Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement USCIRF Cmmr @Skleinbaum stated: “Iran’s prisoner amnesty is an admission that it should never have arrested thousands of citizens for protesting mandatory hijab laws. “ USCIRF Cmmr @Skleinbaum: "Iran's prisoner amnesty is an admission that it should never have arrested thousands of citizens for protesting mandatory hijab laws. The US gov must continue to …

Al-Arabia – After the US foiled a 2021 plot by the Islamic Republic of Iran to kidnap dissident journalist Masih Alinejad from Brooklyn, New York, the regime has continued undeterred in its efforts to kill the US citizen of Iranian origin on American soil. On January 27, the US Department of Justice unsealed murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against three …

RFL/RE – A new novel by Salman Rushdie will be published on February 7, nearly six months after a man repeatedly stabbed the writer onstage during a lecture in New York state in what was widely condemned as an attack on freedom of expression. Rushdie, 75, was blinded in his right eye and his left hand was badly injured in …

RFL/RE – A leading jailed Iranian political activist says the time has come for the Islamic government to leave, even if it takes some reforms such as repealing the deeply divisive mandatory hijab law. In a letter written from the women’s ward of Evin prison imploring fellow rights activist Farhad Meysami to end his hunger strike, Bahareh Hedayat wrote that “our …

RFL/RE – Benjamin Briere, a French national held in Iran, has gone on hunger strike for the second time since his incarceration in May 2020, his sister and his lawyer said on February 6. Briere, who was sentenced to eight years in jail for espionage, is one of seven French and more than two dozen foreign nationals who campaigners say …

Iranwire – Iran’s health minister has warned that private health centers will lose their accreditation if women employees do not abide to the Islamic Republic’s mandatory hijab rules. Bahram Einullahi issued the warning in an interview with the semi-official Fars news agency on February 7, amid more than four months of nationwide protests demanding more freedoms and women’s rights. In …

Iranwire – The Islamic Republic of Iran has revealed an underground air force large enough to store and operate fighter jets, bombers and drones, official media reported on February 7. The Iranian air force has seen an increasing number of crashes and equipment failures in recent years as the Islamic Republic struggles to stay relevant with aging, outdated technology. Despite …

Iranwire – At least a dozen cities across Iran were again the scene of overnight protests, as the Islamic Republic is marking the 44th anniversary of the revolution that brought the country’s clerical rulers to power. Defying a brutal crackdown by security forces on more than four months of nationwide protests, hundreds of angry demonstrators took to the streets late …

Iranwire – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is urging the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Elnaz Mohammadi, her sister Elahe and all other journalists arrested over their coverage of Mahsa Amini’s death in September and the ensuing widespread protests. “Authorities must let members of the press do their work without fear that they will be summoned and …

Iranwire – As IranWire has reported, hundreds of Iranians have sustained severe eye injuries after being hit by pellets, tear gas cannisters, paintball bullets or other projectiles used by security forces amid a bloody crackdown on mainly peaceful demonstrations. The report concluded that such actions by the security forces could constitute a “crime against humanity,” as defined by Article 7 of the …