Iranwire – An Iranian court has sentenced former lawmaker and women’s rights advocate Faezeh Hashemi to five years in prison, her lawyer says, amid a brutal crackdown on nearly four months of nationwide anti-government protests. Lawyer Neda Shams made the announcement on Twitter on January 9, adding that Hashemi, who is the daughter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, …

Iranwire – An Iranian court has sentenced Mostafa Hosseini Tabatabaei, an Islamologist and scholar of Quran, and seven of his students to a total of 28 years in prison and deprivation of civil rights for their views on Shia Islam. Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Tabatabaei to eight years in prison. The other defendants in the case (Abdolhamid …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities have arrested a member of the country’s persecuted Baha’i religious minority in the northern city of Qaemshahr, IranWire has learnt, amid an intensified crackdown on the faith. The news about Matin Gorji’s arrest comes amid rising concerns over the fate of another jailed Baha’i, Pouya Sarraf, who has been in solitary confinement for more than two …

Iranwire – An Iranian general sanctioned by the West for human rights abuses linked with mass protests triggered by the country’s contested 2009 presidential elections officially took over the post of police chief on January 9, nearly four months into nationwide unrest. Last week, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters and is the …

VOA – U.S. officials on Monday criticized Iran’s execution of two people in connection with anti-government protests and expressed concern that Iran could soon put more people to death after unfair trials as part of a crackdown. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters the United States condemns the executions of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini “in the strongest …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – At least 481 people including 64 children and 35 women, have been killed by security forces in the current nationwide protests. The death toll increase relates to recently verified cases from the first two months of the protests. Furthermore, at least 109 protesters are currently at risk of execution, death penalty charges or sentences. This …

Al-Monitor – The parent company of Facebook, Meta, decided Monday to allow posts that call for the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  What happened: A July 2022 Persian-language Facebook post that read “death to Khamenei” was later removed when Meta determined it violated its violence and incitement community standard.  Meta’s Oversight Board, which is funded by Meta but acts …

Al-Monitor – Having signed a 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with Iran almost two years ago, China is due to discuss additional economic cooperation. But for the most part, the arrangements remain vague as geopolitical tensions rise.   Arriving in Saudi Arabia last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a series of meetings with the leadership of the Gulf states and pledged to create a …

RFL/RE – Three women from Ukraine, Iran, and Turkey have won Sweden’s Olof Palme human rights prize in 2023 for championing women’s rights and freedoms. Marta Chumalo of Ukraine, Iran’s Narges Mohammadi, and Eren Keskin of Turkey were honored for “their efforts in the fight to secure women’s freedom, in an age when human rights are threatened by war, violence …

Iranwire – Hundreds of people gathered outside a prison in the northern Iranian city of Karaj overnight in an attempt to prevent the reported imminent execution of two young protesters. The opposition activist collective 1500tasvir reported that Mohammad Baroghani and Mohammad Ghobadlou were transferred to solitary confinement at Rejaei Shahr prison, which is often a preliminary step before execution. همزمان …