Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Shortly after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s call on officials to uproot corruption, the Iranian judiciary announced perhaps the largest embezzlement case in the country’s history involving some 6.6 billion euros ($7.4 billion). Similar to other major embezzlement scandals in recent years — such as the one centered on businessman Babak Zanjani, who is now awaiting execution — the current case relates …

Al-Monitor – Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and will receive 148 lashes, according to her husband, Reza Khandan. Khandan posted on Facebook that Sotoudeh was sentenced in two separate cases — the first one resulting in a five-year prison sentence and the second in a 33-year sentence. There had been conflicting reports about her case. Iranian …

Radiofarda – A verdict has been issued in the court case of a US navy veteran arrested in Iran last year on security and other charges, the official news agency IRNA reported Monday. “This case has both private and public plaintiffs… There are security charges in the case,” Gholamali Sadeghi, prosecutor for the city of Mashad, told IRNA, without disclosing …

Radiofarda – The prosecutor in the corruption trial of a super-rich sponsor of major Iranian football (soccer) clubs, says one of the suspects in the case had opened 242 bank accounts within a day in his 8-year-old son’s name, Iranian news agencies reported. Hossein Hedayati an Iranian billionaire sponsor of football in court for corruption, , March 04, 2019. At …

Radiofarda – IRGC Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani has received Iran’s most prestigious medal of honor, the Order of Zulfiqar. Fars news agency reported on Sunday March 10 that The Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has awarded the medal but did not say when was Soleimani decorated. Soleimani is the first Iranian commander to receive the Order of …

Radiofarda – More than 100 Iranian civil and political activists have described the appointment of hardline cleric Ebrahim Raeesi as Iran’s Judiciary Chief a sign of Islamic Republic Leader Ali Khamenei’s obstinacy and lack of respect for public opinion. The activists characterized Khamenei’s behavior as “rewarding criminals, aggravating the sad condition of the family members of the victims” of mass …

Al-Arabia – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has arrived in Baghdad, Iraq’s government said on Monday, in an official visit aimed at shoring up Tehran’s influence in Iraq and expanding trade ties. With the visit, Iran aims to send a strong message that it retains its influence in much of the region despite US sanctions. Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad …

RFL/RE – Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to seven years in prison, local media report. A judge at Tehran’s Revolutionary Court told the semiofficial ISNA news agency on March 11 that the prominent human rights defender had been sentenced to five years for “colluding against the system” and two years for “insulting” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali …

Amensty – Eight detained conservationists could face the death penalty or long prison sentences, following a grossly unfair trial in which they were accused of trumped-up spying charges. Their charges stem solely from their conservation activities including carrying out research into Iran’s endangered wildlife. They have said they were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. View report in English https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1399782019ENGLISH.pdf

Radiofarda – Two political prisoners in Tehran have said that they are still being denied access to medical treatment despite claims by Iranian authorities, according to the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC). Narges Mohammadi and Iranian-British Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who are being held at Tehran’s Evin Prison, have warned that if their demands are not met they will stage a …