Human rights

RFL/RE – After decades of being banned from attending men’s sporting events, Iran’s female soccer fans are celebrating the fact they will be able to attend their national team’s upcoming World Cup qualifier against Cambodia.“I got a ticket, I will go to the stadium!” tweeted a woman, adding: “Can you believe I’m saying this?”The game at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on October …

Amnesty – In Iran, it’s a crime for women to appear in public with their hair uncovered. Yasaman Aryani, a 24-year-old activist, wanted to change this. She’s been sentenced to 16 years in prison for campaigning against forced veiling. It was International Women’s Day 2019 when Yasaman and her mother took off their headscarves and walked through a women-only train carriage in Tehran, handing …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A prisoner has been executed at Mashhad prison for murder charges. According to IHR sources, on the morning of Tuesday, October 8, prisoner Jahan Agashteh, 39, was hanged at the Iranian city of Mashhad’s prison (also known as Vakilabad prison). “Jahan Agashteh was from the city of Isfahan. Four years ago, he was arrested for …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – An Iranian singer, Mohsen Lorestani, has been arrested in Iran and accused of «corruption on earth» for his activities on social media. Corruption on Earth is a charge which is punishable by the death penalty. According to his lawyer, Iranian singer Mohsen Lorestani is charged with Corruption on Earth. Lawyer Kazem Hosseini told the Farsi …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – Two men were hanged for drug-related charges at the prison of the Iranian city of Kerman Sunday According to IHR sources, on the early morning of Sunday, October 6, Abdolhakim Shahbakhsh and Assadollah Alizehi were hanged for drug-related charges at the prison of the Iranian city of Kerman.  “Asadollah Alizehi was a former political prisoner …

CHRI – Internet hosting companies in Iran must cease providing services to filtered websites based in the country, according to an order issued by the deputy prosecutor general in charge of cyberspace, Javad Javidnia, on August 31, 2019. The Iranian government had previously turned a blind eye to hosting companies that were servicing blocked websites in Iran; people based in the country accessed …

Radiofarda -Media in Iran reports that on Monday around fifty people gathered outside the Iranian parliament to protest the latest decision to allow women enter the Azadi stadium and watch an international men’s soccer game. A small number of conservative protesters gathered outside Iran’s parliament to condemn Iran’s recent decision to allow women into a stadium to watch men’s football. …

CHRI – Female Activist Described Inhumane Conditions of Detention in Video Statement *Warning: This article contains content that could be upsetting or disturbing for some readers. Sepideh Qoliyan is currently serving an 18.6-year prison sentence in Iran’s Gharchak Prison for women after being arrested at workers’ rights protests in the city of Shush, Khuzestan Province, and publicly stating that she and fellow detainees …

rferl.org – Iran has arrested an Instagram star famed for drastically altering her appearance to look like U.S. actress Angelina Jolie, the Tasnim news agency has reported. The social media celebrity known as Sahar Tabar was detained for crimes including blasphemy, instigating violence, and encouraging corruption among youths, Tasnim said late on October 5. Her Instagram account has since been …

rferl.org – Australian travel bloggers Jolie King and Mark Firkin arrived back at their home in Perth after months in an Iranian jail following what appears to have been a likely prisoner swap with Tehran. Australian authorities confirmed on October 6 that, on the same day Tehran freed the couple from detention, they released an Iranian academic who had been …