MPs Move to Permanently Ban Journalists Connected to Shuttered Publications
Hamid Rasaie (left) and Mohammad Ghoochani. A few days after the Iranian Judiciary ordered the reformist Mardom-e Emrooz newspaper banned, ultra conservative members ...
Free Expression
Iranian Judiciary Shuts Down Newspaper for Publishing “I am Charlie Too” Quote
Two days after the conservative Iranian newspaper Kayhan demanded judicial authorities close down reformist newspaper Mardom-e Emrooz newspaper, the newspaper, in operation for only 16 days, was shut down by orders from Branch 2 of Media Court of the Iranan Judiciary. ...
Video: Iranian Cartoonists and Satirists Speak Out on Charlie Hebdo
January 14, 2015—In the wake of the January 7 attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran released a video today, featuring nine prominent Iranian cartoonists, satirists and comedians expressing their solidarity with the victims of the attack and the defense of free speech. ...
Jason Rezaian Indicted by Tehran Revolutionary Court, Says Prosecutor
During a press conference today, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told reporters that the imprisoned Washington Post correspondent, Jason Rezaian, has been indicted and that his case has been forwarded to a Tehran Revolutionary Court. The Prosecutor’s announcement, after 170 days of “temporary detention” of the journalist, did not include a statement about the charges ...
Official Claims of Smart Internet Filtering Overblown, but Efforts to Monitor Users Grow
In the continuing battle over control over the Internet in Iran, a new salvo was recently issued—the announcement by state officials that smart filtering would be installed on the country’s Internet gateways as the authorities had now developed the ability to selectively block “inappropriate and illegal” content. Yet despite these claims by Iranian government ...
185 Iranian Journalists Condemn Charlie Hebdo Terrorist Attack
One Hundred eighty-five Iranian journalists condemned the January 7, 2015 terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices in Paris, which led to the deaths of 12 individuals. “We, Iranian journalists, condemn the January 7 terrorist attack that took the lives of several journalists and citizens in Paris,” said the statement. ...
Cartoon 104: I am Charlie
One Hundred eighty-five Iranian journalists condemned the January 7, 2015 terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices in Paris, which led to the deaths of 12 individuals. “We, Iranian journalists, condemn the January 7 terrorist attack that took the lives of several journalists ...
Iranian Judiciary Defends Continued House Arrest of Green Movement Leaders
In yet another vague statement effectively signaling support by the Iranian Judiciary for the continuation of the four-year-long house arrest of Iran’s Green Movement leaders, Iranian Judiciary Spokesperson Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said during his weekly press conference on January 5 that “If one day the background is set, there will be a trial, and naturally ...
Former Assyrian Church Leader and Two Christian Converts Arrested
Iranian security agents arrested an Assyrian pastor and two Christian converts who were his guests at his Tehran residence on December 26, 2014, according to Mansour Borji, Spokesperson for the Alliance of Iranian Churches. ...
Female Prisoner of Conscience Transferred to Deplorable Gharchak Prison
Female prisoner of conscience Hakimeh Shokri was abruptly transferred from Evin Prison to the Gharchak Prison in Varamin on December 15, 2014, Shokri’s sister told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
Prison Sentence for Young Facebook User Increased from 15 to 20 Years
A Tehran Revolutionary Court has increased the sentence of a 21-year-old Facebook user from 15 to 20 years in prison for his postings on Facebook. The case was originally appealed in the hope that the severe 15-year sentence would be reduced. However, the appeals court remanded the case to the lower court because one of ...
Baha’is Have No Citizenship Rights, Says Grand Ayatollah
A high-ranking cleric and Khomeini-era member of the Supreme Judicial Council has told Fars News Agency that Baha’is are not entitled to citizenship rights. The statement was made only weeks after Mohammad Javad Larijani, Head of the Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Council, denied the systematic denial of Baha’is right to higher education. “We never say ...
Ending House Arrest of Dissident Leaders Not on Administration’s Agenda, Says Justice Minister
In a startling statement during an interview with the Iran Labor News agency (ILNA) about the house arrests imposed on the Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard since 2011, Iran's Minister ...
Imprisoned Lawyer Denied Urgently Needed Medical Treatment
Despite the severely deteriorating health of imprisoned Iranian lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, the Tehran Prosecutor refuses to grant him permission to receive medical care outside the prison, due to the prominent lawyer’s steadfastness about his beliefs, Soltani’s daughter told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Maedeh Soltani told the Campaign that her father suffers ...
Cartoon 103: Jason Rezaian’s Continuos Detention
"Temporary detention orders" for Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post's Tehran correspondent, have been extended for two more months. Jason Rezaian, 38, holds dual Iranian and US citizenship, and has been the Washington Post correspondent ...
Cartoon 102: The Breadwinner’s Plight
Bread Prices rose 30% nationwide this week. Cartoonist Touka Neyestani's take on the plight of family "breadwinners" in Iran....
Nasrin Sotoudeh Detained for Several Hours on Human Rights Day
On December 10, 2014, Iranian intelligence agents detained renowned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, before releasing her several hours later. The detention marks the second time in less than two months that Sotoudeh has been detained for her activities in protest of the Iranian Bar Association’s suspension of her legal license. ...
Cartoon 101: Please Put Me On Trial
An open letter signed by the Karroubi family and published on November 29, 2014, states that during their last meeting with Green Movement leader Mehdi Karroubi, he “explicitly and clearly criticized the lack of responsibility by top officials in their clear violation ...
Opposition Leader Under House Arrest Demands Public Trial
(December 2, 2014) The head of the Iranian Judiciary should immediately end the nearly four-year house arrest of former presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, and leading dissident Zahra Rahnavard, and grant them a fair trial, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. ...
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. ...
