Social and Political

Al-Monitor – Just a few years after the West was consumed with the #MeToo movement, a similar movement has finally emerged among Iranians, sending shockwaves across Persian language social media. Over the past week, many women and men have come forward to talk about their experiences of rape and sexual assault by dozens of high-profile figures in the country. Despite …

(PayvandNews ) – Nasrin Sotoudeh, a renowned Iranian writer, human rights lawyer, and activist, is reportedly in critical condition after being on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin prison for over two weeks. PEN America today calls for her and other political prisoners’ immediate release and for an end to judicial and legal harassment of her and her family.  “We are heartbroken to see …

theguardian.com An Iranian man who beheaded his 14-year-old daughter has been sentenced to only nine years in jail, in a case that has sparked outrage at the way Iranian law appears to enshrine supposed male rights over women’s lives. Rana Dashti, the mother of 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi, expressed fury at the lenient sentence in an interview with the Iranian Labor …

Radiofarda – In response to a tweet by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei accusing the United States government of “murdering” young American protesters, State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said on Saturday that Iranians deserve “freedom and a future, not the Basij’s bullets.” “Khamenei’s thugs killed 1,500 Iranians on the streets of Iran last November,” Ortagus wrote, quoting Khamenei’s tweet. “At …

Radiofarda – Iranian society has been fighting systematic censorship for over four decades; from the ban on videotapes in 1980s, jamming satellite television, blocking news websites in 2000s and social media in recent years. Nonetheless, a glance at the past shows that the Iranian government’s extensive restrictions have had very little if any impact on the way Iranians have been …

Radiofarda – The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said Sunday his group will facilitate the formation of a government that would be able to improve economic conditions in the crisis-stricken country and undertake major reforms. Hassan Nasrallah said his group is also open to calls from France for a new political contract in Lebanon, on condition that all Lebanese sects are …

Iran-HRM – The state security forces have summoned and arrested 130 locals in Abolfazl village who had protested the destruction of their homes and confiscation of their lands on orders of Khamanei’s “charity” Mostazafan Foundation. Some of these people who have currently been bailed out say that they were pressured in detention to sign a pledge and accept to have …

Radiofarda – Iranian human rights activists have reported that a court in Shiraz has sentenced a 27-year-old to two death sentences on charges that have not been officially explained. Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has reported that Navid Afkari who was arrested with his two brothers Vahid and Habib in August 2018 have been charged with forming a group …

Radiofarda – Iran’s central bank said on Saturday it was taking legal steps to counter a lawsuit filed in a U.S. court by creditors seeking to seize $1.7 billion of its assets held by Deutsche Boerse’s Clearstream unit. The German stock exchange operator said earlier the creditors had filed the suit in a New York court seeking to require Clearstream …

Radiofarda – A renowned Iranian writer, human rights lawyer and activist, Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh is reportedly in critical condition after being on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin prison for over two weeks, the U.S. Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists (PEN) said in a statement Friday, August 28. Meanwhile, the PEN has called for the immediate release of Sotoudeh and other political …