Free Expression

Abdol-Karim Lahidji: Judiciary’s Intimidation Tactics and Disproportionate Punishments Marks Its Failure to Deliver Public Justice

January 11, 2013

Following the announcement of death sentences for two men who were charged with violating public security through “robbery,” prominent lawyer and Vice President of the International Federation of Human Rights (IFHR) Abdol-Karim Lahidji told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the main focus of the Iranian Judiciary’s penal policies is on increasing ...

Yahoo! Mail Adds Secure HTTPS Option Following Internet Activists’ Letter

January 9, 2013

In a letter dated November 13, 2012, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran joined 25 other organizations and activists in asking Yahoo! to provide the HTTPS option to its users. The Campaign welcomes Yahoo!’s recent addition of this option, as the secure communications protocol will give Iranian Yahoo! users the ability to send ...

Solitary Confinement Cause of Soltani’s Illnesses, Says Daughter

January 3, 2013

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the daughter of Abdolfattah Soltani said that her father was hospitalized two weeks ago, following a deterioration in his health. Maedeh Soltani told the Campaign that the Iranian judicial authorities finally agreed to her father’s medical treatment outside the prison after months of ...

“Allow My Husband Medical Furlough,” Asks Union Activist Reza Shahabi’s Wife

January 3, 2013

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Robabeh Rezaei, the wife of imprisoned labor activist Reza Shahabi, spoke about her husband’s hunger strike in protest of the prison authorities’ refusal to allow him medical treatment outside. “On Monday, December 24, when I visited with Reza through a booth, he wasn’t ...

Cartoon 39: The Cyclist in the Cell

January 3, 2013

Prisoner of conscience Faezeh Hashemi, an outspoken women’s rights activist and former Member of Parliament, was placed in solitary confinement at Evin Prison on December 29, 2012. Her voice, which joined other prisoners in the women’s ward in leading political chants of “Down with the Dictator” and “Down with the Oppressor, Be He the Shah ...

Stop Targeting and Harassing BBC Journalists’ Families in Iran

December 20, 2012

(December xx, 2012) The Iranian Judiciary and Intelligence agencies must immediately stop harassing the family members of journalists working abroad and ensure that security forces put an end to extrajudicial mistreatment, intimidation, and official misconduct, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. ...

Mapping Iran’s Human Rights (Interactive)

December 18, 2012

Mapping Iran’s Human Rights, an ongoing project of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, highlights and explores major human rights violations in different provinces of Iran, beyond Tehran’s borders. Given this geographical overview of human rights violations, you can monitor human rights trends, learn about notorious prisons, keep tabs on Iranian officials who ...

Cartoon 36: Interrogators Target the Sacred Union

December 13, 2012

In a letter addressed to Sadeq Larijani, Head of the Iranian Judiciary, political prisoner Abolfazl Ghadyani asks (LINK: ) that the Intelligence Ministry stop interrogators’ “harassment and the corruption” of the families of political prisoners. The letter, published December 11 on Kaleme website, describes the actions of imprisoned journalist Alireza Rajaee’s interrogator: “Recently he has ...

A Letter From Prison: Interrogator Told Wife of Political Prisoner to Divorce Husband

December 12, 2012

In a letter addressed to Sadeq Larijani, Head of the Iranian Judiciary, political prisoner Abolfazl Ghadyani asks him to stop the Intelligence Ministry interrogators’ “harassment and the corruption” of the families of political prisoners. The letter, published on Kaleme website on Tuesday, December 11, directly addresses the interrogator of Alireza Rajaee, a journalist and political ...

Cartoon 35: Sotoudeh the Defender

December 10, 2012

From October 17 to December 4, 2012, human rights lawyer and activist Nasrin Sotoudeh was on hunger strike to protest the foreign travel ban imposed on her 13-year-old daughter, Mehraveh. Along with her father, Reza Khandan, Mehraveh had been served papers indicating that she was banned from leaving the country without any explanations or indication ...

Continued Killing of Unarmed Cross-border Couriers: 9 Killed and Injured Within 9 Days

November 28, 2012

At least nine unarmed cross-border couriers were killed or injured between October 30 and November 7, 2012, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “On the night of October 30, border security forces shot some cross-border couriers in Targehvar near Orumiyeh [in West Azerbaijan Province]. One of the border couriers, ...

UN Resolution Intensifies International Pressure on Iran

November 27, 2012

(November 27, 2012) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomes today’s passage of a resolution by the United Nations Third Committee of the General Assembly calling on the government of Iran to stop its massive human rights violations. ...

Anti-Censorship Film “Beyond the Electronic Curtain” to Premier in DC

November 26, 2012

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran announces the release of “Behind the Electronic Curtain,” a new documentary film by Tara Kangarlou on the crushing of free speech in Iran. The film will premier in Washington DC, where the director hopes it will have a significant effect on policymakers. The premier will be followed ...

Family Forced to Sign Release in the Case of Prison Interrogation Death

November 24, 2012

Gohar Eshghi, Sattar Beheshti’s mother, told the Campaign that she is requesting an in-person meeting with Sadeq Larijani, Head of the Iranian Judiciary, so that she may talk to him about the investigations into her son’s death. “I would like to ask Mr. Larijani and the Tehran Prosecutor to give me an appointment so that ...

Ahmad Zeidabadi Hospitalized After Six Months of Illness

November 23, 2012

“The cause of his illnesses has not yet been determined, but the initial diagnosis is that Ahmad is under psychological pressure and stress has led to these illnesses. He has been under stress in prison for 3.5 years, especially the first few months of his detention when he was under immense pressure, and the effects ...

Activist Abolfazl Tabarzadi Released from Detention Due to Severe Medical Condition

November 23, 2012

Student and human rights activist Abdolfazl Tabarzadi has been released after six months of imprisonment in Karoon Prison, after the medical examiner and a judge determined he is medically unfit to serve his prison term. Suffering from severe psychological problems, Tabarzadi is currently being treated at his family home. His grandmother, Sakineh Zibaei, told the ...

Nasrin Sotoudeh in Solitary Confinement, 18 Months Without a Phone Call

November 19, 2012

“When Nasrin launched her hunger strike, our visiting days had been confirmed for Sundays, along with the other women prisoners of conscience. As she is in solitary confinement, though, they say she is banned from having visitors,” Khandan told the Campaign. “But that is totally irrelevant—these 20 days of solitary confinement are going to be ...

UN Experts Call for an Independent Investigation into the Death of Sattar Beheshti

November 16, 2012

GENEVA (15 November 2012) – A group of United Nations experts today urged the Government of Iran to undertake a thorough, independent and impartial investigation of the death in custody of Iranian blogger Sattar Beheshti, particularly the allegations of torture, and to make the result of such an investigation public. ...