Human rights

CHRI – Imprisoned human rights advocate Narges Mohammadi has not been able to hold her two children since 2015, for nearly five years, her mother Ozra Bazargan wrote in an open letter decrying the injustice her daughter is being forced to endure. “This is the fifth autumn we are spending without my daughter by our side,” said Bazargan’s letter published by the Defenders of …

CHRI – University of Tehran student activist Saha Mortezaei began a sit-in at her campus library on October 11, 2019, to protest being denied university enrollment for allegedly engaging in political activism. Since the creation of the Islamic Republic in 1979, student activists have been denied higher education through various methods. During President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s second term (2005-13), those accused of engaging in …

Radiofarda – Iran’s minister of sports says that ten stadiums have been readied to accept female fans, after a 38-year ban was broken on October 10, when women were allowed to enter Tehran’s Azadi Stadium to watch a soccer match. After the 1979 revolution Iran’s new rulers banned women from attending men’s games, claiming it is against Islamic values. FIFA, …

Iran-HRM – A court in Tehran has condemned Nahid Khodajou, a labor rights activist arrested during Labor Day demonstrations on May 1, to six years in jail and 74 lashes. The sentence was issued by notorious Judge Iman Afshari at bench 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. Labor activist Nahid Khodajou has been sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment and 74 lashes. …

RFL/RE – Russian journalist and author Yulia Yuzik, who was detained in Tehran for more than a week, says Iranian interrogators accused her of working for Israel and “destroyed me psychologically” before her surprise release. Yulia Yuzik, who had previously lived and worked as a journalist in Iran, was stopped when she arrived in Tehran for a private visit. “They …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A man was hanged for rape charges at Bandar Abbas prison Saturday. According to Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), a man hanged on Saturday, October 12, at the Iranian southern city of Bandar Abbas. He was arrested and sentenced to death for rape charges five years ago.  Out of the 110 people who were executed …

RFL/RE – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has captured exiled opposition activist Roohollah Zam, claiming he was being directed and supported by intelligence officials from France, the United States, and Israel. Roohollah Zam has vowed to take down the government. The IRGC said in a statement read out on state TV on October 14 that its agents …

AFP -Four detained Iranian environmental activists have been cleared of a charge that could carry the death penalty, state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday. “The charge of ‘corruption on earth’ was dropped in recent days for four detained environmentalists,” said Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, a lawyer who represents some of the activists. “Of course their other charges still remain,” he …

Radiofarda – On Thursday, October 10, almost 4000 women entered a stadium in Tehran for the first time after almost four decades to watch a men’s soccer game. Minutes before starting the game, the Iranian government spokesperson appeared on the state-owned TV with his background showing women at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium declaring that President Rouhani’s government facilitated the historic event. …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Man hanged at the central prison of the Iranian city of Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, last Thursday. According to IHR sources, Alem Karimi, 50, was hanged at Sanandaj prison on Thursday, October 10, 2019. He was sentenced to death 10 years ago for murder charges.  Out of the 110 people who were executed in the first …