Social and Political

Iran-HRM – Saeed Afkari, the outspoken brother to executed wrestling champion Navid Afkari said that the regime has told his brothers that they must speak out against Navid in order to be released. Marking Vahid and Habib’s 500 days in solitary confinement, Saeed Afkari tweeted that “The Islamic Republic has told Vahid and Habib that you must speak out against …

VOA —Iran, Russia and China on Friday began a joint naval drill in the Indian Ocean aimed at boosting marine security, state media reported. Iran’s state TV said 11 of its vessels were joined by three Russian ships including a destroyer, and two Chinese vessels. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard will also participate with smaller ships and helicopters. The report said the …

VOA – Iran’s president visited Russia this week on a visit Iranian officials called a “turning point” in their relations, as officials also announced a planned joint naval exercise that includes China for later this week. The visit by President Ebrahim Raisi to Moscow comes amid rising tensions between Russia and Western countries over Moscow’s troop buildup on Ukraine’s border, …

CHRI – A new law ratified by Iran’s Parliament that’s officially aimed at population growth was designed to the detriment of women in the country, the prominent gender rights activist Mina Khani told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “In a country like Iran, with all its reactionary laws concerning women and severe economic pressures, more laws that further restrict access to …

RFL/RE – The ex-wife of an Iranian-Swedish dissident on trial in Iran says she’s worried he will not get a fair trial on terrorism charges that she believes are trumped up. Iranian authorities have accused Habib Chaab, a founder and former leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA) separatist group, of “managing and leading a …

Iranwire – The use of civilians, prisoners of war, medics and other protected individuals as “human shields” in military conflict has been forbidden under international law for almost 45 years. It refers to the deliberate placing of civilians between an attacker and a legitimate military target in order to deter attacks. Despite Iran’s existing commitments, the Islamic Republic has a …

Iranwire – A political prisoner who joined the seven-strong hunger strike protesting against the death of Baktash Abtin has sent IranWire an audio file from prison narrating what happened in the days before the poet’s transfer to hospital. He has also confirmed, as others suspected this week, that he and two other hunger strikers were not taken for medical treatment as the …

Iranwire – “Anwar Raslan is not wronged. He was tried for the crimes he committed. The verdict was just and I feel satisfied.” So says Ruwaida Kanaan, a former detainee at a notorious Damascus detention center known as Branch 251 in Damascus, after ex-Syrian regime intelligence official Anwar Raslan was jailed for life by a German court last week. On Thursday, January …

Iranwire – Espionage comes with a heavy price. In the Islamic Republic, when an individual is arrested and convicted of spying, he or she will face a lengthy prison sentence, and often, the death penalty. In most cases, the individuals in question — among them members of the military, the clergy, and the security and intelligence institutions — are accused …

VOA — As the fighting in Yemen heats up, the U.N. human rights office warns Yemen’s warring parties that wanton attacks against civilians and civilian targets could amount to war crimes. Reciprocal attacks by Yemen’s warring parties have been escalating this month. They have intensified since Iranian-backed Houthi rebels carried out missile and bomb-laden drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates …