Human rights

Al-Monitor – Deputy commander of Iran’s police Brig. Gen. Qasem Rezaee issued a severe warning against Iranian protesters infuriated by a sharp steep in prices of basic food products.   “Police will act against those individuals with firmness,” Rezaee declared in an interview May 19, adding that his forces “will not tolerate” the rallies in which “public and private properties” have been targeted.    …

Shabtabnews – The International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights (IOPHR) in a statement called ” on all EU Member States, in accordance with the principle of solidarity enshrined in Article 222 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and on the principle of joint diplomatic action, to support the Swedish Government’s principled position in this regard. By …

RFL/RE – Authorities in Tehran are attempting to break a strike by bus workers that has hampered transportation in the capital and threatens to merge with separate antigovernment protests around the country calling for the end of Iran’s clerical regime amid a worsening economic situation.Bus drivers and other employees of the Tehran Bus Company have held strikes since May 16, fueling a …

Iranwire – Mass anti-government protests gathered pace in cities across Iran last night, as did the lethal security crackdown, as Instagram and Twitter faced a tide of criticism for removing posts documenting the unrest. Huge crowds formed in the city of Golpayegan on Tuesday night, marking the first time a city in Isfahan province has joined the protests that broke …

Iranwire – A group of 26 Iranian Baha’is who were arrested almost six years ago in September 2016 were due to appear in court on Wednesday even though a judge has repeatedly called the case against them “incomplete”. Prosecutors recently issued a fresh indictment against the 26 and sent the case to Branch 1 of Shiraz Revolutionary Court. The group …

amnesty.org – Mounting evidence strongly indicates that the Iranian authorities are holding Swedish-Iranian national Ahmadreza Djalali hostage and threatening to execute him to compel third parties to swap him for former Iranian officials convicted and/or on trial abroad as well as to refrain from future prosecutions of Iranian officials, said Amnesty International today urging for an immediate halt to plans …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Farshad Nematzadeh, Mehdi Shirchian and Mr Eshaghi were executed for drug-related charges in Amol Prison. According to HRANA news agency, three men were executed in Amol Prison on the morning of May 18. Their identities have been reported as Farshad Nematzadeh, Mehdi Shirchian and a man only identified as Mr Eshaghi. They were all sentenced …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Farhad Ramezanian, a death row inmate in Rasht Central Prison has been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution for murder. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a prisoner named Farhad Ramezanian was transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution in Rasht Central Prison on May 17. He was …

Al-Monitor – In a message to the National Population Headquarters, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned about the dangers of a declining birth rate.  In the brief message, Khamenei thanked officials at the headquarters for working to rescue the country “from the terrifying future of an aging population.” Khamenei said that increasing the birth rate, having a younger population, …

RFL/RE – Scattered protests over rising food prices have spread to at least seven provinces in Iran. Iranian state-run media has acknowledged two dozen arrests. The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran says at least five people have been killed in the unrest. Reporters Without Borders says that the authorities have summoned dozens of journalists in a bid …