Cartoon 142: International Women’s Day
On this March 8, 2016, International Women’s Day, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran urges all to strive for a world where women everywhere are free from discrimination....
Free Expression
Iranian Activist Receives Six-Month Prison Sentence for Facebook Posts
The civil rights activist Esmail Ahmadi-Ragheb has been sentenced to six months in prison for “propaganda against the state” by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Shahriar, Tehran Province, for posting content on social media ...
Pro-Rouhani Political Prisoner Urged Iranians to Vote in 2016 Elections
“Now President Rouhani should carry out his promise of two years ago to free political prisoners.” The mother of a young man believed to be the first political prisoner of the government of President Hassan Rouhani is ...
Iranian Music Distributors Sentenced to Three Years in Prison
Three music distributors have each been sentenced to three years in prison and fined 200 million rials (approximately $6,600 USD) for “insulting the sacred” and “propaganda against the state” ...
Iran Vote: Political Freedoms Must Be Rouhani’s Top Priority
Electorate Wants Human Rights and Rouhani Must Deliver March 1, 2016—In the elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts held across Iran on February 26, the Iranian electorate handed the country’s supreme ...
Cartoon 140: Hardliners Only!
"The enemies of our revolution introduced the notion of 'hardliner' and 'moderate' from the first day...They used to think that the most hardliner of all was our honorable Imam [Khomeini] that day; and today, ...
Rouhani Administration Under Pressure to Shut Down Iran’s Most Popular Mobile App Prior to Election
Telegram Has Emerged as Major Platform for Reformist and Centrist Candidates Iran’s Telecommunication’s Ministry has been under intense pressure by hardline organizations, including Iran’s Police, to shut down a number of the ...
Iranian Teacher’s Union Leader Sentenced to Six Years in Prison
The secretary general of the Teachers Association of Iran, Esmail Abdi, has been sentenced to six years in prison for “propaganda against the state” and “collusion against national security” ...
Prominent Reformist Journalist Protests Solitary Confinement with Third Hunger Strike
The imprisoned political journalist Issa Saharkhiz has resumed his hunger strike after being placed in solitary confinement on February 21, 2016 despite having lost an alarming amount of weight. ...
Watchmen or Yes-Men: Competing Views on the Assembly of Experts Elections
Oversight and accountability…or a bunch of yes-men fawning over the Supreme Leader? This new Campaign video takes a look at two competing views on the role of the Assembly of Experts which cut to the core of the choice Iran faces as it approaches elections to this clerical body on February 26. ...
Iran to Spend $36 Million on Internet “Smart Filtering,” to No Avail
The Iranian government, in a joint project with several domestic universities, is spending $36 million to develop what it calls “smart filtering” in order to strengthen its Internet censorship capabilities. Smart filtering refers ...
Father of Missing Student Sentenced to Jail and Lashes for Pursuing Son’s Case
The 70-year-old father of a student who has not been heard from for 17 years since his arrest has been sentenced to 91 days in prison and 74 lashes for “disturbing public order” by ...
Iranian Kurdish Filmmaker Sentenced to 223 Lashes and One Year in Prison
Keyvan Karimi, an Iranian Kurdish documentary filmmaker, has been sentenced to 223 lashes and one year in prison for “insulting the sacred.” Karimi’s initial six-year prison sentence ...
What If Iran’s Guardian Council Managed U.S. Elections?
Political satire by Ebrahim Nabavi Elections will be held in Iran in a few days and in the U.S. in a few months. Here’s what the Guardian Council...
Technology Website Staffers Rushed to Prison Before Appeals Court Verdict
Four convicted staff members of a leading Iranian technology website who were free on bail while awaiting an Appeals Court verdict on their cases were taken to a prison in Kerman Province on February ...
Iran’s Ban on Women at Volleyball Championship Continues with FIVB’s Nod
Security guards have prevented women from watching the Beach Volleyball World Championship on Iran’s Kish Island for a third consecutive day with the international governing body claiming “misunderstandings.” ...
Cartoon 139: Forget About Valentine!
On Valentine's Day this year, shops were prohibited from displaying any signs or selling any products associated with the “decadent Western cultural phenomenon known as Valentine’s Day,” Iran’s police force announced on February ...
Prisoner of Conscience Atena Daemi Released on Bail
The civil and children’s rights activist, Atena Daemi, has been released on bail until an Appeals Court hears the objections to her prison sentence. Daemi, 28, was suffering from severe headaches ...
Ten Reasons to Disqualify All Women Candidates for the Assembly of Experts
Political satire by Ebrahim Nabavi All 16 women who applied to stand as candidates in the elections for the Assembly of Experts, the body of clerics that advises and selects the supreme leader in Iran, ...
Imprisoned Facebook Activist Begins Wet Hunger Strike
An Iranian activist imprisoned for his social media activity has gone on a wet hunger strike to protest the Judiciary’s rejection of his request for conditional release. Amir Golestani, 35, was ...
Valentine’s Day Expected to Be Bigger Than Ever in Iran, Despite Police Warning
Shops are prohibited from displaying any signs or selling any products associated with the “decadent Western cultural phenomenon known as Valentine’s Day,” Iran’s police force announced on February 10. “Young men and women ...
Cartoon 138: “Explosion of Light,” Not!
The Islamic Republic of Iran refers to the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution as the “Explosion of Light.” But the reality is quite dark…filled with repression, denial of the most basic rights and freedoms, ...
Hardliners Violate Law to Keep Assembly of Experts Loyal to Khamenei
In addition to the massive disqualifications of moderate candidates for upcoming elections in Iran, hardliners have implemented another strategy to prevent challenges to their power: restricting the number of seats to important governmental bodies ...
New App that Detects Morality Police is Instant Hit in Iran
Authorities Block App within 24 Hours of Its Debut A smartphone application aimed at helping Iranian users avoid the country’s morality police became a smash hit immediately after it was released today, with its servers being inundated ...
Hardliners Handpick Candidates to Block Moderates and Rig Elections
3000 reformist applicants (99%) disqualified for Parliament in first vetting. 63% of all applicants disqualified in first vetting, reduced to 40% in second round. Prominent ayatollahs excluded from Assembly of experts for their moderate affiliations. In most of ...