Just Released From Prison, Golrokh Iraee Ebrahimi Faces More Time Behind Bars
Newly released from prison, civil rights activist Golrokh Iraee Ebrahimi may have to serve more time behind bars depending on the outcome of another case ...
Prisoners / Arrests
Interview: Jailed Navy Vet Repeatedly Taken to Court Without Lawyer or Translator
Michael White Sentenced to 10 Years Imprisonment US Navy veteran Michael White was repeatedly taken to court in Iran without an attorney or a translator before he was sentenced to ...
Iran: Free Imprisoned Gonabadi Dervishes
Dozens of Sufi Gonabadi dervishes, a persecuted religious minority in Iran, have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms since mass protests in February 2018 turned violent, resulting in the deaths of five members of Iran's armed forces and one Sufi protester. Many dervishes are in jail today without access to counsel or medical treatment, being ...
Female Activist in “Very Poor” Health after Nine Months and Counting of Solitary Confinement
Political activist Hengameh Shahidi is in poor health after a nine-month stint in solitary confinement, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has been informed. Arrested on ...
“It’s an Insult:” Human Rights Attorney Condemns Iran’s New Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi
The appointment by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of a known human rights violator to head the country’s judiciary is a prelude to dark days ahead for human and civil rights defenders, Iranian attorney ...
Gender Equality Researcher Tried in Iran Under National Security Charge
Gender equality advocate Rezvaneh Mohammadi was tried in absentia in Tehran under the unusual charge of “assembly and collusion against national security ...
Political Prisoner’s Family Faces Homelessness in Iran Due to State Confiscation of Properties
Hassan Sadeghi and Fatemeh Mosanna Denied Medical Treatment The family of two political prisoners is facing homelessness now that they’ve received notice that their family home and only remaining property will be confiscated by ...
Iran: Harsh Sentence for Rights Lawyer Threatens Activism
Lengthy Prison Terms Shows Effort to Deter Rights Advocacy (New York, March 20, 2019) – The prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh’s draconian sentence for her peaceful activism shows the ...
Defying Unjust Court Process, Nasrin Sotoudeh Refuses to Appeal Prison Sentence
Husband Publishes Sotoudeh’s Verdict Notes, Addressing Discrepancies Refusing to legitimize the unjust judicial process in Iran, in which defendants held on politically motivated charges are sentenced to long prison terms without fair trials, imprisoned defense attorney ...
Iran Appeals Court Upholds Lengthy Prison Sentences, Lashings Against 23 Dervishes
Sentences Range from Six to 26 Years Including Lashes March 15, 2019 – The mass conviction of 23 dervishes of the Sufi Gonabadi Order to prison terms of up to 26 years as well ...
UN Expert Concerned by Crackdown on Protests and Strikes in Iran
Iranian students clash with riot police during an anti-government protest around the University of Tehran, Iran, 30 December 2017. Living conditions difficult for many ...
Qoliyan and Bakhshi Held Without Bail or Access to Lawyers for Almost Two Months, Transferred to Prisons in Ahvaz
Despite the apparent end of investigations by judicial authorities against labor activist Esmail Bakhshi and freelance reporter Sepideh Qoliyan, the two have not been offered bail and continue to be held, without access to ...
Reformist Politician Abolfazl Ghadyani Ordered to Copy Out by Hand Supreme Leader’s Book
Abolfazl Ghadyani: “I will be a thorn ...
EU Foreign and Defence Ministry Condemns Conviction of Nasrin Sotoudeh
The diplomatic service and foreign and defence ministry of the EU, European Union External Action (EEAS), has condemned the conviction of prominent Iranian attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh and urged Iran to guarantee her and her husband Reza Khandan, who was sentenced to six years ...
Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Says She Has Been Sentenced to 38 Years in Prison
[Editor's Note: Based on Nasrin Sotoudeh's written notes of her verdict (she was denied a physical copy), which she gave to her husband one week after reporting her sentence of 38 years to ...
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry Slaps Azeri Rights Activist With New Charges, Claim He’s Organizing Protests from Prison
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry is pressing new charges against prominent Azeri ethnic rights activist Abbas Lesani, claiming he has been organizing protests from inside the prison ...
Iranian Belgian Academic Arrested in Iran on Unspecified “Security Charges”
A dual national academic who has taught at the University of Tehran and the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium was arrested on “security ...
Nasrin Sotoudeh, Attorney Who Defended Hijab Protesters, Convicted of “National Security” Crimes
Prominent Human Rights Defender Was Facing Decades in Prison, Sentence Unclear March 5, 2019 – The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) forcefully condemns the conviction of prominent Iranian defense attorney ...
UN Environment Calls on Iran to Guarantee “Fair, Transparent” Trial for Eight Conservationists
In a statement published March 5, 2019, the highest ranking agency in the United Nations on the environment has called on Iran to guarantee a fair, transparent and independent trial for eight conservationists detained there since January 2018 on trumped-up national security charges. Following is the ...
US-Based Environmentalist Detained in Iran’s Kurdistan Province
Environmentalist Afshin Sheikholeslami Vatani, a US permanent resident, was arrested on February 17, 2019, at his father’s home in the city of Sanandaj, the capital of Iran’s Kurdistan Province, ...
Political Prisoner Sews Lips Shut to Protest 13-Year Prison Sentence for Peaceful Online Activities
Twenty-seven-year-old political prisoner Ali Bazazordeh has sewed his lips shut and started a hunger strike in Evin Prison’s Ward 4 to protest an Iranian Appeals Court’s decision to uphold a 13-year prison ...
Lawyer of Juvenile Offender on Death Row Says Client Mohammad Kalhori Should be Pardoned
Despite being diagnosed with mental and emotional disorders, Mohammad Kalhori is facing imminent execution in Iran for a crime he allegedly committed at the ...
Imprisoned Activist Atena Daemi May Have a Debilitating Disease But She’s Being Denied an MRI
Imprisoned civil rights activist Atena Daemi is being denied medical treatment despite possibly suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), a family member told the Center for Human Rights in ...
Families Denied Access to Secretive Trial of Iran’s Detained Conservationists
International Outcry Against Rampant Denials of Due Process Detained conservationist Morad Tahbaz was summoned to two closed-door sessions February 24-25, 2019, in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court system, the Center for Human Rights in Iran ...