Iranwire – The Court of Appeals of Tehran province has upheld the initial sentences of 10 years in prison for 70-year-old Mahvash Sabet (Shahriari) and Fariba Kamalabadi, two members of Iran’s Baha’i religious minority.  Sabet and Kamalabadi spent 10 years of their lives in prison, from 2008 to 2017, solely based on her religious beliefs. They have been held in …

Iranwire – Two journalists working for the state-run Iran Sports newspaper were fired after they criticized the management of the Ministry of Sports and Youth under former minister Hamid Sajjadi. Ali Vahdani, a reporter for state TV, tweeted on August 10 that Azadeh Pirakooh and Mohsen Ajarloo were sacked due to their critical stance toward Sajjadi. On August 1, President …

Iranwire – The German domestic intelligence agency has warned critics of the Iranian leadership living in Germany about the threat of cyberespionage against them.  Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) on August 10 warned Iranian dissidents that they might be targeted by the Charming Kitten online espionage group. Charming Kitten works by building trust with victims …

Iranwire – Earlier this month, Iran’s government invoked “unprecedented” summer heat when it ordered a two-day nationwide shutdown to protect public health and conserve energy amid temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius. The move came as the country, despite sitting on the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, faces acute shortages of electricity. The Tehran Electricity Distribution Company announced on August 9 it had …

Iran-HRM – The Iranian judiciary has falsely accused four Kurdish citizens from Sanandaj named Keyvan Zandi, Aram Azad, Sardar Shahmoradi, and Houshang Chahar Gorgeh of “moharebeh” (enmity against God). These individuals were arrested by security forces during the nationwide protests in Sanandaj last autumn. Currently, they are held in temporary detention at Sanandaj Central Prison, facing the imminent risk of …

Al-Monitor — Iran has transferred five US citizens held in Evin Prison to house arrest as part of a long-awaited deal that would involve Tehran gaining limited access to frozen funds and a release of prisoners on both sides.   A spokesperson for the Iranian mission said the Americans’ transfer was part of a “humanitarian cooperation agreement” mediated by a third-party government. …

Iranwire – The Iranian government is widening its clampdown on public, commercial and tourist venues allegedly failing to comply with the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women. A bookstore, a clothing shop and a popular amusement park were among the businesses forced to close in recent days for failing to enforce mandatory hijab rules for women. On August 9, the …

Iranwire – It has been almost a year since the murder of Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police and the outbreak of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, the biggest anti-government movement in Iran since the 1979 revolution. To put down this formidable wave of protests, the Islamic Republic has resorted to actions that, for all practical purposes, have …

Iranwire – Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the chief of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, has recently promoted two judges with infamous human rights records. Mohammad Movahedi Azad, a former head of the High Disciplinary Court of Judges, has been accused of overseeing the torture and execution of political prisoners. He has now become attorney-general. The previous holder of that post, …

Iranwire – Amin Bazrgar, a renowned Iranian wrestler, went missing in August 2021, a day after he took to Instagram to protest the September 2020 execution of another wrestler, Navid Afkari. “Our silence is a betrayal,” Bazrgar wrote. In September last year, security forces told Barzgar’s family that several of his bones were discovered in a mountain in Shiraz province.  …