Human rights

Iran-HRM – August was marked by increased pressure on political prisoners and the imposition of harsh sentences such as executions, floggings, and long prison terms for protesters. This escalation of repression has been seen as a crisis in the human rights situation in Iran and an attempt by the ruling regime to silence any dissenting voice. The Iranian regime has …

RFL/RE – Iran has broadcast the purported confession of a wrestler whose execution sentence has been condemned by rights groups and criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump. State television on September 6 broadcast video of Navid Afkari saying he stabbed a man, and showed confessions purportedly written by the 27-year-old wrestler. However, in a recording circulating on social media, Afkari …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – 150 days after their arrest, Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi continue to be held in detention without access to a lawyer of their choice and are under continued duress to make televised confessions. They have been told that they will not be sentenced to death if they make a televised confession. According to Iran Human Rights, …

Radiofarda – The lawyer of Navid Afkari, an Iranian protester and wrestler sentenced to death, said on Saturday that Navid and his two brothers have been removed from the Adelabad Prison of Shiraz and taken to an unknown location amid domestic and international pressure to drop their sentences. Ali Younesi, who recently began representing Navid’s case, told their Emtedad website …

Radiofarda – Hamid Hodavand, the Deputy Commander of Tehran’s Law Enforcement, said that in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (beginning March 20, 2020), the number of union-related assemblies in Tehran dropped by 27 percent, compared with the same period in 2019. The state-run Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Hodavand on Friday, September 4, as …

There has been a recent outcry for justice emanating from the members of the largest Sufi order in Iran (The Gonabadi Sufi order) with regards to the unsolved and unexpected death of their spiritual leader Dr Noor Ali Tabandeh. On 24th of December 2019, Dr Noor Ali Tabandeh passed away in Mehr Hospital Tehran following almost 2 years in house …

Radiofarda – In his third report to the General Assembly of the United Nations, Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman has said that he is alarmed and shocked by the violence used against protesters in Iran during the November 209 civil unrest. “The Special Rapporteur expresses his shock at the unprecedented use of excessive and lethal force by State security forces during …

Radiofarda – Prominent Iranian human rights advocate Nasrin Sotoudeh has been on a hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin prison for more than three weeks to protest the risk that political prisoners in Iran face amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sotoudeh, who launched her hunger strike on August 11, said she will refuse to eat to secure the release of political prisoners …

Iran-HRM – Jailed human rights defender Behnam Mousivand, has started on a hunger strike following his abrupt transfer to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj. Behnam Mousivand was held at ward 8 of Tehran’s Evin Prison. He was taken to the prison’s infirmary on Saturday, August 29, after showing symptoms of COVID-19 including fever and chills. Evin Prison guards took away his belongings from …

Radiofarda -U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Iran to reverse an execution sentence against a wrestler convicted of murder during anti-government protests in 2018.“Hearing that Iran is looking to execute a great and popular wrestling star, 27-year-old Navid Afkarai, whose sole act was an anti-government demonstration on the streets. They were protesting the ‘country’s worsening economic situation and inflation,'” …