November, 2020

• 28 November

  Iran Blames Israel For ‘Terrorist’ Attack That Killed Top Nuclear Scientist

  

  VOA – Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday called for the “definitive punishment” of those behind the killing of a scientist linked to Tehran’s disbanded military nuclear program, a slaying the Islamic Republic has blamed on Israel.   Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian scientists a decade ago amid tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program, has yet to comment on the killing …

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• 28 November

  Iranian Men Mobilize Against Honor Killings

  

  iranwire.com – The struggle for gender equality in countries like Iran and Afghanistan is largely left to women to pursue – and men rarely join women’s rights movements. But a new campaign, the Men’s Network Against Honor Violence, urges men to play an active role in the fight for women to be treated equally and not punished just for being women. …

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• 28 November

  Assassination of Top Nuclear Scientist Highlights Iran’s Security Weakness

  

  VOA – Iran’s supreme leader is seeking retribution for the assassination of the country’s top nuclear scientist. On Saturday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the “definitive punishment” for whoever is responsible for the death of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Friday’s assassination of Fakhrizadeh, the second senior Iranian military figure to be killed this year, has highlighted Tehran’s weakness in protecting key officials …

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• 28 November

  Iranian Worker flogged 74 times for “insulting” Labor Minister in Iran

  

  Iran-HRM – Agents of the Implementation of Verdicts Office flogged an Iranian worker with 74 lashes of whip before his verdict was finalized. The worker, Davoud Rafii used to work at Iran Khodro car manufacturer before being expelled in 2012. He was sentenced to flogging for insulting the Labor Minister. This week he reported in to Moghaddas Courthouse to follow …

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• 28 November

  UN experts call on Iran to halt execution of Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali

  

   The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights)– UN human rights experts* said they were alarmed by reports that Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali has reportedly been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution despite widely held findings his trial was grossly unfair and he was tortured. Alarmed by reports that #AhmadrezaDjalali has been transferred to solitary confinement …

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• 28 November

  Concern Grows Over German-Iranian Women Held in Solitary at Evin Prison

  

  CHRI – Except for one short phone call, 66-year-old German-Iranian dual national Nahid Taghavi has not been heard from since her arrest by security agents in Tehran on October 19, 2020. The retired architect has been held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison without any reason being given for her plight, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. “After …

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• 28 November

  Iran shuts gov’t offices, tightening virus restrictions

  

  (AP) — Iran on Friday announced that all government offices will effectively close and operate with only essential staff, further tightening coronavirus measures as the country struggles to contain its most widespread wave of infection yet. Starting this Saturday — the first day of Iran’s workweek — state TV said “only those employees who need to be present will be …

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• 27 November

  The Iranian Regime’s Fundamentalist and Sectarianist hostility towards other Muslims

  

  Shabtabnews – In a post on pro-Iranian regime website feraghnews: https://t.me/ferghenews_com/3369 The true face of the regime fundamentalist policy is on display as it clearly rejects any form of Islam that doesn’t adhere to its own extremist ideology under the guise of Islam. As in this post it associates all other Islamic thought as anti-regime, and associates these thoughts with …

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• 27 November

  Baha’is Barred From Higher Education In Iran

  

  Radiofarda – Deficient filing” is a familiar term to Baha’i youth in Iran who want to enter university and carry on their education like any other citizen enjoying one of their most fundamental rights. Iranian Baha’is have been denied permission to study at the country’s universities since the downfall of Iran’s pro-West monarch and establishment of the Islamic Republic in …

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• 27 November

  Arab Coalition destroys two mines laid by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia

  

  Al-Arabia – The Arab Coalition said it destroyed two mines laid by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia in the south of the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia’s state TV reported on Friday. For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Houthi forces have staged many missile and drone strikes on civilian airports and oil infrastructure in Saudi …

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• 27 November

  Khamenei’s Loyal Penman Links Quran to Holocaust Denial

  

  iranwire.com -If anyone doubted that Holocaust denial was a central policy of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he has put those doubts to rest. Take his response to the crisis that erupted in France following the October 16 beheading of Samuel Paty, a middle-school teacher who had shown his students cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad. Khamenei waded in with his …

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• 27 November

  The Increasing Pressure on Yarsanis, one of the Largest Religious Minorities in Iran

  

  iranwire.com – Tensions in Kermanshah province have been on the rise in recent weeks after a Salafi fundamentalist cleric made inflammatory comments about the Yarsanis, one of Iran’s largest religious minorities, during prayers at a mosque in early November. Human rights activists have questioned why a fanatic has been given a platform to threaten minorities in the province, voicing their anger …

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• 27 November

  Iranian Diplomat Goes On Trial In Belgium Over Bomb Plot

  

  RFL/RE – An Iranian diplomat and three other Iranian nationals go on trial in Belgium on November 27, more than two years after European authorities broke up an alleged plot to bomb an Iranian opposition rally outside Paris. The trial has the potential to embarrass Iran and strain ties with European countries, which have blamed Iranian intelligence of being behind …

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• 27 November

  Jailed Activist at Risk of Hearing Loss Due to Lack of Medical Care

  

  Iran-HRM – Civil activist Saeed Eghbali could lose hearing in one ear if Iranian authorities continue to refuse to transfer him to a hospital outside of Evin Prison where he has been held since May 2020. The state security forces beaten and violently arrested Saeed Eghbali in 2017, causing a 70% rupture of the right eardrum. Saeed Eghbali’s ear infection …

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• 27 November

  Iran: Prisoner Executed in Qom Prison

  

  Iran Human Rights Organization- A prisoner sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, has been executed at Qom Central Prison. According to Iran Human Rights, a male prisoner was executed in Qom Prison on the morning of Monday, November 23. The prisoner who has only been identified by his first name, Hossein, was known as “Hossein Qomi” and had been sentenced …

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• 26 November

  Khamenei and Rouhani Repeat the Old Rhetoric About the Future of Iran-US Relations

  

  iranwire.com – The Supreme Leader has come out of quarantine to put an end to speculation that Iran could re-enter negotiations with the United States following the election of Joe Biden as the country’s 46th president. A day later, President Hassan Rouhani appeared to take a different view.  On Wednesday, November 25, speaking at a Supreme Economic Coordination Council meeting with the …

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• 26 November

  Iranian-backed Houthi militia approves UN plan to assess decaying Yemen oil tanker

  

  Al-Arabia – The Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen has given long-awaited approval for a United Nations plan to visit and assess a deteriorating oil tanker off Yemen’s coast that is threatening to spill 1.1 million barrels of crude oil into the Red Sea. Staff and equipment could be expected to arrive at the tanker by late January or early February, …

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• 26 November

  Washington Cannot Be Trusted, Says Khamenei

  

  Radiofarda – While blasting the European governments for their critical comments on Iran’s missile program, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a statement on Joe Biden’s victory in the recent U.S. presidential election, claiming, “The aliens could not be relied on and it is not possible to pin hopes on them.” In comments on Tuesday, Khamenei claimed, without referencing …

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• 26 November

  Iran’s “Chicken Crisis” and Khamenei’s Resistance Economy

  

  iranwire.com – “This is the way to neutralize and overcome sanctions. This path may lead to difficulties and problems in the beginning, but it has a happy ending.” These were the remarks delivered by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran in one of his increasingly rare public appearances on Tuesday, November 24. At a meeting of the Supreme Economic …

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• 26 November

  Top U.S. Envoy Says New Sanctions Against Iran Coming ‘Until The End’ Of Trump Administration

  

  RFL/RE – As U.S. President Donald Trump’s time in office comes to a close, his outgoing administration intends to put further pressure on Iran by introducing new punitive sanctions against the U.S. adversary.On November 25, the top U.S. envoy on Iran, Elliott Abrams, announced that Trump’s sanctions strategy would continue “for another couple of months, right until the end” of …

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• 26 November

  Prison Guards Storm Inmates in Northwest Iran Prison

  

  Iran-HRM – Inmates in a northwest Iran prison staged riot on Wednesday over fears of contamination amid a coronavirus outbreak. Inmates in wards 1,2,3 and 4 of Urmia Prison started to protest when a prisoner identified as Hojjat Kazemzadeh set himself ablaze to protest the authorities’ prevention of his release despite his one-year sentence. Prison guards beat and brutalized the …

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• 26 November

  Iran Continues to Pressure Dissent University Students

  

  Iran-HRM – Iranian security forces on Monday, November 23, arrested Elham Samimi, a student at Tehran University.The security forces had previously inspected her home on October 16 and confiscated her personal belonging and those of her guests and relatives. Elham Samimi is a student of anthropology at Tehran University. The Iranian Students Trade Union Council reported that the state security …

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• 26 November

  IRAN: FURTHER INFORMATION: IRANIAN-SWEDISH DOCTOR AT RISK OF EXECUTION: AHMADREZA DJALALI

  

  Amnesty – On 24 November, Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali learned that prosecution authorities ordered for his death sentence for “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) to be carried out. In a brief phone call the same day to his wife, he said he had been transferred to solitary confinement in section 209 of Evin prison in Tehran. He is at imminent …

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• 26 November

  Letter to EU by International Organisations: Save Ahmadreza Djalali

  

  Iran Human Rights (IHR) – In a joint letter to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, ten international rights organisations demand immediate action to save the life of Ahmadreza Djalali. The full text of the letter and list of signatories are as follows: H. E. Josep Borrell High Representative of the Union for Foreign …

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• 26 November

  Australian-British academic reportedly released from Iranian prison

  

  Al-Monitor – An Australian-British academic imprisoned in Iran has reportedly been released. Kylie Moore-Gilbert was freed in exchange for three Iranian prisoners, the BBC reported on Wednesday, citing Iranian state media. Moore-Gilbert, a professor of Middle East politics at Melbourne University, was arrested in 2018 when leaving Iran following a conference. She was accused of being a spy, which she …

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• 25 November

  IOPHR’s Open Letter to Josep Borrell Fontelles, requesting for an Urgent External Action to stop the Imminent Execution of Dr Ahmad Reza Djalali

  

  Shabtabnews – In an open letter IOPHR requests “Urgent External Action to stop the Imminent Execution of Dr Ahmad Reza Djalali.” The letter draws attention the fact that Dr Djalali, was sentenced to death because he refused to cooperate with the Iranian intelligence services, by refusing to spy on crisis control centres in Europe. As result the letter urges EU …

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• 25 November

  IOPHR hosts Ministerial Side Event 19th November on the “Legalisation of child marriage and the oppression of women under Iran’s ruling regime in the last four decades”

  

  Shabtabnews – On 19th November 2020, IOPHR held a webinar on the “Legalisation of Child Marriage and the Oppression of Women Under Iran’s Ruling Regime in the Last Four Decades.” This event which was hosted by IOPHR in association with the International Religious Freedom Roundtable and Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s multi-decade oppression of women …

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• 25 November

  USCIRF Releases New Report about Countering Violent Extremism in Tajikistan

  

  Shabtabnews – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report: Issue Update—Promoting Religious Freedom and Countering Violent Extremism in Tajikistan—This update describes Tajikistan’s official campaign to control and restrict Islamic practice, ostensibly an effort to combat the spread of terrorism and violent extremism but, in reality, represents harsh and counterproductive religious freedom restrictions. …

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• 25 November

  Coronavirus: Iran reports record high of over 13,500 COVID-19 cases

  

  Al-Arabia – Iran registered on Wednesday a daily record high of 13,843 new coronavirus cases, the health ministry said, pushing the national tally to 894,385 in the Middle East’s worst-hit country. Ministry’s spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that the death toll rose by 469 in the past 24 hours to 46,207. For more on coronavirus, visit our dedicated …

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• 25 November

  Pro-Iran Fighters Reported Killed In Israeli Strikes In Syria

  

  RFL/RE – A British-based group monitoring the Syrian conflict says eight pro-Iranian militiamen have been killed in alleged overnight Israeli air strikes. The strikes targeted an arms depot and a position held by Iranian forces and the allied Lebanon-based Shi’ite militant group Hizballah in the southern countryside of the Syrian capital, Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on …

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