Social and Political

Behnam Mahjoubi was a 33-year-old man, a member of the Gonabadi Sufi order in Iran, who was arrested in February 2018 after taking part in peaceful protests at Golestan Haftom in Tehran. Some 300 Gonabadi Sufis were arrested in association with the protests and Behnam Mahjoubi was sentenced to two years in prison. Behnam Mahjoubi was a bright student and …

Shabtabnews – A statement by IOPHR emphasises the necessity of Human Rights as a Key Component of the US Negotiations with Iran. The statement highlights a series of recent gross violations of human rights by the Iranian regime such as the murder of Behnam Mahjoubi, a Gonabadi Sufi in prison, the execution of Ms. Zahra Esmaili based on false confession …

Iranwire – Under Islamic law, women in Iran do not have the same rights as men. This includes not having the right to choose the jobs, careers and professions they pursue. IranWire reviewed three recent reports that discuss the jobs that are off limits to women, the reasons why, and how these restrictions are set out in jurisprudence. Unsurprisingly, these articles read more like justifications in favor of …

Iranwire – On February 26, 1999, millions of Iranians made their way to polling stations across the country to vote in the Islamic Republic’s first-ever local council elections. Some 600,000 candidates stood for 200,000 seats, across 25,000 villages and more than 900 cities: the culmination of years of work to establish a new tier of governance by politicians and experts …

VOA – The U.S. and Iran have agreed to a second round of indirect talks in Vienna next week to try to bring each other back into compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal, but Iran has insisted that all U.S. sanctions against it be lifted and the U.S. warned that such a demand may lead to an impasse. A senior …

Amnesty.org –This press release has been updated to correct the estimated number of prisoners killed, based on Amnesty International’s ongoing investigation into the incident and new information received by the organization.  Amnesty International has reviewed a court document issued by Branch 101 of Criminal Court Two in the city of Bavi, Khuzestan province, which confirms that five prisoners were killed …

Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement US Office of International Religious Freedom declared : “We are concerned by amendments to Articles 499 & 500 of Iran’s penal code, which may lead to more prosecutions of individuals for exercising their freedoms of religion, belief & expression. We call on Iran to uphold these human rights for all, including religious minorities. “ …

(Reuters) – The U.N. atomic watchdog on Friday flagged a new breach by Iran of its nuclear deal with major powers on the day those powers met to revive the agreement, a report by the agency seen by Reuters showed, likely raising tensions with Western powers.Slideshow ( 2 images ) The International Atomic Energy Agency avoids saying Iran has breached the …

Al-Arabia – Envoys from China and Russia to the Iran nuclear talks said on Friday there had been progress in efforts to bring Iran and the US back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal and that all sides would reconvene next week. Former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal, which lifted economic sanctions on Iran in return …

Iranwire – Eighteen Iranian filmmakers who criticized the recent 25-year cooperation agreement between Iran and China have been told to withdraw their signatures or face blacklisting. On April 4, the 18 industry figures had published an open letter condemning the deal, stating that it was against the national interest and the contents were being “kept hidden from the Iranian people”. …