Al-Arabia – President Hassan Rouhani warned on Tuesday that Iran could abandon its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers within hours if the United States keeps on imposing new sanctions. In a speech to parliament, he also hit out at US counterpart Donald Trump saying that he had shown the world that Washington was “not a good partner”. Rouhani’s comments come …
Read More »Monthly Archives: August 2017
Iran: Raising the Death Penalty Bar
HRW — The Iranian parliament on August 13, 2017 approved a long-awaited amendment to the country’s drug law that significantly raises the bar for a mandatory death sentence, Human Rights Watch said today. The amendment, which the parliamentary judiciary commission revised four times, is a step in the right direction despite being more limited than a December 2016 draft amendment that …
Read More »Iran: Scheduled execution of man arrested as teenager is an all-out assault on children’s rights
Amnesty – The planned execution on Wednesday morning of Mehdi Bohlouli, who was only a child at the time of the crime, just days after the hanging of another man arrested as a child, is a sickening act of cruelty that must be stopped immediately, said Amnesty International today. Mehdi Bohlouli was transferred to solitary confinement in Raja’i Shahr Prison in …
Read More »Women’s Rights Activist Demands Rouhani Provide Reasons for His Exclusively Male Cabinet
CHRI – President Hassan Rouhani must explain why he didn’t nominate women to serve in his new cabinet, feminist researcher Nahid Tavasoli told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) in a recent interview. “Dr. Rouhani should explain why and based on what expedient principle did he decide not to reinstate [Vice President for Women and Family Affairs] Shahindokht Mowlaverdi?” …
Read More »Political Prisoner Responds to “Dolled-Up” Evin Prison Visit by Foreign Ambassadors
CHRI – A political prisoner held in Evin Prison since 2009 has harshly criticized a state-organized “dolled-up” tour of the facility by a group of foreign diplomats in July 2017 that was used by state officials and media to gloss over the prison’s well–documented history of ongoing human rights violations. “When I saw your photos in the newspaper sitting under the trees [in the Evin Prison lawn], I wished those …
Read More »Ahmadinejad camp brazenly assaults Iranian judiciary
Al-monitor — Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his inner circle have been at the center of a storm on the Iranian political stage in recent weeks, with senior aide Hamid Baghaei hurling brazen accusations of rights abuses at the judiciary. AUTHOR Fereshteh Sadeghi Baghaei, a former vice president for executive affairs, made the accusations on July 26 after being released from 18 days in …
Read More »Beheading of IRGC fighter unites Iranians
Al-monitor – Imagery of the decapitated body of Mohsen Hojjaji, a fighter from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was dispatched to Syria, surfaced on Iranian social media Aug. 9. Earlier, the Islamic State (IS) had shared video of Hojjaji’s capture on the Syrian-Iraqi border during a surprise attack that left a number of people dead. Iranian officials and social media users immediately sent their condolences …
Read More »Reports: Iraq To Mediate Between Saudi Arabia, Iran
RFL/RE – An Iraqi leader has said his country will take the role as mediator between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, media in Iraq and Iran are reporting. Iraqi Interior Minister Qasim al-Arraji on August 13 said Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman had requested Iraq get involved to help ease tensions between Riyadh and Tehran, according to Iran’s semiofficial ISNA …
Read More »Iranian Lawmakers Raise Thresholds Triggering Death Penalty For Some Drug Offenses
RFL/RE – Iran’s parliament has ended the death penalty for certain drug violations, raising the thresholds that can trigger capital punishment in a move that could prevent thousands from being executed. The long-awaited amendment to drug trafficking laws was approved on August 13 after months of debate and must still be ratified by the powerful clerical body, the Guardians Council, and …
Read More »Iran’s Khamenei names conservative cleric to arbitration body
Al-Arabia – Iran’s supreme leader has appointed a conservative cleric to head a council that mediates disputes between government bodies, Iranian state TV reported on Monday. The TV said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei named Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi as the new chief of the arbitration body – known as the Expediency Council – for the next five years. Shahroudi replaces …
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