Dozens of Post-Election Political Prisoners Released; Is there a Chance for Hundreds More?

Last Saturday, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi announced that on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will pardon 100 political prisoners. According to various sources, more than 30 inmates have been released over the past two days, among them a few students and political activists arrested in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election.

Investigate Torture and Mass Due Process Violations Detailed by Prominent Prisoners of Conscience

(16 May 2011) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran endorsed the call, by prominent prisoners of conscience, for an investigation into torture and mass due process violations and infringements on protections in Iran’s Citizen’s Bill of Rights following the 2009 presidential election. The Campaign called on the Central Committee charged with implementing the Citizen’s Bill of Rights to conduct a full and independent investigation into all allegations of abuse, and overturn convictions of political prisoners based on tainted evidence.

Ahmadinejad’s Media Blitz Unfolds as Young Activists Receive Harsh Sentences

While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has proclaimed Iran’s respect for human rights and freedoms during his current New York media blitz, several prominent young Iranian students, human rights defenders, and journalists received harsh jail sentences in recent days, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

In several cases, young Iranians have been jailed for “insulting the President,” the Campaign emphasized. Overall, at least 500 prisoners of conscience are held in Iranian jails.

Top Student Leader Arrested

(2 December 2009) With the approach of the National Students Day, December 7, the authorities have stepped up persecution and prosecution of student activists throughout the country, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

Authorities arrested prominent student leader Milad Asadi, a member of the Central Council of the Student Union to Foster Unity (Daftar e Tahkim Vahdat), at his home on the afternoon of 1 December. Three other members of the Central Council, Bahareh Hedayat, Mehdi Arabshahi and Farid Hashemi, were summoned on 29 November to appear before the Revolutionary Court on 2 December. Another member of the Central Council, Abbas Hakimzadeh, was arrested last week and remains imprisoned.