VOA – Iranian authorities have denied the appeal of a Princeton University student who had been convicted on espionage charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison, the university and his wife said Thursday. Xiyue Wang, a history doctoral student and U.S. citizen who was conducting dissertation research in Iran in 2016 when he was detained by Iranian authorities, was accused …

CHRI – Activist Denied Care Despite Medical Examiner’s Recommendation Already serving a seven-year prison sentence, imprisoned children’s rights activist Atena Daemi has been issued a new charge and is being denied medical treatment, a source close to Daemi’s family told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “The head of Evin Prison [Ali Chaharmahali] and the director of the prison …

CHRI – Hundreds of Iranian women and children’s rights advocates in Iran are urging Parliament to prohibit underage marriage in the country. “In defense of children’s human rights, we call for an end to the phenomenon known as child spouses,” said a statement signed by more than 800 activists addressing members of Parliament on August 12, 2017. “Marriage at a young …

CHRI – Women’s rights activist and photojournalist Alieh Matlabzadeh has been sentenced to three years in prison by a preliminary court in Tehran for participating in a women’s empowerment seminar. A legal source with knowledge about Matlabzadeh’s case told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on August 14, 2017 that the prison sentence was issued by Branch 26 of …

CHRI – Thirteen Sunni Arabs have been beaten by security and plainclothes agents and arrested for publicly praying in Ahvaz, the capital of Iran’s Khuzestan Province, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. The men, all between the ages of 20 and 27, were taken into custody on August 11, 2017 for holding a traditional Sunni group prayer, …

CHRI – After exhausting all legal avenues in Iran to overturn the five-year prison sentence issued in a secret trial against his Iranian-British wife, Richard Ratcliffe is taking her case to the United Nations and may sue Iran through the UK court system. “The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva meets in September [2017] and the human rights groups that support …

Al-monitor – Mehdi Karroubi, the 79-year-old leader of the Green Movement that emerged out of Iran’s highly charged 2009 presidential election, has ended his hunger strike after his demands have been reportedly met, according to his family members. AUTHOR Al-Monitor Staff His wife, Fatemeh Karroubi, told Saham News that her husband had begun a hunger strike after morning prayers Aug. 16 …

Al-monitor — Iranian society has undergone tremendous change in past decades, with women continuously playing a role in this transformation. Indeed, Iranian women have long sought a more active presence in society, gradually distancing themselves from the cliche of being mothers or wives. Today, they make up almost 70% of university applicants and half of the graduates. AUTHOR Maysam Bizaer Paired …

RFL/RE – Iranian opposition figure Mehdi Karrubi, who has been under house arrest for more than six years, has ended a hunger strike, his son says. Mohammad Taghi Karrubi tweeted on August 17 that his father called off the strike after authorities promised to withdraw security agents from his home. Karrubi began a hunger strike on August 16, demanding a public …

Radiozamaneh – Government of Hassan Rouhani has responded to the demands of Mehdi Karroubi, an opposition leader who was on hunger strike in house arrest. Karroubi is demanding life without surveillance and presence of security officer as well as a public trial. As such the ailing 80-year-old has ended his hunger strike which has sent him to the intensive care unit …