Reformist Journalist, Activist Arrested in Run-Up to Iran’s 2017 Election Post Bail
Ailing Human Rights Lawyer Granted Brief Furlough Journalist Tahereh Riahi and civil rights activist Mona Moafi, both reformists, were released on bail on ...
Prisoners / Arrests
Prominent Imprisoned Activist Who Voted for Rouhani: My Vote Was For Iran’s Civil Society
Narges Mohammadi, a prominent human rights activist serving a 16-year prison sentence for her peaceful advocacy efforts, is publicly urging newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani to build the foundations for ...
Iranian Nobel Laureate Blasts Khamenei’s “Fire at Will” Policy Against Domestic Opponents
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s recent declaration that his supporters should “fire at will” against presumed enemies of the state is an established policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi told ...
Photojournalist Who Worked for Rouhani’s Presidential Campaign Arrested Without Charge
Husband Pressured to Confess to Espionage Formerly imprisoned photojournalist Asal Esmailzadeh was “suddenly” arrested without charge while accompanying her husband to the Culture and Media Court in Tehran on June 19, 2017, Saeed Seif ...
Prominent Civil Rights Activists Urge Iran’s Parliament to Ban Use of Deadly Force Against Border Couriers
The killing, by border guards, of another kulbar—the Persian word for the border-crossing couriers who transport illegally imported goods into Iran—has prompted 250 Iranian civil rights ...
Judiciary Chief Threatens Domestic Proponents of US-Instigated Regime Change With Death Penalty
The chief of Iran’s judiciary has responded to recent comments by the US secretary of state describing the Trump administration’s policy of regime change in Iran by threatening domestic ...
Denied Due Process, Detained Telegram Channel Admins Go on Hunger Strike
Telegram channel admin Nima Keshvari was detained in mid-March 2017 by the IRGC's Intelligence Organization. Six administrators of channels on the ...
Ailing Political Activist Detained Without Charge Subjected to Three-Month Solitary Confinement and Renewed Interrogations
Hengameh Shahidi’s Family Under Media Ban More than three months after her arrest and detainment, ailing political activist Hengameh Shahidi has not been charged and is in poor ...
Human Rights Lawyer: Iran’s Response to Terrorist Attacks Could Lead to Major Rights Abuses
The arrests by Iranian security forces of dozens of suspects with alleged links to the terrorist group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS) could result in extrajudicial retaliatory ...
Parliamentary Committee Blocks Security Agencies’ Attempts to Significantly Delay Death Penalty Amendment
A Parliamentary committee in Iran has blocked an attempt by security agencies to delay for a year a parliamentary vote on an amendment that could drastically reduce death penalty sentences ...
Human Rights Activist Told He Must Serve Additional Year in Prison on Day of Expected Release
While his family waited for him outside Rajaee Shahr Prison the day he was supposed to be released, on June 6, 2017, Navid Khanjani was told he would ...
Ahmadinejad Aide Says He Was Imprisoned for Refusing to Collaborate With Revolutionary Guards
An imprisoned media advisor to former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accused the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of offering him freedom in exchange for incriminating Ahmadinejad. In ...
Iran’s Supreme Leader Says 1988 Executions of Thousands of Political Prisoners “Unfairly Judged”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has broken his silence over the state’s execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, which received renewed attention in the country’s May 2017 presidential election ...
Political Activist Detained Without Charge Subjected to “Illegal” Interrogations in Evin Prison
Ailing political activist Hengameh Shahidi, who has been on hunger strike in Evin Prison since March 16, 2017 to protest her detention without charge, is being subjected to renewed interrogations by security agents ...
Iranian Political Prisoner With Multiple Sclerosis Refused Medical Furlough
Imprisoned music producers Mehdi Rajabian and his brother Hossein Rajabian refused to return to Evin Prison after the judiciary denied Mehdi ...
Imprisoned Teachers’ Rights Activist Returned to Evin Prison After Three-Day Hospitalization
Prominent teachers’ rights advocate Esmail Abdi, who has been on hunger strike for more than 30 days, was transported from Evin Prison to a hospital in Tehran on June 3, 2017 ...
Appeals Court Strikes Down Additional Charges by IRGC Against Imprisoned Rights Activist Atena Daemi
Imprisoned children’s rights activist Atena Daemi ended her hunger strike after she and her sisters were acquitted of additional charges brought by the IRGC that resulted in additional time added onto her seven-year prison sentence ...
Well-Known Cleric Urges Rouhani to Drop Justice Minister for Role in 1988 Prisoner Massacre
A well-known dissident cleric is urging newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani to drop Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi from his cabinet for his role in human rights violations. ...
Top Reformist Campaign Staff Member Arrested in Front of Children Without Warrant
Reza Golestani, a senior staff member at the reformists’ election headquarters in Razavi Khorasan Province, northeastern Iran, was arrested at his home in the capital city of Mashhad, the Center for Human Rights ...
Artists, Activists Send Letter to Rouhani Demanding Release of Imprisoned Music Producers
A group of artists and supporters of the artistic community in Iran have called on newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani to free two imprisoned music producers ...
Newly Elected Reformist Council Member Arrested For Calling Prophet Mohammad “Secular”
A newly elected reformist member of the city council in Hamadan, northwestern Iran, was arrested for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammad ...
More Than 15,000 Petition Iran’s Judiciary to Free Prominent Teachers’ Rights Activist
An online petition signed by more than 15,000 people calling for the release of imprisoned teachers’ rights leader Esmail Abdi has been delivered to the judiciary and the office of the president ...
Newly Reelected Rouhani Abandons Promise to End Six-Year House Arrest of Opposition Leaders
In the first press conference of his second presidential term, Rouhani refused to commit to ending the extrajudicial house arrests of three opposition leaders—a pledge he made four years ago ...
Activists Acquitted of National Security Charges for Peaceful Defense of Labor Rights
Trade union activists Jafar Azimzadeh and Shapour Ehsani-Rad have been acquitted of the charge of ‘acting against national security’ for peacefully advocating for labor rights ...