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May 26, 2016

Cartoon 145: “The Critic Should Not Be Arrested and Taken to Prison!”

On May 3, 2016, during a speech at the grand opening of Tehran Book Fair, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, “The critic should not ...

May 26, 2016

Activist Imprisoned and Tortured Without Access to a Lawyer for Shouting “Death to Khamenei”

Labor activist Mehdi Farahi Shandiz, imprisoned for shouting “death to [Ali] Khamenei,” Iran’s supreme leader, is being unlawfully held in Rajaee Shahr Prison’s Ward 10, ...

May 26, 2016

Ailing Political Prisoner, Denied Legal Counsel and Medical Care, Sentenced to 39 Years in Prison

Alireza Golipour, imprisoned in Iran since 2012 on national security charges and denied access to a lawyer until May 2016, has been sentenced to ...

May 25, 2016

Imprisoned Physicist Given Two-Week Medical Furlough After Losing Cancerous Kidney

Imprisoned physicist Omid Kokabee has been granted a two-week medical furlough upon payment of five billion rials ($164,000 USD) ...

May 24, 2016

Kurdish Political Prisoner in Iran on Hunger Strike to Protest New Charges

Mohammad Sediq Kaboudvand, a prominent Kurdish human rights activist who is in his ninth year of incarceration at Tehran’s Evin ...

May 24, 2016

Iran Must End State Persecution of Baha’is, Say Exiled Iranian Political Figures

In the wake of the intense criticism by Iranian officials and religious leaders of Faezeh Hashemi, ...

May 20, 2016

Environmentalist’s Facebook Account Hacked, Used to Deny Her Detention while She Was Still Behind Bars

Zakiya Neysi’s Father Forced to Sign Pledge Prior to her Release The day after environmental activist Zakiya Neysi was arrested ...

May 19, 2016

Leading Iranian Human Rights Activist to Serve Ten Years in Prison

Narges Mohammadi Sentenced for Her Peaceful Activism in Iran May 19, 2016—The prominent Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi ...

May 19, 2016

Young Kurdish Activist’s Mother: “My son is dying in prison”

Prisoner of conscience Afshin Sohrabzadeh, 27, is suffering from cancer in Minab Prison in southern Iran and ...

May 19, 2016

Concerts of Popular Iranian Musicians Canceled Due to Pressure from Religious Conservatives

Two of Iran’s top musicians have been prevented from performing in the city of Neyshabour and other locations in northeastern Khorasan ...

May 17, 2016

Iran’s Fashion Industry under Assault; Details of Arrests of Models by Revolutionary Guards Surface

Eight Arrests and Scores Interrogated in "Project Spider 2" May 17, 2016—Eight people working in Iran’s fashion industry have ...

May 17, 2016

Women Prevented from Attending Iran’s Premier League Finale

Ban on Women in Stadiums Upheld Under President Rouhani Iranian women were once again blocked from attending ...

May 16, 2016

French Foreign Ministry Staffer with Dual Citizenship Awaits Appeal on Prison Sentence in Iran

Nazak Afshar, an employee of France’s Foreign Ministry who holds Iranian and French citizenship, is awaiting a ruling on her appeal against a six-year prison sentence issued by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the ...

May 16, 2016

Imprisoned Political Activist, Currently Appealing 21-Year Sentence, Denied Adequate Medical Care

Prisoner of conscience Amir Amirgholi, who has appealed the 21-year prison sentence he was issued earlier this year in 2016, has been ...

May 16, 2016

Imprisoned Spiritual Leader Slapped with New Charges Upon Completing Sentence

Mohammad Ali Taheri, an imprisoned spiritual leader who was supposed to be freed more than two months ago ...

May 12, 2016

Imprisoned Teacher on Hunger Strike Sent Home After Hospitalization

The imprisoned teachers’ union activist, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, has been released from hospital and sent home after a 22-day ...

May 10, 2016

Husband of Iranian-British Citizen Held in Iran Calls Her Detainment “Outrageous” and “Cruel”

“I have no idea how a young woman with a baby could be a danger to national security.” The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual citizen ...

May 10, 2016

Iranian Political Prisoners Turn to Life-Threatening Hunger Strikes to Protest Unjust Sentences

Teacher’s Rights Activist Hospitalized The imprisoned spokesman of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association, Mahmoud Beheshti ...

May 9, 2016

Sexual Molestation Case Involving 9-Year-Old Exposes Iran’s Weak Child Protection Laws

The family of a nine-year-old girl from a village in northwestern Iran has vowed to pursue legal action against the ...

May 6, 2016

Baha’i Victim of Land Confiscation by Iranian Government Speaks Out

Photo caption: Ziaollah Motearefi’s farm was featured in the documentary film, "The Green Desert,” which was posted on YouTube on February 29, 2016. Towards the end ...

May 6, 2016

Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer’s Daughter: Help My Father Before It’s Too Late

Abdolfattah Soltani’s Condition Deteriorates; Needs Urgent Hospitalization Abdolfattah Soltani, an imprisoned human rights lawyer, requires ...

May 5, 2016

Iranian Journalists Face Growing Threats and Intimidation by Authorities

Tactics Meant to Sow Fear among Independent Journalists in Wake of Reformists’ Parliamentary Election Gains Iran’s Intelligence Ministry officials are increasingly harassing ...

May 4, 2016