Shabtabnews – In a statement today IOPHR condemned the “spineless execution of the Iranian wrestling champion, Mr. Navid Afkari. The statement called the execution a ” desperate attempt by the Iranian regime to implement the hated policy of fearmongering, or achieving “victory through fear”, in order to dissuade the Iranian young men and women from demanding their basic human rights.” …

Radiofarda – Navid Afkari, an Iranian wrester convicted of murder in a case that was condemned by rights groups and U.S. President Donald Trump, has been executed, Iranian state media reported on September 12. Afkari was executed “this morning after legal procedures were carried out at the insistence of the parents and the family of the victim,” the head of the justice …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s coronavirus death toll rose by 116 to 23,029, a health ministry spokeswoman told state TV on Saturday. The total number of identified cases spiked by 2,139 in the last 24 hours to 399,940 in one of the Middle East’s worst-hit countries, Sima Sadat Lari was quoted as saying. Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section. …

Radiofarda – The members of a group charged with “promoting corruption and promiscuity in native clothes” are under arrest, Islamic Republic Judiciary official Hossein Negin Taji, from the province of Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad, said on Friday, September 11. IRAN — social distancing — Women in a village in Iran’s Lorestan province have gathering while respecting social distancing rules. Without …

Radiofarda – A new version of the third-grade math textbook no longer features images of girls in school uniforms on the cover. Meanwhile, the schoolboys’ image has been kept untouched on the cover of the newly-published textbook for the new Iranian academic year. Iran–Third-grade math textbook no longer features images of girls. The previous version of the boom for the …

Radiofarda – The chairman of the Islamic City Council of Tehran, Mohsen Hashemi, has shared that the bid to build the city’s line 7 metro was granted to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)-linked Khatam-al Anbiya Construction Headquarters (KCH) under pressure from Tehran’s former mayor. IRGC Brigadier-General Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who served as mayor of Tehran for twelve years, is …

Radiofarda – In a joint letter to the leaders across the globe, 22 international human rights organizations are advocating for the establishment of a select committee at the next gathering of the UN’s Council of Human Rights to investigate “the grave violation of human rights in Iran” during and after the November 2019 protests. “We, the undersigned human rights organizations, …

VOA – President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain has agreed to recognize Israel, following a similar deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates last month. The agreement is another sign of the shifting dynamic in the Middle East, one that brings Arab nations closer to Israel and is seen as isolating Palestinians. From …

VOA – A jailed Iranian blogger is intensifying his campaign to raise international awareness about worsening conditions at the notorious prison where he is detained, saying in a new audio recording that coronavirus-infected inmates are not being sent to hospitals until near death. In the audio message recorded this month and sent to VOA Persian by a source, citizen journalist …

HRW – The prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been on a hunger strike in Evin prison for almost a month in order to demand the release of the country’s scores of political prisoners. Several other imprisoned activists have also joined her hunger strike. By putting their health at risk, Sotoudeh and others are trying to draw attention to the …