Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Fardin Kalahouyi was executed on murder charges in Kermanshah Central Prison more than a month ago. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison on 18 May 2022. His identity has been established as Fardin Kalahouyi who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. According to Hengaw who first …

Al-Monitor – In the movie Godfather II, mafia boss Michael Corleone says that his rival Hyman Roth “has been dying of the same heart attack for twenty years.” After swearing never to do a Godfather reference in a column, this one came to mind, following the many epitaphs of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal. The JCPOA, …

Shabtabnews– The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report: Increasing Religious Freedom Restrictions on Baha’is in Qatar: This factsheet enumerates restrictions on Baha’is in Qatar and demonstrates ways in which these restrictions may be systematic. It discusses the non-renewal of residency visas and the community’s difficulties related to securing a cemetery. It also discusses …

Al-Arabia – While most attention in the US has been focused on the economic downturn and soaring inflation, a key foreign policy move by the Biden administration stole the headlines of many outlets in recent weeks, and it was not the Ukraine war. US President Joe Biden officially announced his first trip to the Middle East since taking office over a year …

RFL/RE – Iranians are consuming fewer fruits and vegetables as skyrocketing prices shake the country’s food security.Ismail Moradian, the vice-president of the Fruit and Vegetable Sellers Association, told the ILNA news agency on June 22 that consumption has decreased by between 25 and 30 percent because of price rises and the implementation of the economic policies of President Ebrahim Raisi’s government.“Many people …

RFL/RE – Workers on scaffolding projects in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries have joined in Iran’s nationwide labor unrest, striking for higher wages and more structured working hours.The Free Trade Union of Iran launched the action on June 22, repeating similar demands they made last year during a long strike that eventually saw the implementation of the measures several companies, …

Iranwire – A group of teenage skaters have been arrested in the Iranian city of Shiraz amid a moral panic due to some of the girls in the group not wearing hijab. On Thursday a video was posted online showing a gathering of young people in a park off the city’s Chamran Boulevard, seemingly to talk and skate. Hours later, …

Iranwire – A 20-year-old woman from a hard-up family was strangled to death by her husband at their home in Tehran on Monday, Iranian state news agencies report. The man later confessed to the crime, revealing that they were close relatives who had been married as children, and said he killed her out of frustration at her asking for things …

Iranwire – A campaign by Iranian authorities to uproot the Baha’i community in Shiraz took a dark step forward, earlier in June, when Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced 26 Baha’is to a combined total of 85 years in prison. Each individual was sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to five years. Travel bans and orders to report …

Al-Monitor – For several families of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, a virtual meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday did little to reassure them that the administration is making the safe return of their loved ones a priority.  Participants who spoke with Al-Monitor described an at times tense video call with Blinken on Wednesday, with …