Al-Monitor – US President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East next week will set the context for what will likely be the final round, or rounds, of indirect talks with Iran to agree on restarting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).  The indirect talks on the Iran nuclear deal in Doha between US and Iranian officials, brokered by EU Iran …

RFL/RE -A member of the Iranian parliament says that about 80 percent of Iranians use tools on their mobile phones to bypass Internet filtering and censorship. In an interview with ILNA news agency on July 6, Gholamreza Nouri Qazaljeh said that many popular websites in Iran are filtered to the extent that even children and teenagers “have to have tools …

RFL/RE – A court in Turkey has handed a life sentence to a man accused in the killing of a former Iranian intelligence operative who exposed alleged corruption in Iran’s judiciary and security forces. Turkish media reported on July 7 that Abdul Wahab Kocak was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Masoud Molavi Vardanjani, who was shot dead in …

Iranwire – Over the last fortnight Iran’s infamous morality patrols have stepped up their presence, and their harassment of women, in several major cities. Social media users report that they are in new cars and deploying more violence than usual. It coincides with renewed tirades from officials of all strips across Iran about “Islamic hijab”, “chastity” and the need to …

Iranwire – A spokesperson for Poland’s Nicolaus Copernicus University has confirmed in an interview with Radio Farda that one of the university’s professors, Matsey Walczak, has been imprisoned in Iran for almost a year. “Unfortunately, I can confirm this information,” said the spokesperson, Martin Czyzniewski. “But this information is not new. Three professors of our university were arrested in September …

Iran-HRM – Political prisoner Soada Khadirzadeh has been held in Urmia Prison despite her poor health after giving birth. Branch 3 of the Criminal Court of Mahabad County has set bail of 3 billion Tomans for her release, which her family has so far failed to secure. She gave birth to her baby girl on June 20 after two weeks …

Iran-HRM – Iranian trade union activist Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh has been on a hunger strike since June 30, in Adelabad Prison of Shiraz. He is protesting his continued detention and his confinement with common criminals. Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh was arrested on May 14 in a peaceful gathering of teachers in the city of Shiraz. Iranian security forces began a widespread wave …

Iran-HRM – Security forces arrested former political prisoner Seyyed Javad Seyedi during a gathering of retirees in Tehran on July 2 and transferred him to Ward 209 of Evin Prison controlled by the Intelligence Ministry. He has been imprisoned in undecided condition while being denied access to his lawyer and relatives. Previously, Seyyed Javad Seyedi was sentenced by Branch 28 …

Iran-HRM – Labor activist Reyhaneh Ansarinejad has remained in detention on remand in Evin Prison’s Intelligence Ministry Ward 209. She has been denied family visits and contact. According to an informed source, her young daughter, who depends on her mother as the only parent, is now facing financial hardship and cannot regularly visit due to their economic situation. Intelligence Ministry …

HRW – During the last week of June, Iranian authorities intensified their crackdown on civil society with a new wave of politically-motivated arrests and sentences against journalists and activists, including Vida Rabani, Ahmad Reza Haeri, Amir Salar Davoudi, and Masoud Bastani. On July 4, Emtedad news outlet reported that the Evin prosecutor’s office summoned Masoud Bastani, a journalist. Two days earlier, on …