Social and Political

Iranwire – The recent execution of Alireza Akbari, a former deputy defense minister and an Iranian-British dual national, gave way to reports that Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), was about to resign. The council has denied such reports. Shamkhani was appointed to the post in 2013, and his tenure coincided with one of the most turbulent times for …

Iranwire – Amid growing international condemnation of Iran’s execution of protesters, the UN human rights chief has accused the Iranian government of using the death penalty to “punish” demonstrators and “strike fear” into the population. “The weaponization of criminal procedures to punish people for exercising their basic rights – such as those participating in or organizing demonstrations – amounts to …

Iran-HRM – Saeed Yaghoubi, 37, is from Isfahan, the last child of the family, and the one who cared for his 81-year-old mother and 85-year-old father. During the nationwide protests in Isfahan on November 18, 2022, Iran’s Judiciary arrested him and sentenced him to death. Saeed Yaghoubi was an athlete and worked at the real estate firm in Khane Isfahan’s …

Al-Monitor — Members of the European Parliament voted on Wednesday in favor of a measure that calls on the European Union leadership to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. The vote was 598 in favor, nine against and 31 absentees. The vote came as part of a larger debate on the annual foreign and security policy report at …

VOA – The United States and Britain said Tuesday they will hold Iran to account for violating the rights of its people, while reiterating condemnation of Iran’s execution of a British Iranian national. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the execution last week of Ali Reza Akbari fits a pattern of abuse by the Iranian government that …

VOA – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday she backed listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization to respond to the “trampling” of “fundamental human rights” in the country. Ties between the EU member states and Tehran have deteriorated in recent months as efforts to revive nuclear talks have stalled. Tehran has detained several …

Iranwire – Security forces in Tehran prevented mourners from gathering at a cemetery on January 17 to mark the end of a 40-day mourning period for a young man executed last month in connection with the ongoing wave of nationwide protests. In other areas of the Iranian capital, protesters managed to hold rallies and put up banners of Mohsen Shekari, …

Iranwire – A 24-year-old ethnic Baluch man has succumbed to injuries sustained during the Iranian authorities’ bloody crackdown on protesters in the eastern city of Zahedan in September, activists say. HAALVSH, a group that monitors rights violations of the Sunni minority in Iran, said that Mansour Hormozi fell into a coma after security forces shot him in the back on …

Iranwire – Iranian authorities have detained a German national for allegedly taking photos of “sensitive oil centers” in the southern province of Khuzestan, local media report. Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said on January 17 that the German citizen was arrested while taking pictures of oil facilities in Omidiyeh. Jam-e Jam daily, which …

Iran-HRM – Majid Kazemi, 30, was born in 1992 and is a citizen of Isfahan, though he is originally of the Lur tribe in western Iran. Majid was arrested on November 21, 2022, during nationwide protests in Isfahan and the court sentenced him to Moharebeh. According to Mr. Kazemi’s friends, Majid loved nature and travelling to the countryside. He is …