Social and Political

Al-Arabia – A sister of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has declared her opposition to her brother’s regime and called on military forces to join protesters “before it is too late,” according to a letter shared by her son on Wednesday. “I think it is appropriate now to declare that I oppose my brother’s actions and I express my sympathy …

RFL/RE – A member of the Iranian parliament has unveiled the government’s plan for alternative punishments — including financial ones — to try and force women to wear a hijab in public despite massive protests across the country over the issue. Hossein Jalali, a member of the Cultural Commission of the Iranian parliament, said that under the new plan, the actions of …

RFL/RE – Iran’s top Sunni cleric, a vocal critic of the government, says he has received reports of sexual assaults on female prisoners in Iranian prisons.Molavi Abdolhamid wrote on his Twitter account on December 6 that the assaults on female prisoners were being committed with the intention of humiliating, suppressing, and obtaining forced confessions from them.“If proven, the real corrupters on earth …

RFL/RE – Iranian state television has aired for the second time the “confessions” of four Kurdish political prisoners — admissions their families and supporters say were coerced — raising fears that they may have been executed.Pejman Fatehi, Vafa Azarbar, Mohsen Mazloum, and Hajir Faramarzi have been detained for four months and are thought to be part of a group of …

Iranwire – Twitter has blocked the account of Ali Akbar Raefipour, a media activist and university professor close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), after he used the social media platform to issue threats to anti-government protesters. In a tweet on December 6, Raefipour wrote, “If you want to lose your life, join the street protests, especially if you …

Iranwire – The police chief of the northern Iranian city of Bandar Anzali has been arrested over the killing of a man, Mehran Samak, who celebrated the country’s World Cup defeat to the United States last week. Majid Ahmadi, the lawyer of Samak’s parents, announced on December 6 that the police officer was transferred to Rasht Central Prison following the issuance of …

Iranwire – Arash Sadeghi has been arbitrary arrested and imprisoned on multiple occasions over the past 23 years for his activities in defense of human rights in Iran. The Iranian authorities arrested him again on October 20 for unknown reasons and incarcerated him in Tehran’s Evin Prison, amid a nationwide wave of popular protests calling for more freedoms and women’s …

VOA – The U.S. military said Tuesday that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy boat came within 150 yards of American warships in the Strait of Hormuz, but the situation was de-escalated with the help of audible warnings and non-lethal use of lasers. In a statement, the U.S. military said the incident took place on December 5 during a routine …

Amnesty – In their latest retaliation against the Afkari family for seeking accountability, the Iranian authorities have been arbitrarily detaining Elham Afkari since her arrest by Ministry of Intelligence agents on 10 November in Shiraz, Fars province, amidst the ongoing popular uprising in Iran. Her brother, protester Vahid Afkari, is being tortured in Adelabad prison, Fars province, where he has …

Al-Monitor — Activists reported sweeping strikes in two-thirds of Iranian provinces on Tuesday, the second day of a civil disobedience campaign against the ruling Islamic Republic establishment.  Markets at several locations in the capital Tehran, and in other large cities including Tabriz, Isfahan and Shiraz, witnessed widespread closures.  The most sweeping strikes were reported in Kurdish areas, which have borne the brunt of the …