Iran’s Ministry of Communications and IT announced that it is developing a system to overhaul internet filtering in the country. Mahmoud Vaezi, the Minister of Communications and IT, told the Fars news agency: “Three groups are now working on creating a system of filtering aimed at inappropriate content as opposed to everything on a […]
Category: Sufi news
Prosecutor Prevented Political Prisoners in Ward 350 from Education
Nine political prisoners in ward 350 of Evin prison (including four Gonabadi Dervishes) have been banned from participate in university exam under the order of Tehran Prosecutor General.According to HRANA News Agency, Mohammad Sadigh Kaboudvand, Omid Koukabi, Farshid Yadollahi, Amir Eslami, Omid Behroozi, Afshin Karampour, Mehdi Doulati, Mehdi Fazelifar and Sina Azimi have been […]
Joint open letter to Iranian president Rouhani
We, the undersigned representatives of human rights and civil society organizations, are writing to express our concern at the continuing and systematic state persecution of individuals perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. For at least the past decade, the authorities have used articles of the Islamic Penal Code criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual […]
Pressure on Dervishes to Close Their House of Worship in the City of Nayriz
Recently, threats and pressures on Gonabadi Dervishes and violations of their rights has intensified by Basij militia and extremist religious groups with the aim of closing mystic religious ceremonies of the Dervishes in the city of Nayriz, situated in Fars province, Iran.According to Majzooban Noor, over recent days new efforts by extremist religious groups […]
Obama To Veto Any New Iran Sanctions
The White House has vowed that President Barack Obama will veto any legislation imposing new U.S. sanctions on Iran. The threat was issued December 19 after 26 senators – or more than one-quarter of the Senate – introduced new Iranian sanctions legislation. The measure, backed by 13 Republicans and 13 lawmakers from Obama’s Democratic […]
Ghaemi: Keep the Focus on Iran’s Human Rights
The recent interim nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 powers is a welcome development for most Iranians. It is a major step in the right direction, addressing many of their pressing concerns: it reduces international tensions, provides a diplomatic path to avoid a military confrontation, promises to make the country’s nuclear activities transparent […]
Iran reacts harshly to UN human rights resolution
Iran has condemned the new UN resolution against human rights violations in Iran, describing it as “a misuse of human rights.” IRNA reports that Marzieh Afkham, the spokeswoman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said: “The Islamic Republic condemns such self-serving acts by Western countries and the misuse of human rights against independent countries, and […]
Amnesty International: Charter of Citizens’ Rights must enshrine human rights for all
A draft Iranian human rights charter being consulted on this month by the Office of the President should be amended to address major gaps in the protection of human rights, Amnesty International urged today. The organization has written to the President’s Deputy on Legal Affairs to welcome the initiative, but called on the authorities […]
Ebadi: Citizenship Charter Is Redundant Distraction from Justice
Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate and human rights lawyer, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran in an exclusive interview that the draft Citizenship Rights Charter published by Hassan Rouhani in November to solicit input from analysts is redundant and ineffectual, and “is in fact a tool to distract those who […]
UN Criticizes Tehran On Human Rights Violations
The UN General Assembly has approved a resolution criticizing Iran for serious rights violations including torture and its “alarming” and frequent use of the death penalty. The resolution also welcomes human rights pledges by Iran’s new president, Hassan Rohani, such as eliminating discrimination against women and members of ethnic minorities. But the resolution criticizes […]