Leader’s Pardon of 81 Political Prisoners Shows Arbitrary Nature of Prosecutions

(2 June 2010) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomed today’s pardon of 81 political prisoners by Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Khamanei as a positive sign, but said the gesture amounted to an explicit admission that the prisoners had been wrongfully prosecuted, and called for the immediate release of approximately 450 other prisoners convicted or sentenced on the basis of their political beliefs.

Khamenei’s mass pardon is announced even as new arrests of political activists and journalists in Iran continue.

“If the Leader can pardon these 81 individuals, in effect confirming they have committed no crimes, he can and should release all those remaining in Iranian prisons who have likewise been wrongfully prosecuted,” …

Men of Violence — Perpetrators of the Post Election Crackdown

(2 June 2010) On the anniversary of the disputed June 2009 election and one year of unprecedented violence and repression in Iran, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran released a report today naming fifteen leading officials responsible for carrying out the brutal repression against peaceful protestors and civil society activists.

The 36-page report, Men of Violence: Perpetrators of the Post Election Crackdown, provides detailed profiles of fifteen officials who either implemented brutal policies of repression or instigated and promoted violence against protestors.

New Charges For Osanloo–A New Round of IRGC Intelligence Pressure On The Labor Activist

Prominent labor activist Mansour Osanloo has been serving time at Rajaee Shahr Prison under poor health conditions for a long time. In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, his wife, Parvaneh Osanloo, said that her husband has been put in solitary confinement inside the IRGC Ward for the past three days, on new charges of “relations with state opposition groups,” and is under immense psychological pressure. She also told the Campaign that she and Mr. Osanloo’s mother had succeeded to visit him through a booth this week.