Prisoners / Arrests
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 ...
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. ...
Ghoncheh Ghavami’s Lawyer Says New Charges Looming Against Her Are Illegal
New charges may be brought against Ghoncheh Ghavami, the young woman who was arrested outside a sports stadium in Tehran in June 2014 for trying to attend a volleyball match and who remains in prison. ...
12 Executions inside Orumiyeh Central Prison in 11 Days; 9 of These for Drug Offenses
Twelve prisoners were hanged inside the Orumiyeh Central Prison between October 18 and October 29, nine of these for drug trafficking crimes, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned. ...
New Hope for Revocation of Death Sentence for Insulting Prophet on Facebook
A Supreme Court branch reviewing the appeal request in the case of Soheil Arabi, a man convicted of “sabb al-nabi” (insulting the Prophet) and sentenced to death, will soon announce its ruling, a source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
The Campaign’s 2014 UPR Pre-Session Statement
This statement by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran to the UN’s 2014 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Pre-Session on the Islamic Republic of Iran addresses the Government of Iran’s lack of implementation ...
31 Nobel Physics Prize Laureates Join Thousands of Activists to Call for the Release of Iranian Physicist
(October 22, 2014) – A delegation consisting of Amnesty International, the Committee of Concerned Scientists, and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran will deliver thousands of petitions and letters collected by these organizations and the American Physical Society calling for the release of Omid Kokabee to the Iran UN Mission in New ...
Maz Jobrani Joins Campaign for Release of Omid Kokabee
Maz Jobrani, the prominent Iranian-American actor and comedian, joins 28 Nobel laureates to call for the Iranian Judiciary’s immediate release of Omid Kokabee, the imprisoned Iranian physicist. Jobrani calls attention to Kokabee’s imprisonment on false charges after an unfair trial, and the multiple and serious health ailments Kokabee is suffering from that have gone untreated ...
Lawyer Says Jason Rezaian Not Allowed Legal Representation
Prominent Iranian lawyer Mohammad Saleh Nikbakht told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that his request to represent Jason Rezaian, the imprisoned Washington Post correspondent, has not been accepted. Nikbakht said that he had asked for permission to represent Rezaian a few weeks ago, but that “They did not accept my request to ...
New Videos Confront Iran’s Rights Violations through Personal Stories of Persecution
New York, New York – Impact Iran, a coalition of human rights organizations, in partnership with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, today launched a new video, “Promises Made, Promises Broken.” The video is part of a series aimed at drawing attention to Iran’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN ...
Retrial Granted for Omid Kokabee, Raising Hope for His Release
The request for a retrial for the imprisoned young scientist, Omid Kokabee, has been accepted by Branch 36 of the Supreme Court, according to Kokabee’s lawyer, Saeed Khalili, who posted the update on his Facebook page. “Acceptance of the retrial request means that the top judicial authority has deemed Dr. Omid Kokabee’s [initial] verdict against ...
Imprisoned Iranian Scientist Congratulates Winner of Prestigious Math Award
In a letter from prison to Maryam Mirzakhani, winner of the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics, Omid Kokabee, the imprisoned Iranian physicist, congratulated her and hoped “all young talents in all corners of the world can blossom, away from any discriminatory views and pressure from security or ideological organizations, to freely grow in the field ...
Sit-in by Political Prisoner’s Mother to Protest Lack of Due Process
The mother of Ghoncheh Ghavami, a prisoner on hunger strike since October 1, has started a sit-in outside Evin Prison to protest her daughter’s detention for more than 100 days without access to her lawyer. “Today is one hundred days since my daughter’s arrest. None of the authorities seem to have heard us during this ...
Cartoon 95: No Journalists in Prison
“I do not believe that an individual would be detained or put in prison for being a journalist. An individual can be a reporter, a journalist, and have committed a crime. But that crime is not necessarily always related to their profession, to the profession that they’re practicing,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told CNN’s Christiane ...
Eighteen Nobel Laureates Call for Immediate Release of Iranian Physicist
(September 29, 2014) The Iranian Judiciary should immediately release the Iranian physicist and prisoner of conscience, Omid Kokabee, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. ...
Cartoon 94: Man Hanged for Innovation in Islamic Principles and Insulting Jonah
Mohsen Amiraslani, 37, was hanged at Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 on charges of "corruption on earth, innovation in primary and secondary principles of Islam, and new interpretation of the Qur'an," including "insulting Prophet Jonah." "A Rajaee Shahr ...
Washington Post Reporter Jason Rezaian Suffers Severe Weight Loss in Prison
Jason Rezaian and Yeganeh Salehi have lost a “shocking” amount of weight in prison, an informed source has told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. According to this source, the family of the imprisoned Iranian journalist Yeganeh Salehi was allowed to have their first visit with her and her Washington Post reporter husband ...
Cartoon 93: Rouhani in New York
As Iranian President Hassan Rouhani prepares to come to New York next week to attend the UN General Assembly and other meetings, there is a lot of anticipation for how he would answer questions in the US media interviews that aim to polish ...
Detention Continues for Woman Attempting to Attend Volleyball Match
The decision to extend the temporary detention orders of Ghoncheh Ghavami, the young woman with dual British-Iranian citizenship who was arrested for trying to attend a volleyball game in Tehran, is under court review after Ghavami’s lawyer filed a formal objection. The family of Ghavami has also objected strenuously to her continued detainment. ...
Happy Video Youths Receive Suspended Flogging and Prison Sentences
The youths involved in the making of the “Happy in Tehran” dance video set to Pharrell Williams hit song “Happy” have all been sentenced, receiving suspended sentences of 91 lashes and six months in prison, with the exception of Reyhaneh Taravati, who received a suspended twelve-month prison sentence in addition to the suspended lashes, provided ...