Human rights

Shabtabnews – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today condemned Houthi authorities for summoning 19 members of Yemen’s Baha’i community to stand trial on spurious charges and risk lengthy prison sentences. The Houthis have persecuted Baha’is and other religious minorities in Yemen for years solely because of their beliefs. “We unequivocally condemn the Houthis’ latest targeting of Yemen’s Baha’i …

Iranwire – On Monday, February 8, 2021, Taghi Rostamvandi, the deputy interior minister and head of the Social Security Organization, announced shocking statistics on child marriage, using the euphemism “early marriages” to refer to the practice. In his announcement, Rostamvandi did not explain the difference between the phrases “child marriage” and “early marriage,” but simply said: “Of the 25,000 marriages of people …

Iran Human Rights (IHR)- The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a juvenile offender, on death row for a murder in the village of Derafshan, Isfahan. According to Rokna, the death sentence of a juvenile offender has been upheld by the Supreme Court. The prisoner, whose identity and location were not disclosed, was arrested and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – In an interview with IHR, imprisoned human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khandan says the Evin Prosecutor’s Office’s decision to freeze his bank accounts is the latest attempt by judiciary and security agencies to further pressure Nasrin Sotoudeh and her family. Kin punishment, the practice of punishing family members, and punishing individual/s who have …

CHRI – The U.S. government has a long history of pursuing multiple policy goals with adversaries and demanding respect for human rights will not derail nuclear negotiations. By Hadi Ghaemi Less than a month into President Joe Biden’s first term, Iran is already in the headlines, most recently with the news that another dual national, identified as Iranian-American businessman Emad Sharghi, …

Iran-HRM – Ten months on, genius Iranian students Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi are still being detained in the Intelligence Ministry Ward 209 of Evin Prison without standing trial. Plainclothes agents of the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) arrested the two genius Iranian students on April 10, 2020, at their respective homes. They brutalized them at the time of arrest …

Iran-HRM – Iranian intelligence police tortured a 20-year-old inmate to death in Tehran. The Kurdish man, Mehrdad Taleshi had been arrested on February 1, 2021, in a metro station in Tehran. Mehrdad Taleshi was a 20-year-old athlete from the western city of Divandere, Kurdestan Province. He had moved to Tehran two years ago to live with his sister. Hengaw human …

Iran-HRM – Iran’s security forces have shot and killed an Iranian Kurdish man on February 8. The state forces shot and killed 37-year-old Behzad Hashemi on suspicion of carrying smuggled goods. He was married and father to three children. According to an informed source, the state security forces opened fire on his car in the northwest city of Salmas, West Azerbaijan …

Iran-HRM – An appeals court in Iran has sentenced eight Iranian Baha’i men and women to a total of 14 years in prison for for practicing their faith. The eight Iranian Baha’i men and women were identified as Arash Rasekhi, Nasim Qanavatian, Maral Rasti, Mahnaz Jan Nesar, Omid Afaghi, Mehroallah Afshar, Adeeb Hagh Pejve and Farhad Amri. They were previously …

gatestoneinstitute – “[T]he Islamic Republic Theocracy is on the verge of collapse”. — Letter from 38 Iran-based dissidents to the Biden administration, February 1, 2021. “The moment Biden joins the nuclear deal and unblocks the money for the Islamic Republic, the regime will once again dish out money even to Taliban, ISIS, Al Qaeda, but Iranians will keep remaining in …