News

October 20, 2020

Nasrin Sotoudeh Transferred to Notorious Gharchak Prison

Doctors Say Hospitalization Required, Instead Sotoudeh Moved to Iran’s Most Dangerous Prison Human Rights Lawyer’s Health in Serious Danger October 20, 2020 -- ...

October 13, 2020

Nasrin Sotoudeh: Grave Deterioration in Health, Exposed to COVID-19 at Hospital

Doctors: Her Return to Prison Was “A deliberate attempt to put her life in danger” Family’s Repeated Requests for Medical Furlough and Hospitalization Denied October 13, 2020 -- ...

October 7, 2020

Prominent Iranian Writers Sent to Prison for Peaceful Dissent

Six-year and Three-year Sentences Begin for Senior Iranian Writers Association Members Lawyer: “These sentences are without legal and judicial merit. They are only political rulings” ...

October 7, 2020

UN Press Release: Citing COVID Risk, Bachelet Calls on Iran to Release Jailed Human Rights Defenders

Iran is “Using the criminal justice system as a tool to silence civil society” Farsi version Geneva (6 October 2020) – UN High ...

October 6, 2020

“We Must Not be Silent” Watch the New “Nasrin” Documentary

Available for viewing within the U.S. at the Globe Docs Film Festival from October 1-12, 2020, "Nasrin" is a new feature documentary about one of the world’s most courageous human rights activists and political prisoners, Iranian attorney Nasrin ...

October 1, 2020

Prisoner on Death Row Not Allowed to Attend Funeral of Grieving Father Who Committed Suicide

Father of Amirhossein Moradi Distraught Over His Son’s Unjust Death Sentence Iranian authorities have rejected requests by Amirhossein Moradi, ...

September 30, 2020

New Charges Thrown at Political Prisoners to Keep Them Behind Bars

Rushed Convictions Show Judiciary Willing to Do Bidding of Intelligence Forces State Responds to Growing Societal Discontent with Intensified Efforts to Silence All ...

September 30, 2020

Showdown at Haft Tappeh Sugar Factory: Minor Win for Workers, Larger Abuses Left Unchecked

Court Annuls Privatization of Company but Unpaid Wages and Withheld Insurance Benefits Persist “We are going to witness a big wave of labor ...

September 29, 2020

Witness to the Torture of Executed Champion Wrestler Navid Afkari Held Incommunicado

Shahin Naseri Transferred to Police Security Unit, Told Not to Testify in Court Witness States He Saw Afkari Being Severely Beaten with Metal ...

September 26, 2020

Nasrin Sotoudeh, Health Deteriorating, Breaks Hunger Strike

Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer Had Been on Hunger Strike Since Aug 11 September 26, 2020—The imprisoned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has ...

September 25, 2020

Top UN Experts Demand Immediate Release of Nasrin Sotoudeh

UN Calls Her Return to Prison “Unfathomable” and “State Retaliation for Her Tireless Work Defending Human Rights” Sixteen of the UN’s top experts ...

September 23, 2020

Sotoudeh Transferred from Hospital Back to Prison Despite Serious Heart Condition

Urgent Concerns Over Health of Human Rights Attorney Six Weeks into Her Hunger Strike Family Still Kept in Dark about Her Medical State September ...

September 22, 2020

Narges Mohammadi’s Letter from Prison: “The lives of people on death row are in danger”

“The regime…knows no legal, logical or religious bounds in denying the rights of dissidents” Prominent human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, imprisoned in ...

September 22, 2020

Danger of Imminent Execution of Kurdish Political Prisoner, Lawyer Says

Supreme Court Refuses to Review Death Sentence Despite Lack of Evidence of Guilt Kurdish political prisoner Heydar Ghorbani is in danger of imminent ...

September 20, 2020

Nasrin Sotoudeh in Hospital, Condition Deteriorating, Family Denied Access and Information

Husband Catches Glimpse as She is Wheeled for Tests: “She does not look well at all” Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer on Hunger Strike ...

September 18, 2020

Leading Academics and Policy Experts Call on Iran to Release Imprisoned Dual Nationals

The use of prisoners as bargaining chips in order to coerce other governments to provide concessions is a cruel policy” A group of ...

September 14, 2020

UN “Strongly Condemns” Iran’s Execution of 27-Year-Old Wrestler

Execution of Navid Afkari: “Imposed following a process that did not meet even the most basic…fair trial standards, behind a smokescreen of ...

September 12, 2020

Execution of Navid Afkari: “Iran’s Judiciary is a Tool of Political Repression and Violence and a Threat to the People”

Champion Wrestler Executed despite Evidence of Torture and Innocence September 12, 2020—The execution of Navid Afkari, the 27-year-old champion wrestler, ...

September 11, 2020

Top UN Iran Expert Expresses “Alarm” at Iran’s “Unprecedented Violent Crackdown” against Protestors

Imprisonment of Lawyers and Human Rights Defenders, Juvenile Executions, Singled Out for Condemnation In the latest report by the UN’s top expert ...

September 10, 2020

Celebrated Artists and Authors Join Online Campaign to Free Imprisoned Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh

Urgent Call for International Show of Solidarity to #FreeNasrin as Lawyer Begins Fifth Week of Hunger Strike September 9, 2020—Prominent global artists ...

September 9, 2020

International Bar Association Calls for Immediate Release of Nasrin Sotoudeh and Amirsalar Davoodi

“The unjust sentences of political prisoners…may turn into death sentences if urgent action is not taken.” International pressure on Iran to release imprisoned ...

September 9, 2020

22 Rights Organizations Call for UN-Led Inquiry Into Repression of Iran’s November 2019 Protests

A session of the UN's Human Rights Council. Urgent Need for Accountabilty After “Brutal Campaign of Mass Repression by the Iranian Authorities” A coalition of international rights organizations, including the Center ...

September 2, 2020

Death Sentence for Champion Wrestler Based on False Evidence, Torture and Forced False Confessions

Lawyer for Navid Afkari: Video Footage Proves He Did Not Commit Alleged Crime “There is not one shred of evidence ... they are ...

August 31, 2020

Critical Deterioration in Nasrin Sotoudeh’s Health as Hunger Strike Hits Three-Week Mark

Imprisoned Human Rights Attorney Refuses Food to Demand Release of Prisoners Endangered by COVID-19 Husband: “Nasrin has become extremely weak” August 31, 2020—The health ...

August 24, 2020