Human rights

Shabtabnews – USCIRF Calls for Accountability for Iran’s Crimes Against Humanity Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urges the U.S. government to support a United Nations (UN) Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court following the finding by a panel of UN-appointed experts that Iran’s crackdowns on protests against mandatory hijab and other religious freedom …

Iranwire – This is an extract from the 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran. To read the full report, please click here. As murder is specifically punished under qisas laws, the IPC does not explicitly state that convicted murderers are subject to the death penalty but rather to qisas, or “retribution-in-kind”. The law effectively puts the responsibility for executions for murder …

iranintl – Tehran is doubling down on its rejection of a UN report that found the regime committed crimes against humanity during its crackdown on nationwide protests. The Secretary of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, Kazem Gharibabadi, accused Western countries of influencing the decisions of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council – and reiterated that the Council does not …

Iranwire – Iranian border guards have shot and injured four more Kurdish kolbars in separate incidents along the country’s western border with Iraq as violence against the transborder porters continues to escalate.  Alan Mohammadi, from Marivan, along with Kousar and Kayhan Ahmadi, both from Sanandaj, and Saadi Hosseini from Baneh, were injured by direct gunfire from the Iranian border guards …

Iranwire – Iranian families honored the memory of those lost in recent protests by visiting their graves on the last Thursday of the Persian year. In a longstanding tradition, Iranians pay respects to departed loved ones on the final Thursday of the Persian calendar year. On March 14, numerous people and families mourning those lost in recent protests gathered at …

Iranwire – The Islamic Republic’s authorities have not allowed incarcerated journalist Mehdi Afsharnik, lodged in Tehran’s Evin prison, to meet with his lawyer or family. The Defending the Free Flow of Information organization, citing a reliable source, reported, “Despite the journalist’s wife and lawyer making repeated visits to the Evin Prosecutor Office, judicial authorities have refused to provide a clear explanation …

Iranwire – The Islamic Republic’s judiciary has executed another prisoner amid a significant rise in death penalties in the country. According to Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization, 42-year-old Behzad Bidrang, a father of two from Ajab Shir in East Azerbaijan province, was executed in Qazvin Central Prison on March 14. Bidrang was arrested for drug-related charges two years ago and …

iranintl – Once again, the hardline chancellor of Tehran University has denied allegations of purging academics based on their political beliefs, instead accusing those dismissed of “moral issues.” In an interview with the semi-official Mehr News Agency on Tuesday, Mohammad Moghimi asserted that not a single academic has been dismissed from Iran’s top state university on political grounds. “The ethical …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities have arrested five Azeri activists amid a growing crackdown on ethnic minority rights.  Siamak Seifi, Milad Zeinolabedini, Samad Heydari, Amin Taghizadeh, and Amir Taghizadeh were arrested by security forces in northwestern Tabriz on March 13, according to the HRANA human rights activist news agency. They were detained upon leaving a football stadium, and the charges against …

Iranwire – A 21-year-old woman, Negar Karimian, was killed on March 9 after the Islamic Republic’s police forces opened fire on a civilian vehicle in western Lorestan province.  The incident occurred at approximately 1:00 am at an intersection in the Aligudarz district. Karimian, a resident of Isfahan, was returning home with her family from a funeral when their Peugeot 405 …