Culture

CHRI – Poet and civil rights activist Reza Ekvanyan has been sentenced to three years in prison and 40 lashes for the charges of “propaganda against the state” and “insulting the sacred” by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided by Judge Mashallah Ahmadzadeh. Iranian poet and civil rights activist Reza Ekvanyan The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and …

Reuters – Iran’s first Oscar-nominated female director has challenged President Donald Trump to watch her film to see if its portrayal of ordinary Iranians’ experience of war and revolution will change his views of her country. By Parisa Hafezi The U.S. president has called Iran a “terrorist nation” for involvement in conflicts in the Middle East, and derided an international deal …

RFL/RE – Iran says it has foiled an online plan to organize an “illegal gathering” at the tomb of Cyrus the Great, the first king of Persia. “Officials: We didn’t want Cyrus to wake up!” Satire by Iranian daily Ghanoon Iranians gather every year on October 29 at the pre-Islamic king’s tomb, located in the ancient city of Pasargadae in the central …

RFL/RE – Iran’s authorities appear to be taking measures to prevent citizens from gathering at the tomb of Cyrus the Great, the first king of Persia, in celebration of Cyrus Day.  The ancient king’s big event is to be held on October 29, which many believe is the day he conquered Babylon. Reports suggest that the authorities are erecting a fence …

PayvandNews – Yazd is the first adobe city in the world and is the second historical city after Venice, Italy. Yazd in central Iran has been a manifestation of the brightest cultural heritage and ancient civilization throughout history with human settlement in Yazd dating back to the third millennium BCE. By: Mina Ahmadi, Mehr News Agency Tribes, who migrated from Balkh to …

CHRI – Case Highlights State Sanctioning of Copyright Infringement in Iran The popular Iranian streaming movies website, TinyMoviez, which featured pirated material, was shut down for distributing “indecent” foreign films, announced Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi on October 10, 2017. The prosecutor was responding to media reports that the TinyMoviez website was shut down by a judicial order in response to …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s official nomination to the 90th Academy Awards in the best foreign language category is the country’s first ever nomination of a female director’s work. “Nafas,” or “Breath,” written and directed by Narges Abyar, examines a tumultuous time in Iran through the eyes of a little girl.

RFL/RE – Baha’i poet Mahvash Sabet, who was jailed for nearly a decade in Iran, has been selected as the 2017 International Writer of Courage. Northern Ireland poet Michael Longley named Sabet at the PEN Pinter Prize ceremony at the British Library in London on October 10. Longley won the prize earlier this year. The award is shared with a writer who has …

CHRI – After being repeatedly interrogated while spending a month in solitary confinement, Iranian singer Behnam Rohani-Fard was released on 100 million tomans bail (approximately $30,156 USD) from Tehran’s Evin Prison on October 3, 2017. Rohani-Fard, a member of Iran’s persecuted Baha’i faith, was interrogated “at least 20 times, each time for three or four hours,” during his month-long detention in …

CHRI – Iranian pop singer Arya Aramnejad has been indefinitely banned from engaging in any musical activity by Iran’s Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry and offered bribes in exchange for cooperating with the govern style=”border-style: none; border-color: inherit; border-width: 0px; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; transition: all 0.17s ease-in-out; background: transparent;”ment of President Hassan Rouhani, he …