Amnesty International – The arrests indicate that the Iranian authorities are once again choosing to restrict freedom of expression and association in an apparent attempt to disrupt public discourse and potential criticism of the authorities’ record in various spheres including human rights and economic performance in advance of the start of the election campaign.
Tag: Elections
Ahead of Elections, Arrests and Coerced Confessions Ramp Up
Authorities Intensify Campaign Against BBC PersianJournalists and Their Family Members Targeted(2 February 2012) The Iranian judiciary should immediately stop its widespread campaign of intimidation against journalists and their family members, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.
Iran: New Assault on Freedom of Information – Journalists, Bloggers Arrested Ahead of Elections
Source: Human Rights WatchIranian authorities should immediately charge or release at least 10 journalists and bloggers arrested since the beginning of 2012, Human Rights Watch said today. The arrests appear to be part of the government’s most recent campaign to disrupt the free flow of information ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2.
Ebadi calls for boycott of elections, release of leaders
Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate, is throwing her support behind the 39 Iranian political prisoners calling for an election boycott and the release of Iran’s opposition leaders from house arrest.
Rafsanjani calls for open elections
The moderate Iranian cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is calling for the inclusion and participation of all groups and all political stripes in the coming parliamentary elections.
Judiciary spokesman says boycotting future elections is a crime
http://isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1923440[In a press conferecen] Hojatel Islam Val Moslemin Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeyi cited those who bring up the issue of boycotting the elections and said that “if the statements of these people endanger security and these people invite others to seditions naturally this measure is a crime”…
Revolutionary Guards chief warns against elections protests
General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, has warned that the “enemy” is planning “street disturbances and social protests” around the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Election roll for parliamentary elections drops by 30%
The number of candidates registered in Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections has dropped by 30 percent from previous elections.
Detained opposition leader calls elections a sham
Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi says the Islamic Republic government is trying to turn the upcoming parliamentary elections into a repeat of the fraudulent 2009 election.
Military-Security Alert for Elections
These days, the post-2009-election events loom large in the psyche of Iranian leaders and officials, and as the March 2012 parliamentary elections inch closer, senior regime authorities express concern about the repetition of those events.