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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 …