Human rights

Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement USCIRF condemned the govt of #Iran for sentencing religious prisoner of conscience Golrokh Iraee to an additional year in prison, a ban on membership in political organizations, & a two-year travel ban on charges of “propaganda against the state.” Today USCIRF condemned the govt of #Iran for sentencing religious prisoner of conscience Golrokh Iraee …

HRW – When the United Nations General Assembly held its annual election for seats on the Human Rights Council last October, five countries in the Asia regional group vied for four open seats, including two of the world’s most notorious rights abusers, Saudi Arabia and China. Member states took notice. In the secret ballot vote, the Saudis lost and the Chinese government …

CHRI —A new policy briefing released today by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) details the difficulties Iranians have purchasing or using international technology products due to U.S. sanctions, and their increased vulnerability to the Iranian government’s online surveillance and censorship as a result. Without access to international communications tools and services, Iranians must use Iranian-produced products that …

Iranwire – British-Iranian hostage Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been sentenced to another year in prison and a one-year travel ban by an Iranian court. The charity worker’s initial five-year prison term on trumped-up espionage charges ended in March 2021. But the Iranian regime had also charged her with “propaganda against the regime” in November 2017, for which she has now been found …

Iranwire – A student at the University of Isfahan’s Khansar School of Mathematics and Computer Science has been expelled for being a Baha’i. Sina Shakib first discovered he had been kicked out on April 19 after trying to log into the school’s intranet to take part in an online class. According to HRANA news agency, he then contacted the university’s …

Iran-HRM – The state security forces raided the homes of 13 Baha’i citizens today in the Baharestan city in central Iran’s Isfahan Province. Security forces arrested at least eight Baha’i citizens. They were identified as Sara Shakib, Firouzeh Rastinejad, Sanaz Rasteh, Azita Rezvani, Mojgan Pourshafi, Nasrin Khademi, Afshin Vajdani, and his wife Noushin Hemmat. They have been taken to an …

Iran-HRM – An appeal court in Iran has upheld prison and flogging sentences against two Azerbaijani Turkic activists. The Branch 10 of Ardabil Court of Appeal, has upheld a total of eight months in prison and 40 lashes against Meysam Jolani and Ali Khairjou. Their trial, presided over by Judge Sajjad Habibi, was initially held on December 1, 2020. They …

Iran-HRM – Images recently posted on social media show several new graves being dug over the mass graves in Khavaran Cemetery where the authorities had buried political prisoners executed in 1988 massacre. At least two people have been buried in these graves in recent days in this area. At least 10 new graves have been dug in the Khavaran Cemetery, …

Iran-HRM – A court in northern Iran has sentenced two student activists to a total of 72 lashes. The Shahroud Criminal Court has sentenced 25-year-old Milad Nazeri and 26-year-old Seyed Shabir Hosseini Nik to a total of 72 lashes for their social media posts. The two activists are students at Shahroud University of Technology Central Campus in northern Iran. According …

Shabtabnews – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes President Joseph R. Biden’s historic decision to recognize the Armenian Genocide on the somber occasion of its 106th anniversary. Beginning in 1915, the Ottoman Empire embarked on a systematic campaign to deport and kill over one million Armenians over the course of the ensuing years. The Biden administration’s recognition of the …