Imprisoned lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh defended himself against charges of “writing letters and signing group statements in prison” in a July 17 appeals court session, his wife told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Calling the his trial courts “unqualified” to try him, Mohammad Seifzadeh had not attended any of his previous five court sessions, ...
After 37 days of lawyer Massoud Shamsinejad’s detention, Branch 5 of Orumiyeh Special Crimes Courts informed him of political charges against him, a local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Shamsinejad, an Orumiyeh lawyer who has represented many Kurdish political prisoners, has been charged with “supporting Kurdish parties,” “contacting foreign media,” ...
Reza Khandan said that despite authorities’ promises for a furlough that could lead to Sotoudeh’s release, she was summoned back to Evin Prison and none of her letters requesting an extension of her furlough were answered. Khandan told the Campaign that his wife returned to prison on the evening of Sunday, July 7. ...
During his last days as president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered the Cabinet to eliminate and archive the General Bill on the Legal Profession. This decision faced sharp criticism from the Head of the Judiciary, though it pleased many lawyers who have been critical of the bill. Three Iranian lawyers spoke with the International Campaign for Human ...
A lower court ruling in the Kahrizak case issued yesterday indicates that the three suspects in the case were permanently dismissed from judicial positions, and further dismissed from government employment for five years. To the astonishment of observers, Saeed Mortazavi, the prime suspect in the case, was acquitted from the charge of “participation in murder,” ...
Imprisoned lawyer and human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh was released from Evin Prison on furlough on Sunday, June 23. Journalist Jila Baniyaghoub was also released from Evin Prison on the same day after completing her one-year prison sentence. ...
In an interview with the Campaign, independent Internet security expert Collin Anderson, who participated in the campaign to lift the technology sanctions, described the general license as “an exemplary case of civil society organizations from different fields working together.” Congratulating the US administration for lifting the technology sanctions, Anderson said, “Now we have to push ...
Two journalists and a blogger previously released on furlough have been recalled to prison and are expected to turn themselves in today, and imprisoned lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh’s promised furlough has not been granted. Security forces have also recently summoned several other journalists in Tehran and have made telephone calls warning them not to support a ...
“Five in the Afternoon,” the Persian-language weekly podcast hosted by prominent Iranian satirist Kambiz Hosseini and sponsored and produced by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, has won the Bobs Reporters Without Borders User Award presented by Deutsche Welle. ...
Since the Iranian authorities won’t allow us to report from within Iran, this month we speak to several Iranian refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan who were imprisoned in Iran for their human rights activities. Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan has become known for its economic growth, relative stability, and security, and is attracting investors, workers, and ...
Massoud Shafiee, the lawyer who represented the three American hikers in Iran, shared an open letter to the Iranian authorities with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. In the letter, he calls out the Iranian authorities for confiscating of his passport, monitoring all his communications, and preventing him from continuing his professional activities ...
Despite the family’s presentation of a property deed as collateral, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi refused to grant furlough to imprisoned lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, the latter’s daughter told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Maedeh Soltani told the Campaign that the Prosecutor refused her father’s furlough request two days before Persian New Year, ...
Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh’s eyesight is deteriorating in prison, but she has not been granted any leave to visit an ophthalmologist, her husband Reza Khandan told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
Seven Dervish lawyers being held at the Intelligence Ministry’s Ward 209 at Evin Prison have not had access to light in months and have developed various illnesses, the wife of one of the lawyers told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Sedigheh Khalili, the wife of imprisoned lawyer Hamidreza Moradi, added that officials ...
The judicial orders for imprisoned lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh, charged with “illegal border exit with the intent to act against national security,” have changed from “ceased prosecution” to “guilty” without notice, causing him to remain in prison even after serving his initial sentence on separate charges. ...
Referencing “key opposition leaders in detention” and “quite serious webs of arrests of journalists,” Dr. Ahmed Shaheed says, “In an election year, these kinds of activities can negate any sense of a legitimate free and fair election.” The UN Human Rights Council renewed the mandate of Special Rapporteur ...
(March 22, 2013) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomes the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 26 to 2 vote to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran for the third consecutive year. The Campaign also urged Iranian authorities to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur ...
As Iranians around the world prepare to celebrate the new year, hundreds of prisoners of conscience remain behind bars in Iran. The Persian New Year, Nowruz, is the most important holiday in Iran, beginning at the moment of the vernal equinox. While the news website Kaleme reports that a dozen political prisoners have been granted ...
This week, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran joined 16 other human rights organizations in a joint letter asking the United Nations Human Rights Council to renew the mandate Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed. ...
The present report is the second to be submitted to the Human Rights Council, pursuant to Council resolution 16/9, and communicates developments in the human rights situation of the Islamic Republic of Iran that have transpired since the submission of the Special Rapporteur’s second interim report to the 67th session of the General Assembly (A/67/369) ...
United Nations Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed elicited a blustering response from the Iranian delegation when he presented the findings of his most recent report on the situation of human rights in Iran to the Human Rights Council yesterday. In remarks both yesterday and today, Iranian delegation leader and Iranian Human Rights Council head Mohammad Javad ...
While imprisoned Iranian lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani has technically been granted furlough, judicial authorities have set his bail so high as to effectively deprive him of it, his daughter told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The bail set for his furlough is approximately US$1 million, an amount entirely out of reach of Soltani’s ...
Nikahang Kowsar is a blogger, journalist, and political cartoonist who doesn’t shy away from controversy. In his cartoons, he frequently criticizes the Iranian leadership and draws attention to very sensitive issues, including human rights abuses. In today’s podcast, he talks to us about one cartoon in particular that drew in death threats, and even arrest ...
(February 13, 2013) The Iranian authorities should immediately release from arbitrary house arrest two former presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, his wife Zahra Rahnavard, author and political activist, and cease harassing or detaining without cause the couple’s two daughters and Mehdi Karroubi’s son, said the Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi and ...
Today we speak with award-winning journalist Tara Kangarlou about her new film, “Beyond the Electronic Curtain,” and the issue of Internet censorship in Iran. “Beyond the Electronic Curtain” documents the effects of unrelenting censorship on Iranian society. Through the stories of the many journalists in Iran who have been imprisoned for doing their job, the ...