Labor Activist on Hunger Strike in Protest to Lack of Medical Treatment

Labor activist Reza Shahabi, who has been in prison since his 12 June 2010 arrest, embarked on a dry hunger strike on 22 November in protest of the Evin Prison authorities’ lack of medical treatment and attention to his illness. His family has heard no news from him since he began his hunger strike, and one of his children, his 13-year-old son, had to be taken to the hospital when he heard about his father’s hunger strike due to heart stress.

Student Activist Denied Prison Leave to Take Exam

Reza Tabarzadi, father of imprisoned human rights activist and student Abdolfazl Tabarzadi, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the Ahvaz Prosecutor denied his son permission to leave prison for a few hours last Wednesday to take a graduate admission test. “I hope they eventually agree to a few hours’ prison leave for my son; all he wants to do is take the test. I have been pursuing permission for this for a while, but so far I have only heard negative replies. He is not a criminal.”

“Because I Complained I Was Arrested Again,” Says Payman Aref

Almost a month after the arrest of student activist Payman Aref, his wife told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that authorities are not providing any causes for his arrest and her attempts to find out about his case have been futile. On 30 October 2011, Aref was arrested long with two other political activists while he was visiting Neda Agha Soltan’s grave to read the Fatiha prayer, an Iranian mourning tradition. They were transferred to Ward 350 of Evin Prison the next day. Aref is currently in prison for “propagating against the regime.”

Imprisoned Journalist in IRGC-Operated Ward

More than two months since the detention of imprisoned journalist Amir Ali Allamehzadeh, a source close to his family told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that his case has been assigned to a new investigative judge and transferred to Evin Prison Court.

Mohammad Tavassoli Under Pressure for Forging Letter to Khatami

Since his 3 November arrest, 74-year-old Mohammad Tavassoli, Political Secretary of Iran’s Freedom Movement, has been in prison without any communication with his family.

Podcast 40: Maziar Bahari on the Crackdown on Filmmakers

In this week’s Weekly Rights Podcast, we examine the Iranian government’s crackdown on independent and documentary filmmakers and actors. We talk to Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian filmmaker and journalist, about the arrests of six independent documentary filmmakers who were charged with collaborating with BBC Persian. Bahari also describes his arrest in after the June 2009 presidential election, when he spent three months in prison in largely incommunicado detention.

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Security Forces Raid Iran Newspaper, Beat, Pepper Spray, and Arrest Journalists

Shortly after an armed raid by security and police forces on Iran Newspaper’s editorial offices today, a journalist present at the scene provided an eyewitness account for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “Everyone is still covered in white fire extinguisher powder. All of us still have a headache. At around noon, we heard screams and shouts from the fourth floor. We work inside the editorial offices of Iran Newspaper on the third floor. Javanfekr’s office is on the fourth floor. Several IRNA Political Desk reporters work inside a room adjacent to his office. Apparently, reporters from the Political Desk saw several plainclothes forces inside Javanfekr’s office, holding him by his feet and hands, forcing him to lie on the floor. The guys started yelling “Allah-o-Akbar” and “Heydar, Heydar. We were in the editorial rooms downstairs. We entered the hallways and stairways [to fourth floor] to see what was happening,” the IRNA reporter said, on condition of anonymity.

UN Resolution Ramps Up Cross-Regional International Pressure on Iran’s Human Rights Crisis

(21 November 2011) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomed the resolution concerning Iran’s grave human rights violations, adopted today by the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (GA).

“We embrace the adoption of this resolution and encourage UN member states to continue focusing international attention on Iran’s dismal rights record,” said Campaign spokesperson Hadi Ghaemi.

Podcast 39: “Education Under Fire”

In this podcast we examine the persecution of the Baha’i community and talk to David and Jeff Hoffman, the director and executive producer of the film “Education Under Fire,” a new documentary that profiles an unofficial school that called the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE). BIHE is a type of underground university. In Iran, members of the Baha’i faith are not allowed allowed to attend official universities. Hadi Ghaemi, Executive Director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, also provides some background on the situation.

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Podcast 41: An Interview with Hamid Dabashi

In this week’s Weekly Rights Podcast, we explore the topic of U.S. military intervention in Iran. We discuss the recent IAEA report and the increased talk amongst senior U.S. officials about bombing Iran. We talk to Columbia University Professor Hamid Dabashi about the effect of military action on the situation of human rights in Iran. Dabashi explains why the threat of a military intervention is dangerous for Iran and harmful for human rights defenders.

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