Maryam Malek

(27 April 2009) Maryam Malek is a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign and a reporter on legal matters related to family courts. She was arrested and transferred to Vozara Detention Center on 25 April 2009, after being summoned for interrogation and charged in the Revolutionary Courts.

Labor Activists in Peril as May Day Approaches

(30 April 2009) Iranian workers will observe May 1st, International Workers’ Day, as the government increases its suppression of independent labor movements, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a new report (available in Persian) today.

During the past year, workers previously attempting to celebrate May Day were prosecuted, and sentenced to prison and lashings. The prominent labor leader Mansour Ossanloo remains in prison, as well as other labor organizers including Ebrahim Maddadi, Farzad Kamangar, and Ghaleb Husseini. On 16 April 2009, more than 73 workers in the city of Sanandaj were arrested as they met privately to plan May Day celebrations.

Judge Accuses Eight Detained Students of Cooperation with Terrorist Organization Mojahedin-e Khalgh

(29 April 2009) The Deputy of the Security Prosecution Court, Judge Haddad, announced in a 28 April 2009 interview with the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) that eight detained students have been charged with cooperating with the Mojahedin-e Khalgh (MEK), which is considered to be a terrorist group by Iran and numerous Western governments. The eight students, all from Amir Kabir University, include Majid Tavakoli, Hossein Torkashvand, Esmael Salmanpour and Koursh Daneshyar, Ahmad Ghasaban, Nariman Mostafavi, Mehdi Mashayekhi, and Abbas Hakimzadeh.

Member of the One Million Signatures Campaign Arrested on Baseless Charges

(27 April 2009) Maryam Malek, a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign and a reporter on legal matters related to family courts, was arrested and transferred to Vozara Detention Center on 25 April 2009, after being summoned for interrogation and charged in the Revolutionary Courts, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

She is charged with “propaganda against the state,” and “membership in the One Million Signatures Campaign.”

Student Activist Arrested

(21 April 2009) Masoud Dehgahn, a former member of the Students’ Union (Daftar e Tahkim vahdat) and Amir Kabir University Alumni, was arrested this morning in his home in Karaj, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. Reliable resources from Evin prison have also informed the Campaign that Esmaiel Salmanpour, who was arrested on 5 February for participating in a ceremony honoring former Prime Minister Bazargan, had been seen in Evin health unit in an unconscious state.

“We are deeply concerned about the continuing, arbitrary detention of students, often in solitary confinement for long periods, denied access to their families and attorneys, and without even having been charged,” said Hadi Ghaemei, the Campaign spokesperson.

National Call to Action by The Defenders of Human Rights Center

The Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC) has issued a national call to action titled: “Stop Child Executions” demanding the end to child and juvenile executions. This national call to action is the third of such nationally focused efforts spearheaded by the Defenders of Human Rights Center and follows the convening of the “Committee to Defend Free, Healthy and Fair Elections” in August 2007 and the “National Council on Peace” in November of 2007 by this human rights NGO.

Letter by Roxana Saberi’s Fiance, Bahman Ghobadi

(21 April 2009) Bahman Ghobadi, Iranian filmmaker, has written an open letter following the arrest and conviction of Roxana Saberi. The text of Bahman Ghobadi’s letter is the following: “To Roxana Saberi, Iranian with an American passport” If I kept quiet until now, it was for her sake. If today I speak, it is for her [...]

Acquit and Release Roxana Saberi

UPDATE: (19 April 2009) Roxana Saberi was sentenced to 8 years in prison in Tehran on charges of espionage.

(18 April 2009) The Iranian government should immediately rescind charges against Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi and release her from prison or prosecute her in a public trail if it can produce convincing evidence against her, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. Saberi has been in prison since 31 January 2009.

“If the authorities are so sure of the evidence against Saberi why can’t they even disclose which laws she has allegedly violated? This entire case reveals how standards of justice and due process are being debased,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.

Death Sentences for Juvenile Offenders Continue

(17 April 2009) Twenty-two year old Delara Darabi is at imminent risk of execution for a crime she allegedly committed at age seventeen, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

Her lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, had previously not been informed of the date Darabi’s execution would be carried out. Two days ago he was told the sentence will be carried out soon. The Campaign urges the Iranian authorities to stay her execution and review her case.

“Executing juveniles is internationally outlawed, yet Iran continues to be the only country to carry out death sentences for juvenile offenders,” said Hadi Ghaemi, Campaign spokesperson.

Persecution of Women’s Rights Campaigners Intensifies

(16 April 2009) A new report by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran documents that the persecution of women’s rights advocates has intensified in the past year.

For the first time, a women’s rights advocate, Alieh Eghdamdoust, has been jailed for three years solely for participating in a peaceful demonstration on behalf of equal rights for women in 2006, in which 70 others were also arrested.

“Publicly expressing support for women’s rights has effectively been criminalized in Iran,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.