including the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) have urged the US government to expand General License D-1, which allows the sale and distribution of ...
Leftist Poet Missing in Tabriz Two Days After Intelligence Ministry Raided His Home
Children’s rights advocate and leftist poet Omid Aghdami has been missing since October 5, 2017, two days after he tweeted that Intelligence Ministry agents had searched his home in ...
Imprisoned Editor Ehsan Mazandarani Told to File for Temporary Release With One Month Left on Sentence
A reformist journalist imprisoned in Iran who is due to be freed in less than a month has gone on a hunger strike to protest his continued incarceration. “Ehsan Mazandarani...
Iranian Officials Increase Pressure on Telegram App to Comply With Censorship Policies
The Amad News channel on the Telegram messaging application. Iranian Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari ...
Labor Activist Dies From Cancer Left Untreated in Iranian Prison
A photo of Mohammad ...
Iranian Baha’i Singer Facing Prison Time After European Concert Tour
Behnam Rohani-Fard Interrogated “20 Times” in Solitary Confinement After being repeatedly interrogated while spending a month in solitary confinement, Iranian singer Behnam Rohani-Fard was released on 100 million tomans bail (approximately ...
Imprisoned Iranian-British Citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe Threatened With 16 More Years Behind Bars
Revolutionary Guards Bring New Charges Against Young Mother Who Was Eligible for Release in November 2017 October 9, 2017—Iranian-British dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, imprisoned in Iran since April 2016 on trumped up and unspecified national security charges, is now facing up to 16 more years in prison based on ...
Imprisoned Teachers’ Rights Advocate Esmail Abdi Denied Sentence Review
Esmail Abdi is serving a six-year prison sentence for peacefully advocating for teachers' rights in Iran. Iran’s judiciary has denied a request for a review of the heavy prison sentence issued ...
Iran’s Ex-Reformist President Banned From Public Appearances Week After Seven MPs Sentenced to Prison
Former President Mohammad Khatami. Iran’s former reformist President Mohammad Khatami has been banned from making public appearances and receiving political guests for three months. The ban, first reported on October 5, 2017, was issued by the Special Court for the ...