Human rights

CHRI – Telecommunications Minister Falsely States the Problem Originated Outside the Country Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi made a false statement when he said via Twitter that recent disruptions to internet access in Iran were due to technical issues occurring outside the country, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. The disruptions, during which internet speeds …

Radiofarda – An official at Iran’s Ministry of Education says there are 8 million illiterate people in the country, or 10 percent of the population, but a lower figure than other official estimates. Earlier last April, Iranian parliament’s research center had reported that nearly nine million Iranians are suffering from “absolute illiteracy.” Nonetheless, the Ministry of Education’s director of literacy, …

Radiofarda – The human rights global organization Amnesty International has sent a letter to Iran’s top judicial official demanding the release of three anti-hijab women activists detained since April. Iranian women’s rights defenders Monireh Arabshahi (Center), Yasaman Aryani (Left) and Mojgan Keshavarz (Right) have been detained in Shahr-e Ray prison, outside Tehran, since April 2019. The letter is addressed to …

Iran-HRM – An Iranian Labor activist arrested during a Labor Day protest on May 1, 2019 was beaten twice in one day by prison guards in the notorious Qarchak Prison near Tehran. According to a tweet posted by the husband of Neda Naji, she was beaten once by a prisoner and once by prison guards in the span of 24 …

Iran-HRM – Iranian authorities executed a prisoner in Kashan Prison on Wednesday, July 3, according to judicial authorities. Rouhollah Dehqani, deputy prosecutor for criminal affairs of Kashan said the victim was sentenced to Qisas (retaliation in Kind) on a murder charge. According to an informed source, the victim who was identified as Majid Sadr was tortured to confess to the …

HRANA – On July 8, 2019, Maryam Mohammadi, women’s rights activist, was arrested by security forces and was transferred to an unknown place. She was earlier summoned to the Evin prison’s prosecutor’s office in June when security forces had searched her residence and confiscated some of her belongings. There has been no report on the reason of her arrest and …

CHRI – One month after political prisoner Alireza Shirmohammadali was murdered in the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary (GTCP) after being unlawfully held in a ward with inmates convicted of violent crimes, two prison officials have been fired while the unofficial policy that precipitated the tragedy remains in place. The results of a judicial investigation into his death have not been made public. But …

After gunmen killed 12 staff members of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo for the paper’s content in 2015, Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani joined colleagues in a video produced by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) to express solidarity with the victims and defend free speech. Born in Iran seven years before a revolution turned his country into an Islamic Republic in …

Hashem Khastar, born June 2, 1953 is an Iranian retired teacher at the Agriculture Technical High School in Mashhad, northeastern Iran. He is also an agricultural engineer and the head of the Mashhad Teachers Union. Mr. Khastar has had and still has a remarkable influence on the issues of teachers’ rights in Iran. This became increasingly clear during the nationwide …

Radiofarda – One of the signatories of a statement demanding the resignation of Iran’s Supreme Leader published a month ago says he was attacked by three unidentified assailants. Reza Mehregan, one of the 14 civic-political activists who in June demanded the resignation of Ayatollah Khamenei and the overhaul of Iran’s constitution, has told Radio Farda in an interview that he …