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January 28, 2016

Iranian Artists Call for Immediate Release of Music Distributors

A coalition of Iranian artists have called for the immediate release of three music producers sentenced to six years in prison for promoting underground music in ...

January 28, 2016

Internet Freedom in Iran Will Benefit From Sanctions Relief

Increased foreign investment and access to foreign companies’ technology products in Iran now that sanctions against Tehran have been lifted will not only aid the country’s ailing economy, ...

January 25, 2016

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 ...

January 22, 2016

Nobel Peace Laureate Asks Iranian Government to “Make Peace with Its Own People”

While expressing joy at Iran’s recent release of four imprisoned Iranian-Americans, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has called on the Iranian government to “make ...

January 21, 2016

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 ...

January 20, 2016

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 ...

January 20, 2016

Hardliners in Iran Moving to Shut Pro-Rouhani Forces Out of Upcoming Parliamentary Elections

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January 20, 2016

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 ...

January 19, 2016

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 ...

January 15, 2016

Telegram CEO Rejects Iranian Government’s Claims of Censorship-on-Demand

The head of Telegram, the most popular social media network in Iran, has again categorically denied making any concessions to Tehran regarding censorship. ...

January 15, 2016

Teachers Union Chief to Go on Trial for Peaceful Labor Activities

No Access to Counsel or Family Visits during 7-Month “Temporary Detention” After nearly seven months of “temporary detention” without access to his ...

January 13, 2016

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 ...

January 13, 2016

Sunni Detainees Still Held a Year After Arrest, Reports of Torture and Forced Confessions

A year after the arrest of more than two dozen Sunni Muslim men in southeast Iran, some of them still remain ...

January 11, 2016

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 ...

January 11, 2016

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 ...

January 11, 2016

Netflix Opening to Iran Ends State Broadcasting’s Decades of Monopoly

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s near total monopoly on the broadcast of film and television series has effectively ended following the January 7, 2016, ...

January 7, 2016

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 ...

January 7, 2016

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 ...

January 6, 2016

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 ...

January 4, 2016

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, ...

January 3, 2016

Judge’s Tirade Bodes Poorly for Independent Music Producers in Iran

An Appeals Court judge has admonished collaborators of a popular music site for ignoring repeated warnings that they were operating illegally and having ties with Iranian singers abroad ...

December 31, 2015

Highest Ranked Woman in Iran’s Government to Sue Extremist Publication

The Iranian government’s most senior female official plans to take legal action against an extremist publication for comparing her to a prostitute. The weekly Ya Lesarat, the mouthpiece ...

December 30, 2015

Activist’s Health Worsens in Prison As She Awaits Appeal Hearing

A prolonged delay in hearing children’s rights activist Atena Daemi’s appeal against her 14-year prison sentence is causing a serious deterioration in her health, particularly as ...

December 29, 2015

Cartoon 132: Santa and the New Visa Waiver Restrictions

Touka Neyestani ponders who will be caught by the US's new visa waiver restrictions (H.R. 158), which unfairly and indiscriminately target Iranian and three other nationalities ...

December 28, 2015