RFL/RE – An Iranian state-owned company says one of its cargo vessels was targeted this week by what it called a “terrorist” attack in the Mediterranean Sea, state television reported on March 12. The report quoted Ali Ghiasian, spokesman for the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines group (IRISL), as saying that the ship was en route from Iran to …

VOA – An exiled Iranian Arab rights activist has revealed that three minority Arab dissidents executed by Iran’s Islamist authorities last month showed signs of torture before their death sentences were carried out. In a Wednesday interview with VOA Persian from London, researcher Karim Dahimi said dissidents Jasem Heidary, Ali Khasraji and Hossein Silawi had bruises when relatives were given …

HRW – Statement to Member States of the United Nations Human Rights Council : Your Excellency, We, the undersigned Iranian and international human rights organizations, call on your government to support the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council. We …

CHRI -Iran’s judicial system has a long, documented history of sentencing detainees held on politically motivated charges to “exile”—prolonged banishment to a remote, underdeveloped town or city far from the detainee’s residence—after the completion of a prison sentence. The sentence is intended to isolate prisoners as well as prevent them from interacting with their friends, family, and giving interviews to news outlets, …

Iranwire – Civil rights activist Sepideh Gholian has been transferred from Evin Prison in Tehran to a remote facility in Bushehr. A source close to the case told IranWire that the 25-year-old had been escorted out of Evin Prison at midnight on Wednesday, March 10, and arrived at Bushehr the following day. They said she was in handcuffs and chains …

Iranwire – IranWire’s Atlas of Religious Minorities website officially started publishing on March 10, 2021.   Currently, the site is only available in Persian, but we hope to launch an English-language version soon. IranWire encourages our audience to visit the site and welcomes feedback and suggestions. *** Throughout history, Iran has been home to people with diverse ideas and followers of different religions and beliefs. Regardless …

Iranwire – Mehdi Narimani, a young man imprisoned in Greater Tehran Penitentiary for not being able to pay his wife’s dowry, had his 30th birthday on Wednesday, March 3. Three days later he died due to medical neglect. The young inmate was unwell and had been given the wrong medication by prison staff. When he lost consciousness, the lack of resuscitation …

Iran-HRM – Political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared has been abruptly transferred from the women’s ward of Evin Prison to the Prison of Semnan. Reports from the women’s ward of Evin Prison indicate that her cellmates intervened to prevent her relocation. But prison guards violently broke into the ward and forcibly took her out. Maryam Akbari Monfared has been in prison since December …

Amnesty – Joint letter by Iranian and international human rights organisations, calling for the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council. View report in English DOWNLOAD PDF

CHRI – Use of Solitary Confinement Not Supported Under Iranian law Key Findings: Civil rights activists have filed a lawsuit in Tehran against those who order or enforce solitary confinement in Iran’s detention centers and prisonsThe practice of placing detainees in prolonged solitary confinement is routinely used in Iran to isolate and weaken detainees in order to extract false “confessions”Iranian law does …