U.S. Resident Imprisoned in Iran “Punished” for Going on Hunger Strike
Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-born U.S. permanent resident on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin Prison since December 8, 2016, has been moved to a ward for common criminals to force ...
Unfair Trials
Revolutionary Guards Blocking Temporary Release of Canadian Resident Imprisoned in Iran
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are blocking the granted furlough (temporary release) request of Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian-born Canadian resident who has been in imprisoned in Tehran since 2008, his sister ...
Tehran Prosecutor Goes on the Defensive Over Hunger-Striking Political Prisoners
In an apparent response to growing pressure to resolve the issue, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi has criticized media coverage of a wave of hunger strikes in Iran by ...
Activist Saeed Shirzad on Hunger Strike Against Poor Prison Conditions Hospitalized
Imprisoned children's rights activist Saeed Shirzad began his hunger strike in Rajaee Shahr Prison on December 17, 2016, the day he sewed his lips shut. Imprisoned civil rights activist ...
Tehran University Invite Lands Iranian-Swedish Disaster Medicine Expert in Jail
Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-born Swedish resident and expert in emergency disaster medicine who has been detained in Evin Prison without trial since April 24, 2016, is prepared to “die” on hunger strike rather ...
Wife of Imprisoned Activist Arash Sadeghi Resists Order to Return to Prison
Political prisoner Arash Sadeghi, the husband of Golrokh Iraee who went on a 71-day hunger strike demanding a case review for his imprisoned wife, was quickly returned to prison against ...
Reformist Journalist Convicted of “Propaganda Against the State” Completes One-Year Prison Sentence
Reformist journalist Reyhaneh Tabatabaie was released from Evin Prison in Tehran on January 5, 2017 after serving a one-year sentence for interviewing Iranian Sunni leaders, posting critical commentary about ...
Conservative Tehran MP to Judiciary: Review Case of Political Prisoner on Hunger Strike
Wave of Hunger Strikes Highlights Prisoners’ Plights Conservative member of Parliament Ali Motahari has publicly asked the Judiciary to review the case of ailing political prisoner Ali Shariati, who has been ...
Nobel Laureate’s Call for Resignation of Iran’s Judiciary Chief Puts Spotlight on Rampant Judicial Abuses
January 6, 2017—The call for the resignation of Iran’s top judicial official, Sadegh Larijani, by the prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, has brought renewed ...
Iran’s First Female Judge and Nobel Laureate Calls for Resignation of Judiciary Chief
Shirin Ebadi: Interrogators Make Decisions for the Judges Amid the ongoing wave of life-threatening hunger strikes by political prisoners in Iran, Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi has called on the chief of the country’s Judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, to ...
Arash Sadeghi’s 71-Day Hunger Strike Achieves Promise of Case Review for Imprisoned Wife
Public Pressure Forces Iran’s Judiciary to Retreat From Hardline Stance “The [Tehran] Assistant Prosecutor Mr. Hajilou accepted that my case was wrongfully handled, but said it would take time for it to be reviewed,” ...
Persecution of Dual Nationals: Businessman Serving 10-Year Prison Sentence After Coerced Confession
Security Forces Use Kamran Ghaderi's Wife as “Bait” to Coerce Confession Iranian-Austrian dual citizen Kamran Ghaderi is entering the second year of his 10-year prison sentence in solitary confinement in Tehran after being coerced into confessing to espionage ...
Imprisoned Civil Rights Activist Released After 65-Day Hunger Strike—With a Catch
Azeri rights advocate Morteza Moradpour has been hospitalized in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, while he recovers from the 65-day hunger strike that led to his conditional release from prison. However, his legal battle is far from over because ...
Huge Twitter Storm in Support of Imprisoned Iranian Activist on Hunger Strike
Arash Sadeghi Is World’s Highest Trending Topic on Twitter on December 30 SaveArash# was for a time the highest trending topic on Twitter on Friday December 30, 2016, as social media users around the world expressed their ...
Political Prisoner Banned from Visits After Sending Complaint to Warden
Imprisoned doctoral student Hamid Babaei has been banned from receiving visitations after the prison warden accused him of “insulting” Iran’s supreme leader during a discussion about a complaint Babaei had sent to the ...
Union Leader Receives Unofficial Warning To Return to Prison or Lose $140,000 Bail
Labor rights activist Jafar Azimzadeh has been told that he must return to Evin Prison in Tehran by January 13, 2017 or his guarantor will lose 450 million tomans ($140,000 ...
Imprisoned Activist Faces New Charges After Filing Complaint About Revolutionary Guards
Iranian civil rights defender Atena Daemi, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison for her peaceful activism, has been slapped ...
Rouhani Unveils Toothless Charter on Citizen’s Rights Without Path to Implementation
Five months before his second term re-election bid, President Hassan Rouhani signed his government’s “Charter on Citizen's Rights” on December 19, 2016. The announcement was touted as the fulfillment ...
Lebanese-American Internet Freedom Advocate Starts Hunger Strike in Iran’s Evin Prison
Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-born U.S. permanent resident and internet freedom advocate who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran in September 2016 for “espionage,” has been on ...
Five Political Prisoners in Iran on Life-Threatening Hunger Strikes in Desperate Bid for Case Reviews
The lives of at least three imprisoned civil rights activists in Iran are perilously in danger after suffering health complications from weeks on hunger strike, while another has sewn his lips shut, but ...
Iran’s New Basij Militia Commander More Militaristic Than His Predecessor
The appointment of ultra-conservative hardliner Gholam-Hossein Gheibparvar as the new commander of Iran’s Basij, a volunteer militia under the authority of the Revolutionary Guards, has raised fears of increased ...
Mother Begs Revolutionary Guards Not to Return Her Activist Son to Prison In Heart-Rending Video
A video posted on social media shows the mother of civil rights activist Omid Alishenas, who was at home with her on bail at ...
Imprisoned Azeri Rights Activist Loses 44 Pounds 50 Days Into Hunger Strike
Imprisoned Azeri civil rights activist Morteza Moradpour has lost 44 pounds and is suffering from severe kidney pain 50 days into a hunger strike that he has vowed to continue ...
Rouhani Supporter Imprisoned for Peaceful Activism Critically Ill After 43-Day Hunger Strike
After 43 days on hunger strike, political prisoner Ali Shariati, a long-time supporter of President Hassan Rouhani, has been hospitalized and is “critically ill,” his mother told the International Campaign ...
Six Years into Extrajudicial House Arrest, Green Movement Leaders Still Asking for Trial
Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard Detained Since February 2011 December 13, 2016—The Judiciary should carry out its latest “promise—or threat” to put former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, who has been under extrajudicial house ...