Press Releases - 5th September 2010 1 Comment »

Release Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh

(5 September 2010) The International Campaign for Human Right in Iran called for the immediate release of prominent human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was arrested at Evin prison on 4 September 2010, and for all charges against her to be dropped.
Sotoudeh is a leading human rights lawyer widely respected for her efforts on behalf of juveniles facing the death penalty and for her defense of prisoners of conscience. Sotoudeh, a mother of two, had earlier been charged with threatening national security. Her office and home were searched on 28 August and her assets frozen.

Press Releases - 3rd September 2010 4 Comments »

Leader Accountable for Violence Against Opposition Leaders

(3 September 2010) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran holds Iran’s Supreme Leader responsible for the safety of presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi and his family following attacks on Karroubi’s home by dozens of armed plainclothes forces. The attacks took place over three days and resulted in graffiti, vandalism, broken windows, and shootings inside Karroubi’s home. Photographs of the attack can be viewed on the website of Saham News. “It is unacceptable that dozens of plainclothes agents, armed with guns, tear gas, and other weapons, had free reign to terrorize Karroubi’s family without any interruption from the police,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesman.

Press Releases - 1st September 2010 5 Comments »

Arrests and Convictions of Rights Activists and Lawyers Escalate

(1 September 2010) Authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran are continuing to arrest and jail civil society activists while persecuting and prosecuting independent lawyers, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today.

“With a majority of Iranian human rights activists and lawyers already imprisoned or forced into exile, their remaining colleagues are systematically being taken down by the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,” Aaron Rhodes, a Campaign spokesperson said.

Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, told the Campaign, “The Judiciary’s lack of independence is resulting in persecution of lawyers.”

Press Releases - 11th August 2010 3 Comments »

Iranian State TV Acts as an Arm of the Intelligence Apparatus

(11 August 2010) The Iranian state-controlled radio and television, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), has acted as an arm of intelligence and security agencies implicated in gross human rights violations since the disputed presidential election of June 2009, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The Campaign’s research and investigations into the content of programs produced and broadcast by the IRIB reveal a close working relationship between intelligence and judiciary officials in charge of prosecuting post-election detainees, such as in the case of Maziar Bahari, a Newsweek journalist who was detained last year.

The IRIB has also aired defamatory programs against well–known political personalities and civil society activists, such as Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Dr. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, a former member of parliament, in the guise of documentaries.

Press Releases - 10th August 2010 2 Comments »

Appeals Court Should Overturn Unjust Sentencing of Baha’i Leaders

(10 August 2010) Seven leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community, each of whom has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on security, espionage and other crimes, should be freed by an appeals court, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“We consider the arrest, detention, trial, and sentencing of these individuals to be politically motivated, discriminatory, unjust, and illegal under Iranian and international law,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.