Amendment Could Save Thousands of Drug Traffickers on Death Row in Iran
If passed by Parliament and the Council of Guardians, an amendment to Iran’s death penalty law could save thousands of drug traffickers currently facing execution. ...
Unfair Trials
Rouhani’s Intelligence Ministry and Khamenei’s IRGC Widen Crackdown Ahead of Election
A growing rivalry between Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and Revolutionary Guards may be the result of a much deeper power struggle. ...
Dual National Speaks of Yearning for Family and Disillusionment with Iran in Letter Prison
Iranian-British citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, imprisoned in Iran since April 2016, has written a letter to her UK-based husband about the pain of being separated from their infant daughter, Gabriella “Gisoo” Ratcliffe, and disillusionment with her birth country of Iran. “I turned 38 without you by my ...
Teachers Hold Rallies Across Iran for Labor and Education Rights
Teachers held rallies in several Iranian cities in March 2017 demanding livable wages and improved student resources. ...
IRGC Violently Arrests Reformist Editor One Month After Release From Evin Prison
Reformist editor Ehsan Mazandarani was violently returned to Evin Prison less than a month after being released. ...
Opposition Leader Under Extrajudicial House Arrest for Six Years Denied Emergency Care
An elderly opposition leader kept under extrajudicial house arrest in Tehran since 2011 is being denied access to timely emergency medical care. ...
Dual National Robin Shahini Serving 18-Year Prison Sentence in Iran Proclaims Innocence in Letter
An Iranian-American man who was sentenced to 18 years in prison during a visit to his birth country has written a letter proclaiming his innocence. ...
Grave and Baseless New Charges Against Imprisoned Iranian-American and Wife
March 10, 2017—Serious and baseless new charges have been brought against Karan Vafadari and Afarin Neyssari, the dual-national Iranian-American and his wife who have been imprisoned in Iran’s Evin Prison without any ...
Iran: Repression of those seeking truth and justice for 1980s killings needs to stop
In a joint statement 20 human rights organizations urged the Iranian authorities to stop their attempts to silence human rights defenders and others seeking to shed light on past atrocities. ...
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 son, ...
Imprisoned Spiritual Leader Facing the Death Penalty Again for His Personal Beliefs
Imprisoned spiritual thinker Mohammad Ali Taheri has again been tried for the charge of “corruption on earth” despite being cleared of the same charge in 2015, his sister Azardokht Taheri told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). If convicted, the founder of the banned Erfan-e ...
Revolutionary Guards Seeking “Revenge” by Blocking Political Prisoner’s Hospitalization
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are preventing the hospitalization of political prisoner Arash Sadeghi, who needs urgent medical treatment for the effects of his prolonged ...
Iranian Catholic Converts Arrested in Northwestern Iran
Two Iranian Catholic converts have been arrested in their home by the Revolutionary Guards in West Azerbaijan Province, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. ...
Evin Prison Violating Iranian Law by Keeping Political Prisoners in Wards With Violent Offenders
Some Prisoners Attacked With “Brass Knuckles and Knives” The authorities of Evin Prison in Tehran are violating Iranian law by refusing to move four political prisoners who have been attacked by other inmates to a ward ...
Imprisoned Iran-Born Swedish Resident Refusing Food and Water in Desperate Bid for Justice
Rouhani Officials Ignore Djalali’s Wife’s Letters Iranian-born Swedish resident Ahmadreza Djalali is protesting his detainment in Iran since April 2016 without charge and denial of access to due process by refusing ...
Former Political Prisoner Arrested by “Unidentified Agents” Without a Warrant
Former political prisoner Majid Asadi was arrested at his home in Karaj, west of Tehran, and taken to Evin Prison on February 21, 2017 by “unidentified agents who did not show a warrant,” ...
Iranian-Kurdish Activist Lured to Government Office and Arrested by Intelligence Ministry
Update: Farzaneh Jalali was released on March 13, 2017, according to a post on her Facebook page. Farzaneh Jalali, an Iranian-Kurdish civil rights activist, has been held at an Intelligence Ministry ...
Editor of State-Funded News Agency Remains Detained Without Access to Due Process
Detained since December 2016, Tahereh Riahi, the social affairs editor of the state-funded Borna News Agency, remains isolated in Evin Prison in Tehran while being denied access to legal ...
Daughter of Imprisoned Rights Lawyer Accuses Intelligence Minister of Blocking His Release
The daughter of an imprisoned prominent human rights lawyer has accused Iran’s hardline Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi of blocking the release of her ailing father, ...
Four Azeri Rights Activists Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison for Peaceful Activism
Four Iranian ethnic Azerbaijanis have been issued long prison sentences for peacefully defending their rights, the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned. One defendant, Alireza Farshi, told the Campaign that Branch 1 of ...
Arrest of Cleric Imprisoned for Highlighting 1988 Political Prisoners Massacre “Like a Kidnapping”
Ahmad Montazeri (right) with his wife Zahra Amlashi. The wife of Ahmad Montazeri, sentenced to six years in prison for publishing an ...
Largest Trade Union Body Asks Iran’s Leader to End Persecution of Prominent Activist
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has written to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei calling for an end to the persecution of Reza Shahabi, a prominent labor activist ...
Beaten and Harassed, Dual National Serving 18-Year Prison Sentence in Iran on Hunger Strike
Iranian-American dual citizen Reza (Robin) Shahini, currently serving an 18-year prison sentence in Gorgan Prison (about 190 miles east of Tehran), has gone on hunger strike to protest ...
Sunni Leader Calls on Khamenei to Investigate Reports of Expedited Executions of Sunni Prisoners
Iranian Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi (right) greets Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (left). Iran’s most senior Sunni cleric, Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi, has written to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...
Detained Iranian-Born Swedish Resident Djalali Starts Hunger Strike After Judge Dismisses Lawyers
Iranian-born Swedish resident Ahmadreza Djalali, detained in Iran since April 2016, began a second hunger strike in Evin Prison on February 15, 2017 to protest against his lawyers ...