Human rights

CHRI – The Iranian-American engineer, businessman, and philanthropist Khosrow Semnani made a name in foreign policy circles in both Washington and Tehran in 2013 after he published a comprehensive report about the environmental and human costs of a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. Five years later he has published a new report, this time focusing on the socioeconomic effects of …

Iran-HRM – Iranian authorities have arrested 15 young men and women at a mixed-gender private party amid a crackdown on behavior deemed to be un-Islamic, the state-run Rokna news agency reported on May 22, 2019. The Wednesday report said that the 15 men and women were arrested and taken to jail for dancing and drinking alchohol during a privat party …

Iran-HRM – Female musicians were banned from playing in a charity concert in Qazvin. They were not allowed to even sit among the audience. One of the largest annual charity programs in Qazvin Province was staged on Thursday night, May 22, 2019. A traditional music band was supposed to perform at the auditorium of the Azad University of Qazvin. But …

Amnesty – Imagine that you are a woman leading a relatively normal life. You take the metro or bus to work or university. You socialize with friends. You may be able to afford a smartphone and enjoy posting selfies on social media. You may sometimes be lucky enough to take walks on the beach and feel the sea air in …

Radiofarda – The Assyrian Christian community in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz has been left in a state of shock after intelligence agents forced a Presbyterian church to close earlier this month, Assyrian International News Agency (Aina) reports. Assyrian Presbyterian church in Tabriz Iran was raided by intelligence agents on May 9, 2019 and closed down. The photo shows …

Iran-HRM – A judicial official in the province of Hamedan said that 1,596 child brides married in the western province last year. The Social Deputy of Crime Prevention at the Hamedan Judiciary also said that from these marriages, 10% had led to divorce. These kinds of marriages have dire consequences for child brides including child pregnancy, death from childbirth, depression …

Iran-HRM – Social Deputy of Kermanshah Police announced that they have warned 800 stores for selling food during Ramadan fast and closed down 87 others in the first half of Ramadan for “ignoring police warnings,” the state-run Mehr news agency reported on May 22, 2019. Mohammad Reza Amouie said that during this period, they had taken written commitments from 1,731 …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) – A prisoner was hanged in Public at the Iranian city of Hamadan. According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), death-row prisoner Mehdi Cheraghi was hanged in public on the morning of Thursday, May 23. This is a rare move because Iranian authorities usually hesitate to carry out executions on the month of Ramadan, Muslims’ fasting …

BBC – Thirty people taking part in a yoga session have been arrested during a private class in Iran, reports suggest, causing a buzz across the country’s social media. They were detained at a private residence in the northern city of Gorgan, where they were apparently taking part in a mixed class. Local justice department official Massoud Soleimani said the …

Shabtabnews – On Wednesday 22nd May, members of various human rights organisations who attended the US senate’s meeting on rights of religious minorities in Iran, demanded that the US government place sanctions on anyone within the Iranian regime that helps to facilitate violation of the rights of religious minorities in Iran Sam Brownback, the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious …