CHRI – Increasing arbitrary arrests of members of the persecuted Baha’i faith in Iran, and an intensifying government-sponsored campaign of destruction and confiscation of their properties should be internationally condemned, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, should demand accountability for the state’s ruthless and systematic …

CHRI – For more than a decade, the inmates incarcerated at Iran’s Gharchak Prison for women have been desperately protesting inhumane, unsafe and unlawful conditions at the facility that violate all international norms and standards for prisons. Consistent reports of abusive conditions at Gharchak were first reported in May 2011 by families of political prisoners, who wrote a letter to the judiciary’s …

Al-Monitor – The parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are meeting in Vienna for the first time in nearly six months, giving new life to the frequently-declared-dead Iran nuclear deal.  The meeting follows EU Policy Chief Josep Borrell’s last chance (more or less) consensus paper, which has been studied by both Washington and Tehran ahead of the Vienna meetings.  …

Al-monitor – The resumption of talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal was the breakthrough of this week. The signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) had not met in Vienna in nearly six months. Multiple diplomatic sources in Vienna told Al-Monitor today there’s no deadline to reach a deal. “Talks will continue as far as there is …

Shabtabnews – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report: Pakistan Country Update – This report examines religious freedom conditions and the growing intolerance for religious diversity fueled by extremism and existing problematic Pakistani legislation, citing recent attacks against religious minorities in the country. Religious minorities or anyone who interprets or practices their faith …

RFL/RE – The families of victims of mass executions in Iran in 1988 have expressed outrage over construction and other changes made at the Khavaran cemetery, which they believe holds the remains of their loved ones. A letter signed by nearly 800 members of the victims’ families and sent to Javid Rahman, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in …

RFL/RE – Iran says it has arrested 10 militants affiliated with the extremist Islamic State (IS) group who were planning to carry out attacks on religious processions during the Islamic month of Muharram, which started on July 30. In a statement on August 4, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence identified the people arrested as “Takfiri-Zionist terrorists” and accused Israel of hiring …

Iranwire – By most agreed international measures, the province of Sistan and Baluchistan is one of Iran’s poorest and most deprived. The impact of this on how children experience their formative years has been the subject of repeated coverage over the years. Less attention, however, has been paid to the state of education in the province. A large proportion of school-age children …

Iranwire – The mother of Soheil Arabi, a photojournalist, blogger and former political prisoner of conscience, has been sent to Evin Prison to begin serving an 18-month custodial sentence. Farangis Mazlum, 55, was summoned to Evin Prison’s Judgement Enforcement Unit on Tuesday. Last October a deputy prosecutor declined to imprison her due to her age and asked for a doctor’s note to excuse …

Iranwire – On the evening of Wednesday, 3 August, preliminary results of Iran’s nationwide university entrance exam were announced and Baha’i citizens were once again denied entry to higher education. According to a report published by the Human Rights Organization in Iran, at least three Baha’i citizens named Hiva Badiei, Hana Movafaghi and Behzad Barati received results claiming that their …