Iran-HRM – Political prisoner Amir Hossein Moradi is critically ill, said a fellow inmate who is on temporary leave until August 22. Hossein Qashqaii, a social media activist, who is serving two years in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary for his activities on social media, has been on temporary leave from prison. He has made revelations about prison conditions in the …

Al-Monitor – Afghanistan ranks as one of the most at-risk, fragile economies in the world. Poverty is endemic, as is underdevelopment, because of long-term, high-intensity conflict, according to the World Bank. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The other countries on this short, grim list include the Central African Republic, Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Afghanistan has 37 million people, with 46% of …

Iranwire – On Tuesday, August 17, a single US dollar was trading for around 26,900 tomans on Tehran’s open market. This was the third day in a row the dollar was inching towards 27,000 tomans apiece. But it has yet to quite cross that threshold. A small group of foreign currency investors in Iran might be happy, under the illusion …

Iranwire – A grieving mother has been brutally attacked by security forces while paying tribute to her son, who was killed during the nationwide November 2019 protests. Nahid Shirpisheh, whose 28-year-old son Pouya Bakhtiari was killed on November 16, 2019, described on Instagram what happened. On Wednesday, August 18, she and a group of human rights activists, including other grieving mothers, were taking …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – 22-year-old Ali Chebishat was arrested on security charges more than a year ago and has been held in the custody of intelligence services in Ahvaz Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, 22-year-old Ahvaz native, Ali Chebishat was arrested on 26 July 2020 and has been held in the custody of intelligence …

Al-Monitor – The United Kingdom, France and Germany expressed their “grave concern” over Iran’s reported increase in uranium metal and production of enriched uranium, warning that time is running out to negotiate a return to the Iranian nuclear agreement. The United Nation’s atomic watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — told member states this week Iran had enriched uranium up to 60% …

Al-Monitor – Iran “is no Stalin-era Soviet Union,” read a statement issued by Iran’s National Union of Theater Directors, addressing Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, the proposed minister of culture in the new administration of hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. The statement was part of growing outrage against an 80-page document released by the proposed minister outlining his vision for the future of Iranian art and culture. Esmaili, 46, particularly lashed out …

Shabtabnews – In a letter to the chairman and ranking member Risch, a number of US senators requested an establishment of a Senate Human Rights Commission, by stating that: ” The adoption of this resolution would establish a nonpartisan platform for Senators to take action on matters regarding international human rights. “ For full text of letter see below: Establishing-the-Senate-Human-Rights-Commission-August-2021Download

RFL/RE – Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging Iranian authorities to redouble efforts to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying their prohibition on the import of U.S. and U.K.-produced vaccines, a lack of transparency, and mismanagement are exacerbating the already dire impact of the coronavirus in the country.With the number of deaths and hospitalizations on the rise and a …

Iranwire – At the opening of the criminal trial of Hamid Nouri in Sweden last week, the names of several Iranian journalists who were killed in Iran’s 1988 prison massacre were read out to the court. Prosecutors based this on a document provided to Stockholm District Court by global organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). On the second day of the trial, Reza Moeini, the …