An appeals court sentenced Yousef Kari to two years in prison

On February 16, 2020, appeals court presided by Judge Yousef Khodadadi reduced Yousef Kari’s sentence to two years imprisonment.

Mr. Kari, an Azerbaijani Turkic ethnic minority rights activist, was sentenced to a six-year prison term by Branch 1 of Ardabil’s Revolutionary Court. In December 2019, Mr. Kari was sentenced to one-year imprisonment for the charge of “propaganda against the state” and five years of imprisonment for the charge of “membership in the civil-ethnic group by attending their meetings with the intent of acting against the national security”.

On September 3, 2019, Mr. Kari was arrested in Shariati Square in Ardabil by the security forces. Although his bail was set at 50 million Tomans, his bail was not accepted by the authorities and his family was told that Mr. Kari’s bail had been increased to 200 million Tomans.

First arrest

On August 10, 2018, he was arrested along with others, after the security forces attacked Azerbaijani Turkic minority activists camp in Mount Sabalan. These activists reportedly planned to climb Mount Sabalan. They were arrested while reading poetry in their camp. Mr. Kari was released after few hours.

Kazem Safabakhsh was Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison

Kazem Safabakhsh, an Azerbaijani Turkic ethnic minority rights activist detained in the Evin prison was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. His trial was held in the Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran on February 24, 2019 led by Judge Moghiseh. He was charged with “establishing and organizing a separatist group (Telegram channel)” and according to the Article 498, he was sentenced o 10 years imprisonment; for the charge of “ disturbing public opinion” he was sentenced to two years in prison according to the Article 698 and finally, for the charge of “ propaganda against the state” and according to the Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code was sentenced to one year in prison.

A Meshgin Shahr resident, Safabakhsh was arrested on November 25, 2018 and was transferred to an unknown place. He is detained at the Ward 4 of the Evin prison.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for February 10, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on February 10th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) More than three protests were organized across the country on February 10, 2019. The depositors of Caspian Finance and Credit Institution in Rasht, the workers of Kermanshah municipality, and peddlers in Abadan held separate protest demanding their requests to be fulfilled.

(2) The Department of Environment of Golestan province announced that a poacher was arrested in Aliabad-e Katul city. Meanwhile, according to the head of the Department of Environment of Amol, two poachers were arrested in Mazandaran. In a similar incident, two others were Arrested in the Kerman province, as confirmed by the head of the Environment Department of Jiroft.

(3) Abbas Lesani, Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, has been in limbo after being transferred to the quarantine in the Ardabil prison. He is on hunger strike and is banned from visiting his family. He was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment.

(4) After being arrested for three weeks, the whereabouts of Atousa Ahmadaei, Baha’i citizen, is still unknown. She is allegedly being kept in a solitary confinement the ward 241 of the Evin prison and has not had any family visits.

(5) The attorney of Amir Hossein Miresmaili, a reporter with the Jahane Sanat daily who is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the charged of “insulting the sacred”, confirmed that an appeal was filed but the appeal court’s date has not been set yet.

(6) Shahin Barzegar, an Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, who began his three-months imprisonment sentence in the Tabriz prison on January 31st, was pardoned and released ahead of his term.

(7) The residences and workplaces of five Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activists have been searched by the security forces in Ardabil with ties to banners and slogans written on the walls of this city supporting Abbas Lesani. These activists are identified as Morteza Parvin, Mehdi Doostdar, Rahim Norouzi, Ali Vaseghi, and Mazaher Mali.

(8) A mine worker died in the Mazandaran province because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions in their workplaces. Iran ranked 102 in the workplace safety among other countries.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for February 4, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on February 4th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) More than eight protests were organized across the country. The workers of inter-city rail in Ahvaz, the customers of the Iranian automaker companies SAIPA, Iran Khodro and Sanat Khodro Azarbaijan Group in Tehran, the investors of Caspian financial institution in the cities of Mashhad, Rasht and Tehran, Zagros Railway workers and employees in Andimeshk, taxi drivers in Dorud, and the customers of Sekeh Samen website in Tehran have held separate protests to request their demands.

(2) Mahmoud Abdollahi, a prisoner in Urmia prison, was transferred to the main prison ward after was kept for 21 days in solitary confinement on the charge of “cooperation with an opposition group”.

(3) Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, a teacher in Mashhad, who published a video to protest the arrest of teachers, workers, and union activists was summoned to the court on the charge of “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “spreading lies”.

(4) Mahmoud Behzadirad, the lawyer of Narges Mohammadi, requested medical furlough for her. The prison officials have denied her transfer to hospital for her urgent medical need although the Evin prison general prosecutor has granted this permission.

(5) The appeals court confirmed the 27-month prison term sentence given to an Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, Mohammad Abdolmohammad-Zadeh, who was charged with “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “propaganda against the state”.

(6) The head of Razavi Khorasan Intelligence and Public Security Police (PAVA) reported the arrest of 40 massage therapists who have been advertising in cyberspace.

(7) The court of appeals will review Nasrin Sotoudeh’s sentence. She is a predominant human rights lawyer who has security-related charges. One of her criminal charges is putting a flower bouquet by the electricity junction box in Enghelab street.

(8) Parvin Mohammadi’s request to set a bail bond for her, was denied by the court. The detained vice-president of the Free Union of Workers in Iran was arrested on January 29 and was transferred to the Kachoui prison in Karaj to serve her one-month detention.

(9) Tayeb Roozmehr was executed in Quchan on the charge of murder and another prisoner was sentenced to death by hanging in Alborz province.

(10) A Baha’i citizen, Mohammad Reza Teyfouri, was arrested on December 16, 2018 and was transferred to the Isfahan prison to serve her one-year prison term for proliferation of a movie about Baha’is. Meanwhile, Hamed Rezvani’s whereabouts is still unknown. He was interrogated several times in the last 10 years about his contacts with Baha’is.

(11) Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the head of Iran’s Judiciary, claimed “there are no political prisoners in Iran”.

(12) The Supreme Court changed the former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member death penalty to ten years in prison. Arsalan Khodkam was charged with “collaborating with an anti-regime party through espionage,” allegedly on behalf of a Kurdish opposition party. According to Hrana, the married, 50-year-old resident of Mahabad was formerly a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), which eventually “surrendered to the forces of the Islamic Republic.” Later, in the 2000s, he switched allegiance by joining the IRGC, which he served for 16 years before being accused of spying on behalf of the KDP.

(13) A member of Isfahan’s city council, Mehdi Moghaddari, was sentenced to six-month in prison for tweeting in support of a detained councillor in Shiraz, Mehdi Hajati. Hajati was arrested on the charge of “supporting Baha’is”.

(14) According to a member of Islamic Parliament Research Center, Abdolreza Azizi, workers have lost 70 percent of their purchasing power.

(15) Marivan Karkuki (Najaf Abdolrahman), an Iraqi citizen, is serving seventh year of his sentence in Rajaee shahr prison in Karaj. He was sentenced to 33 years and three months imprisonment on the charge of “Moharebeh” (enmity against god).

(16) A 20-year old girl and her 2-year old niece suffer serious injuries after an acid attack in Qazvin. Meanwhile, they were denied urgent medical treatment by the hospital because their insurance, refused to cover the acid attack medical care.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for February 2, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on February 2nd, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Karim Mohebbi was executed in the central prison of Tabriz on the charge of murder and another prisoner was sentenced to public hanging in Gilan.

(2) More than four protests were organized across the country. Educators in the cities of Karun and Bavi, the customers of two Iranian automakers, Iran Khodro (IKCO) and Kerman Motor, the students of Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch in Tehran, and the investors of the project of Shahid Keshvari in Isfahan have held separate protests to request their demands.

(3) A landmine explosion severely injured a citizen in the city of Dehloran. More than 42 thousand square kilometers of the lands in the Iran‘s western provinces contain landmines left from the Iran-Iraq war. Dehloran is in the Ilam province.

(4) Five Baha’i residents of Shiraz have been sentenced to six months imprisonment, each, on the charge of “propaganda against the state”. They were identified as the following: Farhad Sarafraz, Shahram Mansour, Vahid Dana, Saeed Abedi, and Adib Haqpajouh.

(5) An Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, Hakimeh Ahmadi, is in prison since October 18, 2018. According to Hrana, she underwent hospital treatment for rib cage and finger injuries which have been occurred in the Intelligence detention in Marand County. Security forces entered Ahmadi’s home on October 18th, threatening both her and her spouse with a weapon. She was arrested and transferred without explanation to an undisclosed location. In a video which was published on October 30th, Ahmadi’s husband, Gholamreza Ghorbani, related news of her hospital transfer, explaining that authorities had refused to disclose where she had been admitted, forbade him from visiting, and advised him that pending treatments would be at his and Ahmadi’s expense.

(6) Expulsion of Sepehr Shahidi Ghamsari, a Baha’i civil engineering student from Sina Higher Education Institute in Kashan due to his faith. Baha’i students in Iran routinely experience either denial of entrance to university or removal from student lists during their studies. Numerous reports are published annually regarding the barring of Baha’i citizens from education.

(7) Reza Khandan and Farhad Meysami filed an appeal against their conviction. They have been sentenced to six years in prison each, and were banned for two years form traveling, membership in any social or political group, and internet activism.

(8) The second court session of eight environmentalists on the espionage-related charges was in session in Tehran. Moreover, five of the detained environmental activists were charged with “corruption on earth”.

(9) A detained Baha’i citizen, Maryam Ghafarmanesh , was arrested on September 16th, 2019. Her family did not receive any answer to why, and for how long, she will be held in prison. She was one of the eight Baha’i citizen who were arrested and transferred to Evin prison between September 16th and October 17th. They were identified as Parvan Manavi, Elham Salmanzadeh, Hooman Khoshnam, Payam Shabani, Peyman Manavi, Maryam Ghaffarmanesh, Jamileh Pakrou (Mohammad Hossein) and Kianoush Salmanzadeh.

(10) Jafar Azimzadeh, the leading member of the Free Union of Workers in Iran, was transferred to Evin prison to serve his six-year prison term. Moreover, Azimzadeh and Shapour Ehsanirad have been acquitted of charges of “acting against national security” in June 2018. In 2016 he was sentenced to 17 years in prison over charges of “propaganda against the state” and “assembly and collusion against national security through organizing an illegal group’.

(11) Hossein Rezaei, a teacher and the secretary of the teachers’ union in Bushehr, who was arrested on January 26, was released on bail. He had been summoned twice to the intelligence office and was interrogated in January.

(12) The workers of Saman Tile Manufacturing Company in Borujerd, have more than four years of unpaid wages. The workers of IranPetroTech have also unpaid wages and 12 workers of this company have been laid off last month.

(13) A labor activist, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, has been detained for one month and a half, although his family provided his bail bond which has been set for 200 million Toman [approximately 20 thousand USD]. He had been released from prison last year after finishing his seven years sentence.

(14) The special needs students’ transportation vehicle crashed, leaving eight injured in Sharafkhaneh in Shabestar County in the East Azerbaijan Province.

(15) Iran has six thousand disabled veteran women of Iran-Iraq War and more than six thousand women had been killed in this war. These women and their families have been treated unequally by the government and the society in comparison with men veterans.

(16) Saeed Malekpour’s mother wrote an open letter to Tehran’s Prosecutor General to request her son’s release after serving ten years in prison. A Canadian resident and alumna of Sharif University was arrested in 2008, during a trip to Iran on blasphemy-related charges. According to Hrana, the Cyber Unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing Malekpour of managing Persian-language pornographic websites, arrested him during a trip to Iran to visit his family and sentenced him to death plus seven and a half years in prison, on counts of “propaganda against the regime,” “blasphemy,” “insulting the Supreme Leader,” “insulting the president,” “contacting opposition groups” and “corruption on earth.” Malekpour’s death penalty sentence was eventually reduced to a life sentence. Throughout his legal proceedings, Malekpour has insisted that case analysis by a computer and internet expert would absolve him of the charges.

(17) Hamid Askari, a singer, was banned from working and the rest of his concerts have been canceled because of featuring a female vocalist and guitar player, Negin Parsa, in his concert. Women are prohibited from singing or playing musical instruments solo in Iran.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Now is definitely not the time to stop reading!

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 31, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 31st, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Arash Sadeghi, a detained civil rights activist, was deprived from medical care which health professionals have said he desperately requires. He is suffering from bone cancer and infection in a surgical wound on his arm. Also, he has an urgent need for chemotherapy.

(2) Of the one million phone calls the Emergency Social Services Hotline received last year, 21 thousand were regarding child abuse and domestic violence.

(3) Saba Kord-Afshar and Yasaman Aryani, political prisoners, wrote an open letter reacting to a newspaper article that described the political prisoners’ conditions ‘favorable’, giving an overview of the hardship they face in the Evin’s women’s ward.

(4) The director of the Department of Environment of Tabas announced that two poachers were arrested in Tabas city along with a carcass of a chinkara.

(5) Parvin Mohammadi, a labor activist and the vice-president of the Free Union of Workers in Iran, was transferred to the Kachoui prison in Karaj to serve her one-month detention. She was arrested on January 29.

(6) Mohammad Ali Zahmatkesh, a teacher’s rights activist in Shiraz, was sentenced to two years imprisonment and one year of exile. His accusations are  “propaganda against the state” and “insulting the Founder of the Islamic Republic”.

(7) Shahin Barzegar, an Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, began his three-months imprisonment sentence in the Tabriz prison. His charge was attending the funeral ceremony of a former prisoner, Hasan Damirchi.

(8) Soroush Agahi, a Baha’i prisoner of the Evin prison, was released on bail. He and Neda Shabani, another Baha’i citizen, have been arrested in Karaj on November 28, 2018.

(9) Amnesty International requested the release of Iranian labor activists Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian who spoke out about abuse and torture they suffered in detention. They have been rearrested and are at risk of severe torture.

(10) A prisoner was executed in Nowshahr and a 24-year old was sentenced to death in Birjand. A prisoner who was accused of murder, was spared from hanging on gallows by consent of next of kin in Karun after 12-year in prison.

(11) A member of Iranian Parliament representing Nishabur, Hajar Chenarani, confirmed that 200 workers of Khorasan Exhaust Manufacturing Company have been laid off.

(12) A 66-year old Christian converted, Esmail Maghrebi-Nejad, was arrested by security forces in Shiraz on January 15 and his whereabouts is still unknown. His home was raided, and his belongings confiscated.

(13) Saeed Sadeghifar ,an Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, was released on bail. The security forces on Tuesday, arrested him in Ardabil. His court was on January 24, on the charge of “establishing illegal groups with the intention to disturbing national security”.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 27, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 27th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Abbas Lesani, Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, started a hunger strike in the quarantine ward of the Ardabil prison. He is also banned from visiting his family. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison on the charge of ‘propaganda against the state’.

(2) An official in the Baruj county’s judicial department announced that there have been two alternate sentences to imprisonment for two convicts in the northern Khorasan province. They are obliged to plant medicinal herbs and Galbanum in the public lands.

(3) The court announced its verdict for two news agencies, Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) and Pars News website. They were accused of ‘distributing falsehood and lies’. Both of the news agencies were found guilty.

(4) The court for Mohammad Javad Motamedinejad was in session today. He was arrested last June during the truck drivers’ strike. He was charged with “supporting the protesting drivers” and “disturbing the public order and businesses”.

(5) The workers of Zagros Steel Contractor company have unpaid wages left from five years ago.

(6) Isa Saharkhiz has been notified of his six-months imprisonment sentence. He is obliged to appear in the court within the next five days to begin his sentence. He was accused of “insulting the head of Judicial system”.

(7) A 33-years-old prisoner who has been accused of murder and was sentenced to death, was spared from hanging on gallows by consent of next of kin in Gonbad-e Kavus.

(8) Mohammad Behzadirad, the lawyer of Narges Mohammadi, confirmed that the prison officials have denied her transfer to hospital for her urgent medical care although the Evin prison general prosecutor has granted this permission.

(9) Meimanat Hosseini-Chavoshi, a population expert and dual Australian-Iranian citizen, who was detained on charges of “social espionage” and “collaborating” with the West, was released. Population control policies, have been a subject of debate in Iran .

(10) During the uprising in January 2018, dozens of citizens in Dehdasht in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province were arrested. Seven of the arrested were sentenced to fines and flogging. They are accused of “disturbing the public order”.

(11) The head of Department of Environment of the Razavi Khorasan province announced that 845 poachers were arrested in the last 10 months. Similarly, two poachers were arrested, and four others are prosecuted in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.

(12) A construction worker died in Ilam because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions in the workplace. Iran ranked 102 in the workplace safety among other countries.

(13) More than six protests were organized across the country. The bankrupt contractors in Kermanshah, the customers of Kerman Khodro in Tehran, the workers of Ahvaz inter-rail and their families in Ahvaz, the shareholders of Caspian financial institution in Tehran, the investors of SekehSamen website in Tehran, and several people with law degree have held separate protests to request their demands.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 12, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 12th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Seyed Hassan Agha Miri, an Iranian cleric, was sentenced to defrocking and two years of suspended imprisonment because of his interviews and speeches in the governmental media.

(2) Reza Malek, a political prisoner in the Evin prison, has been denied medical care for his severe backache. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment for ‘disrupting the public mind’,’insulting the Supreme Leader’,and ‘propaganda against the state’.

(3) Three Kulbars (Kurdish back carriers) have been shot by the border patrol in Urmia and Baneh. Aghil Ebrahimi, Hassan Rasouli, and Hedayat Mohammadi were injured in this incident.

(4) In the past couple of days, a resident of Kamyaran and two residents of Oshnavieh who were arrested earlier, were released on bail. Two other residents of Sarvabad county and one resident of Sanandaj were arrested.

(5) An Azerbaijani minority rights activist, Ali Gholami, was summoned to the Revolutionary Court in Ardabil. He is a writer and poet who was arrested in the International Mother Language Day protest in 2018.

(6) In the past three years, 20 nurses have died because of overwork. Last week, a 24-year-old nurse died due to working long hours in the Fars province. Shortage of nurses in Iran impacts patient care and nurses’ health.

(7) The attorney of Kiyumars Marzban, author and satirist, confirmed that his case was sent to the Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. He was arrested on August 26th. His charges are ‘propaganda against the state’ and ‘sulting the sacred’.

(8) Ahmad Taghavi, a retired teacher and a union activist, was released on bail today. He was arrested on December 24 for an unknown reason.

(9) A chemistry professor, Mehrorang Ghaedi, was exonerated of charges in Yasuj. The judge added that criticizing Iranian authorities would not be considered as ‘propaganda against the state’.

(10) Masoud Shamsnejad, a lawyer and professor, was arrested and has been transferred to the Intelligence Office while the security guards raided his home and confiscated his belongings. He was under pressure for the cases he accepted to defend.

(11) Masoud Kurdpour is a civil right activist who had been a teacher for 22 years and was laid off for his activism-related charges in 2009. He was exonerated by the appeal court but he is still banned from his profession. He has requested the president to help in his case.

(12) In a bus rollover in Gilan, 14 industrial workers were injured. Also, four workers died or were injured in Yazd, Tehran, and Zanjan because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions.

(13) The workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Mill, Mas Home Appliance, and bankrupt Rasht Parsan Company have at least two months of unpaid wages.

(14) Mostafa Daneshjou, the detained lawyer of the Gonabadi Dervishes, was denied medical care for his severe heart disease. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on December 16, 2018.

(15) The prosecutor of Fardis published a video of a man was saved from execution and wrote ” Telegram saved him from gallows.” He was accused of murder and a fundraising in cyberspace helped him pay the blood money to the victim’s family.

(16) A biographical film of Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani was banned due to her ongoing judicial case.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 10, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 10th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) More than five protests organized across the country. The educators and teachers in the cities of Kermanshah and Ardabil, the customers of SAIPA, Iran Khodro, and Bahman Motor in Tehran, the shareholders of Padideh Shandiz financial institution, and clients of Ayandeh bank in Dezful have been held separate protests to request their demands.

(2) A prisoner was publicly executed in Kazerun on January 10, 2019. He was charged with sodomy by coercion and kidnapping of two 15-year-old. In 2018, at least 236 people were executed, and 195 people were sentenced to death in Iran.

(3) Fouad Salemi was arrested on unknown charges by the security forces in Ahvaz. His whereabouts is still unknown. Moreover, He have been arrested during Ahvaz protests and was released on bail.

(4) Expulsion of Badi Safajou, a Baha’i Chemical Engineering student, from Islamic Azad University of Tehran due to his faith. Bahai students in Iran routinely experience denial of entrance to university or expulsion during their studies.

(5) A political prisoner, Seyed Mohammad Mohammadi, who completed a 15-months prison term for blogging, was accused of ‘insulting the Supreme Leader’ and ‘Propaganda against the state’.

(6) Leila Mir-Ghaffari court was in session for de-veiling. In October she was sentenced to two-year in prison, for having pointed to a picture on the wall. Mir-Ghaffari was initially detained for supporting the “Girls of Enghelab Street.”

(7) An Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, Sajjad Monadi, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment on the charge of ‘propaganda against the state’.

(8) A prisoner was spared from hanging on gallows by consent of next of kin in Hamadan while Farhad Younesi who was accused of murdering Adel Rahimi three years ago was saved from execution.

(9) Two construction workers, died in their workplace in Shokoufeh square in Tehran because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions.

(10) A Sunni prisoner, Kazem Darvishi, who completed 2-year prison term was released from Urmia prison on January 10, 2019.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 1, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 1st, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Vahid Moshgani farahani, the attorney of the detained lawyer, Amir Salar Davoudi, reported of renewal of detention for his client. He was arrested earlier on November 20 being accused of ‘assembly and collusion against national security.’

(2) Workers of Ahvaz Urban Railway Company have 18 months of unpaid wages. Also, workers of Kishwood Industries have unpaid wages.

(3) The appeal court of nine Baha’i citizens affirmed their primary sentence of 48 years in prison, combined.

(4) Due to unsafe workplace conditions, one worker was killed, and six others were injured in Kerman and Yazd provinces. Also, because of rollover of the bus carrying workers in Fars province, one worker was killed, and 12 others were injured.

(5) Hamidreza Rahmati, a teacher activist, who was arrested while protesting the arrest of the teachers during teachers’ strikes, was released on bail.

(6) Six Baha’i citizens were sentenced to three years imprisonment combined in an appeal court in Sistan and Baluchestan province. They are accused of ‘acting against the national security by membership in the Baha’i Community’.

(7) The head of guards of the Department of Environment in the province of Gilan confirmed that two rangers were injured in fights with poachers.

(8) The chief of Public Security Police announced that 38 thousand pirated and illegal books were discovered in a storage in south eastern part of Tehran.

(9) Omar Rasoli, a 45-year-old prisoner died because he was denied medical care in Urmia prison. Urmia prison officials neglect for medical care is a serious issue; seven inmates died because of that in the last year.

(10) Tehran’s chief of police, Hassan Rahimi, confirmed that 932 protests had been held in the last nine months. He added that the emergency calls received by the police department have been increased eight percent in the same period.

(11) Over 121 children under six who were suffering from malnutrition, were identified in Bandar-e Mahshahr in the last nine months. They have been significantly off the charts in weight and height.

(12) Seven workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group are still in prison. Behzad Alikhani, Mostafa Obiat, Karim Syahi, Kazem Heydari, Meisam Ali Ghanavati, Tarogh Khalafi, and Gharib Hoveizavi were arrested on December 16.

(13) A prisoner was executed on a murder charge in Mashhad prison on December 30. In 2018, the Iranian authorities issued the death penalty sentence to 240 individuals and have already carried out more than 256 executions.

(14) Fazel Gheytasi and Reza Asadi were arrested by security forces in Kamyaran. The reason of their arrest and their whereabouts are unknown.

(15) Two Azerbaijani Turkic rights activists, Reza Jafarlou and Akbar Gholizadeh were summoned to the Revolutionary Court of Urmia.