August, 2017

• 21 August

  Former Iranian president Khatami asks Supreme Leader to end house arrests

  

  Al-Arabia – Iran’s former president Mohammad Khatami has called on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to end the house arrest of opposition leaders, Khatami’s website reported Sunday, the first such public call by a senior political figure. The continuing detention of Mirhossein Mousavi and fellow reformist Mehdi Karroubi, both of whom disputed the results of the 2009 presidential election that triggered …

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• 21 August

  Countdown Begins for Karroubi’s Trial After Deal With Rouhani Government Ends His Hunger Strike

  

  CHRI – Now that detained political leader Mehdi Karroubi has ended his life-threatening hunger strike, all eyes are on President Hassan Rouhani to see if he will honor Karroubi’s second demand: a public trial. The 79-year-old cleric agreed to end his hunger strike the day after he began it after Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi and Deputy Intelligence Minister Mohammad Pourfallah visited him …

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• 21 August

  Flow of American tourists to Iran has not slowed down

  

  PayvandNews – The tourist flow from the U.S. to Iran has not been slowed down as its year-on-year rate shows no decrease in the stream, says the chief executive of the Iranian Tour Operators Association. Related Iran travel website: irandoostan.com “U.S. tourist arrivals to Iran have not come to a halt and the number of inbound tourists from the U.S. during the …

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• 21 August

  President Rohani Says Protecting Nuclear Deal Top Priority, As Iranian Lawmakers Approve Cabinet Picks

  

  RFL/RE – Iran’s parliament on August 20 approved all but one of the cabinet nominees submitted by President Hassan Rohani, who said protecting the landmark 2015 deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for an easing of sanctions would be the key foreign policy priority for his new government. President Rohani’s new cabinet after holding their first session (source: ISNA) …

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• 21 August

  Iranian Labor Activist Forced to Stay Behind Bars Until December 2018 Despite Completing Sentence

  

  CHRI – To protest being returned to prison two years after he was released, prominent labor activist Reza Shahabi started a hunger strike on August 9, 2017, in Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj, 31 miles east of Tehran. Reza Shahabi “The prosecutor had told Shahabi and his family that he only had to spend three more months in prison to cover …

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• 21 August

  Alleged Role In State Crackdown Haunts New Communications Minister of Iran’s President Rohani

  

  RFL/RE – Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi is young and successful, but allegations about his past could come back to haunt him.  The 36-year-old electrical engineer, ICT manager, and deputy communications minister was nominated last week by Iranian President Hassan Rohani to lead the country’s Communications Ministry. He was approved, along with 15 other cabinet picks, by parliament on August 20.  Jahromi thus …

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• 21 August

  Photos: Natanz Central Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh)

  

  PayvandNews – Natanz Central Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh) is located near Sheikh Abdol Samad Isfahani Tomb in the city of Natanz in Iran’s Isfahan province. This four-iwan central mosque is one of the best preserved of all Ilkhanid-era buildings, dating from the early 14th century. Look out for the very worn, but intricately carved wooden door at the entrance to the mosque. Natanz Central Mosque (Masjid-e …

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• 18 August

  University: Iran Denies Appeal of Jailed Princeton Student

  

  VOA – Iranian authorities have denied the appeal of a Princeton University student who had been convicted on espionage charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison, the university and his wife said Thursday. Xiyue Wang, a history doctoral student and U.S. citizen who was conducting dissertation research in Iran in 2016 when he was detained by Iranian authorities, was accused …

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• 18 August

  Imprisoned Activist Atena Daemi Slapped With New Charge For Demanding Medical Care

  

  CHRI – Activist Denied Care Despite Medical Examiner’s Recommendation Already serving a seven-year prison sentence, imprisoned children’s rights activist Atena Daemi has been issued a new charge and is being denied medical treatment, a source close to Daemi’s family told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “The head of Evin Prison [Ali Chaharmahali] and the director of the prison …

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• 18 August

  800 Activists Urge Iranian Parliament to End Child Marriage

  

  CHRI – Hundreds of Iranian women and children’s rights advocates in Iran are urging Parliament to prohibit underage marriage in the country. “In defense of children’s human rights, we call for an end to the phenomenon known as child spouses,” said a statement signed by more than 800 activists addressing members of Parliament on August 12, 2017. “Marriage at a young …

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• 18 August

  Iranian Women’s Rights Activist to Serve Three Years in Prison For Attending Seminar

  CHRI – Women’s rights activist and photojournalist Alieh Matlabzadeh has been sentenced to three years in prison by a preliminary court in Tehran for participating in a women’s empowerment seminar. A legal source with knowledge about Matlabzadeh’s case told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on August 14, 2017 that the prison sentence was issued by Branch 26 of …

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• 18 August

  Sunni Arabs Beaten and Arrested in Iran For Praying in Public

  

  CHRI – Thirteen Sunni Arabs have been beaten by security and plainclothes agents and arrested for publicly praying in Ahvaz, the capital of Iran’s Khuzestan Province, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. The men, all between the ages of 20 and 27, were taken into custody on August 11, 2017 for holding a traditional Sunni group prayer, …

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• 18 August

  Richard Ratcliffe Turns to UN and UK to Secure Wife’s Release From Iran

  

  CHRI – After exhausting all legal avenues in Iran to overturn the five-year prison sentence issued in a secret trial against his Iranian-British wife, Richard Ratcliffe is taking her case to the United Nations and may sue Iran through the UK court system. “The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva meets in September [2017] and the human rights groups that support …

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• 18 August

  Iran opposition leader ends hunger strike

  

  Al-monitor – Mehdi Karroubi, the 79-year-old leader of the Green Movement that emerged out of Iran’s highly charged 2009 presidential election, has ended his hunger strike after his demands have been reportedly met, according to his family members. AUTHOR Al-Monitor Staff His wife, Fatemeh Karroubi, told Saham News that her husband had begun a hunger strike after morning prayers Aug. 16 …

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• 18 August

  Iranian labor market on path to gender transformation

  

  Al-monitor — Iranian society has undergone tremendous change in past decades, with women continuously playing a role in this transformation. Indeed, Iranian women have long sought a more active presence in society, gradually distancing themselves from the cliche of being mothers or wives. Today, they make up almost 70% of university applicants and half of the graduates. AUTHOR Maysam Bizaer Paired …

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• 17 August

  Iran Opposition Figure Karrubi Ends Hunger Strike

  

  RFL/RE – Iranian opposition figure Mehdi Karrubi, who has been under house arrest for more than six years, has ended a hunger strike, his son says. Mohammad Taghi Karrubi tweeted on August 17 that his father called off the strike after authorities promised to withdraw security agents from his home. Karrubi began a hunger strike on August 16, demanding a public …

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• 17 August

  Iranian Government Responds to the Demand of the Hunger Striking Opposition Leader

  

  Radiozamaneh – Government of Hassan Rouhani has responded to the demands of Mehdi Karroubi, an opposition leader who was on hunger strike in house arrest. Karroubi is demanding life without surveillance and presence of security officer as well as a public trial. As such the ailing 80-year-old has ended his hunger strike which has sent him to the intensive care unit …

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• 17 August

  Eight Prisoners Hanged in One Day in Iran’s Rajai Shahr Prison

  

  Iran Human Rights  -Eight prisoners were hanged in one day in Rajai Shahr Prison while another prisone.  On Wednesday August 16, eight prisoners were reportedly hanged at Karaj’s Rajai Shahr Prison on murder charges. Another prisoner was reportedly transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution. According to close sources, the names of five of the eight prisoners executed are: …

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• 17 August

  IRAN: FURTHER INFORMATION: HARASSMENT OF DISSIDENT IRANIAN CLERIC MUST END: SEYED HOSSEIN KAZEMEINI BOROUJERDI

  

  Amnesty – Dissident Iranian cleric Seyed Hossein Kazemeini Boroujerdi has faced continued intimidation and death threats by the Iranian authorities since his release from prison on 4 January. He is under 24 hour surveillance and has effectively been placed under house arrest. He is critically ill, and could be returned to prison at any time. View report in English: http://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1369422017ENGLISH.pdf

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• 17 August

  Iranians mock Rouhani over explanation for no female ministers

  

  Al-monitor – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s reasoning for not appointing any female ministers to his Cabinet — as he had promised he would in the May presidential election — has prompted a backlash from his supporters. AUTHOR Al-Monitor Staff On Aug. 15, the moderate Rouhani defended his proposed list of ministers to members of parliament and tried to persuade them to vote in favor of his Cabinet. “I will tell all the ministers …

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• 17 August

  Iranian return to hajj could help end Saudi deadlock

  

  Al-monitor — For the first time in two years, Tehran has sent Iranian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage. Although this can be considered a positive step toward reducing tension between the two sides, it is naive to think that developments such as this will solve the existing problems between Tehran and Riyadh. AUTHOR Saeid Jafari Iran’s decision to end …

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• 17 August

  Iranian Opposition Leader Mehdi Karroubi Goes on Hunger Strike to Challenge Arrest

  

  Radiozamaneh – Mehdi Karroubi, one of the opposition leaders of Iran’s Green Movement who has been under house arrest since 2010 is now refusing food in protest to the conditions of his arrest. Karoubi decided to go on hunger strike to demand a public trial; he is also asking security forces that are living with him and monitoring his every move …

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• 17 August

  IRAN: Six Inmates at Rajaee Shahr Prison Punished With Solitary Confinement For Going on Hunger Strike

  

  CHRI –Prisoners Protest Transfer to High-Security Ward Without Medicine or Clothes Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj. More than 50 political prisoners in Rajaee Shahr Prison are in severe distress, with at least six on hunger strike in solitary confinement, after they were moved en masse to a high-security ward without any of their clothes or medicine. “This is the same ward where about 20 …

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• 17 August

  Iranian Soccer Body Says Star Players Not Banned for Playing Against Israeli Team

  

  CHRI – NO Decision” Ruling Issued Following Social Media Public Outcry After days of public outcry over an Iranian official’s declaration that two national soccer players were banned from the national team for playing against an Israeli team, Iran’s soccer federation announced it has made no official decision. Banning the players, who played against the Israeli team while employed by the national …

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• 17 August

  Moscow Voices Hope Iran Won’t Quit Nuclear Deal

  

  RFL/RE – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Moscow hopes Iran will not quit the agreement reached in 2015 with world powers to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most economic sanctions. Lavrov spoke on August 16 after Iranian President Hassan Rohani’s warning the previous day that Tehran could abandon the deal “within hours” if …

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• 17 August

  Turkey, Iran Voice Opposition To Kurdish Independence Vote In Rare Visit

  

  RFL/RE – Turkey and Iran have voiced strong opposition to a referendum on Kurdish independence scheduled next month in neighboring Iraq during a rare visit to Ankara by Tehran’s army chief of staff on August 16. Turkish media said it was the first such visit since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. “There have been no such visits between the two countries for …

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• 15 August

  Iran chief of staff in Turkey for talks on Syria, Iraq

  

  Al-Arabia – Iran’s chief of staff arrived in Ankara Tuesday for “unprecedented” talks with Turkey’s leadership reportedly aimed at narrowing differences on the Syria crisis and coordinating policy on Iraq. General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri is due to meet Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his three-day visit. He kicked off the visit by meeting his Turkish counterpart …

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• 15 August

  Iran’s Rouhani warns the US: ‘We can quit the nuclear deal’

  

  Al-Arabia – President Hassan Rouhani warned on Tuesday that Iran could abandon its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers within hours if the United States keeps on imposing new sanctions. In a speech to parliament, he also hit out at US counterpart Donald Trump saying that he had shown the world that Washington was “not a good partner”. Rouhani’s comments come …

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• 15 August

  Iran: Raising the Death Penalty Bar

  

  HRW — The Iranian parliament on August 13, 2017 approved a long-awaited amendment to the country’s drug law that significantly raises the bar for a mandatory death sentence, Human Rights Watch said today. The amendment, which the parliamentary judiciary commission revised four times, is a step in the right direction despite being more limited than a December 2016 draft amendment that …

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• 15 August

  Iran: Scheduled execution of man arrested as teenager is an all-out assault on children’s rights

  

  Amnesty – The planned execution on Wednesday morning of Mehdi Bohlouli, who was only a child at the time of the crime, just days after the hanging of another man arrested as a child, is a sickening act of cruelty that must be stopped immediately, said Amnesty International today. Mehdi Bohlouli was transferred to solitary confinement in Raja’i Shahr Prison in …

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