Human rights

Iranwire – A widely respected woman activist in Saqqez has been arrested amid an alarming surge in arrests targeting civil society in Mahsa Amini’s hometown ahead of the first anniversary of her death. Security agents violently apprehended Heroo Ghadimi on September 12 without presenting any arrest warrant.  The reason for her arrest is unclear. The activist has been active in …

Iranwire – A prominent activist in the western Kurdish city of Saqqez has been detained amid an alarming surge in arrests targeting civil society in Mahsa Amini’s hometown ahead of the first anniversary of her death. Security forces took Omid Moghadas into custody as he is still recovering from a recent heart surgery. Moghadas previously worked at a computer service …

Iranwire – – The Islamic Republic’s security forces have violently arrested another athlete in the hometown of Mahsa Amini amid an intensifying crackdown ahead of the anniversary of her death later this week.  The kickboxer Taher Sultani was apprehended in the western Kurdish city of Saqqez in the early hours of September 12. The previous day, the head of the …

Iran-HRM – Human Rights Council Hears Global Update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 54th session Accountability for Ms. Amini’s death, and for violations in the context of subsequent protests, has been inadequate. Use of the death penalty has risen sharply, notably against the Baloch and others from minority communities. The Human Rights Council opened its fifty-fourth regular session …

Iranwire – Prominent human rights activist and political prisoner Narges Mohammadi was verbally abused and beaten by a staff member of Tehran’s Evin prison, witnesses told IranWire.  The incident occurred on September 11 as Mohammadi was visiting the prison’s hospital.  A prison officer called Mohammadi “insane” in front of several other officials and beat her after she responded to the …

Iranwire – The Iranian security forces have arrested the head of the city football board in Saqqez, IranWire has learned. Shirko Hejazi, who is also a prominent civil activist in the western Kurdish city, was apprehended at his home on September 11.  His whereabouts and the motive for his arrest are unknown. The Iranian authorities, fearing a flare up in …

Iranwire – An international union federation of teachers has urged the Iranian authorities to immediately grant medical leave to Jafar Ebrahimi and Esmail Abdi, two prominent teacher union activists said to be in a critical health situation while incarcerated in the Islamic Republic. Ebrahimi and Abdi “have not violated any national or international laws,” the general secretary of Brussels-based Education …

Iranwire – Political prisoner Hamzeh Sarwari has described Ghezelhesar prison in Karaj, near Tehran, as a “horrific slaughterhouse” where a humanitarian “catastrophe” should be expected. “The only viable solution is to promptly shutter this prison and relocate the inmates to a more appropriate detention facility,” Sarwari wrote in a letter published by the activist HRANA news agency. Sarwari, who was …

Iranwire – The health of Bahareh Hedayat, an Iranian political prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for 11 days, has deteriorated significantly, her lawyer says.  The human rights activist is “grappling with severe weakness and heart palpitations” after losing eight kilograms, Zahra Minoui said on X, formerly Twitter. The lawyer added that Hedayat required the assistance from a …

Iranwire – Iranian security forces have reportedly detained at least 35 members of the Sabzchia Association, an environmental protection group in Kurdistan province. The environmentalists were apprehended on September 10 as they were attending the nongovernmental organization’s annual meeting in the western city of Marivan, according to the France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). Those detained were transferred to the …