Human rights

RFL/RE – Human rights groups say Iranian authorities have forced the family of one of the victims killed by security forces during protests in the Kurdish city of Mahabad to bury their son’s body in the middle of the night under strict security measures. The France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network claimed in a report on November 25 that forces from …

Iranwire – What is happening in Iran’s province of Kurdistan has both tragic and proud aspects: Kurdistan remains the flag bearer of the 70-day nationwide uprising against the Islamic Republic, despite a fierce crackdown by security forces in which at least 40 people have been killed in just five days. The ongoing repression is different from the oppression that has …

Iranwire – School students have played a prominent role in the ongoing nationwide demonstrations sparked by the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police. They have joined the protest movement by removing their hijab at school, by writing “Woman, Life, Freedom” on blackboards, by pulling down pictures of Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the …

Iranwire – The United Nations’ top human rights body has voted to establish an independent fact-finding mission to investigate abuses committed by Iranian security forces in their brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that have gripped the country for weeks. During a November 24 session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, 25 council members backed a resolution put forward by Germany and …

VOA – Iran arrested a prominent former member of its national soccer team on Thursday over his criticism of the government as authorities grapple with nationwide protests that have cast a shadow over its competition at the World Cup. The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported that Voria Ghafouri was arrested for “insulting the national soccer team and propagandizing …

Amnesty – Responding to today’s announcement that the UN Human Rights Council has passed a landmark resolution to establish a fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations in Iran related to the protests that began on 16 September 2022, especially with respect to women and children, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:  “This important and long overdue step shows …

RFL/RE – Australia and the Netherlands have confirmed the arrests of dual nationals in Iran and say the detainees have been denied consular access. A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs on November 24 said an Iranian-Australian had been detained, though not for participating in protests over the death of a young woman while in police custody for allegedly …

RFL/RE – A prominent Iranian human rights advocate incarcerated in the notorious Evin prison has published a letter saying that Iran’s authoritarian theocracy has prevented people from achieving their rights, including democracy and freedom, and a normal relationship with the world. Narges Mohammadi sent the letter on November 23 to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), whose mission is to …

VOA – U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk urged Iranian authorities to halt “unnecessary and disproportionate” use of force against protesters. Speaking at a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday, Turk said Iran was in a “full-fledged human rights crisis.” Turk expressed his support for an investigation into Iran’s crackdown against protests that began two …

VOA —The United States on Wednesday targeted three Iranian security officials under human rights-related sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Department said, citing Tehran’s ongoing crackdown on protesters in Kurdish-majority areas. The latest U.S. sanctions since demonstrations broke out nationwide in response to the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody in September targeted key officials involved in Iranian …