Tehran Police Illegally Enter Homes and Destroy Satellite Dishes

In the past week, Tehran Police Special Operations forces came together with plainclothes forces and, as part of a continuing operation, raided homes in Tehran’s Saadat Abad neighborhood and collected satellite dishes. “During the raid, forces tried to intimidate and frighten the neighborhood residents and attempted to destroy satellite dishes on people’s roofs,” a neighborhood [...]

Popular Young Poet Sentenced To Prison

On Tuesday, 16 August, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge Pirabbasi, sentenced Hila Sedighi, a young poet whose critical and political poems are admired by many, to 4 months in prison, to be postponed for five years. A day before her court appearance, she wrote on her Facebook page: “Revolutionary Court, I, [...]

Lawyer to 3 Americans: Eight-Year Prison Sentence Disproportionate With Charges

Massoud Shafiee, the lawyer representing the three Americans on trial in Iran, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that he was uninformed of the ruling issued by the lower court in his clients’ cases, as announced on Iranian television today. According to what Iranian media announced today, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were each sentenced to three years in prison for illegal entry and to another five years on charges of espionage. Shafiee told the Campaign that just as soon as the ruling is officially served to him, he will express his opinion about it. Asked whether it is possible to file suit against the judge with the Judges Court for issuing a sentence that is not supported by the evidence in the case, he told the Campaign: “The Judge, unfortunately, is not committed to the requirement of ‘proportionate sentencing;’ we have ways of recourse available to us.”

Imprisoned Blogger Severely Beaten By IRGC Forces after Writing a Letter to Tehran’s Prosecutor

Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, a blogger arrested after the 2009 presidential election, was beaten by IRGC security forces after writing a letter to Tehran’s Prosecutor detailing his condition in Evin Prison.Ronaghi is currently suffering from severely damaged kidneys and is in need of serious medical attention.In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Zoleikha Mousavi and Ahmad Ronaghi Maleki, Ronaghi’s mother and father, talked about their most recent prison visit with their son and said that the reason for the beating was his letter.

Weekly Rights Podcast 34

In this week’s Weekly Rights Podcast: the final verdict on the three imprisoned American hikers, Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal has not been announced; National Press Club president Mark Hamrick condemns journalist Kouhyar Goudarzi’s disappearance and his mother’s arrest; Reza Khandan, husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, talks about his and his family’s mistreatment when visiting his wife in prison; imprisoned journalist Issa Saharkhiz is sentenced to an additional two years in prison; university professor, lawyer and former MP Ghassem Sholeh Sadi’s physical condition worsens in prison; Shirin Ebadi has written a new book, The Golden Cage, about three brothers in pre-revolutionary Iran.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Continued Arbitrary Detention of Kouhyar Goudarzi And His Mother

A relative of human rights activist and banned student Kouhyar Goudarzi, who was arrested and transferred to an unknown location on 31 July by unidentified forces, spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about Goudarzi’s arrest. “Kouhyar was a guest at a friend’s home when he, his host, and another guest were arrested. Unofficial sources told us that Kouhyar and the other two individuals with him were arrested by Intelligence Ministry forces. However, judicial and security authorities have so far maintained silence about this and we remain in a complete information blackout. We do not know which individuals carried out the arrests and with what intentions. Some of the neighbors of the home in which Kouhyar was arrested have said that plainclothes individuals entered the home by force and without showing a warrant, taking the three with them after a while.”

Lawyer and Former MP in Need of Immediate Medical Attention

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Sahandej Sholeh Sadi, wife of university professor, lawyer, and former Member of the Iranian Parliament Ghassem Sholeh Sadi talked about her husband’s new charges and his physical condition in prison. Expressing concern about her husband’s health conditions, Sahandej Sadi said that despite statements by the prison infirmary physician, Mr. Sadi has not yet been transferred outside the prison for examination. “My request is that they review the cases of the prisoners and if the Special UN Rapporteur comes to Iran, that he is able to visit with political prisoners and their families and ask about their requests and see about their conditions,” she told the Campaign.

500 Days In Prison Without Furlough for Human Rights Activist

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, father of Mehdi Khodaee said that 500 days after his son’s arrest, he has not been allowed a single day of furlough. “After my son’s arrest in March 2010, I repeatedly appeared at the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office to find information about his status, but I was not given any straight answers about his condition, until Mehdi himself called us in April 2010 from the [IRGC] 2-A Ward of Evin and we found out that he was well,” he said.

“The Imprisonment of Kouhyar Goudarzi a Slap in the Face,” says National Press Club President

Following the announcement of the arrests of Kouhyar Goudarzi and his mother, Parvin Mokhtare, a source close to the case and one of Goudarzi’s friends provided the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran with information about the case. “Kouhyar’s friends have information about him up until Sunday, 31 July. In fact the last news about him is from Sunday morning [31 July]. He had a meeting with one of his friends that afternoon, but he didn’t show up…He has disappeared. The next morning, on Monday, 1 August, his mother was arrested in her home in Kerman. She is currently at the Central Prison of Kerman,” said the source.

Prison Visit With Sotoudeh Ends In Detention And Physical Abuse of Family

Reza Khandan, husband of imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, talked to International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about his five-hour detention along with his two children and his sister-in-law, during a recent visit with Sotoudeh. Khandan told the Campaign about the disrespectful treatment of prison staff and the physical abuse of his sister-in-law by a prison employee. “During our visit, I was, as usual, making notes in my notebook about the things my wife was telling me to do, when a prison personnel tried to grab the notebook by rudely extending her hand in between me and my daughter. I resisted and did not give her the notebook, because it was my personal item and they were not allowed to inspect it. Inspecting people’s personal property requires a judicial order. If there is a limitation to what people can take to prison visits, the authorities should have made an announcement earlier. There were no prison staff at the entrance with whom we could leave our personal items. On principle, there is no limitation to the personal items of the visiting family members of prisoners, and everyone can go to the visitation room with their personal items. I have had this notebook with me during my previous weekly visits, too. Really, I never did find out why the prison staff wanted to take the notebook away. Then that prison official sent another staff member to me, and I didn’t give the notebook to that other person, either,” said Khandan.