Judiciary Chief and IRGC Commander Weigh In On House Arrest
Two Iranian officials made new statements about the judicial aspects of the continued house arrest of government critics Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi today. ...
Unfair Trials
Cartoon 77: Three Years of House Arrest
February 14, 2014, marked three years since Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard were placed under a de facto and illegal house arrest in Tehran. ...
Release Government Critics from Three-Year House Arrest
The Iranian government must end the inhumane practice of holding its critics under house arrest for years without due process, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. February 14, 2014, marks three years since Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard were placed under a de facto and illegal house arrest ...
President Rouhani’s New Rights Charter
On November 26, 2013, President Rouhani’s government published a draft Citizens’ Rights Charter and solicited public reaction. The publication of this draft within the first 100 days of his presidency was widely seen as a major step by his administration to address his promises to improve the state of human rights in Iran. ...
Political Activist Mohammad Maleki, 80, Writes Open Letter to President About Harassment of Family Members
At a February 4 speech at a gathering of university chancellors and heads of educational and research centers, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani asked the Iranian academic world, “Why is the university silent?” Political Activist Mohammad Maleki responds in an open letter. ...
Former Intelligence Minister Blasts Judiciary
Ali Younesi, former Intelligence Minister and President Hassan Rouhani's Advisor on Ethnic and Religious Minority AffairsIn an interview with Mehr News Agency, former Intelligence Minister ...
Kurdish Prisoners Still Face Execution, Despite Possible Retrial
A new case with a new charge has been established at the Penal Court against Zanyar Moradi and Loghman Moradi, two Kurdish prisoners sentenced to death on “moharebeh (enmity with God)” charges, Zanyar Moradi’s father told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Eghbal Moradi told the Campaign that due to pressure from human ...
Security Forces Illegally Arrest Striking Workers
In an action labor leaders are calling “illegal,” security forces have arrested over 20 workers of the Chadormalu Mine in the central province of Yazd, including the head and the secretary of the labor union, who stopped work as part of a contract negotiation and labor dispute. Prominent labor unionist Mansour Osanloo told the International ...
Larijani Reveals Parts of Confidential UN Report and Verbally Attacks Special Rapporteur
Just weeks before the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran is scheduled to present his latest report at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, the Head of the Iranian Judiciary Sadegh Larijani is again verbally attacking the Rapporteur, saying at a meeting of top-ranking judicial officials in Tehran on January ...
“Drawing Repression”: New Book Illustrates 52 Weeks of Human Rights in Iran
This new book of editorial cartoons by leading Iranian artist Touka Neyestani chronicles one year of human rights issues in Iran. ...
Amid Calls for Tehran Mayor’s Resignation for Negligence, Two Firefighters Arrested Instead
Iranian citizens and politicians are calling for the Tehran mayor’s resignation in relation to the thwarted rescue efforts in the January 19 Tehran fire that left two women dead after firefighting equipment failed. This week two firefighters who had attempted to rescue the women were taken into custody, though the judicial basis for their arrest ...
Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer Eligible for Release If New Code Enforced
The daughter of imprisoned Iranian lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, who is serving a 13-year prison sentence, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that if the new Islamic Penal Code is implemented, her father will be eligible for release, along with several other prisoners of conscience. ...
President Rouhani’s Draft Citizenship Rights Charter: English Translation
The full English text of the Draft Citizenship Rights Charter proposed by President Hassan Rouhani and widely circulated for feedback, is available thanks to UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed and the Human Rights in Iran Unit at the City University of New York – Brooklyn College. ...
Student Activist Released for Five-Day Furlough After 55 Months in Jail
After 55 months in prison, most of which has been spent in exile, Iranian student activist Zia Nabavi was released on bail of approximately $168,000 for a five-day furlough today, a source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. ...
Iran’s Justice Minister Says Detained Opposition Leaders Should Receive No Trial
Justice Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi In statements during a speech in the city of Mashhad, Iran's Justice Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said yesterday that a trial for imprisoned 2009 presidential candidates Mir ...
Culture Minister Asks Judiciary to Provide More Freedom of Expression
Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati publicly stated that the Iranian Judiciary should join the Rouhani administration in providing more freedom of expression to Iranian media and artists, drawing strong criticism from Iran’s Prosecutor General and Spokesperson for the Judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi for his remarks to Al Jazeera. ...
Iranian Officials to Answer Questions About Foreign Travel Bans
Iranian citizens can now learn whether they have been banned from foreign travel, a change in policy from recent years. “Citizens can appear at their local passport offices holding their passports and inquire about whether they have been banned from foreign travel,” the Head of the Passport Office of the Iranian Police told Fars News ...
Rouhani’s Citizenship Rights Charter Contradicts Constitution, Says Iranian Lawyer
In an exclusive interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, lawyer and human rights activist Mehrangiz Kar analyzed the various problems with the draft Citizenship Rights Charter presented by Hassan Rouhani last November, saying it is a “hodge podge of things” that both repeats and contradicts the Constitution, and it needs a ...
Judiciary Official Urges “Maximum Punishment” for Detained IT Professionals Even Before Trial
The Iranian Judiciary has announced charges against the seven Internet specialists arrested in December 2013, accusing them of collaborating with hostile foreigners and insisting on the harshest punishment available. One month after the IRGC Intelligence Unit arrested several Internet specialists in the city of Kerman, the Head of the Kerman Province’s Judiciary has stated the ...
Intelligence Ministry May Be More “Flexible” in Respecting Human Rights, Says Lawyer
Ghasem Sholeh Sadi, lawyer and former Member of the Parliament and political prisoner, told the International Campaign for Human Rights that he is somewhat optimistic about the consequences of the draft Citizenship Rights Charter presented by President Hassan Rouhani in November. ...
Religious Scholar Ali Asghar Gharavi Awaits Trial in Dire Health
Forty days after the arrest of Qoran scholar Seyed Ali Asghar Gharavi, 68, his family was allowed to visit with him at Tehran’s Evin Prison. Gharavi has been in solitary confinement since his November 10, 2013, arrest, after Bahar Newspaper published his article, “Imam: Political Leader or Spiritual Role Model?” raising scholarly questions about the ...
Rights Lawyer Says Iran Needs Existing Laws Enforced, not a New Charter
Lawyer and member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center Mahnaz Parakand discussed necessary steps for implementing human rights protections in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “Before thinking to design a Citizenship Rights Charter, we must implement the Iranian Constitution, even with all its shortcomings. Many of the articles ...
Rights Lawyer Says Citizenship Rights Charter Is “Distraction”
In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, lawyer Khalil Bahramian, who has represented many political prisoners, said the draft Citizenship Rights Charter is just a distraction for the public. ...
Officals and Clerics Verbally Attack and Threaten 2009 Protestors and Leaders
Over the past few days, influential Iranian leaders have unleashed a fresh wave of verbal attacks and threats against the 2009 post-election protesters and their leaders, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. The threats and attacks have included a hardliner cleric’s volunteering to hang Mousavi and Karroubi, as well as others stating that the chant ...
Rouhani Delivered on Rights Charter Promise “Immediately,” but Issue Is with Implementation, Says Lawyer
In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, lawyer Farideh Gheirat said that the draft Citizenship Rights Charter presented by Hassan Rouhani in November is almost exactly like the Iranian Constitution in substance, just with different phrasing. Gheirat added that there was no need to draft a new Charter that was ...