Facing 20-Year Prison Sentence for Taking Headscarf Off in Public, Woman Flees Iran
“Due to the Injustices of Iran’s Judicial System I Had to Leave Iran” Draconian Sentences Demonstrate the Authorities’ Cultural Tyranny July ...
Press releases
Iran’s Forcing of Teenage Girl to Confess on State TV for Posting Dance Video Prompts Strong Outcry
Authorities Ramp Up Crackdown on Social Media July 9, 2018—Forcing a teenage girl to confess on state TV for the “crime” of ...
Iran: People With Disabilities Face Discrimination and Abuse
Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights in Iran conducted in-depth interviews with 58 women and men with various disabilities, as well as with disability rights advocates and specialists across Iran. The World Health Organization and World Bank ...
Open Letter: Distinguished Iranian Women Call on FIFA to Demand Iran End Its Ban on Women in Stadiums
June 22, 2018—In an open letter, prominent women of Iranian origin including Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, Oscar-nominated actress ...
Iran: Stop Imminent Execution of Kurdish Prisoner, Investigate Evidence of Torture and Denial of Due Process
Fear Grows After Bus Driver Was Executed in Iran Despite Similar Concerns June 20, 2018—The Iranian ...
Iran Telegram Ban Strangles Country Amid Struggling Economy, Protests
This report examines the Iranian Judiciary’s ban on the Telegram messaging app, which as of 2018 was integrated into all aspects of daily life in Iran and had some 40 million active users in the country. It assesses what it ...
UN Rights Experts: Iran Must Halt Execution of Ramin Hossein Panahi
GENEVA, UN (18 June 2018) – UN human rights experts* have made a fresh ...
Prominent Attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh Detained Amid Iranian Judiciary’s Crackdown on Human Rights Lawyers
Iranian human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh ...
Eight Internet Freedom Organizations Call on Iran to Lift Ban on Telegram
The undersigned organisations call on the Rouhani administration to challenge the order and call on the Judiciary to revoke the order and end this egregious violation of freedom of expression rights ...
Execution Imminent of Prisoner in Iran Despite Unfair Trial and Credible Allegations of Torture
Photo: Ramin Hossein Panahi has been transferred to an unknown location possibly ...
UN Rights Expert Urges Iran to Halt Imminent Execution of Ramin Hossein Panahi
GENEVA (2 May 2018) – A UN human rights expert has urgently called on Iran to ...
Rouhani’s Citizens’ Rights Charter: A Harmful Distraction
This report is essential reading for policymakers and officials charting a forward path with the Islamic Republic. It provides an in-depth review of the Citizens’ Rights Charter and analysis of the political dynamics affecting human rights in Iran. The report ...
In a Desperate Move to Squash Internet Freedom, Iran Blocks Telegram
Ban Unlikely to Stop Most of Telegram’s 40 Million Users in Iran April 30, 2018--The Iranian Judiciary has ordered ...
Iran Detains Another Iranian British Citizen, Computer Scientist and Antiwar Activist Abbas Edalat
Abbas Edalat (Imperial College of London) April 25, ...
Music Video: Iranian Sisters Urge Men to Join Protest Against Iran’s Ban on Women in Stadiums
“Stadium” Released Amid International Campaign to End Iran’s Discriminatory Ban April 24, 2018—The ...
UN Rights Experts Call on Iran to Annul Death Sentence Against Ramin Hossein Panahi
GENEVA (19 April 2018) – United Nations human rights experts* have called for Iran to annul the death sentence against an Iranian Kurdish prisoner, Ramin Hossein Panahi, amid serious concerns ...
Imprisoned Rights Defender Narges Mohammadi Gives Message of Hope and Strength in Accepting 2018 Andrei Sakharov Prize
April 15, 2018 -- Prisoner of conscience Narges Mohammadi was unable to accept the 2018 Andrei Sakharov Prize in ...
Iranian American Groups Urge Trump Admin to Investigate “Targeting” of Civil Servant Sahar Nowrouzzadeh
Sahar Nowrouzzadeh was demoted from her position at the secretary of state’s ...
Sixth Baha’i Faith Leader Completes 10-Year Prison Sentence in Iran
Vahid Tizfahm and his wife, Furuzandeh Nikumanesh, reunited ...
Iran: End Persecution of Families Seeking Truth and Justice For Detainees Who Died in Detention
JOINT PUBLIC STATEMENT 13 March 2018 The Iranian authorities should end their cruel campaign of harassment and intimidation ...
Iran Should Stop Persecuting BBC Journalists and Threatening Their Families
Ongoing harassment of BBC Persian staff continues despite repeated UN criticism March 12, 2017—The UN should take immediate action on an appeal by the British Broadcasting Service (BBC) urging the Human Rights Council to protect ...
46 NGOs Urge UN to Renew Mandate of Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Iran
March 12--Ahead of the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council, 46 Iranian and international non-governmental organizations sent ...
Seyed-Emami Family: Iran is “Trying to Prevent Us From Rebuilding Our Lives”
Upon arriving in Vancouver, Canada, on March 8, 2018, the sons of Kavous Seyed-Emami--the Iranian-Canadian ...
Ongoing Harassment: Wife of Iranian-Canadian Who Died in Iran’s Evin Prison “Banned” From Leaving Country
Lives of Seyed-Emami Family Thrown Into “Chaos and Terror” March 8, 2018—The Iranian government should immediately allow the ...
Four Deaths in State Custody in Iran in Two Months Heighten Grave Concerns for Detainees
Gonabadi Dervish Detainee Died From “Blows to the Head,” Says Daughter March 6, 2018—The recent death of a devotee of ...