Iran-HRM – Three blinding sentences against two men and a woman are to be carried out, according to the state-run Hamshahri daily. According to the August 2nd Hamshahri daily, the cases of two men and a woman who were sentenced to blinding in the criminal courts of Kermanshah, Qom, and Fars were sent to Tehran to be carried out. Hamshahri …

Iran-HRM – The Iranian regime stepped up its crackdown on civil liberties amid severe economic pressure on Iranians. Dozens of members of Iranian civil society were arrested or began prison sentences in July, including family members of slain protesters, lawyers and acclaimed film directors. The clerical regime also continued horrendous daily executions. Meanwhile, the regime ramped up repression and harassed …

Amnesty – The international community must hold the Iranian authorities to account for the torrent of violence which their security forces unleashed on protesters in the south-west of Iran in May 2022 with complete impunity, Amnesty International said today.  The organization’s new research briefing “They are shooting brazenly”: Iran’s militarized response to May 2022 protests documents how Iran’s security forces unlawfully fired …

Al-Monitor – Spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanani criticized fresh American sanctions targeting his country’s economy, pledging “a decisive, firm and immediate response” from the Islamic Republic.   “Iran will adopt all necessary measures to neutralize those sanctions’ possible negative impacts on its trade,” Kanani said in a statement.   On Monday, the US Treasury announced new sanctions hitting some Chinese and Emirati companies facilitating …

Recently reports have emerged that Swedish-Iranian doctor Ahmadreza Djalali might be facing a release through prisoner exchange since Belgian parliament voted to sign a prisoner swap treaty with Iran (read more here https://english.shabtabnews.com/2022/07/04/iophr-urges-the-members-of-the-belgian-parliament-to-reconsider-and-prevent-a-judicial-cooperation-between-the-kingdom-of-belgium-and-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/). The prisoner swap agreement was signed by Belgium in the first place to secure the release of a Belgian aid worker, Olivier Vandecasteele, who was imprisoned in …

Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement USCIRF condemned Iran’s mass arrest of 13 Baha’is, including former USCIRF Religious Prisoners of Conscience Mahvash Sabet & Fariba Kamalabadi. USCIRF Commissioner @SharonKleinbaum: "USCIRF condemns Iran's mass arrest of 13 Baha'is, including former USCIRF Religious Prisoners of Conscience Mahvash Sabet & Fariba Kamalabadi. Iran must cease its relentless persecution of religious minorities." https://t.co/4hd5xZaM62— USCIRF …

bic.org – Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence issued an appalling statement of oppressive hate propaganda against the persecuted Baha’i religious minority yesterday, 31 July, in an attempt to justify the raids on the homes and businesses of 52 Baha’is across Iran and the arrest or imprisonment of 13 individuals. The Ministry of Intelligence issued a formal statement about the moves—which came …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi plans to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly next month despite US sanctions against him, the government’s spokesman said on Tuesday.“The preliminary planning has been done for the president’s attendance at the UN General Assembly session,” Ali Bahadori-Jahromi told a weekly press briefing. Raisi, who has been under US sanctions since …

Iranwire – Ex-Olympic champions, retirees from sports and seriously injured athletes are being paid less than half the Iranian minimum wage in pensions and stipends – if indeed they are being paid at all, documents seen by IranWire show. The Sports Champions and Pioneers Support Credit Fund was created in 2004 by the Khatami administration, under the auspices of the …

Iranwire – In a “cruel” escalation, according to the Baha’i International Community, and just two days after previous attacks on Baha’is across Iran, IranWire understands that up to 200 Iranian government and local agents have sealed off the village of Roushankouh, in Mazandaran province, where a large number of Baha’is live, and are using heavy earthmoving equipment to demolish their …