RFL/RE – Iran has taken its cultural censorship efforts to new levels by pressuring a filmmaker to cancel the screening of one of his films in Canada. The film, Delighted, by Abdolreza Kahani, was due to be screened last month at an independent theater in Toronto. But Kahani decided to cancel the screening after receiving a warning from Iran’s Culture …

RFL/RE – Iranian officials say a woman died and nearly 100 people suffered minor injuries after an earthquake struck near Tehran late on December 20, sparking panic in the capital and neighboring areas. Authorities said on December 21 that the woman died in the town of Malard, close to the epicenter of the 5.2-magnitude earthquake, about 40 kilometers southwest of …

RFL/RE – Former Iranian Vice President Hamid Baghaei says that he has been sentenced to 63 years in prison after being convicted on corruption charges he contends are baseless. Baghaei has 20 days to appeal against the sentence, which observers suspect is a warning to former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad from the hard-line conservative judiciary. The head of the justice department …

Radiozmaneh – Workers of HEPCO, an Iranian heavy construction equipment manufacturer are reportedly facing charges brought against them by the judiciary as result of their protests. A report by an unidentified labour activist to Jameeh Farda daily on Wednesday December 20 reveals that following the protests twenty workers from Heavy Equipment Production Co. who were among the protesters were summoned …

Iran Human Rights –  A prisoner was executed at Zanjan Central Prison on murder charges. According to a close source, on the morning of Tuesday December 19, a prisoner was hanged at Zanjan Central Prison. The prisoner, identified as Yasin Abedi from Qazvin, was charged with murder. “Yasin worked with a derrick before he went to prison. One day he …

Iran Human Rights – A prisoner was executed at Zahedan Central Prison on murder charges. According to HRANA News Agency, on the morning of Wednesday December 20, a prisoner was executed at Zahedan Central Prison. The identity of the prisoner, who was charged with murder, was Yaser Salar Rashid, 23. He had been in prison for five years. “Yaser was …

Iran Human rights – At least eight prisoners were executed at Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj mostly on murder charges. According to a close source, on the morning of Wednesday December 20, at least eight prisoners were executed at Rajai Shahr Central Prison. The prisoners, mostly charged with murder, were transferred to solitary confinement from different wards of the prison …

CHRI – The decision by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to repeal net neutrality rules has given a green light to repressive countries like Iran to continue trampling on internet freedom at home. Activists based abroad have also lost a powerful ally that could spearhead internet freedom resolutions in international forums.

CHRI – After finally receiving approval to screen his movie “I’m Not Angry” in Iran, director Reza Dormishian’s film was suddenly removed from theaters before its scheduled national premiere on December 20, 2017. On December 18, Gholamreza Faraji, the spokesman for the Iranian Screeners’ Guild, which works closely with the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry, said the film’s opening had …

CHRI –The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has stated that the Iranian-British dual national, who is currently serving a five-year sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison, is now eligible for “early release” and that her lawyer was “hopeful” when he visited her on December 20, 2017. “He told her that it’s a matter of finalizing paperwork and it might be days to …