Social and Political

Iranwire – The Iranian judiciary has filed a criminal case against two well-known reformist figures, Sadegh Zibakalam and Azar Mansouri. Charges have been filed by the Tehran Provincial Prosecutor’s Office following accusations made by the two individuals that were deemed as “baseless,” according to Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary. The report said Zibakalam and Mansouri had …

Iranwire – “We just fight for a normal life,” says Sara, who plans to join dozens of British-Iranian women in a silent march in the center of London on March 8, International Women’s Day. They will wear the red cloaks and white bonnets imposed on female characters in the television series The Handmaid’s Tale, based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the …

Al-Monitor – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi ordered authorities on Wednesday to investigate the poisoning of schoolgirls in the country. The poison attacks are furthering discontent with the Islamic Republic amid continued protests in the country.  Local reports have suggested that the wave of poisonings has been going on for months in different schools across Iran, with female students taken to the …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities imposed 18 Internet shutdowns in 2022 in response to months-long nationwide demonstrations against the government, the third highest number in the world, according to a US digital rights advocacy group. “From Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, authorities are imposing internet shutdowns at staggering rates. In 2022 alone, governments and other actors disrupted the internet at least 187 times …

Iranwire – Over the past three months, hundreds of schoolgirls in Qom, Tehran, Borujerd, Sari, Ardebil and other Iranian cities have been poisoned. Now, this mysterious rash of poisoning appears to be much more serious than initially thought. On February 20, Attorney-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri sent a letter to Qom’s prosecutor saying that the poisonings might be part of a “deliberate criminal act.” …

Iranwire – Article 7 of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC), defines crimes against humanity as criminal acts “when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.” Article 7 (1) also determines the actions which amount to crimes against humanity in 11 subparagraphs, including murder, torture, extermination, …

Iranwire – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on the Iranian authorities to rescind their recent decision to ban a reformist daily that has criticized the country’s economic policies and morality police. Sazandegi newspaper was banned amid a brutal crackdown on five months of popular protests demanding fundamental economic, social and political reforms in the country, accompanied by a clampdown …

CHRI – Five months into Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, in which girls and women were among hundreds killed at nationwide, anti-state protests, at least one girl has died amid hundreds of schoolchildren being deliberately poisoned in major cities including Tehran, Qom, Sari, Ardabil, Boroujerd, Torbat Jam, and Qoochan. “The deliberate poisoning of school girls in Iran is exposing the …

Al-Monitor – Iran enriched uranium close to the grade required to develop nuclear weapons, two news outlets reported on Tuesday.  The Associated Press reported that the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) found particles of uranium that were enriched at 83.7% at the Fordo nuclear site. The AP cited a report from the United Nations nuclear watchdog, due to be released this …

Al-Monitor – An Iranian border guard was released by the Taliban on Monday after being detained on the Afghanistan-Iran border.  The guard was searching a vehicle for contraband on the Iran-Afghanistan border when the driver fled and drove the vehicle into Afghan territory while the guard was still inside. Afghan border forces detained the guard along with the other vehicle occupants but …