Free Expression
Illegal Addition of New Charges Makes Death Sentence for Soheil Arabi More Likely
In an arbitrary and illegal act, new charges that carry a death sentence and which do not allow a pardon were added and the death sentence of Facebook user Soheil Arabi was confirmed by the Supreme Court in Iran. ...
Mohammad Ali Taheri on Hunger Strike to Protest Three Years of Solitary Confinement
A student of Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of Interuniversal Consciousness Theory, who has been in prison since 2011, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that Taheri has embarked on a dry hunger strike (refusing both food and water) since last week to protest 3.5 years in solitary confinement inside the IRGC’s ...
Scholar’s 18-Month Prison Sentence for Questioning Nuclear Program Commuted to Fines
A Tehran appeals court has reduced the 18-month prison sentence originally handed down to Sadegh Zibakalam, a Tehran University professor and political analyst, for his public questioning of Iran’s nuclear program and his criticism of the trial process in a state corruption case, to a five million toman fine (approximately $1,600). ...
UN Resolution on Human Rights in Iran Passes by 78-35 Margin
On November 18, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee adopted a Resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran with a vote of 78 in favor, 35 against and 69 abstentions. ...
New Report Reveals State’s Growing Efforts to Control Internet Access in Iran
The Rouhani administration should use all its authority to end the government’s initiatives to restrict Iranians’ access to the Internet, immediately cease state efforts to monitor users’ online accounts, and end the prosecution of individuals for their peaceful online activities, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. ...
Ghoncheh Ghavami’s Lawyer Says New Charges Looming Against Her Are Illegal
New charges may be brought against Ghoncheh Ghavami, the young woman who was arrested outside a sports stadium in Tehran in June 2014 for trying to attend a volleyball match and who remains in prison. ...
Leading Iranian Figures Support Nuclear Negotiations and Hope for an Agreement
November 12, 2014—As the P5+1 negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program between the world powers and Iran approach the November 24 deadline, it is important that the negotiators on both sides of the table take note of the voices of their respective citizens at home: support for the nuclear negotiations and hope for a successful agreement ...
Narges Mohammadi Summoned to Evin Prison Court on Unspecified Charges
Narges Mohammadi, the prominent human rights defender and Deputy Head of the now shuttered Defenders of Human Rights Center, has been summoned to the Evin Prison Court following a moving speech she made at the grave site of Sattar Beheshti, the 35-year-old blogger who died under torture at a police detention center in November 2012. ...
New Hope for Revocation of Death Sentence for Insulting Prophet on Facebook
A Supreme Court branch reviewing the appeal request in the case of Soheil Arabi, a man convicted of “sabb al-nabi” (insulting the Prophet) and sentenced to death, will soon announce its ruling, a source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
The Campaign’s 2014 UPR Pre-Session Statement
This statement by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran to the UN’s 2014 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Pre-Session on the Islamic Republic of Iran addresses the Government of Iran’s lack of implementation of ...
31 Nobel Physics Prize Laureates Join Thousands of Activists to Call for the Release of Iranian Physicist
(October 22, 2014) – A delegation consisting of Amnesty International, the Committee of Concerned Scientists, and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran will deliver thousands of petitions and letters collected by these organizations and the American Physical Society calling for the release of Omid Kokabee to the Iran UN Mission in New ...
Sotoudeh: Acid Attacks on Women Show “Plan to Promote Virtue” Must Stop
Following a spate of violent attacks on women in Iran, in which unidentified perpetrators have thrown acid in the faces of women in the city of Isfahan for their alleged improper hijab (the Islamic dress code for women), prominent human rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the ...
Sotoudeh Stages Sit-in to Protest Ban on Her Legal Practice
Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh began a sit-in on October 21, 2014, at the Iranian Bar Association in Tehran to protest a ruling that puts a three-year ban on her legal practice, and in protest against the general state of legal representation in Iran. One day before starting the sit-in, in an interview with the ...
Lawyer Says Jason Rezaian Not Allowed Legal Representation
Prominent Iranian lawyer Mohammad Saleh Nikbakht told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that his request to represent Jason Rezaian, the imprisoned Washington Post correspondent, has not been accepted. Nikbakht said that he had asked for permission to represent Rezaian a few weeks ago, but that “They did not accept my request to ...
New Videos Confront Iran’s Rights Violations through Personal Stories of Persecution
New York, New York – Impact Iran, a coalition of human rights organizations, in partnership with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, today launched a new video, “Promises Made, Promises Broken.” The video is part of a series aimed at drawing attention to Iran’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN ...
Retrial Granted for Omid Kokabee, Raising Hope for His Release
The request for a retrial for the imprisoned young scientist, Omid Kokabee, has been accepted by Branch 36 of the Supreme Court, according to Kokabee’s lawyer, Saeed Khalili, who posted the update on his Facebook page. “Acceptance of the retrial request means that the top judicial authority has deemed Dr. Omid Kokabee’s [initial] verdict against ...
Imprisoned Iranian Scientist Congratulates Winner of Prestigious Math Award
In a letter from prison to Maryam Mirzakhani, winner of the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics, Omid Kokabee, the imprisoned Iranian physicist, congratulated her and hoped “all young talents in all corners of the world can blossom, away from any discriminatory views and pressure from security or ideological organizations, to freely grow in the field ...
Iranian Women Do Not Have the Right to Control Their Bodies
Since President Hassan Rouhani assumed office in August 2013, there has been a marked increase in state policies by hardliners in the government directly infringing upon the most basic rights of Iranian women. These hardliners, who dominate Parliament and are ensconced in the security, intelligence, and judicial branches of government, have focused in particular ...
Sit-in by Political Prisoner’s Mother to Protest Lack of Due Process
The mother of Ghoncheh Ghavami, a prisoner on hunger strike since October 1, has started a sit-in outside Evin Prison to protest her daughter’s detention for more than 100 days without access to her lawyer. “Today is one hundred days since my daughter’s arrest. None of the authorities seem to have heard us during this ...
Cartoon 95: No Journalists in Prison
“I do not believe that an individual would be detained or put in prison for being a journalist. An individual can be a reporter, a journalist, and have committed a crime. But that crime is not necessarily always related to their profession, to the profession that they’re practicing,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told CNN’s Christiane ...
Cartoon 94: Man Hanged for Innovation in Islamic Principles and Insulting Jonah
Mohsen Amiraslani, 37, was hanged at Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 on charges of "corruption on earth, innovation in primary and secondary principles of Islam, and new interpretation of the Qur'an," including "insulting Prophet Jonah." "A Rajaee Shahr ...
Viber Company Refutes Tapping Claims by Iranian Officials
"You should know from the cases the Iranian Cyber Police has pursued and concluded that personal messages on Viber, WhatsApp, etc. can be controlled by the Cyber ...