Iranwire – Thirty-three years after being captured by Iraqis during the war while defending his homeland, a Baha’i citizen, Behrouz Farzandi, is once again behind bars. But time it is because of his faith. Throughout the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and up to this day, the Iranian government has consistently attempted to erase the Baha’is from the official list of casualties …

Iranwire – The Islamic Republic of Iran staged a military show in Tehran on November 24 in support of Palestinians, as part of an annual week devoted to the glorification of the paramilitary Basij force. The event, held on the occasion of Basij Week, included a march in which 50,000 Basij members reportedly participated and the showcasing of the Iranian-made …

Iranwire – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for the release of two journalists imprisoned in Iran, saying they are “paying, like many of their colleagues in the country, the price of their duty to inform.” Saeedeh Shafiei and Nasim Sultanbeigi were sentenced to three and a half years in prison amid a crackdown on the media and dissent following a popular uprising …

Iranwire – A German court has sentenced an Iranian man to four years in prison followed by preventive detention for planning an attack with deadly chemicals. Dirk Kienitz, the presiding judge at the Dortmund regional court, said in his verdict that the 26-year old defendant “was determined to carry out a terrorist attack using toxic substances,” according to a court statement.  …

Iranwire – An Iranian elementary school student has died from injuries sustained during a school camp in the northeastern Caspian province of Golestan, an accident that raised questions about the organizers’ adherence to weather warnings.  The head of Motahari Hospital in Golestan announced that Emad Shamloo passed away on the evening of November 23. Rasool Salahi earlier said that Emad …

Iranwire – Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and a prosecutor in Isfahan city have coerced Muslim neighbors and friends of 10 jailed Baha’i women into filing complaints against them, reports say.  Several individuals summoned in this context have been forced to file complaints against these women, under pressure, threats and intimidation, according to Radio Farda.  Yeganeh Agahi, Negin Khademi, Arezo Sobhanian, …

Iranwire – Nearly 200 Iranian activists, journalists, writers and former political prisoners have condemned a recent wave of arrests and other forms of pressure targeting Azeri civil society activists in the country.  In a joint statement, the 196 signatories urged the Iranian judiciary and security institutions to put an end to the “unlawful treatment” of ethnic Azeri activists. They said that these …

Iranwire – An Iranian-German national who was arrested during a trip to Iran in June fled the country after his release on bail, according to Deutsche Welle’s Persian service. Reza Shahri left Iran through the border with Iraq and then traveled to Germany via Turkey, the German broadcaster reported on November 23. Shahri is now back in the western German city …

VOA – The European Parliament on Thursday condemned what it said were Iran’s rights abuses against women, including “brutal murders,” and its detention of EU nationals. A nonbinding resolution slammed the “deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran, and the brutal murders of women by the Iranian authorities, including the 2023 Sakharov Prize laureate Jina Mahsa Amini,” a 22-year-old …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Milad Zohrevand, a Malayer protester arrested during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” nationwide protests, was secretly executed for murder charges in Hamedan Central Prison. At least 684 people have been executed in Iran in 2023. Executions have surged since the start of the war in Gaza, with at least 152 executed by the Islamic Republic since …