While known political groups and religious personalities in Iran have not yet taken steps for the next parliamentary elections, except for the newly-created groups who have their eyes on the moderate seats in the 290-seat Majlis, news reports indicate that the few remaining critics in the Majlis will not find their way into the […]
Category: Sufi news
Reliance on Ethnocentric Solutions Equates to Deceiving Women
Through the pretext of defending Islamic values, it has been claimed for the last thirty six years that relying on international provisions and documents will not correct the gender discriminations that exist against women in Iran’s traditional society. It is only through reforming religion, the claim goes, that violence against women at the minimum […]
Mousavi fears for health of wife without treatments
MirHosein Mousavi, the Iranian opposition leader who has been under house arrest with his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, since 2011, has spoken out against the failure of the authorities to provide adequate medical treatment for his wife. The Kaleme website published a report regarding the condition of the two opposition leaders under detention. The report […]
Health minister cites rising violence as problem in Iran
Iran’s minister of health says Iranian society is prone to violence and needs to re-examine the issue in order to overcome it. In a memo entitled “Finding a Solution for Violence in Society” that was published in the Etelaat daily on Saturday December 6, Hassan Ghazizadeh writes that he spoke at length in the […]
Amended law could reduce drug-related executions
Iran’s Commissioner of Human Rights Mohammad Javad Larijani says his office is making a concentrated effort to change capital punishment linked to drug charges, which would result in a considerable decline in executions in Iran. The Islamic Republic has been repeatedly criticized by international organizations and Western countries for the high number of executions in […]
Animal Rights Activist Arrested in Iran
An animal rights activist has been arrested in Iran. Friends and relatives of Ali Tabarzadi believe his arrest is related to a call he and others had made for a protest on December 5 in support of animal rights and against the killing of stray dogs and cats. Authorities have not provided a reason […]
Hunger strikers defy threats of execution
Twenty-seven political prisoners in Ward 12 of Urumieh Central Prison are continuing their hunger strike to protest their mistreatment by prison authorities. One of the prisoners, Alireza Rasouli, is reportedly in grave health. His hunger strike has now reached 25 days. A report by the Campaign for the Rights of Political and Civil Prisoners […]
Nuclear agency seeks more money to monitor Iran
Yukiya Amano, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, has called for a larger budget to continue monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities, now that Iran and the 5+1 have extended their nuclear negotiations until July 1, 2015. Unofficial reports indicate that Amano is going to request a budget of $5 million from the board of […]
Wife of pastor held in Iran appears before UN Human Rights Council
Nagmeh Abedini, the wife of 33-year-old U.S. Pastor Saeed Abedini, imprisoned in Iran, has gone before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva to plead for help in securing his release. The Iranian-American was arrested in September and is a prisoner in in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.The Iranian authorities took him into custody […]
Watchdog Says World Internet Freedom In Decline
A U.S.-based rights watchdog says Internet freedom around the world has deteriorated for the fourth consecutive year, with the steepest declines in Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. In its “Freedom On The Net 2014” report, released on December 4, Freedom House says that Iran, Syria, and China are the world’s worst abusers of overall Internet […]