Human rights

Iranwire – Iranian authorities have arrested Masoud Shekari, the father of a young protester executed in connection with the 2022 uprising.  The Shekari family reportedly said that Shekari “suffers from a mental illness” that has worsened since the execution of his son, Mohsen Shekari, leading to his hospitalization. Journalist Amirhossein Miresmaeili, citing a family member, said that Masoud Shekari was …

Iranwire – An Iranian inmate has taken his own life in a prison near Tehran, a human rights group reported.  A source close to Hossein Jalali’s family said that he had been incarcerated in Ghezelhesar prison, according to the HRANA human rights news agency.  Approximately seven months ago, Jalali began serving a 25-year sentence on drug-related charges.  At least 32 …

Iranwire – Iranian security forces beat a female student on February 26 at Tehran Azad University’s main campus, IranWire has learned.  IranWire obtained a video capturing the cries of the beaten student held inside a room, while individuals in plainclothes appear to stand guard, instructing others to leave.  A female security officer can also be heard dispersing protesting students. Credible …

VOA – The Voice of America’s acting director has denounced Iran for convicting a number of VOA Persian journalists in absentia for the alleged crime of spreading antigovernment propaganda. The convictions came to light last week, when hacking group Edaalat Ali published Iranian judiciary documents showing that a Tehran Revolutionary Court handed guilty verdicts to dozens of Persian journalists from …

Iranwire – Twelve Iranian women’s rights activists from the northern province of Gilan are to appear in court on February 29 to face charges, according to the Bidarzani legal group. The trial will be held in the Third Branch of the Rasht Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mehdi Rasekhi, the group said on February 26.  The activists were arrested …

Iranwire – Iranian border forces in western Kurdistan province have shot and killed a Kurdish transborder porter, or kolbar. Jaafar Faraji, a father of two from the village of Dovlat Qaleh in Saqqez, was among a group of kolbars targeted by border forces on February 26. Several months ago, he had already been injured in a shooting by border troops, …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities have handed prison sentences to prominent women journalists Saba Azarpeik and Kimia Fathizadeh. The Hamshahri newspaper reported on February 26 that Azarpeik was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and barred from using social media platforms on charges of “publishing lies, slander, defamation, threats.” A series of complaints had been lodged against Azarpeik in recent months, including …

Iranwire – Islamic Republic border forces injured at least 20 Kurdish porters, or kolbars, on the evening of February 24 in western Kermanshah province. The porters sustained injuries to their stomachs, backs, heads, arms and legs, after border forces targeted them with shotguns.  They were transferred to medical centers in Paveh city for treatment, according to the Hengaw human rights …

VOA – An Iranian court has changed the sentence against a pop singer who criticized the mandatory headscarf for women to home confinement instead of jail time, due to health issues, his lawyer said. Mehdi Yarrahi, 42, was arrested in August for releasing an “illegal song” that challenged “the morals and customs of Islamic society.” He was released on bail …

Iranwire – Mehdi Yarrahi, an Iranian singer who released a song last year criticizing compulsory headscarf rules in the country, will wear an electronic monitoring tag instead of serving a one-year prison sentence, his lawyer has said.  “His one-year imprisonment has been altered to wearing an electronic tag, with a restriction on movement within a radius of 1,000 meters, due …