03.11.2014 – ISNA photographer released on bail Reporters Without Borders has learned that Arya Jafari, a photographer with the ISNA news agency, was released on bail on 1 November. Plainclothesmen arrested him after searching his home in Isfahan on 23 October because he covered a demonstration by about 100 people outside the lawcourts in […]
Category: Sufi news
Reporters Without Borders: Acid attacks on women – new grounds for harassing journalists
Embarrassed by a public outcry about a spate of acid attacks on women in the central city of Isfahan since the start of October, the Iranian authorities have been threatening news media and arresting journalists and netizens. After at least seven women had been the victims of acid attacks, scores of demonstrators gathered outside […]
Acid Attacks On Girls’ Faces, The First Pace For Enjoining Good
Defenders for Human Rights Centre Publishes Report on Iran’s Human Rights Situation in Month of Mehr 1393: Acid attacks on young women; a precursor to enforcement of “Enjoining Good, Proscribing Vice” Law Friday 2 Aban 1393, 24 October 2014 In continuation of its monthly reports, the Defenders for Supporters of Human Rights Centre (DHRC), […]
Attorneyship Bill Challenges the Independence of Lawyers
The Government’s recent decision to resume the process of adopting the Formal Attorneyship Bill, by presenting it to the parliament, has reignited concerns among Iranian lawyers and jurists over the potential impact of the proposed bill in further undermining the independence of lawyers in Iran. In my October 2012 report to the UN General […]
Iran prepares to launch more selective internet censorship
The Ministry of Communications announced on Sunday November 9 that within six months it will implement “smart filtering” on the internet. Communications Minister Mahmoud Vaezi announced that the first step of this “smart filtering” will be implemented within a month. Smart filtering is supposed to be a more targeted form of censorship that blocks […]
Basij forces given go ahead to enforce hijab compliance
Iranian Parliament has approved a bill allowing Basij forces to give verbal warnings to people in public regarding their compliance with the Islamic dress code. ISNA reports that the Basij organization now has official permission to proceed to the “verbal warning” level in enforcing the Islamic dress code in public. The Rohani administration has […]
Message from world volleyball body may be linked to Qavami
It appears that the World Federation of Volleyball may be trying to pressure Iran regarding Ghoncheh Qavami, the Iranian woman who was arrested following her attempt to enter a stadium to see a volleyball game in Tehran. The Mehr News Agency reports that Ari Grasa, the head of the World Federation of Volleyball, has […]
Seasoned broadcast exec to lead Seda va Sima
Mohammad Sarafraz has been appointed the head of Iran’s national broadcasting service, Seda va Sima, replacing Ezzatollah Zarghami at the end of his 10-year tenure. Sarafraz, the deputy head of foreign broadcasting for Seda va Sima, was appointed by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to a five-year term as leader of the organization, Iranian […]
Amnesty International: Protection of human rights must go beyond fine words
The Iranian authorities’ decision to withhold their position on all the recommendations made during the country’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) until the next session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2015 should not be another delaying tactics to avoid criticism, said Amnesty International. The authorities should rather use this time to […]
This week in human rights in Iran (October)
Women’s Rights Reyhaneh Jabbari was executed on October 25, drawing worldwide condemnation. Jabbari, who was in prison since 2007 and whose execution was postponed on October 1, was sentenced to death for killing a man she claimed tried to rape her. Domestic and international rights group have argued that the killing was in self-defense […]