Amnesty – Iranian spiritual teacher Mohammad Ali Taheri is awaiting his second hearing due to take place in July. The authorities are prosecuting him for “spreading corruption on earth”. He has been held in solitary confinement for over six years in Tehran’s Evin prison. If convicted, he can be sentenced to death. To view report: http://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1366432017ENGLISH.pdf

CHRI – Iranian police units arrested several ethnic Azerbaijani rights activists at a peaceful protest gathering in Ghaleh Babak in East Azerbaijan Province on June 30, 2017, the Center for Human Rights (CHRI) in Iran has learned. An eyewitness, who asked not to be identified, told CHRI on July 5 that six detainees were released the same day, while six others …

CHRI – Three Azeri men and one Iranian man, all Protestant Christian converts, have been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Iran, according to Mansour Borji, the advocacy director of Article 18, an organization that defends Christians in Iran. No evidence was presented by the prosecution during the trial to show the defendants had acted against …

CHRI – A senior Iranian judicial official has publicly defended the state’s mass executions of political prisoners and extended incarcerations of dissidents in the 1980s. In an interview on July 2, 2017 with Tasnim, a news agency that maintains close relations with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Judge Ali Razini, the head of Branch 41 of the Supreme Court, described …

CHRI – Despite resistance from security organizations, a bill that could drastically reduce death penalty sentences for petty drug-trafficking crimes in Iran is scheduled to be debated in Parliament in July 2017. If passed, it could save thousands of prisoners currently on death row.

Al-monitor – Business is increasingly intermixed with politics in Iran’s relations with the world — to the potential detriment to both. For instance, recent developments in bilateral ties indicate that Iran’s longtime economic partner Germany is keen to take advantage of the opening provided by the nuclear deal. At a June 27 meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Sigmar …

Al-monitor – Nearly a month after the Islamic State’s simultaneous attacks on Iran’s parliamentary building and the shrine of the founder of the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has made personnel changes for security and intelligence in Tehran. AUTHOR Arash Karami On July 4, IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari appointed Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Yazdi as commander of Greater Tehran’s Mohammad Rasulallah Guard Corps. Yazdi …

CHRI – Iran’s supreme leader is continuing his public criticism of newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani, this time accusing him of not doing enough to aid the judiciary in protecting the “dignity of the Islamic system.” “The judiciary should be a pioneer in establishing public rights within the society … and confront anyone who violates laws,” said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei …

CHRI – More than one hundred days after a group of social media supporters of President Hassan Rouhani were arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the detainees are still being denied access to legal counsel, according to one of their lawyers.  “I went to Evin Prison with a letter in my hand from the judge to sign a contract …

RFL/RE – Diplomats from Russia, Iran, and Turkey have failed to reach agreement on final details regarding so-called “de-escalation zones” in parts of war-torn Syria.  However, Moscow’s chief negotiator at a fifth round of Syria peace talks in Astana said on July 5 that the basic framework had been “essentially agreed.” Dream of Syrian children cartoon by Mehdi Azizi, Iranian daily Shargh …