Category: Human Rights

Journalist Nazila Maroufian was re-arrested on August 30, 2023, at her residence in Tehran by security forces. The subsequent transfer of Maroufian to the Ershad Courthouse unfolded amidst distressing circumstances, as she reportedly endured physical mistreatment during the apprehension. According to a source close to her family, on Wednesday morning, security forces forcibly entered Maroufian’s residence, breaking down the door. The incident escalated as Maroufian was subjected to physical aggression. The agents confiscated some of her personal belongings and transferred her to the Ershad Courthouse for further proceedings. Maroufian’s family…

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Nazila Haghar, a Baha’i citizen, has received a five-year prison sentence from the Tehran Revolutionary Court, a verdict that was subsequently affirmed on appeal on August 20, 2023. In a trial in absentia, Haghar was handed down a five-year sentence for “membership in an illegal group aimed at undermining national security.” The court cited her involvement in organizing educational programs for children as evidence of this charge. In July 2022, security forces conducted a thorough search of her residence and confiscated some of the items belonging to her and her…

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The Tehran Court of Appeals has upheld an eight-year sentence against Farhad Hafezi Semnani (Azarm). Pursuant to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a five-year prison term will be enforceable. Originally, the Tehran Revolutionary Court had issued a verdict of five years on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security,” one year for “propaganda against the regime,” and an additional two years for “insulting former and current Supreme Leaders of Iran.”

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The Tehran Court of Appeals has handed down an eleven-year sentence to Azerbaijani (Turk) activist Mahmood Ojaghlou. Originally facing multiple charges, Ojaghlou had initially received a five-year term for “assembly and collusion against national security,” an additional year for “propaganda against the regime,” five more years for “affiliation with anti-regime groups that threaten national security,” and another five years for “incitement of individuals to participate in warfare.” Notably, the Court of Appeals has cleared him of the last accusation, leading to a reduced cumulative sentence of 11 years. Pursuant to…

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In a recent development, Afshin Naziri was apprehended by security forces in Tehran on August 29 and subsequently confined to Evin Prison. According to accounts, Naziri’s arrest transpired at his Tehran residence, where six plainclothes agents conducted the apprehension. His family was informed by the security forces that he would be prohibited from communicating with the outside world, including phone calls and visitations, for ten days. The motives behind this arrest and the charges brought against him remain unknown at this time.

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UN human rights experts* today expressed serious concerns about a violent crackdown against civil society in Iran, including members of workers’ unions and teachers arrested for protesting against their low salaries and poor working conditions, and urged those responsible for using excessive force to be held to account through comprehensive and independent investigations. “We are alarmed at the recent escalation of allegedly arbitrary arrests of teachers, labour rights defenders and union leaders, lawyers, human rights defenders and other civil society actors,” the experts said. In the past year, the Iranian…

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Former female cellmates of a group of wildlife conservationists who’ve been unjustly imprisoned in Iran since January 2018 penned the following letter as a tribute to their nature-loving friends on the occasion World Environment Day, June 5, 2022. The letter was initially written in Persian and provided to the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) along with the English version printed below. The signatories—formerly imprisoned in Iran on trumped-up charges with two of the conservationists, Sepideh Kashani and Niloufar Bayani—recognize the group, as well as their colleague Kavous Seyed-Emami,…

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Iranian authorities should revoke the death sentence against Iranian-born Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali, said the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner in a statement published today. Read the complete statement by spokesperson Liz Throssell below. Click here to learn more about Djalali’s case. We are deeply alarmed by the imminent execution in the Islamic Republic of Iran of Swedish-Iranian doctor and academic Ahmedreza Djalali and urgently call on the Iranian authorities to halt the execution and revoke his death sentence. Iranian authorities announced yesterday that while the execution currently…

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At least five protesters are dead amid a violent state crackdown on street demonstrations in Iran, while the authorities have blocked internet access in protest hot zones, pressured domestic media not to cover the protests, and arrested growing numbers of protesters and activists. Yet the protesters are refusing to back down; street demonstrations, currently in their second week, were reported in at least 20 cities across Iran at the time of this writing. “The Iranian people are in the streets to protest living costs and air grievances against their repressive…

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