Iranian Kurdish Filmmaker Sentenced to 223 Lashes and One Year in Prison
Keyvan Karimi, an Iranian Kurdish documentary filmmaker, has been sentenced to 223 lashes and one year in prison for “insulting the sacred.” Karimi’s ...
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February 19, 2016
What If Iran’s Guardian Council Managed U.S. Elections?
Political satire by Ebrahim Nabavi Elections will be held in Iran in a few days and in the U.S. in a few months. ...
February 18, 2016
Technology Website Staffers Rushed to Prison Before Appeals Court Verdict
Four convicted staff members of a leading Iranian technology website who were free on bail while awaiting an Appeals Court verdict on their cases were taken ...
February 18, 2016
Iran’s Ban on Women at Volleyball Championship Continues with FIVB’s Nod
Security guards have prevented women from watching the Beach Volleyball World Championship on Iran’s Kish Island for a third consecutive day with ...
February 17, 2016
Cartoon 139: Forget About Valentine!
On Valentine's Day this year, shops were prohibited from displaying any signs or selling any products associated with the “decadent Western cultural phenomenon ...
February 17, 2016
Prisoner of Conscience Atena Daemi Released on Bail
The civil and children’s rights activist, Atena Daemi, has been released on bail until an Appeals Court hears the objections ...
February 16, 2016
Local Authorities Defy Iran’s Commitment to Federation and Refuse to Allow Women at Volleyball Match
Despite assurances by Iranian authorities that they would comply with international rules and allow women to attend the Beach Volleyball World Championship on Kish Island, women are being turned away. Following refusal of authorities to allow female ...
February 16, 2016
Imprisoned Facebook Activist Begins Wet Hunger Strike
An Iranian activist imprisoned for his social media activity has gone on a wet hunger strike to protest the Judiciary’s rejection of his request ...
February 12, 2016
Valentine’s Day Expected to Be Bigger Than Ever in Iran, Despite Police Warning
Shops are prohibited from displaying any signs or selling any products associated with the “decadent Western cultural phenomenon known as Valentine’s Day,” Iran’s police ...
February 11, 2016
Press Reports Reveal Abuse Against Afghan Students in Iranian Schools
Afghan students are being subjected to physical punishment and discrimination in Iranian schools, according to media reports in Iran that the government has tried ...
February 11, 2016
Cartoon 138: “Explosion of Light,” Not!
The Islamic Republic of Iran refers to the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution as the “Explosion of Light.” But the reality is quite dark…filled ...
February 10, 2016
Hardliners Violate Law to Keep Assembly of Experts Loyal to Khamenei
In addition to the massive disqualifications of moderate candidates for upcoming elections in Iran, hardliners have implemented another strategy to prevent challenges to their ...
February 9, 2016
New App that Detects Morality Police is Instant Hit in Iran
Authorities Block App within 24 Hours of Its Debut A smartphone application aimed at helping Iranian users avoid the country’s morality police became a smash hit immediately ...
February 9, 2016
Hardliners Handpick Candidates to Block Moderates and Rig Elections
3000 reformist applicants (99%) disqualified for Parliament in first vetting. 63% of all applicants disqualified in first vetting, reduced to 40% in second round. Prominent ayatollahs excluded ...
February 9, 2016
Prominent Lawyers Disqualified from Iran’s Bar Association Election
More than two dozen prominent lawyers, including well-known human rights defenders, have been disqualified from running in next month’s election for the Iranian Bar ...
February 9, 2016
Iranian Judicial Officials Suggest Kurdish Prisoner Will Get Temporary Leave if She Agrees to Televised “Confession”
Iran’s judicial authorities have hinted that Kurdish prisoner of conscience Zeinab Jalalian could go on furlough if she agreed ...
February 5, 2016
Cartoon 137: “Remember the Spent Candle! Remember!”
“Tell our friends for us, remember the spent candle! Remember!" Iranian cartoonist Touka Neyestani's ...
February 5, 2016
Iran Elections: The Ten Commandments
Political satire by Ebrahim Nabavi “My opponents should definitely vote in the elections, but there’s no need for them to become candidates,” said Ayatollah ...
February 5, 2016
Iranian Couples Increasingly Living Together Outside of Marriage
First they called it “white marriage,” now it’s “black coupling.” But no matter how Iranian officials choose to denigrate the upward trend of young unmarried ...
February 4, 2016
Arrest of Iranian-British Dual National in Tehran May Be Hardliners’ Ploy to Foil Iran-UK Relations
Updated on January 26, 2017: Bahman Daroshafaei’s one-year prison sentence for “propaganda against the state” has been reduced to a five million toman ($1,545 USD) fine ...
February 3, 2016
Former BBC Reporter, Iranian-British Citizen, Arrested in Iran, Prior to Zarif’s Visit to London
Bahman Daroshafaei, a former journalist and translator, was arrested on February 3, 2016 at his home in Tehran under a warrant issued by ...
February 3, 2016
Iranian Officials Condemn Radical Mob’s Attack On Top Actress
An attack last week on one of Iran’s most famous actresses by hardline vigilantes has been condemned by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic ...
February 2, 2016
Two Dozen Iranian Baha’is Sentenced to Six to Eleven Years for Practicing Their Faith
Courtesy of BBC Persian Twenty-four Baha’is from northeastern Iran have been handed down sentences that ...
February 2, 2016
Dispute between Judicial Officials on the Release of Kurdish Human Rights Activist Keeps Him in Prison
The prominent Kurdish human rights activist, Mohammad Sediq Kaboudvand, has been recommended for conditional release by the chief warden ...
February 2, 2016
Two Reformist Journalists Charged, after Three Months in Detention
Three months after their arrests, journalists Issa Saharkhiz and Ehsan Mazandarani have been ...