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 the Intelligence Ministry has highlighted ...
Prisoners / Arrests
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 her and her two sisters for allegedly insulting agents of ...
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 silent about her unjust sentence, her husband told the Center ...
Son of Grand Ayatollah Blasts Presidential Bid of Human Rights Violator Ebrahim Raisi
The son of late Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who publicly condemned the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, has criticized the newly announced presidential candidacy ...
Music Producers Returned to Evin Prison After Request for Extended Medical Furlough Denied
Music producers Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian returned to Evin Prison in Tehran on April 4, 2017 after their request for an extension of their seven-day temporary leave was denied by ...
Political Prisoner Serving Seven Years Gets Additional 91 Days for IRGC Charges
An additional 91 days were added to civil rights activist Atena Daemi’s seven-year prison sentence for her peaceful activism. The sentence was issued ...
Rough Body Searches on Visiting Children Prompts Hunger Strike in Rajaee Shahr Prison
Political activist Jafar (Shahin) Eghdami shaved his head and went on a three-day hunger strike on March 30, 2017 to protest “children being bothered during body searches ...
Iranian-American Initially Sentenced to 18 Years Prison Released on Bail During Appeal
Robin (Reza) Shahini, the Iranian-American man sentenced to 18 years imprisonment in Iran on alleged security charges, has been released on bail while he awaits the results of his ...
Five Iranian Baha’is Arrested in Isfahan Without Warrant on Unknown Charges
Five Baha’is were arrested at their homes in the city of Isfahan on March 28, 2017, Simin Fahandej, the faith’s spokesperson at the United Nations in Geneva confirmed to the Center for Human ...
Hunger-Striking Political Activist Detained Without Charge Writes Will in Evin Prison
After 24 days on hunger strike in Evin Prison in Tehran, reformist political activist Hengameh Shahidi, detained without charge and denied legal counsel since March 9, 2017, has written a will, her mother told ...
Supporters Mark One-Year Anniversary of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Imprisonment in Iran
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s colleagues stand around her empty desk at the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s office in London. Supporters Invited to Contribute to “One Day of Freedom” Campaign Iranian-British ...
Rouhani Orders Investigation Into “Suspicious” Pre-Election Arrests After MPs Ask Him for Explanation
A little over a week after reformist members of Parliament asked Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to attend to a spate of arrests ahead of the country’s upcoming elections, the president asked for the same thing ...
Five-Year Prison Sentence Upheld Against Christian Convert for Missionary Activities
The five-year prison sentence against Christian convert Ebrahim Firoozi for his alleged missionary activities has been confirmed by the Appeals Court in Tehran, the Center for Human Rights in ...
Young Iranian Death Row Inmate May Soon Receive Sentence Review
The request for a judicial review of the death sentence against 21-year-old Sina Dehghan for “insulting the prophet” of Islam is being processed, his lawyer told the Center for Human Rights ...
Political Activist and Former Reformist MP to be Tried on New and Undeclared Charges
Outspoken political activist and former reformist member of Parliament Faezeh Hashemi will face a new trial in April 2017 on undeclared charges, an informed source told ...
Young Man Facing Death for Insulting Islam Online Tricked into Signing Confession
Sina Dehghan, sentenced to death for “insulting the prophet” of Islam when he was 19-years-old, was tricked into signing his confession, an informed source told the Center for ...
MPs Demand Answers from Rouhani on Increasing Arrests Ahead of Elections
President Hassan Rouhani has yet to respond to a letter from four reformist members of Parliament demanding an explanation for the ...
Reformist Editor Arrested by Security Agents Amid Pre-Election Crackdown
Amid a widening crackdown on journalists and activists in Iran ahead of the country’s May 2017 presidential election, security agents arrested Morad Saghafi, the reformist editor-in-chief of ...
Admins of 12 Reformist Telegram Channels Arrested in Iran Ahead of May 2017 Election
Iranian security forces arrested an unknown number of administrators of 12 reformist-aligned Telegram channels on March 14-16, 2017, deleted the channels’ content and changed their names. A number of those who were arrested have since been released, but Ali ...
Prominent Lawyers: Judiciary Ad Announcing Prison Time for 10 Iranians in Absentia Unlawful
A classified newspaper advertisement by the judiciary announcing prison sentences for 10 Iranian citizens currently outside the country has no legal merit, two prominent lawyers told the Center for Human Rights ...
Former Opposition Leader Aide Refusing Vital Medication During Hunger Strike to Protest Detainment
Reformist activist and former political prisoner Hengameh Shahidi has started a hunger strike and is refusing to take vital prescription medication in protest ...
Amendment Could Save Thousands of Drug Traffickers on Death Row in Iran
If passed by Parliament and the Council of Guardians, an amendment to Iran’s death penalty law could save thousands of drug traffickers currently facing execution. ...
Rouhani’s Intelligence Ministry and Khamenei’s IRGC Widen Crackdown Ahead of Election
A growing rivalry between Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and Revolutionary Guards may be the result of a much deeper power struggle. ...
Cartoon 163: Rouhani Protecting Citizen’s Rights
President Hassan Rouhani stands between Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a political prisoner, ostensibly to protect the prisoner from Khamenei's bat, a metaphor for the Revolutionary Guards, while himself threatening the prisoner with a bat, representing his Intelligence Ministry....