Human rights

VOA – Iran has sentenced a rights activist from its Azerbaijani Turk ethnic minority to an effective five-year prison term for his peaceful campaign against discrimination of his minority group by the Islamist rulers of the Persian-majority nation, according to a knowledgeable source. In a Wednesday interview with VOA Persian from Iran, the source familiar with the situation of activist …

Amnesty – The Iranian authorities’ execution of a young man on 31 December 2020, following a grossly unfair trial for a crime that took place when he was just 16 years old, has once again demonstrated their unrelenting assault on children’s rights and utter disregard for the rules of juvenile justice and the right to life. The execution of Mohammad …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) –   Juvenile convict Hassan Rezaei has been executed at Rasht Central Prison. Iran Human Rights condemns his execution in the strongest terms. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, IHR director said: “The international community and European states in particular, must respond to this execution appropriately. Tens of other juvenile convicts are currently on death row in Iranian prisons, the …

Iran-HRM – The health of Hashem Khastar, a teacher detained in the Central Prison of Mashhad, is critical but he continues to be harassed in prison. Mr. Khastar, 67, is under a lot of pressure and detained in difficult conditions. He suffers from high blood pressure and needs to be treated as soon as possible. But prison officials not only …

Iran-HRM – Political prisoners Mehran Qarebaqi and Majid Khademi have been incarcerated in the Prison of Behbahan since a year ago. Agents of the IRGC Intelligence arrested them on January 18, 2020. They were under interrogation for one month, and subsequently transferred to the Prison of Behbahan. The public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Behbahan arraigned them with charges of “propaganda against the …

Shabtabnews – In a Twitter statement the USCIRF Commissioner @USCIRF_Bauer: stated that “#Iran continues to severely mistreat Gonabadi Sufi activist Benham Mahjoubi in prison. He must be given proper medical care and immediately released.” USCIRF Commissioner @USCIRF_Bauer: "#Iran continues to severely mistreat Gonabadi Sufi activist Benham Mahjoubi in prison. He must be given proper medical care and immediately released." https://t.co/F2OAFZehfj— …

Iran-HRM – Political prisoners Mehran Qarebaqi and Majid Khademi have been incarcerated in the Prison of Behbahan since a year ago. Agents of the IRGC Intelligence arrested them on January 18, 2020. They were under interrogation for one month, and subsequently transferred to the Prison of Behbahan. The public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Behbahan arraigned them with charges of “propaganda against the …

Iran-HRM – Inmate dies in Urmia Prison due to Coronavirus. Akbar Mostafa died on Sun. Dec. 27 in the dispensary of the Central Prison of Urmia from COVID-19 in the absence of necessary and urgent medical care. Inmates in the Central Prison of Urmia are deprived of the minimum medical and health resources. With the advent of winter, they are …

Al-Arabia – A Chinese citizen journalist was jailed for four years for her livestream reporting from Wuhan as the Covid-19 outbreak unfurled, her lawyer said Monday, almost a year after details of an “unknown viral pneumonia” surfaced in the central China city. For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page. Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, was sentenced at a brief hearing …

VOA – Iran has sentenced eight of its Baha’i citizens to prison terms and other punishments according to an informed source, in the latest example of the Islamist-ruled nation’s longstanding and internationally criticized policy of severely restricting the rights of its Baha’i religious minority. In a December 24 interview with VOA Persian from Iran, the source, who is familiar with …