Two Reformist Journalists Charged, after Three Months in Detention
Three months after their arrests, journalists Issa Saharkhiz and Ehsan Mazandarani have been formally charged with “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the ...
Prisoners / Arrests
Family of Imprisoned Iranian Producer: Canada Must Do More
The family of prisoner of conscience Mostafa Azizi is calling on Canada to exert more pressure on Iran to release him following the prisoner swap that led to the freedom of four Iranian-Americans held in ...
US-Iran Prisoner Swap Raises Hopes for Iranian-Canadian Prisoners of Conscience in Iran
The release of Iranian-Americans in the recent prisoner exchange between Iran and the United States has given hope to the family of prisoner of conscience Saeed Malekpour that he too might also be freed. “When I heard ...
Why are Iranian-American Prisoners Released, but Not Iranian Ones?” Father of Imprisoned Blogger Asks
“Why has the Islamic Republic agreed to the release of Iranian-American prisoners but they won’t free our own prisoners who are the children of Iran?” asked Ahmad Ronaghi Maleki, whose son, Hossein Ronaghi ...
Faraghdani’s Handshake with Her Lawyer is Not a Crime, Judge Rules
Prisoner of conscience Atena Faraghdani and her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, have been acquitted of “illegitimate relations” for shaking hands during a prison visit. “My daughter was mentally crushed by this accusation but she’s very happy ...
Cartoon 135: Prisoner Swap
On January 16, 2016, the Islamic Republic of Iran released four prisoners with dual Iranian and American citizenships, in return for the release of several Iranians held in US prisons mostly on crimes related ...
Ageing Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer Should Be Released on Medical Grounds, Wife Says
The wife of the prominent lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh, who has been imprisoned since April 2011 for his work defending human rights and political prisoners in Iran, is hoping the appeal for his ...
Ailing Imprisoned Journalist Could Face New Charges for Speaking Out against Prison Conditions
Imprisoned journalist Saeed Razavi Faghih has been threatened with retribution for writing letters complaining about abuse inside Rajaee Shahr Prison and could be facing new trumped-up charges. “About a month ago one of the prison authorities threatened my brother and some other prisoners that ...
Release of Iranian Americans Welcomed, Time to Release All Political Prisoners
Steps Towards Reconciliation with the West Are Good but Iran Needs National Reconciliation As Well January 16, 2016—The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomes the long-overdue release today of four Iranian Americans, including Jason Rezaian, ...
Call on Iranian authorities to drop charges on two musicians and a filmmaker
UPDATE: This post was updated on January 19, 2016, to reflect that additional organizations have signed the letter. A total of 16 organizations have now signed the letter. Human rights organisations Freemuse and the International Campaign for Human ...
Reformist Journalist Begins Serving Prison Sentence for Her Writings on Facebook
The well-known reformist journalist Reyhaneh Tabatabaie surrendered herself to Evin Prison authorities on January 12, 2016, to serve a one-year prison sentence. Tabatabaie’s imprisonment follows a string of arrests of journalists and ...
Detained Poet Describes Being Transported in a Cage and Watched “Like a Murderer”
Two-Day Ordeal Included Solitary Confinement and Incarceration with Criminals The poet Hila Sedighi, who was arrested and held for two days amidst an intensifying crackdown on independent artistic and cultural figures in ...
Journalist Resumes Hunger Strike to Protest His Continued Detention
After two months of detention, the prominent reformist journalist and political activist Issa Saharkhiz has resumed his hunger strike, in protest against his ongoing detention at Evin Prison. Mehdi Saharkhiz, told the ...
Popular Telegram Messaging Application Survives Censorship Vote in Iran
State Filtering Body Refuses to Block the Service An official Iranian state censorship body has resisted calls by hardliners in Iran to block the Telegram messaging service, the most popular social media application ...
Soccer Star Arrested for Online Photos With Women despite Evidence His Account was Hacked
Legal Expert Decries Refusal to Release Sosha Makani on Bail till Investigation is Completed Sosha Makani, Persepolis soccer club goalkeeper and member of the Iranian national soccer team at the 2014 World Cup, ...
Judiciary Claims No Knowledge of Student Not Heard from Since His Arrest Almost 17 Years Ago
The mother of a student who has not been heard from since soon after his arrest in Tehran in 1999 has dismissed the Iranian Judiciary’s claim that there was no evidence he was ever arrested. Saeed ...
Persecution of Christian Converts Continues under Rouhani
Christian is Arrested and Taken to Unknown Location Despite President Hassan Rouhani’s pledges during his election campaign in 2013 that “All ethnicities, all religions, even religious minorities, must feel justice,” the targeting of Christian ...
No Bail Set or Appeals Court Date as Child Rights Activist Waits in Prison
Imprisoned children’s rights activist Omid Alishenas has been refused bail while waiting for the Appeals Court to hear his case. “Seven months have passed since Omid was sentenced in the preliminary court but the Appeals Court ...
After 20-Day Hunger Strike, Imprisoned Teacher Activist Released on Temporary Medical Leave
The teachers’ union activist Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi was allowed to leave Evin prison on December 16, 2015, on temporary medical leave after a 20-day hunger strike to protest his nine-year prison sentence. Two days earlier, Mahmoud ...
Mother Puts All Hope in Appeals Court to Free Son
“How can a young man who worked hard for Rouhani’s presidential campaign, ‘wage propaganda’ and ‘act against the state’?” That is the question Mina Dena has been repeating to Judge Moghisseh ...
Ground Shifts as 70 MPs in Iran Introduce Bill to End Executions for Drug Crimes
More than 70 Members of the Iranian Parliament have presented a bill that, if ratified by the full legislature and approved by the Council of Guardians (the constitutional body charged with approving legislation), could reduce the ...
Arrested Journalists Held Incommunicado for Over a Month while Officials Make Baseless Claims
More than a month after his arrest, the prominent reformist journalist Issa Saharkhiz has not contacted his family and judicial authorities have not commented on his status, his son Mehdi Saharkhiz told ...
Ninety Journalists Call for Release of Four Arrested Colleagues
Ninety Iranian journalists have signed a statement calling for the release of four of their colleagues arrested a month ago by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization: Issa Saharkhiz, Ehsan Mazandarani, Saman Safarzaie, and ...
Five Prison Inmates on Hunger Strike to Protest Knife Attack against Two Political Prisoners
Prison Officials Refuse to Remove Attackers from Ward Two political prisoners, Saeed Madani and Saeed Razavi Faghih, were attacked with ...
Imprisoned Children’s Rights Activist Denied Bail
Saeed Shirzad Saeed Shirzad, a children’s rights activist sentenced to five years in prison, has been denied bail during the appeal process, a source close to ...