Human rights

CHRI – The UN and international human rights organizations should urgently demand that the Iranian judiciary release political prisoner Farhad Meysami, a civil and women’s rights defender whose life is in danger, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). Meysami has reportedly lost 53kgs (117lbs) from a hunger strike he began on October 7, 2022, in Rajaee-Shahr Prison in Karaj. …

VOA – Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has vowed that WhatsApp and Instagram will remain blocked in the country, blaming the online platforms for stoking protests that started more than four months ago. The Islamic republic was rocked by major demonstrations after the mid-September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after her arrest for allegedly breaching the country’s dress …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – An unnamed man who was sentenced to qisas(retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Rajai Shahr Prison. According to Rokna, at least one man was executed in Rajai Shahr (Gohardasht) Prison on February 1. The unnamed man was sentenced to three qisas sentences for the murder of three people in an orchard in Varamin in 2020. Those charged with …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Ali Alaverdi and Farhang Zakayi, sentenced to qisas(retribution-in-kind) for murder, were executed in Shiraz Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Shiraz Central Prison on January 31. Their identities have been established as Ali Alaverdi and Farhang Zakayi who were sentenced to qisas for murder. An informed source told Iran …

HRW – Iran’s Branch 1 revolutionary court of the city of Sari in Mazandaran province has sentenced at least three people to death on protest-related charges. The December 13 summary trial of 31-year-old Javad Rouhi, arrested on September 22 in Noshahr, Mazandaran province, lasted only 45 minutes. The court sentenced him to death three times on charges of “waging war …

CHRI – Women who have devoted their lives to aiding underprivileged and at-risk youth in Iran have come under increasing attack by the Iranian government in its violent campaign aimed at crushing the country’s women and youth-led movement for social and political change. “Islamic Republic authorities are deeply threatened by any independent organization or individual that provides support and hope …

Shabtabnews – In IRFSummit2023 Roya Johnson, a former prisoner and torture victim, delivered a powerful testimony. Roya Johnson, a former prisoner and torture victim, delivers her powerful testimony at #IRFSummit2023: "I stand here today as a witness to the Iranian regime's abuse." She calls on us to hasten the work of bending the arc of the moral universe towards justice, …

RFL/RE – Almost a dozen Iranian university professors have been fired from their jobs at Ferdowsi University in the northeastern city of Mashhad following their support for students in nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody. The Union Council of Iranian Students said 11 professors were dismissed for “accompanying, supporting, and defending the rights of students.”The council, …

Iranwire – Four days after a powerful earthquake devastated the northwestern Iranian city of Khoy and surround villages, the affected populations and volunteer groups say the situation remains critical due to the Islamic Republic’s mismanagement of relief efforts. Hundreds of people gathered outside the office building of the city’s governor on January 31 to demand emergency relief items such as tents, blankets …

Iranwire – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the two-year suspended prison sentence imposed without any trial on an Iranian journalist and called for an end to such “travesties” of justice. Nazila Maroufian, a reporter with Didban Iran and Rouydad24 websites, was arrested on October 30 after interviewing the father of Mahsa Amini, whose death in the custody of morality …