Human rights

Iranwire – Pouya Sarraf, an Iranian Baha’i, aged 33, was arrested in the city of Karaj a month ago, on November 2, and later transferred to a detention facility in Shiraz. Sarraf, who has been held for more than 30 days, was arrested in front of his four-year-old child by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence. His detention comes as part of …

VOA – The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has again emphasized her opposition to Iran’s participation on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. In a post on Twitter on Sunday, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “The Iranian government should not be on the @UN_CSW – an international body dedicated to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Removing Iran from the …

Amnesty – The Iranian authorities’ vague and conflicting statements on the supposed disbanding of Iran’s so-called “morality police” must not deceive the international community about the continuing violence against women and girls embedded in compulsory veiling laws and fuelled by ongoing impunity for those violently enforcing them, said Amnesty International today. During a press conference on 3 December 2022, Iran’s …

Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement USCIRF expressed grave concerns for peaceful protestors against mandatory hijab laws facing execution on religiously-grounded charges. USCIRF Cmmr @RealEU4U: "USCIRF has grave concerns for peaceful protestors against mandatory hijab laws facing execution on religiously-grounded charges. The US must use all available tools to elevate Iranians at risk for asserting their religious freedom." https://t.co/ZG5QxVdKPA— USCIRF …

Iranwire – Atena Daemi, a human rights activist, has reported the dire situation for female inmates in Iran’s notorious Evin prison in a series of posts on Twitter. The report indicates extremely poor health conditions in the detention center, including “dirty” bathrooms, with prison authorities refusing to give the prisoners cleaning supplies despite repeated requests.  Daemi wrote that her report was based …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities arrested two members of Iran’s long persecuted Baha’i religious minority on Sunday amid an intensified crackdown on the faith group, IranWire can report.  Thirteen Kerman Intelligence Department agents raided the houses of Roha Imani and Firuzeh Sultan Mohammadi and, after searching the houses, arrested both of them and transferred them to an unknown location, sources told IranWire. Agents …

Iran-HRM – Neda Bayat, a young woman in Zanjan, decided to climb onto the car top of a street-patrol service vehicle during protests in her city on October 26, 2022. In this attempt, security officers violently dragged her off from the top the car and arrested her. Nobody ever found out where the Iranian authorities had taken Neda, not even …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Hossein Ordukhanzadeh, Shahin Imani Mahmoudabad, Milad Ashrafi Atbatan and Manouchehr Bejandi have been executed for security-related charges including collaborating with Israeli intelligence services, in Rajai Shahr Prison. They were executed within seven months of arrest. Stressing its opposition to the cruel and inhumane death penalty punishment, Iran Human Rights condemns its use for all charges …

Al-Monitor — Iran’s state-run Al-Alam news network dismissed reports that the Islamic Republic’s controversial morality police, in charge of implementing mandatory hijab rules, has been abolished.   Al-Alam was addressing extensive coverage of remarks by Iran’s hard-line Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, who appeared to suggest that hijab police was no longer operating.   “The morality police has been closed down by the very institution [Interior …

RFL/RE – Popular Iranian film and television actress Mitra Hajjar has been arrested, the IRNA news agency reported on December 3. Mehdi Kohian, a member of a group that monitors artists’ arrests, has confirmed Hajjar’s detention. The reason for the arrest of Hajjar, who is also an environmental activist, was not immediately clear. Last month, Hajjar was one of the …