More Executions In Iran As Elections Near: 58 Hanged in One Month

- According to figures released by officials or official agencies of the Islamic republic, at least 58 people, including two women, were hanged in Iran in the past month. Human rights activists tell Rooz that while the announced reasons for executions in Iran are criminal offences, they in fact take place with political goals. -Kaveh Ghoreishi, Rooz - 5/23/13

UN Sanctions on Iran: The Dance of Mutual Deniability

- In the last couple of years we have seen a return to aggressive, deeply damaging measures that are designed to cripple the target nation's economy as a whole, particularly in the case of Iran. The U.S. sanctions on Iran have been extreme, broadly prohibiting trade, shipping, banking transactions, and investment in Iran's energy sector. -Joy Gordon, Fletcher Forum - 5/23/13

Iran: Controversial candidates barred from running for president

- The Interior Ministry has announced the names of eight people approved by the Guardian Council to run the in the presidential election, and the names of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashai are not included in the list. - 5/22/13

Inspired by reformist candidate, Iranian political prisoner end of hunger strike

- Mehdi Khazali, a prominent Iranian political prisoner, has ended his hunger strike after 140 days following the announcement of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani's decision to run for president. - 5/22/13

Iran cracks down on activists in runup to election

- Human rights campaigners in Iran, speaking on condition of anonymity, say state repression has intensified in the runup to the polls on 14 June amid authorities' concern of a repeat of the anti-government protests that followed the 2009 election, which was described as a sedition led by the country's foreign enemies. -Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Guardian - 5/22/13

Iran Bars Election Candidacies of Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad Aide Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei

- Iran says a conservative body has barred two prominent figures from competing in next month's presidential election -- moderate former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and a leading conservative allied to current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. - 5/21/13

Iran's medicine imports fall by 54 percent

- Iran imported $34.2 million worth of medicine in the first Iranian calendar month of Farvardin (March 21-April 20), down 54.7 percent year on year. In November 2012, the health ministry of Iran called the Central Bank to earmark $2 billion for importing medicine to cope with the domestic shortage as a result of international sanctions. - 5/21/13

US Sees 'Climate of Intolerance' on Global Religious Freedom

- The U.S. law on religious freedom calls for naming other countries it considers to be committing "particularly severe violations of religious freedom." Under the law, the State Department two years ago named eight nations as "countries of particular concern" - Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan. - 5/21/13

Iranian Political Prisoners Recalled In advance Of Election

- Iranian judiciary is recalling political prisoners on furlough back to person in the lead up to the presidential elections on June 14. Massoud Bastani and Hossein Ronaghi were called back to Evin Prison on Saturday according to Kaleme opposition website. - 5/20/13

U.S. Quiet On Iran Women President Bar

- The United States has declined to take a firm stand after a member of Iran's electoral overseer said women will be barred from standing in Iran's June presidential election. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington would not comment on specific candidates. She also noted that Iranian authorities must approve all candidates. - 5/18/13

Iran's Intelligence Ministry summons independent candidate after meeting

- Independent presidential candidate Ghassem Sholeh Saadi was summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence after he met with a number of reporters and reformist youth. No details have been released about the reason for his summons. - 5/15/13

Four top UN human rights experts call for immediate release of seven imprisoned Iranian Baha'i leaders

- In a press release issued on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the arrest of the seven, the four experts emphasized that the seven are held solely because of their religious beliefs, that their continued imprisonment is unjust and wrongful, and that Iran's treatment of religious minorities violates international law. - 5/14/13

Iran: 203 city council elections candidates disqualified

- Two hundred and three hopefuls have not been approved as candidates for the fourth city council elections, which will be held simultaneously with the 11th presidential election on June 14. - 5/14/13

Jon Stewart Hosts Iran Censorship Event

- Highlighting the heightened censorship and the situation of journalists in Iran, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran hosted a screening of Iranian-Canadian director Maziar Bahari's film Forced Confessions in a joint event with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the PEN American Center on May 8 in New York. - 5/13/13

Iran: Reformists rejected as city council candidates

- Iranian media report that a large number of reformist candidates have been pronounced ineligible to run in the city council elections. Mohsen Hashemi, Masoumeh Ebtekar and Parvin Ahmadinejad are among the many well known faces in Iranian politics who were disqualified, according to ILNA. - 5/12/13

Iran Condemns Use Of Chemical Weapons

- Iran's foreign minister has condemned the use of chemical weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction. He noted that Iran -- which is a strong ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- was itself a victim of chemical attacks during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. - 5/12/13

'Iran's Lech Walesa' Says He Left Country After Death Threats

- Prominent Iranian union leader Mansur Osanlu, who recently fled that country, has told RFE/RL that death threats from inside government security circles drove him out of Iran. He warned that the atmosphere in the Islamic republic is becoming more repressive "day by day." -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 5/10/13

Hundreds Rally to Demand Freedom for Australia Refugees

- Vigils have been held across Australia to demand the release of more than 50 refugees who have been classified as a threat to national security. The detainees have all been granted asylum but are being held on the orders of Australia's intelligence services. - 5/10/13

Inhumanity and Illegality of Sanctions Justify Iran's Response

- Sanctions against Iran have negatively impacted the lives of the Iranian people, and they continue to do so despite lacking a legal foundation. If we recognize the inhumanity and illegality of sanctions, we can better understand the Iranian government's response to them. -Mahmoud Reza Golshanpazhooh - 5/9/13

Iranian Political Prisoners Moved From Solitary, End Hunger Strike

- The 10 Iranian political prisoners who were moved to solitary confinement and began a hunger strike to protest that move, have ended their strike after being returned to the general ward of the prison. - 5/9/13

Iranian Political Prisoners At Evin Begin Hunger Strike

- Ten Iranian political prisoners in Evin Prison have begun a hunger strike, the opposition website Kaleme reports. The 10 prisoners are currently in solitary confinement and are not being allowed any visits from their families. - 5/8/13

Iran: Security groups press reformist candidates to drop out

- Reformist candidates in the municipal elections are being threatened against running, an opposition website reports. The Kaleme website writes that reformist candidates are being summoned by security bodies to be dissuaded from running in the elections. - 5/8/13

Torture and Modern Government

- The latest news on torture in Iran is related to attorney Javid Hootan-Kian who has been imprisoned and tortured because as the defense attorney for Sakineh Ashtiani he strived to free her from facing execution through stoning in the Islamic republic of Iran. -Mehrangis Kar - 5/8/13

Regime wants to isolate Iran, hold elections behind closed doors

- Reporters Without Borders condemns the reinforcement of Iran's system of Internet filtering and blocking. Use of the leading VPN censorship circumvention tools such as Kerio and OpenVPN has been blocked since 4 May, making it very difficult for Iranians to access an unfiltered Internet. - 5/8/13

Testimonies continue at trial into Kahrizak deaths

- The trial of judiciary officials in the case of detainee deaths at the Kahrizak Detention Centre began its seventh session today, Tuesday May 7. Reports indicate that the head of Tehran Province Prisons and four other suspects in the case gave testimony today. - 5/8/13

Internet proxies no longer effective in Iran

- ITIran reports that the Siphon proxy as well as Kerio and open VPN are no longer effective against the Iranian state's efforts to block websites. The report also adds that internet speed has fallen sharply, restricting user access to most sites. - 5/6/13

Refugee Iranian Photojournalist In Turkish Security Prison

- The Turkish authorities arrested Hossein Salmanzadeh, an Iranian photojournalist and a refugee in Turkey, on April 26 and have detained him inside the Ankara Security Police Detention Center, Javad Moghimi Parsa told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. - 5/6/13

Mother of dead Iranian blogger calls for swifter justice

- Gohar Eshghi, the mother of blogger Sattar Beheshti, who died five days into his arrest in custody of the Cyber Police, has once again spoken out against the judicial delays in processing his case. - 5/5/13

Scientific Journals Adapt to New U.S. Trade Sanctions on Iran

- On 30 April, the Dutch publishing behemoth Elsevier of the Netherlands sent a note to its editorial network saying that all U.S. editors and U.S. reviewers must "avoid" handling manuscripts if they include an author employed by the government of Iran. -Eliot Marshall, Science Magazine - 5/4/13

Prison Conditions Eased for Ex-Marine Held in Iran

- A former Marine incarcerated in Iran for nearly two years on suspicions that he was an American spy has been granted monthly visitations by an uncle in Tehran since March and has been permitted to send letters to his family for the first time, according to his sister... -NY Times - 5/4/13

Bagher Asadi, a High Ranking Diplomat, And Two Political Activists Arrested

- Bagher Asadi, a high-ranking Iranian diplomat was detained in Tehran in March as a part of the crackdown on dissidents in the weeks leading to the Iranian presidential elections. During the same period, two prominent figures close to reformists in the Fars Province were arrested in Shiraz. - 5/2/13

Photos: Morality Police In Tehran Play Good Cop by Handing Out Flowers to Women

- The morality police in Tehran are playing the good cop these days. They are out in the streets handing flowers to women to promote "good hijab." But the bad cops may be out soon detaining the women with "bad hijab," as they have been doing so in the past months and years. - 5/1/13

Iran's Interior Ministry Evades May Day Parade Permit

- The day before International Worker's Day, head of Iran's Workers House announced that the ministry of interior has refrained from responding to two applications from the official labour organization to mark May Day. - 5/1/13

Sanctions and Regime Policies Cause Growing Crisis in Iran

- The international community should target sanctions more effectively to impose costs on the Iranian government and not its citizens, and the Iranian government should end its policies that worsen the crisis in access to medicines, foods, and other essential imports, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. - 4/30/13

Iran: Government Trampling Workers' Rights

- The Iranian government is increasingly violating workers' rights to peaceful assembly and association. Dozens of labor and independent trade union activists are in prison for speaking out in defense of workers.Human Rights Watch called for the government to end the crackdown - 4/30/13

Prosecution continues in Kahrizak torture deaths

- The fourth court session involving former Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi and two other judicial figures was held today, Monday April 29, and once again it was behind closed doors. - 4/30/13

Iranian Political Prisoners At Evin Sent To Solitary Over Complaints

- The Kaleme website reports that Saeed Madani, Abdollah Momeni, Khosro Delirsani, Abolfazl Abedini, Siamak Ghaderi, Mohammd Hassan Yousefpour, Saeed Abedini, Kamran Ayazi, Mohammd Ebrahimi and Pourya Ebrahimi were transferred to solitary on Sunday April 28. - 4/29/13

Head of Iranian Judiciary: We Have Absolutely No Political Executions: The Long List of Executions During Larijani's Term

- The execution of political prisoners and opponents of the Islamic republic began right after the victory of the 1979 revolution when those associated with the previous regime were executed. This included those who held senior posts in the ancient regime to those who held no posts or were in some way affiliated to the monarchy. -Fereshteh Ghazi, Rooz - 4/29/13

Photos: Iranian scholar back home after 18 months of imprisonment in US

- Iranian scholar Mojtaba Atarodi arrived in Tehran Saturday morning after 18 months of imprisonment and home arrest in the US. He was welcomed by the chancellor and his colleagues in Sharif University of Technology. - 4/27/13

Iranian workers await decision on May Day demonstration

- The Iranian government has not responded to an application to hold a May Day demonstration on the upcoming International Workers Day. According to ILNA, this is the fifth year that the government refuses to allow workers to hold a demonstration. - 4/26/13

Iranian Activist Flees Iran, Says 'Civil Society Is In A State Of Desperation'

- Well-known Iranian human rights activist Kouhyar Goudarzi -- who had been banned from his studies, jailed a number of times, and sentenced to five years in prison -- recently fled Iran. As Goudarzi tells RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari in an exclusive interview from Turkey, all of these pressures contributed to his decision to finally leave his homeland. - 4/25/13

Dutch court awards compensation to Iranian mustard gas attack survivors

- A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered a businessman convicted of selling Saddam Hussein raw materials for mustard gas to pay compensation to 16 Iranian and Iraqi victims of chemical weapon attacks by the former Iraqi dictator's regime, according to the Associated Press. - 4/25/13

Censorship and Power in Iran: Film Screening and Discussion in New York

- Maziar Bahari, Journalist and Filmmaker, Joel Simon, Committee to Protect Journalists; in conversation with Jon Stewart, Political Satirist - 4/24/13

Iran: Kurdish Former Political Prisoners Intimidated and Harassed in Orumiyeh and Mahabad

- Over the past several months, Orumiyeh and Mahabad Intelligence Offices have summoned, detained, and harassed several Kurdish former political prisoners on the pretext of concern over their continued political activities after their release from prison - 4/24/13

UK bars Shell from paying Iran debt in food, medicine

- Shell has reportedly consulted London on the possibility of paying British pharmaceuticals maker GSK to provide medicine to Iran in exchange for the debt but the proposal has been rejected. - 4/23/13

Time for Humanitarian Fix to Iran Sanctions

- In the past week, Iran has been struck by two earthquakes that have killed dozens of people and leveled hundreds of homes. And because of the political standoff with Iran's government, Americans--including Iranian Americans with family in the affected regions--are largely unable to provide any help. -Jamal Abdi, NIAC - 4/22/13

Forum in New York - Sanctions as a Tool of War: A Comparative Look at Iraq and Iran

- Sanctions are still presented in mainstream political discussion as a peaceful alternative to military intervention. But the experience of Iraqis, whose society was devastated by over ten years of harsh economic sanctions, shows us that sanctions against countries that defy Washington are a form of collective punishment used to augment the effects of war and/or lay the groundwork for war. - 4/21/13

Iranian police announce election security headquarters

- Brigadier General Saeed Montazeralmehdi announced that the election base Fajr has been established to provide complete security for the election, and police will also monitor anti-regime websites and social media in the course of their duties. - 4/17/13

Supporters call for release of journalist brothers

- More than 200 activists and journalists have issued a statement calling for the release of Massoud and Khosro Kordpour, two Iranian journalists being detained in Kurdistan Province. - 4/15/13

Iranian Sunni Leader Cites Bias In Prayer Grounds Delay

- Mowlana Abdolhamid, the Friday Imam of the Sunni community in in Zahedan, has spoken out against what he calls unconscionable delays by provincial officials in building Sunni prayer grounds. - 4/13/13

Thousands of Bahrainis Protest Before Formula One Race

- housands of Bahrainis staged a peaceful march on Friday in the first of a series of protests the Shi'ite-led opposition is planning to hold before next week's Formula One Grand Prix race. -Reuters - 4/13/13

Mother says dead Iranian blogger acted on his own

- Saham News reports that Gohar Eshghi, the mother of Sattar Beheshti, who by many accounts died under torture, has announced that her son was in no way linked to any groups and was an independent observer of the social conditions in the country and commented on his blog about the social maladies that he saw around him. - 4/12/13

Iran: "Moderate" presidential candidate promises bill of rights

- Hassan Rohani, the head of strategic research for Iran's Expediency Council, announced on Thursday April 11 that he plans to run for president in the June election. Iranian media report that while speaking to a group of supporters, Rohani said that his government will be one of "prudence and hope" and that he will also focus on preparing a "Bill of Citizen Rights." - 4/11/13

Iran: Outgoing Shiraz prison warden apologizes to dervishes

- Ali Mozafari, the head of Shiraz Adelabad Prison, resigned from his post after apologizing to jailed dervishes Kasra Nouri and Saleh Moradi. - 4/10/13

Death penalty 2012: Despite setbacks, a death penalty-free world came closer

- Despite some disappointing setbacks in 2012, the global trend towards ending the death penalty continued, Amnesty International found in its annual review of death sentences and executions. The top five executing countries in the world were once again China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and USA, with Yemen closely behind. - 4/10/13

Activists arrested in run-up to Iranian election

- recent reports indicate that in the past week several reformist activists in Babol, Sari, Amol and Behshahr have been summoned to Intelligence Ministry offices across Mazandaran Province and told that "reformists should not participate in the elections." - 4/9/13

Detained Iranian workers supported by protesters

- A group of labour activists and the families of detained workers gathered in front of the Justice Department in Sanandaj on Saturday April 6 to protest the undetermined state of their arrested peers and relatives. - 4/8/13

Iranian Interior Minister faces further questioning in blogger's death

- After conservative MP Ali Motahari announced that he has not been satisfied with the Interior Minister's explanations regarding the death of detained blogger Sattar Beheshti, the minister will now face further questioning in Parliament next Tuesday. - 4/6/13

Let Iranians get needed medicines

- As you may know, Havaar recently launched a campaign to oppose the sanctions that have had such a devastating effect on average Iranians. As a starting point, we are focusing on pressuring banks to enable financial transactions that will help Iranians to acquire life-saving medicines, some of which have been unavailable or unaffordable in recent months. - 4/4/13

Hundreds of activists call for release of Iranian political prisoner Mehdi Khazali

- More than 350 human rights and political activists have issued a statement urging the Iranian authorities to release Mehdi Khazali. The announcement expressed grave concern for the health of the political prisoner, who has gone on hunger strikes on several occasions - 4/4/13

No to Having Prisoners of Conscience

- The detention of any prisoner of conscience by any system of government violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All prisoners of conscience are essentially trying to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and/or movement. -12Petals Media Group - 4/4/13

Iranian protesters demand release of labour activists in Sanandaj

- The Coordination Council for the Support of Labour Organization announced on Monday April 1 that on the previous two days, the families of detained labour activists joined with other members of the public to gather in front of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court and demand the detainees' release. - 4/2/13

Iranian internet cafes face new regulations

- Iran's cyber police have imposed further restrictions on internet cafes, issuing a list of 20 new requirements that must be complied with within 15 days by all such businesses or else they will face prosecution. - 4/1/13

Female Bahraini doctor says 'severely' tortured in jail

- A female Bahraini doctor says the Al Khalifa regime forces have 'severely' tortured her and several other doctors, who treated injured anti-regime protesters, in order to extract false confessions. - 3/31/13

Iran: Investigation of Haleh Sahabi's Death Closed Without Visual Evidence Review

- Haleh Sahabi, a member of the Mothers for Peace group, died at her father's funeral on June 1, 2011, after security forces attacked her and she sustained a blow to her body. - 3/29/13

The University In The Past Year: Heaviest Pressures; Highest Costs

- The Iranian calendar year turned into a new year on the first day of spring - March 20th - as it does every year. So this is a time of reflection on many issues and for many people in the country. For students and university professionals, this was the year when they witnessed unprecedented onslaught on the student movement and activities. -Arash Bahmani, Rooz - 3/28/13

In Iran, Concern Grows Over Dervishes On Prison Hunger Strike

- Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has expressed concern over the conditions of two jailed dervishes who are reportedly on hunger strike in an Iranian prison. The two men -- Salehedin Moradi and Kasra Nouri -- are members of Iran's largest Sufi order, the Nematollahi Gonabadi order, which in recent years has come under increasing pressure from Iranian authorities. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 3/27/13

Iran: Two more Gonabadi prisoners join hunger strike

- Another two Gonabadi prisoners in Iran have begun a hunger strike in protest against the treatment of their lawyers, who are currently being held in solitary and are reportedly being mistreated. - 3/26/13

Mother of jailed Iranian activist fears for son's health

- Monavar Hashemi, the mother of jailed student activist Majid Dori, has expressed grave concern regarding her son's condition in jail and she is urging the authorities to grant him sick leave. Dori was arrested in July of 2009 and has not been given a furlough for the past four years. - 3/25/13

Iran: Dervishes plead with jailed peers to end hunger strike

- A group of Gonabadi dervishes has issued an open letter urging Saleh Moradi and Kasra Nouri, the two jailed Gonabadi dervishes who have been on hunger strike for over two months, to end their refusal to eat. - 3/25/13

UN Human Rights Council Overwhelmingly Votes to Renew Iran Mandate

- The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomes the United Nations Human Rights Council's 26 to 2 vote to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran for the third consecutive year. The Campaign also urged Iranian authorities to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur and allow him to enter the country. - 3/23/13

A Nowruz Dedicated to the Iraqi People, 10 Years Later

- Nowruz this year is haunted by the shadow of the devastating conflict in Iraq, just as it was 10 years ago. As millions around the world in Iran, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey, and elsewhere celebrate the advent of a New Year, the joy of this springtime celebration of rebirth is stalked by the specter of the horrific wounds inflicted upon the Iraqi people beginning exactly 10 years ago. -AJAM - 3/23/13

Kerry Urges Release Of Iran Pastor

- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called on Iranian authorities to immediately free an Iranian-American Christian pastor who has been sentenced to eight years in jail. - 3/23/13

Detained Iranian opposition leaders get family visits

- Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, the Iranian opposition leaders being held under house arrest, were allowed a visit from their children on the occasion of the Iranian New Year. - 3/22/13

Iranian prisoners given furloughs for Norooz

- Iranian authorities gave furloughs to a number of political prisoners on the occasion of the Iranian New Year and the arrival of Norooz. Reports also indicate that jailed journalist Jila Bani-Yaghoub was not allowed a leave, although her husband, Bahman Ahmadi Amouyi, another jailed journalist, was given leave. - 3/21/13