Human rights

RFL/RE – Iran is threatening to permanently block WhatsApp and Instagram, which are very popular in the country. The U.S. internet company Meta has so far not responded to the letter sent by the Iranian authorities in early December, in which they demanded that the company open a representative office in the country and adapt its guidelines to those of …

RFL/RE – Iran arrested a prominent actor on December 17 after she voiced support for the 3-month-old protest movement triggered by the death of a woman in custody, Iranian media reported. Taraneh Alidoosti, 38, was detained for “publishing false and distorted content and inciting chaos,” the Tasnim news agency reported. She is best known for her role in the Oscar-winning …

Iranwire – Bahareh Hedayati, an Iranian women’s rights and human rights activist who has been arrested and imprisoned several times, was last arrested on October 11 amid the protests that started after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police. Hedayati was a founding member of a petition for women’s rights in Iran known as the One Million …

Iranwire – His last Instagram post was a video of victims of the current protests. Hamidreza Sayadi, 39, a father of one, was injured in the protests in Iran and died on November 27. The only surviving parts of his body, his eyes, were donated so that in a way he could witness the day of freedom. Sayadi is another …

Iranwire – A university in Tehran has banned 20 students from entering classes after they participated in December 7 Students’ Day rallies, officials said today.  Students have been at the forefront of protests sparked by the September death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Tehran’s morality police.  In defiance of authorities’ warnings, many students have refused to attend classes. …

Iranwire – The family of an Iranian doctor who was tortured and killed by Iranian security forces for treating injured protesters are under pressure to appear on state TV to say she died after falling from a bridge, IranWire has learned. Aida Rostami, 36, was treating protesters in Tehran until she disappeared earlier this week. Her tortured body was handed over …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Yousef Mirzabeigi and Mohammadali Seyedi, two men sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, were executed in Qazvin Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Qazvin Central Prison (Choobdar) on December 15. Their identities have been established as 36-year-old Yousef Mirzabeigi (pictured) and Mohammadali Seyedi who were sentenced to qisas for murder. …

Robert Green is an American author who has written several New York Times bestsellers including the 48 Laws of Power which has sold more than 1.2 million copies. He recently posted a video expressing his opinions and thoughts on the situation in Iran on his YouTube channel which has been receiving a lot of attention.In his video Green shares several …

RFL/RE – The whereabouts of five female university students in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj are unknown following their arrest earlier this month after they took part in a rally against the execution of protesters, the Union Council of Iranian Students said. The women were arrested by security forces between December 10 and 14, and the council said no …

Iranwire – More than 150 writers, artists, politicians, and other influential figures are calling on Iran to overturn the death sentences of two Iranian women accused of promoting homosexuality, a German-based group says. Pen Berlin, a nongovernment organization defending freedom of expression, launched on December 16 a campaign to free LGBT+ activists Zahra Sedighi (Sareh), 33, and Elham Choubdar, 24. …