• Human Rights in Iran

    Since Iran’s crackdown against anti-government protests following the 2009 presidential election the human rights crisis in the country has only deepened. There is a broad-based campaign underway to severely weaken civil society by targeting journalists, lawyers, rights activists, and students. The number of executions has risen sharply since 2010, and authorities tightly restrict access to information by blocking websites, slowing down internet speeds, and jamming foreign satellite broadcasts. In March 2011 the UN Human Rights Council appointed a Special Rapporteur on Iran in response to the worsening rights situation in Iran, but authorities have so far refused to allow him access to the country.

  • An Iranian dissident looks out the window of a high-rise apartment he shares with several other refugees from Iran in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 21, 2010.
    © 2010 Andrea Bruce/Noor/Redux
    Iran: Activists Fleeing Assault on Civil Society
    The space in Iran for civil society has been shrinking since the crackdown following the disputed presidential election in 2009, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Three-and-a-half years after government forces brutally suppressed largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations, hundreds of activists have sought temporary refuge and an uncertain future in neighboring Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan in the face of harassment and detention at home.
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Iran

  • Joint Letter to States on UNGA’s Final Vote on Human Rights in Iran
    Dec 14, 2012
  • Iran: Activists Fleeing Assault on Civil Society
    Dec 13, 2012
    The space in Iran for civil society has been shrinking since the crackdown following the disputed presidential election in 2009, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Three-and-a-half years after government forces brutally suppressed largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations, hundreds of activists have sought temporary refuge and an uncertain future in neighboring Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan in the face of harassment and detention at home.
  • Kaveh Kermanshahi, Iranian Activist
    Dec 13, 2012
    The Iranian activist Kaveh Kermanshahi was free on bail in 2010 when an Iranian court sentenced him to four years in prison for his work on Kurdish and women’s rights. Kermanshahi, who was 26 at the time, decided he couldn’t return to prison, where he had been tortured, interrogated, and held in solitary confinement for four months after he was arrested earlier that year. He decided to leave Iran for Iraqi Kurdistan.
  • EU: Enact Controls on Digital Weapons Trade
    Dec 11, 2012

    The European Union should enact new controls on internet surveillance technologies that have enabled human rights violations. The European Parliament adopted a new digital freedom strategy in EU foreign policy in the plenary on December 11.

  • United Nations General Assembly: Support Resolution on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Iran
    Nov 21, 2012
    We, the undersigned human rights organizations and press freedom groups, write to respectfully urge your government to vote in favor of the resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights of the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly, scheduled to take place on November 27, 2012. This 67th UNGA provides an important opportunity to elevate and advance the concerns of the international community with respect to ongoing human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
  • Iran: Investigate Detained Blogger’s Death
    Nov 9, 2012
    Iranian authorities should investigate the death of a 35-year-old blogger in custody and immediately provide his family with information about the circumstances of his death. Initial reports suggest that he may have died from ill-treatment or torture.
  • Iran: Political Prisoners Denied Visits, Care
    Oct 30, 2012
    Iran’s judiciary and prison authorities should end mistreatment of the prominent rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi and six human rights organizations said today. Ebadi and the rights groups also called on Iran’s authorities to allow all prisoners access to necessary medical care and family visits to which they are entitled under international human rights law.
  • Iran's 'Islamicisation' programme at universities threatens civil society
    Oct 5, 2012
  • Iran: Free Teachers Jailed for Speaking Out
    Oct 5, 2012
    Iranian authorities should immediately free seven teachers who are behind bars solely for speaking out against the government, Human Rights Watch said today. Iran should also end harassment of dozens of others teachers who are facing charges or who have already served time in prison on national-security-related charges. Human Rights Watch issued the call on World Teachers Day as part of a joint campaign initiated by Iranian and other international rights groups to highlight the plight of teachers who criticize the government.
  • Iran: Bring Notorious Abuser to Justice
    Sep 27, 2012
    Iran’s Judiciary should move forward speedily and transparently with the criminal investigation of Saeed Mortazavi, the former Tehran Prosecutor General, for the deaths of protesters after the June 2009 elections and prosecute if there is evidence implicating him. Mortazavi, now head of Iran’s Social Security Organization, is accused of involvement in the deaths, torture, and arbitrary detention of dozens of protesters following the disputed presidential poll and other rights abuses perpetrated over more than 12 years.
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