Human rights

RFL/RE – Iranian authorities have stepped up their monitoring of commercial and recreational venues, shutting dozens of cafes, restaurants, and other businesses across the country they say were failing to comply with the mandatory head-scarf law. Anger over the hijab law has boiled over since the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 in police custody over an alleged hijab …

Iranwire – Well-known civil rights activist Sepideh Qoliyan, who is currently serving a two-year prison sentence for “insulting” the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, says she won’t respond to a summons to answer a complaint filed by a state TV employee. The judiciary summoned Qoliyan to appear at the Kachoi Judicial Complex in Tehran on July 19 to answer a complaint …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO – At least 354 people including six women were executed in the first six months of 2023. 20% of all executions were Baluch minorities. 206 people were executed for drug-related charges, a 126% rise compared to the same period last year. Underlining the accelerated speed of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s execution machine, Iran Human Rights …

amnesty – The Iranian authorities are carrying out a horrific state-sanctioned killing spree under the guise of judicial executions. Those executed include people convicted of drug-related offences, protesters, political dissidents, and members of oppressed ethnic minorities. Call for states to urgently intervene to pressure the Iranian authorities to halt all executions now.   What is the problem?  The Iranian authorities are …

rferl.org – An Iranian appeals court handed a five-year sentence to prominent activist and journalist Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, who has been held since her arrest at the onset of a protest movement, supporters said on July 2. Iraee refused to take part in the appeals court hearing over her sentence for participating in illegal gatherings and violating national security, saying …

rferl.org – The leader of Germany’s Christian Democrats, Friedrich Merz, said on July 1 that he has been told he cannot visit the German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd, who has been sentenced to death. “After several months of processing, my application to enter Iran was rejected. The regime denies me an insight into the prison conditions of the German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd,” …

rferl.org – The family of Iranian activist Manuchehr Bakhtiari is voicing serious concerns over his health following his brief transfer from prison to a medical facility on June 28. Bakhtiari, who is currently held at Chubindar prison in the northwestern city of Qazvin, has been denied access to medical treatment for several months. Bakhtiari became a prominent rights advocate after …

BBC – The mother of a 16-year-old girl allegedly beaten to death by security forces during protests in Iran has spoken of her continuing heartache. In an exclusive interview that appears in a BBC documentary, Nasrin Shakarami says she “cannot forget for a second” what happened to her daughter Nika. Nasrin was speaking to actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who fled …

RFL/RE – The father and sister of Abolfazl Adinezadeh, a 17-year-old protester shot dead by Iranian security forces in October, have been charged with “anti-government propaganda,” according to their family lawyer, Khosrow Alikordi. The charges are in relation with interviews and social media posts by Ali Adinehzadeh and Marzieh Adinezadeh, Abolfazl’s father and sister respectively, Alikordi said. The family has reportedly been …

Irawire – “Daily exercise boosts women’s self-esteem and teaches them that their own well-being should be their top priority. Women should not get lost in the demands of everyday life and neglect themselves. Engaging in consistent daily exercise strengthens this mindset.” These are the words of Mercedeh Shahinkar, a sports coach who lost an eye on October 15 last year …