Human rights

Iranwire – Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who is incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin prison, has been taken for a third time in two weeks to a hospital without a mandatory headscarf. According to a post on Mohammadi’s Instagram account, which is run by her family, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner was “wearing a coat …

Iranwire – Three teachers’ union activists have been arrested in Iran to serve their prison sentences, as the authorities continue their crackdown on organized labor. The Coordinating Council of Teachers Unions in Iran reported that Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh, Afshin Razmjooei and Mojgan Bagheri were apprehended at their homes on November 20. Zahmatkesh and Razmjooei were sentenced to five years in …

Iranwire – Sepideh Rashnu, a writer and artist who became known in Iran for her vocal opposition to compulsory hijab rules, is in the BBC’s 2023 list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. Twenty-eight “climate pioneers,” attorney and former US First Lady Michelle Obama, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and Ballon d’Or-winning footballer Aitana Bonmatí were …

Iranwire – Iranian actress Azadeh Samadi was at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport on November 20 to catch a flight and attend a film festival in Goa, India, when her passport was confiscated. Samadi, a versatile actress in film, theater, and television, was told by Iranian authorities she was not allowed to leave the country. No reason was given for the …

Iranwire – The UN General Assembly’s committee on social, humanitarian and cultural issues approved a Canada-drafted resolution earlier this week that condemns the widespread and serious human rights violations being committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The resolution highlighted the plight of Iranian women who face systematic discrimination and oppression.  One of the most egregious examples of this oppression …

Iranwire –Mahvash Shahriari Sabet, a Baha’i woman serving a 10-year prison sentence at Tehran’s Evin Prison, wrote a poignant letter from the confines of her cell in which she calls on Iranians to not ostracize members of the country’s most persecuted religious minority.  “If the [Iranian] government has ostracized the Baha’is, please do not follow their lead. We, like everyone …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Siamand Bukani, a Kurdish man sentenced to death for drug-related charges, was executed in Ardabil Central Prison. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a Kurdish man was executed in Ardabil Central Prison on 20 November. His identity has been established as 40-year-old Siamand Bukani (Ostovar) from the village of Dangaz. He had two …

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) – Abdolghafour Mahmoudi, Mohammadhossein Tashtzar and Ali Payam were executed for drug-related charges in Bandarabbas Central Prison. According to Haal Vsh, three men including two Baluch minorities, were executed in Bandarabbas Central Prison on 19 November. Their identities have been reported as Abdolghafour Mahmoudi and Mohammadhossein Tashtzar, two Baluch minorities from Kahnuj, and Ali Payam (Maleki) …

iranintl – The chancellor of a university on Iran’s Kish Island has reportedly resigned following a graduation ceremony where female students appeared without head-coverings, defying hijab rules. Photos and videos published on social media showed the majority of girls at a small graduation ceremony on Kish Island’s international campus of Sharif University of Technology wearing graduation hats with their hair …

Iranwire – An Iranian court has sentenced Hanieh Tavassoli, a renowned film actress, to six months in prison for voicing support for nationwide protests last year, her lawyer says.  In a statement on social media on November 19, lawyer Maryam Kian Ersi said the sentence would be suspended for a period of three years.  Tavassoli, 44, was arrested at her home in …