Social and Political

Iran-HRM -A man awaiting finger amputation in a northwestern Iran prison has been sentenced to additional four years in prison and 80 lashes on the charge of “insulting the warden of Urmia Central Prison” and “disrupting prison order”. The Urmia Criminal Court has sentenced Hadi Rostami to prison and lashes without holding a court hearing. According to the verdict issued …

VOA – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Wednesday that his country is committed to give Iran its due share of water under a decades-long bilateral treaty but he stressed that Tehran will have to pay for any additional requirements. “We will honor our commitments. However, anything beyond the stipulated quota would require discussions,” Ghani said in a televised speech after inaugurating …

CHRI – Political prisoners in Iran, long subjected to especially harsh treatment in Iran’s prisons, have been largely left out of the furloughs (temporary leaves from prison) typically granted to many prisoners for Nowruz, the Iranian new year that began on March 20, 2021. With a handful of exceptions, the vast majority of those who went home for the new year holidays …

Al-Monitor – Following Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s speech on the important issues facing the country in the upcoming year, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced plans to form groups to make sure these issues are prioritized. In an open letter to Khamenei following the start of the Iranian new year on March 20, Hossein Salami announced the formation of the Headquarters for …

Iranwire – The Iranian judiciary’s Secretary of Human Rights Affairs has claimed that foreign political prisoners and hostages in Iran are sometimes unwilling to go back to their countries of origin. In a statement cited by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency,  Ali Bagheri Kani said widespread concern about the maltreatment and poor conditions faced by political prisoners in Iran was …

VOA – Benjamin Briere is a French tourist who was arrested last May while visiting Iran with his drone and minivan. Still detained, he was charged with espionage and “spreading propaganda against the system.” His lawyers deny the charges. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to death. Briere’s case is the latest in a series against foreigners at a time …

Iran-HRM – 18 Jailed dissidents at Raja’i Shahr Prison of Karaj wrote an open letter on March 21, protesting the exile of political prisoners and opening new cases against them. The letter, a copy of which was sent to Iran Human Rights Monitor, states: “during the last months, despite all the claims by the highest judiciary authorities about complying with …

Iran-HRM – A Kurdish man was killed in a police shooting on Monday on Khorramabad Road in western Iran. According to Hengaw Kurdish website, the man was identified as Mohammad Sadeghi. The state security forces opened fire at the Kurdish man’s car on suspicion of transporting smuggled goods. This is while Mohammad Sadeghi’s car was empty and he was not …

Al-Monitor – The Iranian government is widely accused of using the case of a jailed British-Iranian activist as a pressure tool to secure the repayment of the long-standing debt. Iran’s defense minister, Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami, said March 23 that the UK government should “act with practicality” in delivering an outstanding payment of 400 million pounds ($551 million) to the Islamic …

Shabtabnews – IOPHR issued a statement regarding the Dire Health Condition of Teachers’ Rights Activist Mr. Hashem Khastar. The statement declared: “Once again, the IOPHR would like to draw the attention of all international organisations to the plight of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Iranian prisons, especially Mr. Hashem Khastar – the imprisoned teacher and activist, who has …