Exiled Members of Sufi Gonabadi Dervish Order Told to “Repent” or Serve Life in Prison
The sentences of a lifetime in exile issued against Mohammad Ali Shamshirzan and Hamid Arayesh of the Sufi order in Iran known as Gonabadi Dervishes ...
Unfair Trials
Iranian Singer Offered Bribes in Exchange for Cooperating with Rouhani Government
Arya Aramnejad Says Repression Has Continued Under New President Iranian pop singer Arya Aramnejad has been indefinitely banned from engaging in any musical activity by Iran’s Culture ...
Suffering From Severe Dental Problems, US Resident On “Enforced Hunger Strike” in Evin Prison
Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-born US permanent resident imprisoned in Iran since September 2015, has been on hunger strike since September 29, 2017, due to severe and untreated dental problems, the ...
Attorney Calls Out Local Governor For “Empty” Promises to Iran’s “Kulbar” Border Couriers
An attorney representing Iranian border couriers, “kulbar” in Farsi, has criticized a local governor in northwestern Iran for making “unreasonable” and “empty” promises of financial assistance to the impoverished, unlicensed tradesmen. On September ...
Gorgan Appeals Court Issues Prison Sentences, Fines for Facebook Posts
Three Iranians were issued jail terms and a fine for expressing their views on social media. Two residents of the Iranian city of Gorgan have been sentenced to prison and another ...
Outspoken Political Prisoner Maryam Akbari-Monfared Denied Medical Care and Furlough
Political prisoner Maryam Akbari-Monfared is being denied specialized medical care despite her worsening health, according to her husband, Hassan Jafari. “Thyroid disease is causing her a lot of suffering,” he told CHRI in an interview on September 25, 2017. “We also scheduled a gynecologist ...
Q&A: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Husband Speaks Out About Dual National’s Imprisonment in Iran
The husband of imprisoned Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe speaks to CHRI about her case and their lives since she was arrested by the Revolutionary Guards in April 2016. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe never imagined she would be arrested and ultimately sentenced to five years in prison ...
Iranian Bus Drivers and Activists Express Solidarity with Imprisoned Labor Activist Reza Shahabi
Update: With assurances from a senior official, labor activist Reza Shahabi ended his hunger strike in Rajaee Shahr Prison on September 27, 2017, after nearly two months of refusing food. “Reza announced the end of his hunger strike when a senior security official, in the presence of his family, promised to ...
Iranian Teachers’ Rights Activist Facing 14 Years Behind Bars for Peaceful Advocacy
Imprisoned teacher’s rights activist Mahmoud Beheshti-Langroudi is facing 14 years behind bars in Iran after the confirmation of his latest prison sentence, his son told the Center for ...
Political Prisoner Atena Daemi Denied Major Surgery After Authorities Insist on Keeping Her Cuffed
Imprisoned children’s rights activist Atena Daemi has been denied a major operation after demanding that the authorities fulfill their promise to allow her to receive the surgery without handcuffs and with a family member in ...
Freed Iranian Baha’i Leader Mahvash Sabet Describes Unjust Trial, Prison Conditions
“We never betrayed our country and never will.” Mahvash Sabet, a leader of Iran’s persecuted Baha’i faith who was released from Evin Prison on September 18, 2017 after completing a 10-year sentence, said she was convicted of espionage charges despite non-existent evidence. “There were seven charges against us,” she ...
Workers Peacefully Demanding Unpaid Wages Beaten and Arrested by Anti-Riot Police in Iranian City of Arak
“Poor workers don’t deserve to be beaten.” Anti-riot police forces stormed peaceful protests by workers at two industrial units in Arak, the capital of Iran’s Central Province, on September 19, 2017, and arrested ...
Persistent Hunger Strikers at Rajaee Sharhr Prison in Iran Denied Medical Care
Four political prisoners in Iran’s Rajaee Shahr Prison are being denied medical care after refusing food for more than one month to peacefully demand that ...
Wife of Man Imprisoned for Facebook Posts Loses Job After Pressure From IRGC
Every day something bad is happening to him.” Nastaran Naimi, the wife of Soheil Arabi, who was imprisoned in Iran for his Facebook ...
Free Iranian Dual National Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Iranian-British dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to 5 YEARS in prison in Tehran in a secret trial without due process. This is her story....
Baha’i Leader Released from Prison in Iran After 10 Years; Six Other Baha’i Leaders Remain Behind Bars
Mahvash Sabet Finally Free But State-led Persecution of Baha’i Community Continues September 18, 2017—The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) welcomes the release of the Baha’i leader, Mahvash Sabet, who was unjustly imprisoned in ...
Rouhani’s Broken Promises
Iranian President Rouhani is scheduled to speak this week at the 2017 UNGA in New York, but he won't mention his Broken Promises....
Intelligence Ministry Arrests Woman For Asking About Brother and Infant Niece’s Disappearance
Raheleh Rahemipour has been arrested by the Intelligence Ministry in Iran for refusing to give up her search for answers about ...
Iranian Journalist Gets Cancer After Being Denied Medical Care in Evin Prison
Iranian journalist Alireza Rajaee lost an eye and part of his face after his sinus cancer was left untreated as a political prisoner in Evin Prison....
Imprisoned for Producing Music, Yousef Emadi Sentenced to Another Year Behind Bars
An imprisoned music producer has been sentenced to an additional year in prison on new charges brought by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. ...
Rouhani’s Intelligence Ministry is Keeping Prominent Rights Lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani in Prison, Says Daughter
Abdolfattah Soltani's daughter, Maede Soltani. Abdolfattah Soltani, who spent most of his legal career defending political prisoners before becoming ...
Imprisoned Teacher’s Rights Activist: I am Legally Entitled to a Public Trial
Iranian labor rights activist Mahmoud Beheshti-Langroudi. An Iranian imprisoned teachers’ rights activist is pledging to go on hunger strike until his ...
Iranian Labor Activist Peacefully Rejects New Prison Sentence
Labor activist Ali Nejati is refusing to serve a six-month prison sentence for engaging in lawful protests against one of Iran’s largest agro-industrial companies near the city of Shush in ...
Maryam Akbari-Monfared: Political Prisoner and Mother in Evin Prison Iran
Maryam Akbari-Monfared was forced to spend her childhood visiting family members in state prisons and cemeteries. Her three brothers and sister, all political prisoners, were executed without trial in the 1980s, and now Maryam is a political prisoner herself. If her case were reviewed, she would be eligible ...
Iranian Union Considers Mass Strike as Imprisoned Labor Activist’s Condition Deteriorates
An Iranian union is considering a mass strike to protest a prominent labor activist being returned to prison to serve an additional year behind bars two years after he ...