A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 3, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 3rd, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Kourosh Karampour, a teacher and a poet, was beaten and arrested in Abadan. He had been summoned to Ministry of Education because of his interviews in support of teachers’ strikes and protests in the last few months.

(2) Mohsen Valadkhani, a detained Telegram activist, was released from prison after finishing his one-year sentence. He was charged with ‘insulting the Supreme Leader’ and ‘propaganda against the state’.

(3) Child abuse in Mashhad caused the death of a six-year-old girl. Hadiseh was transferred to a hospital on December 25th and died yesterday. Her body shows signs of torture such as burn wound infections on her genital and the rest of her body.

(4) Ahmad Taghavi, a retired teacher and a union activist, was arrested in the city of Abhar in Zanjan province. The reason of his arrest and his whereabouts are unknown.

(5) Four Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activists were released on bail in Sarab. Sahand Moali, Vahid Nourahmadi, Heidar Mazinani, and Mohammad Ranjbari had been arrested on December 31.

(6) Mehdi Yarrahi, a pop singer, was banned from working because he wore work costume of the workers of Iran National Steel Company on the stage. Also, “Jame Sabz”, the producer company of his new music video “Pareh Sang”, in which he pointed out Khuzestan issues, was suspended.

(7) The head of Housing Foundation in Golestan province reported that approximately 128 thousand houses and schools in villages are prone to natural disasters. This would cause catastrophes and villagers’ migration.

(8) Four human rights organizations published an annual report of Military forces monitoring in remote areas: more than 300 injuries and deaths in 11 provinces.

(9) Mohsen Farahmand and Mohammad Dadresi were released on bail in Marivan. Hamid Parvazeh, Mohammad Parvazeh, and Salman Afra are still in prison. They are accused of ‘cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group’ and were denied access to a lawyer.

(10) Majid Khomami Asl was executed in Nowshahr today. He was charged with murder in a so-called honor-killing.

(11) Two mines were shut down over environmental pollution concerns.

(12) Department of Environment reported the arrest of 44 poachers in Mahabad and 199 poachers in Ardabil during the last eight months.

(13) 12 students were poisoned by a nonstandard gas heater in a Valiasr school of Tabriz. Two of them were transferred to hospital. Nonstandard heaters used in schools reportedly have caused catastrophes.

(14) One worker died and three were injured because of unsafe workplaces in Tabriz and Yazd on January 3, 2019.

(15) Hasan Shahreza, a detained Gonabadi dervish, was denied medical care in Fashafuieh prison. He has several shots of police shotgun in his body since he was arrested 10 months ago. Detained dervishes reportedly tried to take out bullets by tuna can lid.

(16) The city services workers of Borujerd, Dorud, Aleshtar, Kuhdasht, Chaghabal, and Khorramabad in Lorestan province have 115 billion Toman [$11M] unpaid wages combined. They have at least five months unpaid wages.