Human rights

RFL/RE – Tehran’s prosecutor has filed charges against the Jahan Sanat newspaper after it published a report on the increasing trade of body parts in Iran due to the deteriorating economic conditions hitting households across the country. The Judiciary Media Center on May 9 cited the reason for the charges as the newspaper’s failure to provide evidence and documentation regarding the “fabricated …

Iranwire – Arvin Nikpay, a 20-year-old Kurdish man from the western town of Marivan, was subjected to three months of interrogation and torture following his arrest during protests on January 31, a source close to his family told IranWire. On May 6, Nikpay was transferred to Fajr hospital after he attempted to take his life while in the custody of the Intelligence Department of Marivan. His relatives tried …

Iranwire – The Iranian Ministry of Health has established a “cultural council” to supervise the observance of “appropriate clothing and religious values” in hospitals and other medical centers, according to local media, as more women flout the Islamic Republic’s mandatory headscarf rules. The council’s duties also include organizing “workshops on chastity and hijab training,” KhabarOnline reported on May 10.  The report said that from now on, …

VOA – Iran executed seven men Wednesday in two prisons outside Tehran on drug and rape charges, a rights group said, accelerating what activists describe as a hanging spree over the past two weeks. The United Nations had warned on Tuesday of a “frighteningly” high number of executions in the country after a rare execution on Monday of two men …

VOA – Billboards across Iran’s capital proclaim that women should wear their mandatory headscarves to honor their mothers. But perhaps for the first time since the chaotic days following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, more women — both young and old — choose not to do so. Such open defiance comes after months of protests over the September death of 22-year-old …

RFL/RE – Students and teachers’ rights activists across Iran joined forces to stage nationwide rallies on May 9 against what they call the deteriorating state of the educational system and the systematic suppression of students, teachers, and parents. The call for action, dubbed a “revolution of women, life, and freedom,” was joined by a number of organizations, including the Iranian Retirees Council, …

RFL/RE – An Iranian newspaper has reported that an increasing number of poverty-stricken Iranians are selling their organs to make ends meet. The daily Jahan-e Sanat said in a May 4 report that kidneys, bone marrow, parts of livers, and “anything else that can be transplanted is being bought and sold on the black market” in Iran. The newspaper said …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities hanged seven men on drugs and rape charges, a Norway-based human rights group said, after the UN human rights chief warned of a “frighteningly” high number of executions in the country. Three men were executed on drug-related charges in Qezelhesar prison in the city of Karaj, near Tehran, Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO said on May 10, adding that …

Iranwire – The editor of the state-run Iran newspaper says has been fired from the publication for criticizing a government official on social media.  “I was fired from Iran newspaper for the [supposed] crime of asking a simple question in the comment section of Mr. Khalji’s Instagram post, who is the head of the Government’s Information Council,” Hamed Talebi said in a …

Iranwire – US human rights watchdog Freedom House has presented its 2023 Freedom Award to Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza and the “women of Iran” in recognition of their “unwavering commitment and activism to advance democracy and freedom.” The May 9 award ceremony in Washington was attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who pointed out that “hundreds of thousands of Iranian women, girls…have demanded their …