Press Archive

Arrests and Convictions of Rights Activists and Lawyers Escalate

(1 September 2010) Authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran are continuing to arrest and jail civil society activists while persecuting and prosecuting independent lawyers, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today.

“With a majority of Iranian human rights activists and lawyers already imprisoned or forced into exile, their remaining colleagues are systematically being taken down by the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,” Aaron Rhodes, a Campaign spokesperson said.

Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, told the Campaign, “The Judiciary’s lack of independence is resulting in persecution of lawyers.”

Iranian State TV Acts as an Arm of the Intelligence Apparatus

(11 August 2010) The Iranian state-controlled radio and television, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), has acted as an arm of intelligence and security agencies implicated in gross human rights violations since the disputed presidential election of June 2009, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The Campaign’s research and investigations into the content of programs produced and broadcast by the IRIB reveal a close working relationship between intelligence and judiciary officials in charge of prosecuting post-election detainees, such as in the case of Maziar Bahari, a Newsweek journalist who was detained last year.

The IRIB has also aired defamatory programs against well–known political personalities and civil society activists, such as Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Dr. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, a former member of parliament, in the guise of documentaries.

Appeals Court Should Overturn Unjust Sentencing of Baha’i Leaders

(10 August 2010) Seven leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community, each of whom has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on security, espionage and other crimes, should be freed by an appeals court, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“We consider the arrest, detention, trial, and sentencing of these individuals to be politically motivated, discriminatory, unjust, and illegal under Iranian and international law,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

Release Prisoners of Conscience on Hunger Strike

(4 August 2010) The Iranian Judiciary should immediately release seventeen prisoners of conscience who have been on hunger strike for the past ten days and whose health is deteriorating daily, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The seventeen prisoners include prominent student leaders, journalists, and human rights activists.

“These prisoners have committed no crimes and are in prison solely because of their opinions and beliefs. Iran should release them immediately,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.

Halt Arrest of Lawyer in Stoning Case

(27 July 2010) Iranian authorities should end their efforts to arrest Mohammad Mostafaee, a human rights lawyer whose work came into international focus with his defense of Sakineh Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

In what is being interpreted as a pressure tactic to force Mostafaee to turn himself in, his wife, Fereshteh Halimi, and brother-in-law, Farhad Halimi, neither of whom is involved in human rights work, were detained at the same time shortly after Mostafaee was last summoned on Saturday, 24 July. Mostafaee was first summoned to a security court for interrogation on 21 July. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Terrorism Undermines Legitimate Discrimination Concerns

(17 July 2010) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran strongly condemned the suicide twin bombings in southeastern city of Zahedan, which resulted in death of at least 26 and over 300 injuries.

“We abhor terrorist acts and indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Such violence only obscures and discredits legitimate concerns about ethnic discrimination in the region,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

Zahedan is the capital of Sistan and Baluchistan province, one of the least developed and most impoverished regions of Iran. Bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, the province has been the scene of armed conflict between Jundallah, a Sunni armed group, and government forces. In addition, drug smuggling and instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan have affected the border region.

Medical Care Intentionally Denied to Prisoners

(7 July 2010) Iranian authorities are victimizing prisoners of conscience by subjecting them to dangerously unhealthy prison conditions and refusing them medical treatment when they become ill, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today.

“Iran is targeting prisoners of conscience by subjecting them to overcrowding, disease, inadequate accommodations, insanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of access to medical care,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.

Narges Mohammadi, Deputy Director of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, detained on 10 June 2010, was hospitalized following her recent release.

Mother of Two Faces Stoning for Alleged Adultery

(3 July 2010) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran appealed to the Iranian Judiciary to halt the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year old mother of two children convicted of adultery, who faces death by stoning, and for her case be reviewed or her request for a pardon be granted.

The Campaign also called on the Iranian parliament to immediately abolish the punishment of death by stoning.

The terms of the sentence under Iranian law call for Ashtiani to be killed with medium –sized stones, so she will die slowly, in great pain. She has already been punished with 99 lashes for having an “illicit relationship,” and later again charged, for the same crime, with adultery, which carries the death penalty in Iran.

Female Political Prisoner at Risk of Imminent Execution

(28 June 2010) The Iranian Judiciary should immediately suspend all execution sentences of political prisoners and initiate a thorough and independent review of these cases, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

Kurdish political prisoner Zeynab Jalalian, 27, faces imminent execution, as her case has reached the final implementation stage. In addition to Jalalian, at least fifteen other Kurdish political prisoners are on the death row.

“We are appealing to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to intervene in this case, and to do all in her power to halt Zeynab’s execution,” said Hadi Ghaemi.

Iran Fails to Block Critical Human Rights Council Statement

(Geneva, 15 June 2010) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomed a statement by a broad, cross-regional group of 56 countries, expressing serious concern about the human rights crisis in Iran, which was issued today at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Iran along with a number of supporting states attempted to block the statement, but their procedural maneuver was dismissed by a ruling by the Council President, in which he allowed the statement to be read.