Iranwire – Iranian writer and human rights activist Narges Mohammadi has been awarded the prestigious PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, which is given to honor writers who are political prisoners. Mohammadi’s husband, journalist and activist Taghi Rahmani, will accept the prize on her behalf at the organization’s annual literary gala in New York on May 18, the open expression advocacy group PEN America said in …

Iranwire – Retirees from the telecommunications sector staged coordinated rallies in multiple cities across Iran to protest the government’s failure to improve their living conditions. On May 15 in North Khorasan province, retirees gathered in front of the province’s telecommunications center in Birjand and chanted slogans such as “We want our rights” and “We will not give up.” Retirees in …

Iranwire – Mohammad Dehghan, Iran’s vice president for legal affairs, has once against revealed the misogynistic nature of the country’s clerical regime by stating that “hijab is the symbol of the Islamic Republic.” “Without hijab, the Islamic Republic would not have much of a meaning,” Dehghan said on May 13, adding, “So we must not be negligent on this issue.” When asked whether women who flout …

VOA – An annual U.S. government report finds religious freedom under assault throughout the world, notably in what the State Department calls Countries of Particular Concern —China, Iran, Russia, Myanmar — among others. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching has more. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-china-iran-russia-myanmar-top-violators-of-religious-freedom/7095069.html

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Official state media have reported the execution of an unnamed man for murder in Fereydounkenar Prison in Mazandaran province. According to IRNA, a man was executed in Fereydounkenar Prison on 15 May. Sentenced to qisas(retribution-in-kind) for murder, he has only been identified by the initials M.A. The report states he was sentenced to death for the …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Official state media have reported the execution of five unnamed men in Bandarabbas and Minab prisons. According to ISNA, five men were executed in Bandarabbas Central Prison and Minab Prison in Hormozgan province on 15 May. Official media have not named the men who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court. …

Iran Human Rights – Kiumars Menbari and Saeed Arjmandi were executed for murder in Sanandaj Central Prison. Jamshid Karimi and Mostafa Salehi still await death penalty. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Sanandaj Central Prison on 14 May. Their identities have been established as Kiumars Menbari (pictured) and Saeed Arjmandi who were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) …

Al-Monitor — The United States is preparing additional sanctions to inhibit Iran’s transfer of drones and other advanced weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, a senior White House official said Monday. “Interactions between Iran and Russia in matters regarding the selling of advanced weapons — especially more advanced UAVs — are now continuing,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “If Iran …

Al-Monitor – The Israeli Foreign Ministry told Al-Monitor that two senior Israeli diplomats traveled to Russia this month on a rare visit. They met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and discussed Moscow’s armament of Iran among other issues.  Israel’s Hayom newspaper first reported Friday on the May 3visit to Moscow, the first such senior-level ministerial encounter since the invasion of Ukraine …

Shabtabnews – In an open letter to Volker Türk and Václav Bálek – IOPHR condemned the recent appointment of Ali Bahreini as head of the Social Forum in the Human Rights Council. The letter stated that “this appointment stands to undermine the years of effort by the Council to highlight human violations of the Iranian regime and the efforts of …