A157, documentary on victims of ISIS, goes to French film festival - Behrouz Nouranipour's chilling war documentary 'A157' will be screened at the 14th International Festival Signes de Nuit in France. The shocking documentary 'A157' which has been recently awarded by Library International Film Festival of India and won the Special Jury Award at Iran's Cinema Veritere, relates the horrors of war and terrorism in Syria, with a focus on three pregnant girls recounting their stories of war, violence and sexist conquest in a land where people have no more dreams. - 11/23/16
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Iranian MP Compares Prosecutor's Abrupt Cancellation of His Speech to ISIS Tactics - Following the abrupt cancellation of his speech by a prosecutor, the Iranian Parliament's Deputy Speaker Ali Motahhari has written to the president calling for an investigation into the incident, while comparing it to the tactics used by the Arab terrorist group the Islamic State, which Iranians refer to as Daesh. - 11/23/16
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Iran's Revolutionary Guards Must Stop Using Dual-Nationals as Hostages - Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei should put an immediate end to the practice of the Revolutionary Guard's Intelligence Organization, which operates under his direct authority, of arresting dual nationals and using them as hostages to collect ransom money and demonstrate political muscle, the International Campaign for Human Rights said today. - 11/22/16
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Activist Who Lost Parents in "Chain Murders" of Iranian Dissidents Summoned to Court - Prominent rights activist Parastou Forouhar, whose parents were slain by agents of the Iranian government during a series of murders of dissidents beginning in the late 1980s, has been summoned without a given reason to appear in court at Evin Prison on November 22, 2016. - 11/22/16
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In Iran, treatment of transgender people is a double-edged sword - Iran -- an Islamic theocracy that criminalizes consensual same-sex relations, forces women to adhere to a strict and modest dress code in public, and has zero-tolerance for dissidents' freedom of expression -- presents a surprisingly lenient attitude on trans issues. -Kevin Schumacher - 11/21/16
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Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB) Launches #RejectHate Campaign - IAAB's Campus Action Network (I-CAN) launches IAAB's #RejectHate Campaign to ensure the right to a safe education in an inclusive environment for all students. Multiple IAAB students and alumni reported experiencing harassment and bullying at school and in public spaces in the past week. - 11/19/16
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President Rouhani Has Done Nothing to Free Political Prisoners and Is Being Called out for It - A prominent Iranian political analyst has criticized President Hassan Rouhani for reneging on his pledge to free political prisoners and opposition leaders. The centrist cleric's record as president will be heavily scrutinized ahead of Iran's May 2017 presidential election as he vies for a second term. - 11/19/16
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Iranian Officials Ignore Demands of Eight Ailing Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike - At least eight political prisoners are currently on life-threatening hunger strikes in Tehran and Karaj to demand better conditions and reviews of their unjust prison sentences. Even though at least one political prisoner in Iran has died as a result of his hunger strike, judicial officials have not only ignored the worsening conditions of the hunger strikers, but in some cases also punished them for their protests. - 11/18/16
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85 UN Member States Say Iran Must Improve Its Human Rights - The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomes the United Nations' adoption of a resolution expressing serious concern over numerous human rights violations in Iran, including the systematic use of arbitrary detention and discrimination against women and minorities, as well as the "alarmingly high" frequency and application of the death penalty in Iran. - 11/17/16
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Childhood's End: Forced Into Marriage At Age 10 In Iran - At first, it sounds like a charming love story: Playmates who grow up side by side in an Iranian village go on to get married. But when Leila was wedded to Ali, she was 10 years old. He was 15. "It was nighttime and I was asleep. My neighbors rang the doorbell and came in and put a ring on my finger," Leila, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda in an interview. "That's how I got married." -Golnaz Esfandiari - 11/17/16
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Baha'i Businesses Shuttered Across Iran in Ongoing Persecution Campaign - Dozens of businesses in Iran owned by members of the Baha'i faith have been indefinitely shut down by the authorities after some owners closed their establishments to honor the birthdays of two of the faith's holiest figures. - 11/17/16
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Iran discussing human rights issues with EU - Iran has recently entered a round of negotiations with the European Community representatives over human rights issues. A delegation of Iranian representative from the foreign ministry and the judiciary are attending these meeting. Majid Takhtravanchi, Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister and member of the said delegation commented on the negotiations saying the talks with the EU over human rights will be long and must be kept at a technical level avoiding any form of "politicization" of the matter. - 11/13/16
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Trial of Seven Leading Members of Banned Iranian Reformist Party Postponed - The trial of seven former reformist politicians who have been charged with "assembly and collusion against national security" and "membership in an illegal group" was postponed after Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court agreed to a request from their defense lawyers for more time to prepare. - 11/12/16
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Activist Imprisoned in Iran for Protesting Against Acid Attacks on Hunger Strike - Ali Shariati, who was imprisoned in 2015 for participating in a demonstration in front of Parliament against acid attacks on women, has gone on hunger strike "in protest against his forced return to prison to serve a sentence that has no legal basis," said his mother, Shayesteh-ol-Sadat Shahidi. - 11/11/16
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Judiciary Chief Accuses Rouhani of Hypocrisy Amid Battle Over Freedom of Expression in Iran - Shortly after criticizing attacks on freedom of expression in Iran, President Hassan Rouhani was accused of hypocrisy by Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani, who claimed he had been asked by Rouhani to shut down a newspaper. - 11/10/16
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Iranians Citizenship Rights Charter awaiting thumbs-up: Presidential Advisor - Iran says it has finished a draft of the long-waited-for Citizenship Rights Charter after it underwent a thorough revision, now awaiting for an approval by the Majlis (Iran's parliament), government, or cabinet. - 11/9/16
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Ailing Music Distributor Refuses Hospital Treatment, Vows to Hunger Strike Until Demands Met - Imprisoned music distributor Mehdi Rajabian, who is currently on hunger strike with his brother Hossein Rajabian, has refused hospital treatment for his deteriorating health. The Rajabians were previously tricked into ending their hunger strike before there demands were met. - 11/8/16
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Iran: Briefly Freed After Long Hunger Strikes, Three Teachers' Rights Leaders Ordered Back to Prison - Prominent teachers' rights leaders Jafar Azimzadeh, Esmail Abdi, and Mahmoud Beheshti-Langroudi-who had all been previously imprisoned for their peaceful activism and released in 2016 on bail after going on long hunger strikes-were summoned back to prison in October 2016. - 11/7/16
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Prominent, Ailing Human Rights Lawyer Sees 64th Birthday Pass by in Evin Prison - "I hope my father will be freed soon and his next birthday will not be in Evin Prison," said Maedeh Soltani, the daughter of imprisoned prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, on Nov 1, 2016-his 64th birthday. - 11/5/16
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Elderly Baha'i Man Brutally Murdered Amid Islamic Republic's "Systematic Hatred" of Baha'is - Sixty-three-year old Farhang Amiri, a Baha'i man that was well-known in his community, was stabbed to death outside his home in the city of Yazd, 312 miles southeast of Tehran, on September 26, 2016, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned. - 11/5/16
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Editor Who Exposed Corruption in Tehran Municipality Remains Detained Despite Vindicating Evidence - New information has seriously challenged the credibility of the charges against Yashar Soltani, who was detained and charged with "spreading lies" and "gathering classified information with the intent to harm national security" after he published an unclassified letter exposing wide-spread corruptionin the Tehran Municipality. - 11/3/16
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Iran 'smart filters' 95 million explicit contents on Instagram - Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, touched upon the protection of cyberspace on social networks and the execution of the 'smart filtering' project that has been introduced by Rouhani administration to allow access, albeit restricted, to more social networks that contain explicit content. - 11/3/16
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IRAN: Pressured by Hardline Group and Revolutionary Guards, University Forces Former Political Prisoner out of Teaching Job - Hengameh Shahidi, a former reformist journalist and political prisoner, has been fired from her teaching position at an Iranian university following threats of violence from a hardline conservative group and pressure from the Revolutionary Guards. - 11/1/16
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Iranian Activists Detained For Celebrating Persian Emperor - Iranian authorities have detained several organizers of a gathering attended by thousands marking the birth of the pre-Islamic King Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. - 10/31/16
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Iranian-American Vows to Hunger Strike Until Death If Authorities Uphold 18-Year Prison Sentence - Iranian-American dual citizen Reza (Robin) Shahini, who was handed an 18-year prison sentence in Iran in October 2016, has vowed to go on hunger strike until his death if the sentence is not reversed on appeal. "This is a tyrannical sentence," an informed source close to the case told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. "If the sentence is not thrown out, he will go on a hunger strike until his death because he won't be able to tolerate such a heavy sentence..." - 10/31/16
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Iranian-American Tackles Big Brother with Performance Art - Advocacy, coupled with an interrogation of her cultural heritage, is at the soul of Persian-American artist Amy Khoshbin's video and performance art. She's currently in residence at Mana Contemporary, as part of Mana BSMT, the museum's collaborative hub supporting emerging artists, where her performative installation The Myth of Layla is on view through November 12. -Creators Project - 10/31/16
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Iranian Political Prisoner Remains Jailed Two Years After Family Posts $362K Bail Amount - Two years ago the family of political prisoner Maryam Akbari-Monfared posted an unusually high bail amount for her temporary release on furlough, but her husband says Iran's Intelligence Ministry is blocking her release from Evin Prison's Women's Ward, where she has been held since 2009. - 10/31/16
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Call for Iran to Release Imprisoned British-Iranians Heats Up As Families and MPs Petition UK Government - The petitions were delivered on October 24, 2016 with a letter co-signed by 117 Members of Parliament (MPs) and members of the House of Lords calling for the release of 77-year-old Kamal Foroughi, 37-year-old new mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and 50-year-old Roya Saberinejad Nobakht. - 10/30/16
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Mother Who Founded Group Memorializing Massacred Iranian Political Prisoners of 1988 Summoned to Court After Flight Ban - Mansoureh Behkish has been banned from leaving Iran and summoned to court for her role in founding the "Mothers of Laleh Park," also known as the "Mourning Mothers of Iran," a group formed by mothers whose children were killed in the Islamic Republic's massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988. - 10/30/16
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European Union reaches out to Iran over Afghan refugees - Promises of more help for Afghan refugees made by the European Union aid chief on his visit to Iran this month were not enough to dissuade Mariam Haidari from wanting to head to Europe. -Gabriela Baczynska, Reuters - 10/27/16
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Iran's Judiciary Should Release Siamak and Baquer Namazi and Allow Them Full Defense in Appeals Court - The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran calls on Iran's Judiciary to immediately release on bail the unjustly imprisoned Iranian-American dual citizens Siamak Namazi and his father, Bagher Namazi, and allow them to prepare for the Appeals Court with legal counsel and full due process. - 10/26/16
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Iranian authorities dragged a writer to prison for writing an unpublished story - On 24 October 2016, Iranian intelligence authorities broke the apartment door of writer and human rights activist Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, raided her apartment and took her by force to serve a 6 year prison sentence for writing a story on stoning women in Islam, that was never published. - 10/25/16
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Iranian-American Citizen Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison - An Iranian-American dual citizen who has been jailed in Iran since July has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of collaborating with the United States and "insulting sanctities," one of his U.S.-based relatives told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. - 10/25/16
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Islamophobia in the Age of Trump - The frequency of anti-Muslim behavior in the United States is increasing at an alarming rate. A study released earlier this year by California State University-San Bernardino's Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism found that incidents of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab violence increased drastically from 2014 to 2015, by 78.2% and 219% respectively, reaching levels that haven't been seen since the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. -Derek Davison, LobeLog - 10/24/16
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Ayatollah Montazeri's Son Legally Defends Releasing Audio File of Father Denouncing 1988 Mass Execution of Prisoners - Ahmad Montazeri, the son of late Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri-the once successor to Iran's first supreme leader-has been charged with "acting against national security" and "revealing state secrets" for publishing an audio recording of his father denouncing the Islamic Republic's mass execution of prisoners in 1988. - 10/22/16
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Wife Of Iranian-Austrian Jailed In Iran Proclaims His Innocence - The wife of an Iranian-Austrian man sentenced recently by an Iranian court to 10 years in prison on spying charges has told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that her husband is a "simple businessman" unjustly imprisoned. - 10/21/16
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Azeri Rights Activist in Critical Condition After Starting Second Hunger Strike in Tabriz Prison - Imprisoned Azeri rights activist Rasoul Razavi has received emergency medical treatment on several occasions since he started a hunger strike in Tabriz Prison on October 3, 2016, an informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. - 10/21/16
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Two Iranian Labor Rights Activist Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Peaceful Activism - Labor rights activists Jafar Azimzadeh and Shapour Ehsani-Rad were sentenced to 11 years in prison each for their peaceful activism on October 15, 2016 by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in the city of Saveh, 76 miles southwest of Tehran. - 10/20/16
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Iran Rejects U.S. Interference Over Jailed Dual Nationals - Iran says it won't accept any U.S. "interference" after Washington demanded the release of an Iranian-American businessman and his 80-year-old father. Iranian officials announced on October 18 that Siamak and Baquer Namazi had been jailed for 10 years for "espionage and collaboration with the American government." - 10/19/16
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Six-Year Prison Sentence Against Teachers Union Leader Upheld After Pressure by Revolutionary Guards - Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court has upheld the six-year prison sentence against Esmail Abdi, the chairman of the Iranian Teachers' Trade Association, confirmed Abdi in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. - 10/19/16
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A political prisoner is challenging Iranian state impunity while serving a 15 year sentence - Maryam Akbari Monfared is a political prisoner in Iran serving a 15 year sentence and is now taking the state judiciary to court for the unlawful execution of four of her siblings and the imprisonment of her mother, all of whom were political prisoners in the 1980s in Iran. Akbari Monfared, a mother of three, has another brother alive and he is also a political prisoner currently serving a 17-year sentence in Iran. - 10/19/16
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NIAC Strongly Condemns Iran's Sentencing of Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Urges Their Release - NIAC President Trita Parsi released the following statement after Siamak and Baquer Namazi were reportedly sentenced to ten-year terms in prison: "The sentencing of Siamak and Baquer Namazi to ten-year prison terms is a gross injustice that should deeply embarrass the Iranian government. We urge Iran to immediately release the Namazis - as well as all dual nationals unjustly detained in Iran on spurious charges - so that they can reunite with their families. - 10/19/16
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Iran Sentences Iranian-American Businessman, His Father Each To 10 Years - An Iranian-American businessman and his 80-year-old father have reportedly been given 10 years in prison each for cooperation with the United States. Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer Namazi, were jailed for "collaborating with the hostile American government," the Mizan news agency reported on October 18. - 10/18/16
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Muhammad Ali's Widow Calls on Iran to Free Imprisoned Iranian-American Son and Father - The widow of American boxing legend Muhammad Ali has called on Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, to free Iranian-Americans Siamak Namazi and his father Bagher Namazi. "I would like to request that your Excellency show Islamic mercy towards these two individuals who are pure-hearted citizens of our world, and allow these Muslims to be reunited with their family in this holy month (Muharram, marking the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala on the first month of the Islamic calendar)," wrote Lonnie Ali in a letter to Khamenei. - 10/18/16
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Letter From Political Prisoners: Prison conditions in Iran cause slow death of prisoners - In a letter addressed to Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on Iran, Amnesty International and Human rights Watch, a group of political prisoners in Rejaishahr Prison in Karaj protest against the violation of their basic rights as prisoners. - 10/18/16
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Iran Hard-Liners Release Video Showing Detained Iranian-American Businessman - Iranian hard-line media have released a video showing detained Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi. Iran's judiciary news agency posted a minute-long video on October 17 showing a montage of clips including Namazi in a conference room, his arms raised at his sides, and his U.S. passport. - 10/17/16
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Iran Detains 11 Involved In Online Modeling Network - Iranian authorities say they have detained 11 members of a modeling network. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said the network was involved in producing and publishing pornographic pictures and spreading "depravity" in society. - 10/17/16
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Iranian Lawmakers Call For Release Of Activist Narges Mohammadi - A group of Iranian lawmakers have written an open letter to the head of the judiciary calling for the release of Narges Mohammadi, a journalist and activist who is serving a lengthy prison sentence. Mohammadi was arrested last year after launching a campaign to end the death penalty in Iran. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison in May for founding the movement, which was deemed to be an illegal splinter group. - 10/17/16
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Actions Speak Louder Than Words in Iran's Death Penalty Debate, Says Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi - Despite statements from some Iranian officials doubting the value of capital punishment, no action has been taken to end or reduce the high number of executions in the country, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. - 10/16/16
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Prominent Iranian Rights Activist Narges Mohammadi Rejects Prison Sentence in Stinging Open Letter - In an open letter from Evin Prison prominent human rights defender Narges Mohammadi has strongly rejected the Appeals Court's decision upholding her harsh prison sentence, describing it as a "tyrannical" way to silence her activism. - 10/15/16
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Attorney Arrested in Iran for Wearing Green Movement Shirt - An attorney has been arrested in western Iran for wearing a shirt honoring the Green Movement, an informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. "Mohammad Najafi was arrested on October 11 [2016] in Shazand, Markazi Province, by agents of the Intelligence Ministry - 10/15/16
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Ten Things You Should Know About Iran's Multi-Billion Dollar National Internet Project - A few months after the Iranian government launched the first phase of its "national information network" (NIN), many questions still surround Iran's domestically hosted, state-controlled and censored internet. In this article, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran discusses ten critical questions about NIN, the country's most expensive internet-related project. - 10/14/16
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Seven Years Later No Iranian Official Held Accountable for 5 Deaths and Torture of Dozens at Kahrizak - Families of the detainees who died after they were tortured in the Kahrizak Detention Center in 2009 and survivors have told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that their quest for justice has gotten nowhere. Some of the cases brought by the families resulted in the conviction of low-level agents while other cases were closed with an acquittal or no ruling, but no high-level official has been held accountable for the deaths of the detainees. The mysterious death of the doctor who exposed the abuses at Kahrizak, Ramin Pourandarjani, was never investigated. - 10/13/16
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Iran: Overturn Stadium Restrictions for Women - The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) should cease awarding Iran the right to host FIVB international tournaments until the country ensures that female spectators can freely attend volleyball matches in the country, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Ary Graca, the sports federation's leader. Graca was re-elected as the FIVB's president at the sports federation's 35th World Congress this week in Buenos Aires. - 10/13/16
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Iranian Child Bride Faces Death Penalty - Human rights activists say an Iranian former child bride, whose execution was delayed while she was pregnant, could be executed in the coming days. Zeinab Sekaanvand, a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, was convicted of killing her husband, whom she says beat her for months. - 10/12/16
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Report Cites Child Marriage For Girls As Major Problem - A new report using UN statistics estimates there are about 700 million girls around the world who were forced to get married before the age of 18. The Save the Children report -- issued on October 11 to mark International Day Of The Girl Child -- said a girl under 15 is forced into marriage every seven seconds and that many girls only 10 years of age are being forced to marry. - 10/11/16
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IRAN: Former Political Prisoner Transported from Workplace to Prison Without Summons - Former political prisoner Navid Kamran has been transported to Evin Prison in Tehran to begin serving a one-year prison sentence for "propaganda against the state" without a summons, an informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Kamran previously told the Campaign that he had been convicted on recycled charges. - 10/11/16
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Iran Rights Champion's Latest Prison Term Aimed At 'Instilling Fear,' Says Exiled Husband - When Narges Mohammadi's activist husband resolved in 2012 to leave Iran to escape yet another jail sentence connected to his political activities, she stayed behind with their two children. "She believed she could be more effective inside the country," Taghi Rahmani, a political activist who had been in and out of Iranian prisons for two decades and had a conviction hanging over his head, said of his wife recently from Paris, where he has since been joined by their 9-year-old twins. -Golnaz Esfandiari - 10/10/16
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Iran Temporarily Releases Hunger-Striking Journalist Ehsan Mazandarani - Iran has temporarily released a journalist for medical treatment after he suffered from health problems following a hunger strike. Ehsan Mazandarani, editor in chief of the reformist Farhikhtegan daily, was arrested in November 2015 and sentenced in April to seven years in prison after being convicted of charges that included "acting against national security." His prison sentence was reportedly later reduced to two years. - 10/10/16
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Iran Cultural Official Resigns Over Concert In Holy City Of Qom - A senior cultural official has resigned after protests by conservative religious authorities over a concert in Iran's holy Shi'ite city of Qom where many of Iran's senior ayatollahs are based. Iranian media report that Abbas Daneshi, head of the department of culture in Qom, resigned due to discontent among senior theologians over the event held last month. - 10/10/16
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Iran says may limit death penalty for traffickers to drug lords - The secretary of Iran's Human Rights Council has said Tehran may reconsider capital punishment for drug smugglers, limiting it to drug lords only, seemingly a setback from a tougher stance taken previously. "Capital punishment should be limited to drug lords. This will cut the number of executions (in Iran) immediately," said Mohammad Javad Larijani in an interview with O Estadao, a daily published in Sao Paulo, Brazil. - 10/9/16
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Iran Refuses to Release Prisoner of Conscience Mohammad Ali Taheri - When Iranian officials come to the United Nations, they are usually met with questions about their human rights practices, particularly the arrest of dual nationals. This year was no different as interlocutors brought up the cases of Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer; another Iranian-American, Robin Shahini; a British-Iranian mother, Nazenin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was seized while visiting her parents with her toddler daughter and Homa Hoodfar, an academic and specialist on women's issues from Canada. -Barbara Slavin - 10/6/16
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Iran Says It Released Homa Hoodfar for "Humanitarian" Reasons - "I didn't feel I would be released until I was on the jet. In Iran, nothing is complete until it is complete," said Iranian-Canadian dual national and academic Homa Hoodfar on September 26, 2016 after landing at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport following her release from Evin Prison where she was held since June 2016. "As they say in Iran, nothing is possible and everything is possible." - 10/6/16
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President Rouhani Press Bills Would Further Erode Press Freedom in Iran - The government of President Hassan Rouhani is preparing to introduce two bills to Parliament that media experts and journalists say could further erode press freedom and freedom of expression in Iran. The first bill is designed to replace the current Press Law and the second would create a state organization to rival independent journalism groups. - 10/5/16
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More Than 150 Members of Iran's Parliament Call for Ending Execution of Petty Drug Traffickers - The majority of Iran's MPs have signed a proposal to amend a current law that would make it harder to condemn drug-related criminals to death, according to Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, a member of Parliament's Legal and Judicial Committee. He told the state ISNA news agency on October 4 that the amendment, signed by more than 150 MPs, was ready to be handed to the full Parliament for deliberation. - 10/5/16
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Iran's Revolutionary Guards Push Harsh Prison Sentences for Activists - In another example of the Iranian Judiciary's lack of independence, an Appeals Court has upheld disproportionate prison sentences against four civil rights activists following pressure by the Revolutionary Guards, the activists told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Fatemeh (Atena) Daemi and Omid Alishenas have each been sentenced to seven years in prison while Aso Rostami and Ali Nouri have each been sentenced to two years in prison. - 10/4/16
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My wife, imprisoned in Iran for six months and counting - Today marks six months since my wife, Nazanin, was taken and put in an Iranian prison. It marks six months since Gabriella, our two-year-old daughter, had her passport confiscated so that she would be kept in Iran. Nazanin is a charity worker in the UK. Nazanin and Gabriella were in Iran on holiday, visiting Nazanin's parents. On April 3, while on their way home, Nazanin was arrested at the airport check-in desk. Since then it has been another world. -Richard Ratcliffe - 10/4/16
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US Journalist Sues Iran, Says He Was Tortured - A U.S. journalist who was jailed in Iran for 18 months has filed a federal lawsuit against the Iranian government, claiming he was taken hostage and tortured in an attempt to extract concessions from the U.S. government. Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian said in the suit that he was targeted for arrest so Iran could gain negotiating leverage with the United States and to ultimately exchange him "for something of value to Iran." - 10/4/16
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U.S., EU Call On Iran To Free Jailed Death Penalty Activist - The United States and European Union on September 30 called on Iran to free Narges Mohammadi, a journalist and activist whose 16-year prison sentence was recently upheld by Iranian courts. - 10/1/16
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Imprisoned Iranian Journalist Denied Knee Operation - Imprisoned newspaper columnist Afarin Chitsaz urgently needs a knee operation, but the authorities have refused to allow her to be transferred to a hospital, according to her lawyer. - 10/1/16
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Iranian Union Leader: Less Pressure on Teachers Thanks to Rights Activists - The leader of Iran's largest teachers' rights organization has said that due to pressure from civil rights activists, the government of President Hassan Rouhani has been less repressive towards teachers' rights activists since the signing of the nuclear deal in July 2015. - 9/30/16
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Upholding 16-Year Prison Sentence of Iranian Political Prisoner Narges Mohammadi is Indefensible - The upholding of the 16-year prison sentence against human rights defender Narges Mohammadi by Iran's Appeals Court for her peaceful work is cruel and indefensible, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a statement today. Mohammadi, winner of the 2011 Per Anger Prize for her activism in human rights, was arrested in 2009 - 9/29/16
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'It's wonderful to be home,' Homa Hoodfar says after landing in Montreal - Homa Hoodfar arrived in Montreal this morning to hugs and cheers after being detained in an Iranian prison since June. "It's wonderful to be home and united with family and friends again," Hoodfar said at a news conference at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, as she smiled and clutched the hand of her niece, Amanda Ghahremani. -CBC/Radio-Canada - 9/29/16
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Baha'i Student Expelled and Banned from University for His Faith - Iranian authorities have ignored requests to reinstate a student expelled from a university because of his faith. Nineteen-year-old Faraz Karin-Kani Sisan was expelled from Ghiyaseddin Jamshid Kashani Institute for Higher Education (GJKI) in Abyek, Alborz Province, 62 miles northwest of Tehran, after completing his second term in development studies. - 9/28/16
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Iran Releases Canadian-Iranian Professor Detained on 'Security Charges' - Iran says it has released a retired Canadian-Iranian professor, who had been detained on "security charges." A foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said Homa Hoodfar was released on humanitarian grounds. - 9/26/16
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