• 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.

  • © 2011 Human Rights Watch
    Iran: Investigate Detained Blogger’s Death
    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.
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Iran

  • 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.
  • Iran: Ensure Equal Access to Higher Education
    Sep 22, 2012
    The Iranian government should immediately reverse policies that place unnecessary restrictions on academic freedom for university students, in particular women. Some of these “Islamicization” measures are to be introduced for the new academic year, which begins on September 22, 2012. Others have been put in place in recent years and adopted by universities across the country.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Statement on International Funding, UN Assistance, and the Death Penalty for Drug Offences
    Sep 13, 2012
    Thirty-two states retain the death penalty for drug offences, but only a handful continue to execute people convicted of these crimes, showing that state practice has clearly moved away from this form of punishment. Nonetheless the numbers of people sentenced to death and executed each year are high.
  • Iran: Stop Dissident’s Execution
    Sep 8, 2012
    Iranian authorities should immediately suspend any planned execution of Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani and rescind his death sentence, Human Rights Watch said today. Savadjani, convicted of helping the dissident Mojahedin-e Khalq group, may be at imminent risk of execution. He is in Tehran’s Evin prison in Ward 350, where many political prisoners are usually held.
  • The Problem with Iran's Proposed Penal Code
    Sep 3, 2012
    The proposed amendments continue to mandate the death penalty for “crimes” such as consensual sexual conduct outside of marriage, drinking alcohol, and apostasy (even though no law prohibits apostasy). Many other objectionable provisions under the current penal code remain in the amended version, including punishments, among them death, for alleged violations of Iran’s broadly-worded national security laws.
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