Prisoners / Arrests
Retrial Granted for Omid Kokabee, Raising Hope for His Release
The request for a retrial for the imprisoned young scientist, Omid Kokabee, has been accepted by Branch 36 of the Supreme Court, according to Kokabee’s lawyer, Saeed Khalili, who posted the update on his Facebook page. “Acceptance of the retrial request means that the top judicial authority has deemed Dr. Omid Kokabee’s [initial] verdict against ...
Imprisoned Iranian Scientist Congratulates Winner of Prestigious Math Award
In a letter from prison to Maryam Mirzakhani, winner of the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics, Omid Kokabee, the imprisoned Iranian physicist, congratulated her and hoped “all young talents in all corners of the world can blossom, away from any discriminatory views and pressure from security or ideological organizations, to freely grow in the field ...
Sit-in by Political Prisoner’s Mother to Protest Lack of Due Process
The mother of Ghoncheh Ghavami, a prisoner on hunger strike since October 1, has started a sit-in outside Evin Prison to protest her daughter’s detention for more than 100 days without access to her lawyer. “Today is one hundred days since my daughter’s arrest. None of the authorities seem to have heard us during this ...
Cartoon 95: No Journalists in Prison
“I do not believe that an individual would be detained or put in prison for being a journalist. An individual can be a reporter, a journalist, and have committed a crime. But that crime is not necessarily always related to their profession, to the profession that they’re practicing,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told CNN’s Christiane ...
Eighteen Nobel Laureates Call for Immediate Release of Iranian Physicist
(September 29, 2014) The Iranian Judiciary should immediately release the Iranian physicist and prisoner of conscience, Omid Kokabee, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. ...
Cartoon 94: Man Hanged for Innovation in Islamic Principles and Insulting Jonah
Mohsen Amiraslani, 37, was hanged at Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 on charges of "corruption on earth, innovation in primary and secondary principles of Islam, and new interpretation of the Qur'an," including "insulting Prophet Jonah." "A Rajaee Shahr Prison ...
Washington Post Reporter Jason Rezaian Suffers Severe Weight Loss in Prison
Jason Rezaian and Yeganeh Salehi have lost a “shocking” amount of weight in prison, an informed source has told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. According to this source, the family of the imprisoned Iranian journalist Yeganeh Salehi was allowed to have their first visit with her and her Washington Post reporter husband ...
Cartoon 93: Rouhani in New York
As Iranian President Hassan Rouhani prepares to come to New York next week to attend the UN General Assembly and other meetings, there is a lot of anticipation for how he would answer questions in the US media interviews that aim to polish the ...
Detention Continues for Woman Attempting to Attend Volleyball Match
The decision to extend the temporary detention orders of Ghoncheh Ghavami, the young woman with dual British-Iranian citizenship who was arrested for trying to attend a volleyball game in Tehran, is under court review after Ghavami’s lawyer filed a formal objection. The family of Ghavami has also objected strenuously to her continued detainment. ...
Happy Video Youths Receive Suspended Flogging and Prison Sentences
The youths involved in the making of the “Happy in Tehran” dance video set to Pharrell Williams hit song “Happy” have all been sentenced, receiving suspended sentences of 91 lashes and six months in prison, with the exception of Reyhaneh Taravati, who received a suspended twelve-month prison sentence in addition to the suspended lashes, provided ...
As Rouhani Comes to NY, Domestic Repression in Iran Remains Unabated
(September 17, 2014) Ahead of President Rouhani’s visit to New York next week, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran released a video today, bringing into sharp focus the disconnect between Rouhani’s rhetoric on domestic affairs and the reality on the ground. ...
Death Sentence for “Insulting the Prophet” on Facebook
A blogger found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammad in his postings on Facebook has been sentenced to death. An informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the blogger, Soheil Arabi, will be able to appeal the decision until September 20, 2014. ...
More Than Two Months in Solitary Confinement for Protesting Exclusion of Women in Stadium
A young woman’s detention in solitary confinement continues after her June 30, 2014 arrest, following her earlier arrest and release outside a Tehran sports stadium when she tried to attend a volleyball game. Ghoncheh Ghavami’s lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaee, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that he is unaware of his client’s ...
Imprisoned Baha’is Refused Early Release Unless They Repent
Three imprisoned Baha’is have been refused early release and furlough to visit their small children unless they recant their faith and pledge not to teach at the Baha’i university, a relative told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
Cartoon 91: Head of Judiciary Reinstated for Five More Years
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, reinstated Sadegh Larijani, Head of the Iranian Judiciary, in his position for another five years on August 14, 2014. Civil and political activists have raised serious criticism and concern about Sadegh Larijani's performance in his position. The most ...
Imprisoned Scientist Denied Medical Treatment despite Severe Illness
Omid Kokabi, an internationally recognized physicist serving a 10-year sentence, has not been allowed medical treatment outside Evin Prison despite his worsening kidney stone condition and stomach ailment, a source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
Hekmati Family Hopes for His Release, Three Years after Arrest
Three years after his arrest in Tehran, US-born Amir Mirzaei Hekmati remains in prison. His family continues to hope that he will be released in time to see his father, who suffers from a terminal illness in the US. Hekmati’s earlier charges of espionage have been changed to “cooperating with a hostile government,” and his ...
Imprisoned Journalist to Serve another 45 Days after Completing Five-Year Sentence
The Iranian Judiciary continues to imprison Mohammad Davari, a journalist who was instrumental in exposing human rights violations at the Kahrizak Detention Center and other prisons in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 elections, despite completion of his five-year sentence. ...
Political Prisoners at Evin Transferred into Quarantine without Explanation
Twenty-seven political prisoners have been transferred from Evin Prison’s Ward 350 to quarantine, where they are now being held in conditions tantamount to clear and serious ill treatment. ...
Official Silence Continues on Washington Post Reporter’s Detention
Three weeks after Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and his journalist wife Yeganeh Salehi were arrested in Tehran, Iranian judicial authorities continue to refuse to provide any information about the reasons for the couple’s arrest or any news about their condition. ...
“Happy” Video Participants to Go on Trial in September
The youths involved in making the “Happy in Tehran” dance video will be collectively put on trial on September 9, 2014, a source informed the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
Carton 90: “Dastardly and Unfair,” Says Sattar Beheshti’s Mother of Murderer’s Sentence
Almost two years after the death of dissident blogger Sattar Beheshti under torture while in police detention, Cyber police interrogator Akbar Taghizadeh was sentenced to three years in prison, two years in exile, and 74 lashes for his murder. Giti Pourfazel, the ...
Sattar Beheshti Murderer Gets Three Years in Prison
Cyber police interrogator Akbar Taghizadeh has been sentenced to three years in prison, two years in exile, and 74 lashes for the murder of dissident blogger Sattar Beheshti, who died under torture while in police detention in November 2012. ...
While Officials Maintain Silence, Hardliners Make Baseless Accusations Against Jason Rezaian
After two weeks of silence by Iranian officials on the reason for the detention of husband-and-wife journalists Jason Rezaian and Yegabeh Salehi and their whereabouts, media with ties to security and intelligence organs believed to be holding them have begun leveling baseless charges of spying against them, revealing the intentions of interrogators to fabricate a ...