News

April 25, 2017

Former MP: Guardian Council Has “No Legal Authority” to Exclude Religious Minorities From Elections

The Guardian Council’s attempt to ban religious minorities from running in Iran’s nationwide local council elections on May 19, 2017 is unlawful ...

April 24, 2017

Student Arrested by Intelligence Ministry Held in Solitary Confinement Without Charge

Payam Shakiba, a political science graduate student at Tehran’s Allameh Tabataba’i University, has been held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison’s ...

April 24, 2017

Swedish Resident Held in Evin Prison for One Year Denied Lawyer for Third Time

Ahmadreza Jalali, an Iranian-born Swedish resident detained in Evin Prison since April 2016, has been ...

April 24, 2017

IRGC Commander Publicly Criticizes Rouhani’s Refusal to Block Telegram Call Service Before Election

One month before Iranians head to the polls, a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has ...

April 24, 2017

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, ...

April 24, 2017

University Student Groups Decry Security Climate on Campus, Rising Costs and Gender Segregation

Seventy-two student organizations from universities throughout Iran have issued a joint statement asking President ...

April 21, 2017

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 ...

April 20, 2017

Iranian Judiciary Blocks Popular Telegram App’s New Voice Call Service

Iran’s judiciary has ordered internet companies to block the Telegram messaging application’s newly released “Voice Calls” ...

April 20, 2017

Low Female Participation Rate in Iranian Elections Symptom of Gender Inequality

Women's rights advocate Nahid Tavasoli is the editor-in-chief of Nafe, an academic women’s periodical. The low number of female participants in Iranian elections is an indicator of ...

April 19, 2017

Iranian Media Banned From Covering Ahmadinejad’s May 2017 Presidential Campaign

Iranian media outlets have been ordered to stop reporting on former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s third presidential campaign for the ...

April 19, 2017

Cartoon 166: From Executioner to Presidential Hopeful

The presidential bid of ultra-conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi has been strongly criticized by supporters of human rights. In 1988, Raisi was appointed to a special ...

April 18, 2017

“Be My Daughter’s Voice,” Pleads Mother of Hunger-Striking Activist Serving Seven Years

Imprisoned children and human rights activist Atena Daemi has been stricken with ...

April 18, 2017

Prominent Political Activist Continues Fight for Gender Equality in Iran’s 2017 Presidential Election

Prominent political activist, Azam Taleghani, 72, ...

April 17, 2017

International Law Expert Denounces Iranian Presidential Bid of Rights Violator Ebrahim Raisi

The candidacy of Ebrahim Raisi in Iran’s May 19 presidential election ...

April 17, 2017

Nasrin Sotoudeh: Investigate Iranian Presidential Hopeful Ebrahim Raisi for 1988 Mass Executions

Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and former political prisoner Nasrin Sotoudeh has ...

April 17, 2017

Reformists Barred From Isfahan’s May 19 By-Election for Parliament

After disqualifying the initial reformist winner, Iran’s conservative Guardian Council has now barred most reformist candidates from running in the second-round election for ...

April 17, 2017

Ailing Former Political Activist Held Without Charge by Intelligence Ministry

Former political activist Majid Asadi has been detained without charge in Evin Prison’s Ward 209 under the ...

April 14, 2017

Crimes Against Humanity in Iran Thrust Into Limelight With Raisi’s Presidential Bid

Ebrahim Raisi Was Member of “Death Commissions” that Ordered Extrajudicial Killings of Thousands of Prisoners in 1988 April 14, 2017–The candidacy ...

April 14, 2017

Iranian Azeri Rights Activist on Trial for Advocating Mother Language

Abbas Lesani, an Azeri ethnic rights activist, is being tried for advocating state recognition of his mother tongue and making ...

April 13, 2017

Social Media Emerges as Major Battlefront in Iran’s May 2017 Elections

A month before Iranians head to the polls for the presidential and council elections, a heated exchange between the judiciary and ...

April 12, 2017

Cartoon 165: Voting in Iran

"Voting in Iran" by cartoonist Touka Neyestani....

April 12, 2017

Rights Activist Atena Daemi Hunger Strikes Against IRGC-Related Additional Sentence

Imprisoned civil rights advocate Atena Daemi has started a wet hunger strike to protest new sentences issued against ...

April 12, 2017

Political Prisoner Narges Mohammadi Offered Furlough in Exchange for Silence

Mohammadi: Imprisonment Makes Me More “Determined” Imprisoned human rights defender Narges Mohammadi has been offered temporary release if she promises to be ...

April 12, 2017