Eyewitness Describes Horrific Conditions Inside Karoon Prison In Ahwaz

Payman Roshan Zamir, a political prisoner who spent one month of his six-month detention inside Ward 6 of Karoon Prison in Ahwaz, described the conditions inside Karoon Prison in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.  According to Roshan Zamir, the prison holds more inmates than its capacity and suffers from [...]

Senate Foreign Relations Hearing on Human Rights in Iran

Click the image to watch the Campaign’s testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The testimony begins at 84 minutes. ——– FULL TESTIMONY TO SENATE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS DELIVERED BY RUDI BAKHTIAR INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN 5/11/2011   I would like to thank the Chairman for providing this opportunity to speak [...]

Six Iranian Asylum Seekers in London End 38-day Hunger Strike

On 11 May 2011, six Iranian asylum seekers (Ahmad Sadeghi Pour, Morteza Bayat, Keyvan Bahari, Kiarash Bahari, Mahyrar Meyari and Mehran Meyari) ended their 38-day hunger strike. The asylum seekers, who had sewn their lips together with fishing line to protest their deportation from the United Kingdom, ended their hunger strike outside the offices of Amnesty International in London.

Iran Must Immediately Account for Al Jazeera Reporter Deported From Syria

(12 May 2011) Iranian authorities should immediately release Al Jazeera journalist Homa Dorothy Parvaz, who was detained in Damascus, Syria and deported to Tehran, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. The government should provide a transparent account of Parvaz’s detention and allow access to her family and the Canadian embassy, added the Campaign.

Parvaz, a 39-year-old journalist working for Al Jazeera who holds Iranian, American and Canadian citizenships, disappeared after arriving at Damascus Airport on 29 April to cover protests in Syria.

Increased Pressure by Security Organizations on Followers and Family of Ayatollah Boroujerdi

A source close to Ayatollah Boroujerdi told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that since March, security forces affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have intensified pressure on followers of Ayatollah Boroujerdi in different regions of the country. According to the source, during Iranian New Year holidays in late March, forces stormed the home of Samaneh Khodadi, broke the entrance door to her building and apartment, and performed a body search on her.

Prisoner of Conscience Hashem Khastar Describes Illegal Treatment of Prisoners

In an open letter to the Head of the Judiciary and Minister of Intelligence, Seyed Hashem Khastar, retired teacher and prisoner of conscience who has been in prison for close to two years inside Mashad’s Vakilabad Prison without a single day of furlough, described details of his prosecution and imprisonment, including prisoner abuse, unfair trials, and illegal actions by judicial and police authorities. Khastar’s letter demonstrates the unjust treatment of prisoners of conscience by the Ministry of Intelligence and judicial system. Describing his interrogations, Khastar states that security forces asked him questions about his private life, and have been keeping him among thieves and drug addicts. He mentions his six-minute trial that resulted in a sentence of six years in prison.

Dervishes in Gonabadi Order Summoned and Sentenced to Lashes, Prison, and Exile

A lawyer close to the case of dervishes from Gonabad described the status of those arrested for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “On Wednesday, 13 April, eight dervishes by the names of Abdolreza Kashani, Shokrollah Hosseini, Alireza Abbasi, Ali Kashanifar, Mohammad Marvi, Nazarali Marvi, and Zafarali Moghimi, all of whom had been sentenced to five months in prison, 50 lashes, and one year’s exile on charges of ‘disrupting public order through assembly in front of Gonabad Justice Department and Prison,’ were arrested in coordinated and simultaneous operations in the towns of Beydokht, Gonabad, and Ghoochan, and were all transferred to Vakilabad Prison in Mashad,” he told the Campaign.

Student Activist Abruptly Transferred From Rajaee Shahr Prison Along With 200 Others

Abdolali Madadzadeh, father of imprisoned student activist Shabnam Madadzadeh, spoke recently with the international Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about his daughter’s transfer from Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj, to Gharchak Prison in Varamin, on Tuesday evening without explanation. According to her sentence, Madadzadeh is to spend her prison term in exile at Rajaee Shahr Prison. Abdolali Madadzadeh, whose son Farzad Madadzadeh is also in prison, told the Campaign that he is shocked by the abrupt transfer. “Her mother traveled from Tabriz to Karaj yesterday to visit with her daughter, but she was not allowed to visit her. Authorities told her that they were transferring them to Gharchak Prison, and did not allow a visitation. Since yesterday, we are confused about what this means. This morning Shabnam called us for just one minute to tell me what happened. They allowed her to make a one-minute phone call and let us know,” said Abdolali Madadzadeh.

Student Activist Remains in Intelligence Office Two Months After Arrest

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Mohammad Taravatrooy, lawyer for Shiraz University student Loghman Ghadiri Goltappeh, said that his client’s “temporary detention” has been extended for a third time. “Loghman Ghadiri has been in detention since late February, and I have had no access to his case, nor do I know the reason for his arrest. When I went to Shiraz’s Revolutionary Court a few days ago, the case had not yet been reviewed and they had extended the detention orders. He is still in the custody of the Fars Province Intelligence Office. I surmised from what was said in the court that his charges are ‘acting against national security,’ ‘propagating against the regime,’ and ‘insulting regime authorities.’ But I can’t know for sure, as I have not read his case,” said Taravatrooy.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, Recipient of the 2011 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award

This video, shown at the 2011 PEN American Center Literary Gala in New York City on April 26, 2011, introduces jailed Iranian writer, lawyer, and activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, recipient of the 2011 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.