Distinguished Director Talks About Wife’s Case and Women in Film

Distinguished Iranian filmmaker Nasser Taghvai spoke with International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran in an interview about the situation of his wife, Marzieh Vafamehr. Excerpts from the interview are below:

My wife’s temporary detention was extended for an additional month. One month has passed since Marzieh’s temporary detention and the judge had to decide the fate of the case. When I went to Branch 12 of the Culture and Media Court today, where my wife’s case is handled…

Weekly Rights Podcast 31

In this week’s Weekly Rights Podcast: seven political prisoners from Evin Prison’s Ward 350 were allowed a short furlough to observe a religious holiday; the sister of Fatemeh Rahnama spoke with the Campaign about Rahnama’s conditions in prison; judiciary officials have maintained their silence about group executions carried out in prisons throughout Iran; Iranian member of parliament Nayereh Akhavan makes public statements supporting public executions; photojournalist Maryam Majd was released on bail until her court date after spending nearly a month in prison; the Right to Education Council released a statement denouncing the arrest of students and bans on continuing or beginning higher education; a member of parliament in the UK, Roger Gale, called upon the United States to protect Iranian citizens in Camp Ashraf, Iraq.

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Part II: In Their Own Words – Page 3

Kambiz Nowrouzi | Lawyer Nowruzi, a lawyer, was the legal secretary of the Iranian Press Association until it was banned in 2009. Security forces detained him outside a mosque on Sunday, 28 June 2009 during the crackdown that followed the disputed 2009 election. Nowruzi spent two weeks in detention and was sentenced by the Revolutionary [...]

Part II: In Their Own Words – Page 2

Mahmoud Dowlatabadi | Author Born in 1940, Mahmoud Dowlatabadi is among the most celebrated authors in Iran. His works include the ten-volume epic “Kalidar,” “Ja-ye Khali-ye Solooch,” and “Roozegar-e Separi Shodeye Marde Salkhordeh.” Dowlatabadi began his artistic work as a theater actor and playwright. He is active in Iranian politics, having supported Mir Hossein Moussavi [...]

Part II: In Their Own Words

This section features the extended comments and biographies of the 35 individuals interviewed for this report. Their views on the ramifications of a military strike against Iran are shaped by their personal and professional experiences with the Iran-Iraq war and Iran’s history of political turmoil. Collectively, these interviewees represent some of the most respected and [...]

Conclusion

The results of this survey of diverse Iranian civil society actors show a strong consensus against a military attack on Iran, which from their perspectives would drag further down the human rights situation, the level of human security, and prospects for positive change toward freedom, democracy, and accountability. These interviews were conducted nearly two years [...]

Part I: Key Reflections on the Military Option – Page 3

Rejecting Human Rights and Democracy Rationales Some who have threatened a military strike against Iran suggest that the Islamic Republic’s dismal human rights record and anti-democratic polices justify a more interventionist response by the United States. For example, US Senator Joseph Lieberman told the Council on Foreign Relations in September 2010 that the United States [...]

Part I: Key Reflections on the Military Option – Page 2

State Consolidation and Public Attitudes Toward the United States Some of the strongest proponents of a military strike on Iran have maintained that a US bombing campaign would be welcomed by some segments of Iranian society. Moreover, these analysts and policymakers have called for a military campaign with the goal of toppling the regime in [...]

Part I: Key Reflections on the Military Option

This section of the report extracts the dominant concerns of most of the interviewees, distilling their recurring and most notable conclusions. Many of the insights and analytical points offered by the individuals surveyed in this report are consistent with and support arguments against military action that have been made by American and other international commentators. [...]

Methodology

Between January and June 2011, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (“the Campaign”) interviewed 35 members of Iranian civil society. This time period was approximately two years into a wave of civil and political repression that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election. The Campaign chose these interviewees on the basis of several criteria. [...]