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.”

Former President’s Travel Ban Part of Systematic Effort to Contain Criticism

(15 April 2010) The Iranian government’s refusal to allow former president Mohammad Khatami to attend a conference in Hiroshima, Japan, is a violation of his freedom of movement and part of a broad but futile effort to contain critical voices and prevent them from having contact with the international community, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“Numerous human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, and others with independent views have had their passports confiscated, in effect making them prisoners in their own country,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.

Mass Arrests and Detentions Signal Increasing Repression

(17 June 2009) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today that several dozen notable figures including Saeed Hajjarian, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Behzad Nabavi, and Abdolfattah Soltani were arrested on 16 June 2009. Hajjarian was an advisor to former president Mohammad Khatami and Abtahi was director of Khatami’s office during his presidency and is now a senior adviser to Mehdi Karroubi. Nabavi is a former member of parliament and Minister of Industry and Mining. Soltani is a leading human rights lawyer and member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center.

The detainees include numerous political figures, intellectuals, civil leaders, human rights activists, and journalists, as well as a large but unknown number of ordinary citizens.