A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 19, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 19th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Two Baha’i citizens, Kimia Mostafavi and Kiana Rezvani, have been arrested in Kerman. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

(2) A landmine explosion injured Hadid Babajani, a 19-year-old Kulbar (Kurdish back carrier), in Ravansar city in the Kermanshah province.

(3) Two workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group (NSIG) in Ahvaz, Karim Sayahi and Tarogh Khalafi, were released after two months. More than 43 workers of NSIG have been arrested on December 16, 2018.

(4) A student transporting vehicle crashed leaving four students injured in Tehran. Similar incidents had happened in Qaleh Ganj and Ekhtiarabad in Kerman province on January 15 and 16.

(5) A Baha’i owned-business in Birjand was reopened. Farshid Deymi’s store was sealed off by judicial authorities order last year. Apparently, the Baha’i owned-businesses were shut down because they were closed for Bahai religious holidays.

(6) Two detained labor activists, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh and Arsham Rezaei have their bonds set at 200 million Toman [approximately 20 thousand USD] each. Ebrahimzadeh was arrested last month and he had been released from prison last year after finishing his seven years sentence.

(7) Masoud Shamsnejad, a lawyer and professor, was arrested and transferred to Urmia prison while the security guards raided his home and confiscated his belongings. He was accused of “propaganda against the state” due to being a lawyer of his clients.

(8) A worker died of electrocution in Tehran and another worker fatally fell in Zahedan, because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions.

(9) Four employees of a news website, Sunni News, were summoned to the Revolutionary Court in Zahedan. Sunni News discusses the Sunni Islam beliefs and rituals with respect to the other religions.

(10) The workers of Khuzestan Pipe Industrial Company have more than 15 months unpaid wages and 11 months unpaid insurance fee owed by the employer.

(11) Two environmentalists have been arrested in Sanandaj city in Kurdistan province. Edris Mohammadi and Avat Karami were arrested for an unknown reason and their whereabouts are still unknown.

(12) More than three protests were organized in Iran on January 19, 2019. Municipality workers in Borujerd, several people in Sistan and Baluchestan, and the workers of Ahvaz inter-city rail, have held separate protests to demand their requests.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 13, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 13th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) 11 protests were organized across the country. The workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Mill, the customers of Caspian financial institution in Tehran and the customers of its branch in Mashhad, Badr Toos institution, the workers of city services in Nishabur, the workers of Ahvaz intercity railway, retired academics in Tehran, teachers in Yazd, the employees of financial intuition of Arman in Tehran, municipality employees in Abadan, the retired workers of Kian Tier in Tehran, members of theater organization in Tehran have held separate protests.

(2) 13 Baha’i citizens were exonerated in the Shiraz Revolutionary Court. Shamim Hakimi, Nader Farzandi Ardekani, Baba Salmanzadeh, Mmostafa Shaerzadeh, Aref Nikaeen, Habib Ram, Navid Jaberi, Mohammad Esmail Forouzan, Varjavand Mostaghim, Mehran Dokouhaki, Riaz Khadem, Badiollah Masoumi, and Aminollah Shammardani were accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ and their businesses have been forceful closed for a month.

(3) There were 276 reported child abuse cases in Khuzestan in the mid six months of 2018.

(4) Three university students were burnt because of a faulty stove due to dormitory’s authorities negligence in maintenance in Hormozgan province.

(5) Three Baloch citizens, Mohammad Damani, Akhtar Askani, and Morad Bakhsh Askani, who were arrested on December 15, were released on bail. They were arrested in Qasr-e Qand city after the Chabahar attack.

(6) Ali Vaseghi and Asgar Akbarzadeh, Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activists, were summoned to the Ardabil Revolutionary Court on January 23. They were charged with ‘forming an illegal group to disrupt national security’.

(7) Ali Ghabeshi was released from Ahvaz’s Sheiban prison after he finished serving his 3-years imprisonment sentence. He was arrested in March 2016 with several others who were later executed or received long term imprisonment sentences

(8) A worker activist, Ezzat Nasri, was released from Saqqez prison after finished serving his 3-month imprisonment sentence. He was arrested on November 27th with the charge of ‘propaganda against the state’.

(9) Two residents of Ahvaz, Sami Sagouri and Abdelghader Delfi, were arrested by the security forces and transferred to an unknown place. The reason of their arrest and their whereabouts are still unknown.

(10) A Baha’i citizen, Maria Kosari, was exonerated in the appeal court in Kurdistan province. She was sentenced to one-year imprisonment and two years exile.

(11) Amir Hossein Mohammadifar and Sanaz Allahyari who were arrested by the security forces on January 9, have been transferred to the Ahvaz intelligence detention center. They were working as editors of “Gam” journal.

(12) Three prisoners were publicly executed in Yasuj today. They were charged with ‘moharebeh through ‘armed robbery’. In 2018, at least 236 people have been executed and 195 people have been sentenced to death in Iran.

(13) The workers of municipality of Marivan have at least six months of unpaid wages.

(14) Hamid Babaei, a detained student who is serving his six years imprisonment sentence, has been granted a furlough. He was a Ph.D. student in finance at Liège University in Belgium when he was summoned to the Intelligence Ministry while visiting his family in Iran in August 2013. According to Hrana, he is married and was born on 11th December 1983 in the city of Takab, in West Azerbaijan province. He was graduated in mathematics from Sharif University in 2006 and the same year to follow a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering Science was accepted in Technology University of Iran. The relatives of Babaei have said that he has not had any political activity during his stay abroad and only because of rejecting the request of Ministry of Intelligence upon cooperating with them, he has been arrested.

(15) The administrators of a popular Telegram channel were arrested by security forces in Omidiyeh. They were accused of publishing classified information.

(16) Three Baha’i-owned businesses have been forcefully kept closed in Khoramshahr, during the last two months.

(17) The chairman of city council of Yazd was sentenced to 37 lashes and paying fines on the charge of ‘distributing falsehood’. Gholamali Sefid, supported, Sepanta Niknam Zoroastrian councilor who had been suspended from his post due to his faith.

(18) Four workers died and two have been injured in the cities of Nur, Rafsanjan, and Tehran because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions.

(19) Four prisoners were spared from hanging on gallows by the consent of next of kin in Kermanshah. They were accused of murder in 2010.

(20) A landmine explosion severely injured a 34-year old man in the city of Dehloran. Moreover, another landmine explosion injured a landmine disarming agent in Mehran city. More than 42 thousand square kilometers of he lands in the Iran ‘s western provinces contain landmines left from the Iran-Iraq war. Dehloran and Mehran cities are in Ilam province.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 11, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 11th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Tohid Ghoreishi was transferred to Evin prison after an attack to Sunni prisoners’ ward in Rajai-shahr prison by the Special Forces. He is facing new accusations while serving the last months of his seven years sentence.

(2) Esmail Bakhshi ‘s lawyer confirmed that none of the Iranian authorities have reached out to him regarding his complaint. He wrote a letter explaining his torture in prison and called on the Minister of Intelligence for a debate concerning torture and abuse in prisons.

(3) In a bus rollover in Assaluyeh on Thursday, 13 workers of Bushehr Petrochemical Company were injured.

(4) Nasrollah Lashani a political prisoner, ended his hunger strike. He was on hunger strike since January 7, 2019, protesting mistreatment by the prison officials and being banned from having visitors. Lashani is a Nationalist-Religious Activist who was accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ and was sentenced to six years in prison. He was beaten and insulted in front of his wife and his 8-years-old son during a family visit on December 26, 2018.

(5) Expulsion of Shayan Manavi, a Baha’i Civil Engineering student from Azad University of Qods due to his faith. Baha’i students in Iran routinely experience denial of entrance to university or expulsion during their studies.

(6) The parliament authorities have shown concern about Zahra Navidpour ‘s death. She accused a member of parliament for repeatedly raping her. She reported that there were several women who had been raped by Salman Khodadadi but did not file a complaint, fearing their lives.

(7) Mostafa Mostafavi, a Sunni prisoner, had been held for 27 days in a solitary confinement of the intelligence office before he was transferred to Urmia prison. He is accused of ‘cooperation with Kurdish opposition groups’.

(8) A prisoner who was sentenced to death on the charge of murder, was saved from the gallows by the intercession of Imam of Friday prayers and forgiveness of the next of kin in Andimeshk after six years.

(9) A manager of a clothing retailer was arrested and her business was closed down in Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh in Gilan province because of advertising in social media. In October, several photographers were arrested in Shiraz because of ‘inappropriate content’ in their Instagram account.

(10) Several customers of the Iranian automobile manufacturers in protest to the company’s false promises to deliver their purchased car and fulfilling their demands, have been protesting for three consecutive days in the international auto fair in Tehran.

(11) Nour Mohammad Shimvaari, a prisoner of Zahedan prison, was severely beaten and injured by prison wardens. His wrist was fractured, and he was denied medical care.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 9, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 9th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Matlab Ahmadian, a prisoner suffering from Orchitis (inflammation of testicles) and bladder infection, has been denied medical care for eight years. He was charged with ‘cooperation with an opposition Kurdish group’ and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment in exile.

(2) Narges Mohammadi wrote a letter from prison to district attorney protesting the denial of her right to have a phone conversation with her children. She was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment on the charge of ‘acting against the national security and propaganda against the state’.

(3) Liza Tebyanian was exonerated in the appeal court. The appeal court denied accusations and added that according to the law promoting the Baha’i faith would not consider ‘propaganda against the state’.

(4) Abdolrazagh Rasoulpour and Hojat Razmjou, prisoners of Urmia prison, were beaten by intelligence officers yesterday. They were accused of ‘cooperation with Kurdish opposition groups’ and sentenced to five years imprisonment each.

(5) Namegh Deldel, a Sunni prisoner of conscience who was detained in Karaj’s Rajai Shahr Prison has been transferred to detention center in intelligence agency of Sanandaj for an unknown reason. He is serving his sentence of six years imprisonment being accused of national security related charges.

(6) Kianoush Salatini, a political prisoner, was sentenced to 19 and a half years in prison on blasphemy related charges in connection with his social media activities.

(7) A prisoner who was accused of murder, was saved from execution after 11 years in prison in Yasuj. Another prisoner charged with murder was saved from gallows by victim’s family’s consent in Karaj.

(8) Nasrollah Lashani began his hunger strike on January 6 to protest being banned from having visitors. He is a Nationalist-Religious Activist who was accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ and sentenced to six years in prison.

(9) Ali Ghamsari, a musician, was banned from working and the rest of his concerts have been canceled because of featuring a female vocalist, Haleh Seyfizadeh in his concert. Women are prohibited from singing or playing musical instruments solo in Iran.

(10) A worker, Ali Jahantigh, was electrocuted to death in his workplace in Mehriz because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions. Mehriz county is located in Yazd province.

(11) Mohammad Mahdavifar, a civil rights activist, who is serving his sentence of two years in prison, was sentenced to five years imprisonment and four years exile for his new blasphemy related charges.

(12) An open letter has been written by 20 lawyers to president Hassan Rouhani, about Loghman Vahid and other victims of landmine explosion. Vahid is a Kulbar who lost an eye and a leg due to landmine explosion and was sentenced to pay a fine.

(13) A Baha’i citizen, Moein Mohammadi, was arrested by the security forces for an unknown reason in Yazd. Moreover, Amir Hossein Mohammadifar and Sanaz Allahyari were arrested by the security forces and have been transferred to an unknown place. Also, Soroush Agahi and Neda Shabani are Baha’i citizens who have been arrested on November 30 in Karaj and were transferred to an unknown location. Their whereabouts are still unknown after 40 days.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 7, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 7th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Nasrollah Lashani a political prisoner, began his hunger strike protesting mistreatment by the prison officials. Lashani is a Nationalist-Religious Activist who was accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ and sentenced to six years in prison. He was beaten and insulted in front of his wife and his 8-years-old son during a family visit on December 26, 2018.

(2) Two detained workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group Mostafa Obiat and Kazem Heydari were released on bail on January 7, 2019. Tarogh Khalafi, Mohammadreza Nematpour, Behzad Alikhani, Karim Syahi, Meisam Ali GHanavati, and Gharib Hoveizavi are the six other workers of NISCO who are still in prison.

(3) Mohmmad Yousefi, a political prisoner who is serving his two years sentence in Evin prison, requested for an appeal but it was denied. He was charged with ‘insulting the Supreme Leader’.

(4) Mohammad Najafi ‘s appeal request was denied. He is a lawyer and human rights activist who is serving his three years sentence in prison and faced 74 lashes and 14 more years imprisonment for his new charges of ‘spreading lies and disturbing public opinion’.

(5) Abbas Lesani, Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, was released on bail. He was tried in absentia and sentenced to 10 months imprisonment on charge of ‘propaganda against the state’.

(6) Expulsion of Sima Nazifi, a Baha’i architecture student from Azad University of Shahriyar due to her 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) A member of Isfahan city council, Nahid Khodakarami, was charged with ‘promoting de-veiling’ through her interviews and tweets.

(8) The forced closure of a Baha’i citizen, Farshid Deymi’s business in Birjand which had been permitted by Judicial authorities.

(9) The workers of Ahvaz sugar refining company have six months unpaid wages.

(10) Morteza Oustad, a prisoner of Tabriz prison, began hunger strike on December 26, 2018 protesting ‘unfair judicial system’. He was transferred to medical ward due to his deteriorating health condition.

(11) The parole request of a detained Nationalist-Religious Activist, Reza Aghakhani, was denied for the second time despite his eligibility due to having served a third of his sentence. He was sentenced to three years in prison on a charge of “acting against national security.”

(12) Three protests were organized on January 7. The farmers of Varzaneh in Isfahan, the customers of Saipa Citroen Company in Tehran, and the workers of Doroud-KhorramAbad railway held separate protests to request their demands.

(13) Esmail Bakhshi ‘s torture complaint raises sensitivity among people and now he is forced to deny it. He wrote a letter explaining his torture in prison and called on the Minister of Intelligence for a debate concerning torture and abuse in prisons.

(14) A prisoner charged with murder in Miandoab, was saved from gallows by victim’s family’s consent after spending 15 years in prison.

(15) Atena Daemi’s mother wrote an open letter and questioned the minister of intelligence, about her daughter’s tortures in prison. Recently, Esmail Bakhshi has written a letter about physical and psychological abuse and tortures in prison.

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

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

(1) Ali Ahmadi, a Baha’i citizen, who was transferred to solitary confinement on November 20, was released on bail in Qaem Shahr. He had been arrested on the charge of ‘propaganda against the state’ at least five times in the last 10 years.

(2) A fire started in an oil stove used to heat a classroom followed by an explosion resulted in severe injury of a student. Ali Totazehi’s legs were severely burned in this incident in Zehak County in the Sistan and Baluchestan province. A similar incident caused three deaths and few injuries in Zahedan.

(3) Narges Mohammadi and Nazanin Zaghari began their hunger strike protesting the prison medical care. They did not receive the medical care that they need and that they are entitled to while they are incarcerated.

(4) Alireza Tavakoli, a prisoner of conscience, began his Hunger strike protesting the lack of medical care in prison. He was transferred from to quarantine due to his contagious illness, but the prison officials denied transferring him to hospital.

(5) Retired employees of the Army and the Social Security Organization in Tehran and Mashhad, farmers in Isfahan, public service workers in Nishabur and Sarband, Employees of Imam Khomeini hospital in Karaj, the employees of Vahdat Ahvaz financial institute, and the workers of Khorasan Exhaust Manufacturing Company in Nishabur city have separately held nine protests.

(6) The head of Ardabil Department of Environment announced that 199 poachers have been arrested and 74 more rangers are needed in Ardabil province.

(7) The authorities have not allowed Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, the lawyer of two detained environmentalists to represent or even visit them. Aghasi added that five of the detained activists faced the “corruption on earth” charge. The environmentalists who were arrested last year are Houman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Sam Rajabi, Taher Ghadirian, Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, Morad Tahbaz, Hasan Zareh, Aref Zareh, Morteza Aryanejad, Alireza Farhadzadeh, and Kavous Seyed Emami. Seyed Emami, an environmentalist and professor, was arrested as part of this crackdown and reportedly died in detention under unknown circumstances two weeks after his arrest.

(8) The court of 13 Baha’i citizens which was scheduled for today, was canceled because the judge needs more time to study their case. They are identified as Peyman Ghiami, Ezatollah Shahidi, Forouzan Amini, Kambiz Moradipour, Amrollah Eslami, Nematollah Shadabi, Parhan Tabianian, Naghmeh Shadabi,  Farzaneh Amini, Sinoo Rasouli, Sepideh Ehrari, and Amir Kadivar.

(9) The court was on session on January 2, 2019 for Mohammad Khakpour , an Azerbaijani Turkic rights activist on the charge of ‘propaganda against the state’.

(10) Mohammad Taher Noorzehi, who has been a prisoner of Zahedan prison for the last 13 years, received 40 lashes in front of the other prisoners. Zahedan prison officials have a record of abusive and discriminative behavior.

(11) Two Kulbars (Kurdish back carriers), Saber Mohseni and Amanj Shekari, were injured by border patrol shots in the cities of Nowsud and Baneh.

(12) Five people with drug-related charges were sentenced to death in West Azerbaijan province. Two prisoners were accused of adultery faced 99 lashes each. One of them also was sentenced to death on a charge of murder.

(13) The director of Cyber Space Department of the Attorney-General Office confirmed that Instagram will be blocked in the country.

(14) Molavi Abdoljalil Naamani, a Baloch Sunni cleric who is a school principal in Sarbaz city, was summoned to intelligent office of Rask county for an unknown reason. He was requested to accompany one of the students, Balal Khandan.

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.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 29, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 29th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) A Ph.D. student of political science, Shapour Reshno, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and two years exile. He along with six other residents of Andimeshk were accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ through cooperation with opposition groups. Ehsan Mirzavand was sentenced three years in prison and two years exile. Hossein Tafi, Darioush Jafarpour, and Iman Mirzavand were sentenced to six months imprisonment and finally, Behzad and Siavash Ghalavand faced four months in prison.

(2) In a letter, Mohammad Habibi, a teacher’s right activist who is detained in the Evin prison, has warned that the political prisoners’ cases are judged outside the judicial system. He is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 74 lashes.

(3) Hamzeh Darvish a Sunni prisoner of Rajai-Shahr Prison in Karaj had a severe anxiety attack and the left side of his body is paralyzed. He ended his hunger strike after 70 days last month.

(4) Hamidreza Rahmati,a teacher activist,who was protesting the arrest of the teachers during teachers’ strikes, was arrested.He is accused of ‘disturbing public order’ through his nine days sit-in by the Shahreza’s Ministry of Education office.

(5) Farid Pazhoohi a 24-year-old from Marivan, was arrested in October 2018 by the Intelligence Agency. His whereabouts is still unknown.

(6) Two kulbars were injured by the border patrol’s shot in Urmia and Khoy. Another kulbar was drowned in Baneh.

(7) The workers of Paloud Dairy Company reported that at least 180 workers have five months of unpaid wages. Also, Sani Electric Company went out of business and laid off 40 workers.

(8) The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company has shown concerns about incidents similar to the Azad University bus rollover and criticized the government’s policies on transportation. Ten students died in a bus rollover in Tehran on December 25.

(9) Delnia Sabouri and Rojin Ebrahimi were transferred to Kamyaran prison. They are accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ by attending the international Labor Day protest in the Kurdistan ‘s appeal court.

(10) Three workers in Hamadan were injured in an unsafe workplace-related incident.

(11) A citizen of Turkey, Aydin Ojilak, was exiled to Tabriz prison. He was accused of cooperation with opposition groups and had been serving his five years sentence in Urmia prison. After his hunger strike, he faced exile and was transferred to Tabriz prison.

(12) Retired staff of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, and the family of detained workers of the Iran National Steel company were held protests on December 29.

(13) Students and the families of students who died in a bus rollover incident at the Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch were protested on December 29, 2018. The main reason behind the deadly bus crash seems to be the old transport system. University students participated in a demonstration at Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, in Tehran to protest about old transport fleet which led to the death of their peers this week. The family members of the victims also joined the demonstration.

(14) A Baha’i prisoner was denied medical care despite his severe heart disease in Adelabad prison. Hasan Momtaz Sarvestani was accused of tutoring at The Baha’i Institute of Higher Education and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

(15) Several children in Kerman province are suffering from Epidermolysis bullosa which is a group of genetic conditions that cause the skin to be very fragile and to blister easily. They don’t have access to needed health care.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 26, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 26th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) The forced closure of nine Baha’i-owned businesses in Omidiyeh which had shut their stores in honor of their religious holiday, are still going on after 23 days. According to the law, citizens may close their businesses for up to 15 days a year for no reason; however, this law is not applied to Baha’is.

(2) Five protests were organized on December 26, 2018. Members of the cooperative housing organization for employees of the Ministry of Agriculture-Jahad, workers of Damghan Agro-industry Company, families of arrested workers of National Steel Company of Ahvaz, workers of Mahabad municipality, and farmers in Isfahan expressed their demands in separate protests.

(3) Mohammad Hossein Sodagar, an Iranian Azerbaijani poet and journalist, was flogged 74 times in the city of Khoy. His charge was questioning Majid Moghaddam, a member of the city council about validity of his claimed degree.

(4) Two construction workers have been severely injured in Bushehr and Lorestan provinces because of unsafe labor practices.

(5) A woman was executed in Tehran. She was identified as Noushin, 25-years-old. She was accused of murdering a man, named Soheil, who repeatedly raped her and forced her into sex with his friends.

(6) The mayor of district 19 of Tehran has confirmed that more than 200 families still live in inactive old brick kilns in this area. These families do not have access to clean tap water, sewage, and natural gas for heating.

(7) Teachers’ Trade Association of Tehran condemned Mohammad Habibi’s sentence and requested a fair trial for syndicate activists. Habibi, the detained teacher’s rights activist, was sentenced to a ten-year prison term and 74 lashes.

(8) The chairman of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran confirmed that the historical monuments in Tehran continue to be demolished for unauthorized construction, such as Nasirodolleh House, Zahiroleslam House, and Yazdgerd House.

(9) A political prisoner, Nasrollah Lashani, was beaten and insulted in front of his wife and his 8-years-old son during a family visit. Lashani is accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ and sentenced to six years in prison.

(10) Houshmand Alipour and Mohammad Ostadghader who are detained on the charge of ‘membership in a Kurdish opposition group’ were transferred from Saghez prison to Sanandaj for their court session.

(11) Reportedly, 108 workers of Mahshahr Pipe Industrial Company and 100 workers of Kavosh Pressure Vessel Manufacturer have been laid off. In addition, 120 workers of Kishwood Industries have unpaid wages.

(12) Due to death of Hashemi Shahroudi, the Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council, all concerts are cancelled on this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Today was announced as a national day of mourning.

(13) Mohammad Zamanzadeh, a Telegram activist, returned back to the Evin prison after a few days of furlough. He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for blasphemy-related charges.

(14) Ahmad Hajebi, an authority in the Ministry of Health announced that The most suicides which result in death are among 15- to 29-year-olds. Moreover, there are 2 million and 800 thousand addicted to drugs.

(15) Saeed Shirzad, a political prisoner in Rajai-Shahr prison, has been refused urgent medical care despite doctors requested his transfer to hospital for his severe kidneys failure. While the prosecutor’s office has assured that he would receive treatment, prison authorities have prevented this transfer.

(16) A 39-years-old prisoner who was accused of murdering his father-in-law, was spared from the hangman’s noose by the forgiveness of the next of kin in Babol.

(17) Leili Khatami’s, a children’s rights activist, was arrested on November 10th in Zahedan and her family still are not informed of her place of detention. She was charged with ‘espionage’.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 25, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 25th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Imprisoned teacher, Rouhollah Mardani’s health is deteriorating in Evin Prison after 18 days of hunger strike.The charges brought against Mardani were “propaganda against the state” and “assembly and collusion against national security.” He sentenced to six years in prison, two-year ban on political and social activities and two-year prohibition on traveling abroad.

(2) Hadi Khyat Mashhadi, a retired teacher and a teachers’ rights activist, was arrested and transferred to an unknown place.

(3) A British-Iranian academic Abbas Edalat, who was arrested and detained in Iran on security charges has returned to the UK. He was attending an academic workshop in Iran on 15 April before he was detained. He works at Imperial College London.

(4) The businesses of six Baha’i citizens, Behrouz, Hosseinali, and Behnam Habibi, Bahador Ahmadi, Kambiz Azadi, and Kourosh Jaberi, have been shut down by judicial authorities for the last 40 days in Abadan and Khoramshahr.

(5) Rajai-Shahr Prison canceled all the inmate transfers to hospital due to a prisoner’s escape en route to a hospital.

(6) Two prisoners, Rouhollah Mardani and Mahmoud Naji, ended their hunger strikes in Evin prison after the prison authorities promised to fulfill their requests.

(7) An appeal court confirmed the 3-year imprisonment of Amir Ali Moradi. He is accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ and ‘insulting the Supreme Leader’.

(8) Hamed Aynehvand, a detained journalist, was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment and was denied access to a lawyer for his trial. He is accused of ‘propaganda against the state’.

(9) The appeal court for nine Baha’i citizens was in session today. Afshin Bolbolan, Saham Armin, Milad Davardan, Farhang Sahba, Anoush Rayne, Bahareh Zeini, Fojan Rashidi, Sepideh Rohani, and Ali Sani were sentenced earlier to 48 years in prison, combined.

(10) Hafeez Junaid, a detained Pakistani citizen in Zahedan prison, has ended his hunger strike. He was striking against the unfavorable conditions and the staff violent behaviors in prison.

(11) In 2015, approximately 5 thousand people died in Tehran due to air pollution. Moreover, 9.3 percent of Tehran residents are suffering from diabetes and 50 percent of them, have type two diabetes. In addition, 50 percent of them are suffering from high cholesterol and 30 percent have high triglyceride. One million and 700 thousand people have high blood pressure of which 36.1 percent are aware of their issue. In 2017, more than one thousand and 400 had heart attack due to high blood pressure.

(12) Afsaneh Rezaee, a graduate student of electrical engineering at Shiraz University, was sentenced to six months imprisonment, She is accused of protesting with a banner on which she was requesting her mother’s release.

(13) Sunni prisoners of Rajai-shahr prison wrote a statement to United Nations Human Rights Council about their detention condition, maltreatment, and abuse in prison.

(14) Azad Salehian was sentenced to two years imprisonment on charge of ‘insulting the Supreme Leader’ and ‘propaganda against the state’.