Tragic news about the deaths of wife and mother of an exiled political prisoner on their way back from visiting him in Masjed-e Soleyman Prison has shocked Iranians worldwide. Nahid Rahmani, mother, and Ziba Sadeghzadeh, wife, of Amir Reza (Payman) Arefi, were on their way back from their monthly trip to Masjed-e-Soleyman (500 miles […]
Category: Sufi news
Second worst year on record for jailed journalists
For the second consecutive year, Turkey was the world’s leading jailer of journalists, followed closely by Iran and China. The number of journalists in prison globally decreased from a year earlier but remains close to historical highs. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser Published December 18, 2013 Turkey, Iran, and China accounted for […]
CPJ: Turkey, Iran, China Lead World In Jailing Journalists
Turkey, Iran, and China are the top jailers of journalists, according to a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) media watchdog. More than half of all the imprisoned reporters, bloggers, and editors in the world are in those three countries, the CPJ said. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan also made the top 10 […]
Interview With an Ayatollah
When it comes to Iranian clerics, Grand Ayatollah Youssef Saanei has long defied convention. Over the years, he has issued edicts that uphold women’s rights. He also preaches what in this society is a reformist political line and advocates rapprochement between Iran and the United States. It’s little wonder, then, that during the administration […]
European delegation meeting with Sotoudeh and Panahi slammed
Iranian hardliners have criticized the foreign ministry for a meeting between the European Parliamentary delegation and Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer, and Panahi, an Iranian filmmaker, were both jailed following the Iranian election protests of 2009. Last year, the two also became recipients of the European […]
Environment official notes Iran’s dismal performance
The head of Iran’s Department of the Environment says Iran has fallen 63 spots in the Environmental Performance Index in recent years. IRNA quoted Massoumeh Ebtekar as saying that many of the current problems are due to the bad policies of the former administration, adding: “Now President Rohani is putting special emphasis on environmental […]
Six Sunni Kurdish prisoners banned from having visitors
Mokhtar Rahimi, Shahram Ahmadi, Kaveh Vaisi, Kaveh Sharifi, Taleb Maleki and Behrouz Shanhnazari, six of Sunni prisoners in ward 350 of Evin prison have been banned from being visited by their families since four months ago. According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), these prisoners who are sentenced […]
Iranian Official: EU’s Ashton Reassures Tehran On Nuke Deal
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton has reassured Iran that world powers are committed to an agreement reducing Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for easing sanctions against Iran. Araghchi made his comments in Brussels after talks with Ashton. He said technical talks between the world powers and Iranian […]
More Detained Social Network Users: Forced Confessions Feared
The IRGC Intelligence Unit has arrested two individuals active on Facebook, in a continuing wave of arrests against Internet and social media users and professionals. Mohammad Amin Akrami and Mehdi Rayshahri Tangestani are the latest detainees of IRGC, according to Kaleme Website. Over the past two weeks there have been numerous arrests of IT […]
Weekly report on Human Right Violation in Iran (16-12-2013)
Responses to Human Rights Abuses in Iran 1 .The group known as Reporters-Without-Borders issued a statement in which it condemns what is now classified as the “new wave of persecutions of activists spreading news and information”3. During the past week, Esrafeel Soltaniyan, a prisoner of section 209 of Evin prison, who suffers from disabilities […]