Iran-hrm – While the amputation of a man’s hand for stealing a sheep sparked domestic and international outrage, the head of the Justice Department in Razavi Khorassan Province said some judges believed that the thief should have been executed.

RFL/RE – Iran’s former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has renewed his criticism of Iran’s powerful judiciary following the arrests of several of his supporters. In a letter marking the celebrations of the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad said the judiciary has become “the main pillar of oppression” against the Iranian people. The letter follows reports that eight media activists …

Iran Human Rights – At least ten prisoners, most of whom charged with murder, were transferred to solitary confinement at Rajai Shahr Prison. According to a close source, on the morning of Sunday, February 4, at least ten prisoners were transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison. The prisoners, most of whom are sentenced to death on murder charges, will be executed …

CHRI – A Friday prayer leader in Tehran has called for the death penalty to be issued to citizens who participated in the weeklong protests that erupted across Iran in December 2017. “In our theology, the ruling against those who pour into the streets in opposition to a just Islamic ruler, cause fires or kill people… is death,” said Ayatollah …

CHRI – A proposed bill aimed at designating public spaces in Iran for protests will lead to “more limits” on the people’s right to voice their demands, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “No one would attack rallies without a green light from the state,” the Iranian human rights defender told …

Amnesty – Iranian Kurdish prisoner Ramin Hossein Panahi has been on hunger strike since 27 January in protest of being sentenced to death after a grossly unfair trial that followed four months of enforced disappearance. He has been transferred to solitary confinement in reprisal. His conviction and sentence violate international law and must be quashed. Read the report in English: …

Al-Monitor – The Turkish military operation in Afrin against Kurdish fighters has sparked different reactions among various parties involved in Syria, based on how each actor interprets the goals and implications of Ankara’s unilateral move. While the United States has appeared to be against the operation, especially given Washington’s support for the Kurdish forces fighting under the banner of the …

Al-Monitor – In a speech commemorating the opening of cultural centers honoring the Iran-Iraq War, which Iran refers to as the “Sacred Defense,” President Hassan Rouhani rejected calls from the United States and Western European countries to rein in Iran’s defensive capabilities. “National strength is for peace,” Rouhani said. “We seek strength for deterrence. We have to be ready to …

CNN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has waded into a highly charged debate over the country’s mandatory hijab law, abruptly releasing a three-year-old report suggesting that nearly half of Iranians were opposed to the government dictating what women should wear.   The release of the report on Sunday by the Iranian Center for Strategic Studies — a research arm of the President’s office …

Newyorker – Acouple of years ago, when Coldplay’s Chris Martin was going through a divorce from the actress Gwyneth Paltrow and feeling down, a friend gave him a book to lift his spirits. It was a collection of poetry by Jalaluddin Rumi, the thirteenth-century Persian poet, translated by Coleman Barks. “It kind of changed my life,” Martin said later, in …