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 Commissioner ...
Prisoners of Conscience
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 Sotoudeh--and ...
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, who has ...
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 30, 2020
A Conversation with the Director and Producers of the New Documentary, “Nasrin”
Nasrin, a new documentary scheduled for its world premiere on October 1, 2020, tells the important and fascinating story of ...
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 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
Veteran Journalist Reporting to Prison To Serve Three-Year Sentence
Keyvan Samimi Sees Worsening Fear and Repression in Iran The veteran journalist and political activist Keyvan Samimi must report to Evin Prison ...
August 18, 2020
Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer in Poor Health, Needs Hospitalization
New Law Reduces Derafshan’s Sentence By 6 Months, Must Still Serve Two Years Sentence Reductions at Judge’s Discretion in “National Security” Cases Imprisoned human ...
August 18, 2020
Nasrin Sotoudeh’s Daughter Detained, Persecution of Imprisoned Lawyer’s Family Intensifies
Arrest of Mehraveh Khandan Aimed at Forcing Sotoudeh to End Her Hunger Strike in Prison August 18, 2020—Mehraveh Khandan, the 20-year-old daughter of ...
August 12, 2020
Nasrin Sotoudeh Begins Hunger Strike in Evin Prison
Prominent Attorney Seeks Release of Political Prisoners Amid COVID-19 Outbreak August 12, 2020—The imprisoned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh began a hunger ...
August 11, 2020
New Conviction against Imprisoned Labor Leader Upheld to Keep Him Behind Bars
Jafar Azimzadeh Should Have Been Released, Instead Given Another 13 Months Now Activist Has Contracted COVID-19 in Iran’s Overcrowded Prisons The prominent labor activist ...