Press Archive

Supreme Leader Directly Responsible for Illegal Detentions of Opposition Leaders

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, should immediately release the three opposition leaders who have spent the last year under illegal house arrest and stop using extrajudicial and inhumane methods to silence political opponents, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

Today, nearly one year since the house arrest began, the Campaign released a multimedia project containing a detailed timeline, “News of a Kidnapping,” accompanied by a short video and a letter-writing campaign calling for the release of former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, former speaker of Parliament Mehdi Karroubi, and prominent political advisor and university chancellor Zahra Rahnavard.

Ahead of Elections, Arrests and Coerced Confessions Ramp Up

(2 February 2012) The Iranian judiciary should immediately stop its widespread campaign of intimidation against journalists and their family members, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The Campaign also called for an end to the illegal coercion of detainees. The Campaign expressed serious concern over the videotaping of false confessions and the possibility of politically motivated broadcasts ahead of the 2 March 2012 parliamentary elections.

Revoke Execution Sentence of Web Programmer

(1 February 2012) Iran should immediately suspend the death sentence for web programmer and Canadian resident Saeed Malekpour and investigate allegations of his torture, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

On 30 January 2012 Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of 36-year-old Malekpour for “insulting Islamic sanctities” allegedly because he managed a network of pornographic websites. Malekpour’s family has maintained that he simply developed image-sharing software that was used, without his knowledge, to post pornographic photos.

Ebadi Calls for a Campaign to Release Opposition Leaders

(26 January 2012) Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate, today called for a sustained international campaign for the release of three opposition leaders under house arrest for nearly a year.

“I support the call [of political prisoners] and invite all freedom-loving people across the globe to do all they can for the release of prisoners of conscience in Iran, particularly Ms. Zahra Rahnavard, Mr. Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mr. Mehdi Karroubi,” Ebadi said in her statement released today.

International Body Should End Iran’s Illegal Satellite Jamming

Call to Action to Stop Widespread Censorship

Activists Launching Protest at Geneva Gathering of World Radiocommunication Conference

(23 January 2012) The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), the UN regulatory gathering opening today in Geneva, should take decisive steps to end the Iranian government’s illegal and widespread jamming of satellite signals, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“This year’s Conference is facing a serious challenge in the Iranian government’s breach of international telecommunications standards. The Conference must put an immediate end to this illegal practice,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.

Assassinations and Threats of Military Action Portend Serious Violence

(12 January 2012) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today strongly condemned the assassination of an Iranian scientist in Tehran. The Campaign expressed its serious concern at an increasing climate of violence relating to Iran’s nuclear crisis, compounded by recent statements by Israeli officials and a former Obama advisor regarding a pre-emptive strike on Iran.
“This increase in violent confrontations, covert or acknowledged, coupled with rising belligerence from all parties, will lead to a human rights catastrophe in Iran,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.

Iranian Judiciary Should Dismiss Ministry Order Against House of Cinema

(11 January 2012) The Iranian Judiciary should withdraw the Ministry of Culture order to shut down House of Cinema, the country’s leading independent film association, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. Authorities should end the unlawful attacks on independent civil society organizations and on freedom of expression and association, the Campaign added.
“The attempt to shut down the Iranian House of Cinema shows that the authorities do not hesitate to use any means necessary to bring associations in line,” said Campaign spokesperson Hadi Ghaemi. “The Iranian government systematically goes after independent associations whose work does not necessarily follow the State’s narrative.”

Iranian Judiciary Must Reverse American Citizen’s Death Sentence

The Iranian judiciary should immediately rescind the death sentence issued for Iranian-American citizen Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. In addition, the judiciary should provide a fair trial with full access to his lawyer and put an end to more than four months of isolation and lack of transparency about his arrest and prosecution, the Campaign said.
This is the first time an American citizen has been sentenced to death by the Iranian judiciary.

Secret Executions: Findings Challenge Judiciary’s False Narrative

Details of Death Penalty Procedure Affirm the Need for Moratorium

101 Identities of Vakilabad’s Mass Executions Revealed

(5 January 2012) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran published the first public list of 101 victims of secret group executions in Vakilabad Prison today. The Campaign called on the Iranian Parliament and judiciary to immediately institute a moratorium on executions and to move swiftly to abolish the death penalty.

Commentary: Broadcasting Tehran’s Repression

Oped published in Wall Street Journal Europe
By Shirin Ebadi and Hadi Ghaemi

(9 December 2011) It may not come as a surprise to learn that the Iranian government invests heavily in internet filtering, mobile-communication restrictions and jamming of international satellite broadcasts to control and manipulate the Iranian people.
What may be surprising is that European companies, particularly satellite providers, continue to provide services to Tehran despite its comprehensive assault on free expression and free access to information.

Iran leads the world in illegal jamming of international satellite broadcasts, but it is a prolific user of international broadcasting platforms for its own programming. European satellite companies like Eutelsat, Intelsat and Arqiva provide extensive services to the Iranian state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), including for domestic Iranian radio and television broadcasts, and for Iran’s growing list of foreign-language channels, like the English-language PressTV and the Arabic Al-Alam.