Human rights

Iran-HRM – Three Sunni political prisoners Hamid Rastbala, Kabir Sa’adat Jahani and Mohammad Ali Arayesh were executed on Thursday, December 31, in Vakilabad Prison of Mashhad. The three Sunni political prisoners were transferred to an unknown location on Wednesday, December 31, and were deprived of family visits before their execution. Their families and lawyers were not informed about the executions …

Iran-HRM – Sahba Hemadi was taken to the Sepidar Prison of Ahvaz on December 30, 2020, to serve her seven-year prison term. She was arrested in October 2018. She was temporarily released in March 2020 on bail until completion of her prosecution. The Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz sentenced her to 7 years in prison on December 30, 2020. Sahba Hemadi was …

Iran-HRM – An appeals court in Iran has sentenced eight Baha’i citizens to a total of nine years in prison for being members of their religious minority. According to the verdict issued by the Branch 36 of Tehran’s Appeals Court presided over by Judge Seyed Ahmad Zargar, the Baha’i citizens Houman Khoshnam, Elham Salmanzadeh, Payam Sha’bani, Kianoush Salmanzadeh, Soruosh Agahi, …

Al-Arabia – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani likened outgoing US President Donald Trump to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and repeated the Iranian regime’s vow to avenge the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, in a speech on Thursday. “Trump was like Saddam. Saddam imposed eight years of war on us and was overthrown and Trump imposed three years of …

Radiofarda – They go from cemetery to cemetery, looking for unmarked graves. Wherever there is one, they squat over it, hoping that their children might be resting in peace down there. They mark the tombs with flowers or pieces of stone. Soon after, Iranian agents rush in and demolish the markings. For their part, they go back and replace the …

RFL/RE – The United Nations has condemned Iran for executing a man convicted of murder when he was 16 years old, saying the punishment violated international law. The UN human rights office in Geneva said Mohammad Hassan Rezaiee was executed on December 31. He was the fourth juvenile offender put to death in Iran this year, the office said. “The …

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 …