BBC – The mother of a 16-year-old girl allegedly beaten to death by security forces during protests in Iran has spoken of her continuing heartache. In an exclusive interview that appears in a BBC documentary, Nasrin Shakarami says she “cannot forget for a second” what happened to her daughter Nika. Nasrin was speaking to actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who fled …

RFL/RE – The father and sister of Abolfazl Adinezadeh, a 17-year-old protester shot dead by Iranian security forces in October, have been charged with “anti-government propaganda,” according to their family lawyer, Khosrow Alikordi. The charges are in relation with interviews and social media posts by Ali Adinehzadeh and Marzieh Adinezadeh, Abolfazl’s father and sister respectively, Alikordi said. The family has reportedly been …

Iranwire – Residents of Iran’s arid south-eastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan are grappling with formidable challenges at the beginning of the summer season. With a dust storm unleashing winds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour, the impoverished province faces a severe water crisis and the rampant spread of malaria. The director of water and sewage affairs in the city of …

Irawire – “Daily exercise boosts women’s self-esteem and teaches them that their own well-being should be their top priority. Women should not get lost in the demands of everyday life and neglect themselves. Engaging in consistent daily exercise strengthens this mindset.” These are the words of Mercedeh Shahinkar, a sports coach who lost an eye on October 15 last year …

Iranwire – Elahe Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, two journalists jailed in Iran over their coverage of Mahsa Amini’s death, have been awarded the World Association of News Publishers’ 2023 Golden Pen of Freedom. The 22-year-old Amini died while in police custody in September last year after she had been detained for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic’s strict headscarf rules. Her …

Iranwire – A child and another person have been wounded during clashes between security forces and Baluch protesters in the south-eastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, reports say.  According to the Baluch Activists Campaign, a UK-based organization covering events in the province, the incident in the city of Sarbaz started after traffic police “unlawfully” impounded a passenger vehicle and imposed …

Iranwire – For 36 hours last weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power appeared to be under threat as Wagner mercenaries closed in on Moscow. With the private mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin claiming to have seized military sites in two cities, the Kremlin deployed troops to the streets of the capital and warned residents to stay indoors. …

VOA – Iran has filed a case against Canada at the United Nations’ top court, accusing it of flouting state immunity in allowing relatives of victims of terrorism to seek reparations from the Islamic Republic. In its case announced Wednesday by the International Court of Justice, Tehran argues that Canada is “obliged to respect the jurisdictional immunity which Iran enjoys …

CHRI – Bolstering a state campaign aimed at crushing dissent, the Iranian Parliament has voted to “investigate” the Iranian Bar Association in a bid to further persecute human rights lawyers who serve as the last remaining lifeline for defendants facing politically motivated charges in the judicial system. “Iranian officials commit blatant human rights violations with impunity, while mechanisms to scrutinize publicly funded state institutions …

Al-Monitor — Asked whether the United States is pursuing an informal arrangement with Iran, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday there is “no agreement in the offing.”  “We continue to be willing to explore diplomatic paths,” Blinken told a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York. “Whether Iran chooses itself to take actions — or maybe better put — not to take …