Social and Political

Iranwire.com – The Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam was sentenced to death on June 30, 2020 for treason and espionage. His family appealed the court decision but this week their appeal was overturned. IranWire spoke to Zam’s Paris-based lawyer, Hassan Fereshtyan, in early December, just a few days before the Iranian Supreme Court confirmed his sentence.  *** On Thursday, October 10 …

Iranwire.com – Baneh, its residents say, is “turbulent”. Everything is locked down. From Tuesday this week, the internet and telephone lines have been intermittently disconnected. Patrols are everywhere, looking, they say, for six people in connection with the killing of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Citizens have been rounded up and interrogated one by one, and shown pictures of the …

Iranwire.com – Iran’s current parliament was less than two months into its new term on July 14, 2020, when despite online censorship the hashtag “#DoNotExecute” was retweeted four million times to call for the annulment of an execution order of Navid Afkari, a youth athlete from Shiraz, and two other young Iranians accused of participating in the November 2019 nationwide protests. But …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Many Lebanese are demanding answers to role of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization in the port “massacre.” They are also demanding an end to Iran’s occupation of Lebanon. Although the Lebanese government has set up a commission of inquiry into the port explosion, many Lebanese are wondering why the results have not been published yet. They are convinced …

Radiofarda – “The tragedy of that day was not just receiving the news of Majid’s death, but relaying it to my fifteen-year-old son, and the enigma that sparkled in his eyes. I saw him drowning in a big question, ‘Why?’ This is the suffering that will not be over until the end of my life.” Speaking to Radio Farda, Mahshid …

Al-Monitor – The US Air Force on Thursday launched the second short-term deployment of B-52 heavy bombers to the Middle East in less than a month as part of efforts to deter potential hostile Iranian military activity as Washington reduces its military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. The flight by two B-52 Stratofortress crews from Louisiana to the Levant comes less than two …

Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement IOPHR stated that “The life of #RouhollahZam is in grave danger as his death sentence has been confirmed. Zam’s bravery to expose the deep corruption within #Iran‘s ruling regime deserves global attention. “ The life of #RouhollahZam is in grave danger as his death sentence has been confirmed. Zam's bravery to expose the deep …

Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement USCIRF commends the UN special rapporteurs calling for the release from prison of Iranian lawyer Nasrin Soutudeh, who defended women peacefully protesting mandatory religious headscarf laws in #Iran. USCIRF commends the UN special rapporteurs calling for the release from prison of Iranian lawyer Nasrin Soutudeh, who defended women peacefully protesting mandatory religious headscarf laws …

Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement the USCIRF stated that : ” 81% of cases of state enforcement of #blasphemy laws were in only 10 countries: Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Indonesia, Yemen, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.” 81% of cases of state enforcement of #blasphemy laws were in only 10 countries: Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Indonesia, Yemen, Bangladesh, …

Iranwire.com – Iran is not just a place. Iran exists wherever Iranians talk and care about Iran. Naturally the Iranian diaspora around the world is an energetic amalgam of cultures, religions and political dispositions. But they are all Iranian, definitely and eternally, however many years they have been away from their homeland. Three Iranian human rights figures, the lawyer Payam …