Taheri’s Death Sentence Will Not Stand, Says Hopeful Lawyer
The lawyer for imprisoned Iranian spiritual leader Mohammad Ali Taheri is optimistic that the latest death sentence against his client will again be turned down upon appeal. The ...
Religious Freedom
Christian Convert Released From Prison in Iran Slapped With Travel Ban
Zargaran Reports Being Given “Unnecessary” Anti-Psychotic Medication Maryam (Nasim) Naghash Zargaran, who was released from Evin Prison on August 1, 2017 after serving more than four years for allegedly engaging in Christian missionary activities, has ...
Sunni Arabs Beaten and Arrested in Iran For Praying in Public
Thirteen Sunni Arabs have been beaten by security and plainclothes agents and arrested for publicly praying in Ahvaz, the capital of Iran’s Khuzestan Province, the Center for Human Rights ...
Iranian Imprisoned Spiritual Leader Awaiting New Verdict While IRGC Arrests His Followers
Followers of imprisoned Iranian spiritual leader Mohammad Ali Taheri are being arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) while he awaits a verdict more than three weeks ...
Sufi Devotee With Heart Disease Denied “Urgent” Medical Care in Bandar Abbas Prison
Despite worsening heart disease, Mohammad Ali Shamshirzan, an imprisoned dervish of Iran’s Sufi Gonabadi Order in Hormozgan Province, is being denied specialized treatment outside prison. “Prisoners are ...
Sunni Council in Iran Suspends Operations Amid Ongoing Arrests and Intimidation
Dissident Sunni cleric Hassan Amini is the secretary general of the Sunni Theologians ...
Iranian State Censorship Body Blocks Websites Belonging to Persecuted Sufi Gonabadi Order
State authorities in Iran have blocked access to websites belonging to the Sufi Gonabadi Order to erase the religious minority’s presence on cyberspace, their lawyer told ...
11 Christian Converts Issued Long Prison Sentences in Iran in Less Than Two Months in Sham Trials
The Holy Savior Cathedral church in Isfahan, Iran. Judge Mashallah Ahmadzadeh on Sentencing Spree Since June 2017 July 20, 2017—The Iranian authorities must immediately halt the disturbing trend of arrests ...
Four Christian Converts Sentenced to 10 Years Imprisonment in Trial Lacking Due Process
Three Azeri men from the Republic of Azerbaijan, and one Iranian man--all Protestant Christian converts--have been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Iran, according to Mansour Borji, the ...
Another Student Expelled From University in Iran For Baha’i Faith
Farzad Safaei was one semester away from a bachelor’s degree in industrial metallurgy at the Islamic Azad University when he was expelled on May 20, 2017 by the security office for being a member of the Baha’i faith ...
Iran’s Top Sunni Cleric Urges President Rouhani to Appoint Religious Minorities to Cabinet
The leader of Iran’s Sunni population told CHRI that Sunnis should be invited to participate in the second-term government of newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani ...
Baha’i Persecution Worsens Under Rouhani Government
“Banned from university, businesses sealed, cemeteries desecrated… What rights do Baha’is have as citizens?” The persecution of the Baha’i religious minority in Iran has grown worse under President ...
Cartoon 167: Raisi’s Candidacy
The presidential candidacy of Ebrahim Raisi as depicted by Iranian cartoonist Touka Neyastani....
Iran Election Update – May 15, 2017
Items of Note Khatami Endorses Rouhani Influential reformist leader Mohammad Khatami has thrown his weight behind incumbent President Hassan Rouhani for Iran's May 19 presidential election. “We started on a path with Mr. Rouhani and we are at the halfway point,” he said in a ...
29 Members of EU Parliament Urge Iran to Release Detained Journalists and Activists Ahead of 2017 Elections
Ahead of Iran’s elections on May 19 for president and local councils, 29 members of the European Parliament have written a letter to Federica Mogherini, the representative of the European Union ...
CHRI’s updates on Iran’s 2017 elections | May 3, 2017
Get caught up on Iran’s 2017 presidential and local council elections with a special weekly update by CHRI. ...
Eight Baha’is Arrested Without a Warrant by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and Denied Legal Counsel
Seven Baha’i citizens were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry in Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, southern Iran, on April 18, 2017, an informed source told the Center for Human ...
Former MP Urges Iranian Government to “Trust” and Allow Sunnis to Run For President
In the run-up to Iran’s May 19, 2017 presidential election, a Sunni Muslim former member of Parliament has renewed his call for members of his faith to be allowed to run ...
Iranian Sunni Cleric and Critic of Iran’s Involvement in Syria Released From Detention
Molavi Fazl al-Rahman Kouhi, an outspoken Sunni cleric in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan Province, was released from detention on $31,000 USD bail on April 10, 2017 after being questioned for a ...
Five Iranian Baha’is Arrested in Isfahan Without Warrant on Unknown Charges
Five Baha’is were arrested at their homes in the city of Isfahan on March 28, 2017, Simin Fahandej, the faith’s spokesperson at the United Nations in Geneva confirmed to the Center for Human ...
Five-Year Prison Sentence Upheld Against Christian Convert for Missionary Activities
The five-year prison sentence against Christian convert Ebrahim Firoozi for his alleged missionary activities has been confirmed by the Appeals Court in Tehran, the Center for Human Rights in ...
Baha’is Imprisoned in Iran for Religious Beliefs Singled Out for Cruel Treatment
A member of Iran’s perseacuted Baha’i faith has expressed serious concerns about two imprisoned ailing family members who are being denied early release despite being legally eligible. The Intelligence ...
Cartoon 163: Rouhani Protecting Citizen’s Rights
President Hassan Rouhani stands between Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a political prisoner, ostensibly to protect the prisoner from Khamenei's bat, a metaphor for the Revolutionary Guards, while himself threatening the prisoner with a bat, representing his Intelligence Ministry....
Judiciary Refusing to Release Ailing Baha’i Leader Imprisoned in Iran for Nine Years
Behrouz Tavakkoli, an elderly former Baha’i community leader who has spent nearly nine years in prison for his faith, is legally eligible for early release, but his requests for a case review are being ignored. His ...