Human rights

Iranhumanrights.org – Amid a widening crackdown on journalists and activists in Iran ahead of the country’s May 2017 presidential election, security agents arrested Morad Saghafi, the reformist editor-in-chief of Goftegoo (Conversation) magazine, on March 15, 2017. His lawyer, Hamed Zargar, said on March 16 that Saghafi had a phone conversation with a family member the day after he was arrested, and has little chance of being …

themediaexpress -A man and woman joined the ranks of those that are being executed or sentenced to death by the Iranian regime for a variety of charges, many of which are arbitrary or fall under the guise of immorality or sinning against God. According to the Tehran prosecutor, “The convicts were a man and woman who ran a sect and …

Iranhumanrights.org – Iranian security forces arrested 12 administrators of reformist-aligned Telegram channels on March 14-16, 2017, deleted the channels’ content and changed their names. A number of those who were arrested have since been released, but Ali Heydarvalizadeh, the admin of the Majma Eslahtalaban (Reformist’s Forum) and Ali Ahmadnia, the admin of Eslahtat News (Reform News) remain incarcerated at an …

Iranhumanrights.org – A classified newspaper advertisement by the judiciary announcing prison sentences for 10 Iranian citizens currently outside the country has no legal merit, two prominent lawyers told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). Nasrin Sotoudeh and Farideh Gheirat, both based in Iran, said a classified ad placed by the judiciary in its official newspaper, Hemayat, announcing the sentences is unlawful if it …

Al-Arabia – After almost a year of calm, spraying people with burning acid has returned in Iran where a family of four has been attacked on Saturday in Sharada, within Isfahan province, Iran’s top tourist destination. Last month, unidentified people also attacked two women in Maashour, within the Ahwaz province, according to Iranian news agencies. Isfahan’s Investigative Police Chief Sitar …

HRW – Iran’s presidential elections, as well as those for town and village councils, are scheduled for May 19. Yet even before registration opens for candidates, a string of journalists have been arrested. If they have been arrested simply for speaking out peacefully, it would violate the right of free expression and possibly threaten the fairness of the elections. This …

RFL/RE – Iran’s hard-line judiciary has sentenced the daughter of late Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to jail for “spreading propaganda against the regime,” Iranian news media reported on March 17. Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani It was the latest move against pro-reform opposition in the Islamic republic ahead of a presidential election on May …

18 March 2017, Geneva – During the recent meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mr Garib Abadi of Iran’s ruling regime, in response to United Nation’s criticism of Iran’s Human Rights violations, stated that the actions of the Iran’s judiciary are based on ‘religion and custom’ of the country, and are not based on Western secular-liberal principles and therefore any criticism based on Western principles is irrelevant.   Its our aim in the following pantographs to inform all international human rights observers, the type of actions that constitutes in Mr Gharib Abadi’s mind and in the mind of the Iranian regime as ‘Islamic customs’.    First example: Financial corruption.   Clear example of this type of corruption was highlighted by the revelations on Dorr TV global news network and Amad news telegram Channel with regard to the sixty-three secret bank accounts of Mr. Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the head of the Iranian judiciary, and the member of the Iranian parliament. In these reports, it was clearly shown that Mr Larijani over many years had blatantly redirected Judiciary funds, profits and all judiciary fines to these accounts, all for his personal gain. All which was not only not reported to the Iranian parliament, but it was also a clear violation of the Iranian law.   So it is clear that in the eyes of the the Iranian judiciary system, these illegal acts committed by the head of the judiciary, Mr Larijani, are not only correct, but at the same time consistent with their views on ‘Islamic customs and laws’. While at the same time, the same judiciary system, has not only prosecuted Ms. Faiza Rafsanjani on charges of expressing her opinions on this corruption issue, but also has sentenced her to six months imprisonment.   Second example: Sexual immorality and Corruption.   The second example concerns the inaction of the judiciary system against those who, within the regime, perpetrated sexual crimes against young children. Despite the fact that the individuals who committed these crimes (paedophiles) have confessed in their own words and in nine hours of audio recordings, to these acts and also have repeatedly written letters of repentance, yet none of these individuals have been prosecuted for theses acts by the judiciary system. Meanwhile their victims are constantly harassed and threatened by the security services. This violation of law is clearly another example of ‘religion and custom ‘ of the Iranian judiciary system, as referred to by Mr. Gharib Abadi!   The third example – Stalinist confession   Other examples of the types of judicial procedures referred to by Mr Abadi as ‘religious custom’ is the arrest, interrogation and obtaining false confessions through the use of torture. An example of this type of action is the interrogation and confession of Mrs. Hengameh Shahidi …

Radiozamaneh – Hengameh Shahidi, a reformist member of the Etemad Melli Party and a former adviser to opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi has been on hunger strike since her arbitrary arrest on 9 March 2017. Shahidi who is a women’s rights advocate was also arrested after the 2009 disputed presidential election in Iran and sentenced to six years in prison. She …

Iranhumanrights.org – The number of arrests carried out by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry, operating under the control of President Hassan Rouhani, increased in the last few months leading up to Iran’s May 2017 presidential election. Research by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) indicates that since January 2017, the ministry has increasingly targeted civil and women’s rights advocates, journalists, …