A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 8, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 8th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) More than four protests were organized on January 8, 2019. The workers of city services in Dezful, customers of SAIPA and other automakers in Tehran, shareholders of the bankrupt Caspian Finance Institution in Rasht, and residents of Kerman held separate protests to request their demands.

(2) A 24-year-old nurse, Saeed Alian, died due to working long hours in Larestan county in the Fars province. Shortage of nurses in Iran impacts patient care and nurses’ health.

(3) Gharib Hoveizavi and Meisam Ali Ghanavati, workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group (INSIG), were released on bail in Ahvaz. More than 43 workers of INSIG have been arrested on December 16, 2018.

(4) In the last week, Milad Rahimi, Mehdi Kanisoori, and Barezan Babakri, all 17 years old, were beaten and arrested by the security forces in Baneh in Kurdistan province. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

(5) Elham Ahmadi, a detained Gonabadi Dervish, sentenced to 148 lashes. She is serving her sentence of two years imprisonment and is accused of ‘defamation and insulting prison officials’ because of publishing a voice recording in which she describes the disastrous life of the prisoners in Gharchak prison.

(6) A Kurdish poet, Hossein Bagheri known as Jakan Baran, was summoned to a court and charged with ‘propaganda against the state and blasphemy’. He is unable to walk and lost his right kidney.

(7) Zahra Navidpour who accused a member of parliament of repeatedly raping her, was found dead. She reported that there were several women who have been raped by Salman Khodadadi but did not file a complaint about this, fearing for their lives.

(8) Esmail Faghir Dadzehi and Khalil Shahbakhsh, prisoners of Zahedan prison, were severely beaten and injured by prison wardens.

(9) An indictment charged an elementary school official with ‘child molestation’. He threatened and sexually abused several students in the school in the district four of Isfahan.

(10) Seven residents of Jabbarand village, have been sentenced to 17 years imprisonment, combined. Jafar Rasoulpour, Bahman Dandansaz, Mohammad Leilaneh, Mohammad Soyrou, and Rasoul Mohammad Amini were sentenced to one-and-a-half-year imprisonment. Vafa Heydari and Ayob Ahmadi were sentenced to five years in prison. They were accused of ‘cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group’. Jabbarand is a village of Sardasht county in the West Azerbaijan province.

(11) Arsham Rezaei and Mohammad Hassanzadeh were arrested by security agents in Tehran. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

(12) Employees of the South Pars gas field were going on a strike since January 1st to protest not being paid for several months. In addition, 280 thousand people were laid off and 150 thousand were suspended in auto part manufacturing units in last year.

(13) The New York Times reported the arrest of a US citizen in Mashhad. Michael R. White, 46, was arrested in late July while he was visiting his Iranian girlfriend.

(14) Salah Sharifzadeh, a detained Bukan resident, has been transferred to Urmia prison after four months of interrogation in detention. He was accused of ‘cooperation with Kurdish opposition groups’.

(15) Sahar Kazemi was transferred to Sanandaj prison and Madeh Fathi is undergoing interrogation in the Intelligence Department. They were arrested in November and the reason of their arrest is still unknown.

(16) Hossein Miri Nazarlou, a cyber activist, is serving his sentence of eight years imprisonment in Evin prison. He is accused of ‘propaganda against the state’ and blasphemy related charges.

(17) A Kulbar (Kurdish back carriers), Hoda Feqh Mahmoudi fatally fell off the mountains in Sardasht. He was escaping from border patrol agents.

(18) Environmental Protection Agency reported catching 345 poachers in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province in the last nine months.

(19) Three workers were injured in a fire at their workplace in Gachsaran because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions.

(20) A prisoner charged with murder in Miandoab was saved from gallows by the victim’s family’s consent after spending 10 years in prison. Miandoab is a city in the West Azerbaijan province.

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

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

(1) Golrokh Iraee, a civil rights activist and Evin prisoner of conscience, has written an open letter to protest human rights violations in Iran. According to Hrana, Golrokh Iraee was arrested along with her husband on September 6, 2014. She spent 20 days in a solitary confinement in Evin prison before being released on a bail of 800 million rials [approximately $19,000]. On October 24, 2016, she was arrested again without a warrant. She was sentenced to six years in prison for blasphemy and “gathering and collusion against the regime.” She was later granted amnesty per Article 134 of Islamic Penal Code, which reduced her prison term to 2.5 years. Iraee’s husband Arash Sadeghi is serving a 19-year sentence in Karaj’s Rajai Shahr Prison.

(2) Esmail Bakhshi, a detained trade unionist who has been released on bail, has written an open letter to protest physical and mental abuse, interrogation, and tortures in prison. He invited the minister of intelligence, Mahmoud Alavi, to a debate. He is a workers’ representative of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Mill and has been released on bail on December 12. He was detained for 40 days in prison.

(3) A young Kurdish Kulbar (border courier), Yaghoub Kamyan Niksirat, was shot and killed by a border patrol agent shooting in Urmia.

(4) Mohammadreza Nematipour, a worker of Iran National Steel Industrial Group (INSIG) was arrested and transferred to Sheiban prison in Ahvaz on January 2nd. At least 8 workers of INSIG are still in prison.

(5) Two Arab citizens were arrested in Ahvaz on January 2nd. Khalil Khasarji and Hashem Afari’s whereabouts are still unknown.

(6) Two construction workers were killed and injured by avalanche at Shemshak-Dizin road because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions.

(7) A member of parliament, Amir Khojasteh, announced that four people who were involved in a high-profile corruption case, were sentenced to death. He added that 31 people have been charged with bribery, fraud, and embezzlement in this case and he has been requested public execution in Tehran Azadi square for all of them.

(8) Farmers of Varzaneh in Isfahan province have protested for 13 consecutive days regarding their water right. Water scarcity is one of the greatest challenges in Iran.

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 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 23, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 23rd, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Iranian border patrol shot a 27-year-old Kurdish kulbar, Ali Mamveisi, in Sardasht. He was severely injured and was transferred to a hospital in Urmia.

(2) A 36-year-old woman committed suicide by self-immolation on December 22 in Kooy-e Saadi district in Ahvaz.

(3) In the last two days, six workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group were released. More than 43 workers were arrested on December 19.

(4) A prisoner charged with murder was saved from death with forgiveness of the next of kin in Khuzestan.

(5) Behrouz Farzandi , a Baha’i prisoner of war and disabled veteran of Iran-Iraq war, has been denied his degree after completing a bachelor program in Business Administration.

(6) A citizen was severely injured after a mine exploded in Dehloran city in Ilam province.

(7) The Supreme Court rejected the death sentence of Marjan Davari, a 52-year-old translator and scholar in Shahr Ray women’s prison, who was sentenced to death on charge of ‘corruption on earth’ in 2017. She was a translator in the Rah-e-Marefat institution.

(8) Detained civil rights activist Reza Khandan was released on bail. His charges are “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propaganda against the state” and “encouraging prostitution by promoting non-observance of the hijab.”

(9) Esmail Bakhshi, a labor activist, returned to his workplace. He was a worker of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Argo-Business and was released on bail on December 12. He was detained for 40 days in prison.

(10) Nader Fatourechi’s court was on session on December 23. He confirmed that he faced persecution over his criticism of prison conditions after his detention at Fashafoyeh Prison. He was released on bail.

(11) A woman suffers serious injuries after an acid attack by her 20-years old step-son in Tehran. The two had financial disputes.

(12) The director of burn prevention research center: 40 percent of the burn patients are children and more than 15 percent of them are the women who are the victims of self-immolation.

(13) In a statement, more than 600 teachers requested immediate investigation of the causes and the responsible authorities in a Zahedan kindergarten fire. They warned that more than half of the schools in the country are unsafe.

(14) The appeal court of a Baha’i painter, Shahriar Cyrus, who was arrested on June 2015 and was sentenced to five years in prison will be in session on December 25th. He was accused of ‘assembly and conspiracy against the state’ by offering painting classes. He was a student of Aydeen Aghdashlou, Rouyein Pakbaz, and Ahmad Vakili and had been teaching painting for many years. He has also published articles on philosophy and art history in Iranian newspapers.

(15) More than 60 workers in Iranian Rail Industrial Development Company (IRICO) have been laid off due to company’s financial problems.

(16) Two workers died due to an unsafe workplace in Dehdasht and Gonabad.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Now is definitely not the time to stop reading!

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 21, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 21th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) A school bus driver in Bandar-e Mahshahr is facing charges after being accused of sexually assaulting a girl while transporting students. Two other school bus drivers were arrested yesterday.

(2) Two Sunni clerics, Molavi Khodabakhsh Eslamdoust and Molavi Esmail Eslamdoust were summoned to the Revolutionary Court in Chabahar.

(3) An 11-year-old hanged himself in Izeh due to poverty. More than 7% of suicides in Iran are committed by teenagers. Iranian news agencies reported that he committed suicide due to a family conflict, but some news in cyber space noted it happened because of poverty. Izeh is a city in Khuzestan province.

(4) Iranian border patrol shot three Kurdish couriers also known as kulbars, Rahman Shovaneh, Nader Nabizadeh, and AliMamand in Oshnavieh, Piranshahr, and Sardasht. Another kulbar, Salar Tanhaei, was found dead from hypothermia in Javanrud.

(5) Water crisis will cause 20 million people to migrate from the south of Iran. Ali Asadi Karam, a member of the parliament added that this migration which is due to the water scarcity will have so many social consequences.

(6) A prisoner in Nowshahr who was arrested on charge of murder and was sentenced to death, was saved from execution after 10 years in jail with forgiveness and consent of the next of kin. His execution was scheduled the next week.

(7) Three firefighters were injured in an unsafe workplace-related incident in a warehouse in Mashhad.

(8) A Sunni prisoner, Moloud Shaier, was released on parole from Urmia prison. She was arrested in January 2016 and was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on charges of “collaborating with Salafi groups”.

(9) Sam Nasir Moghadam is a political prisoner who was sentenced to two years imprisonment on charge of ‘propaganda against the State’ and ‘insulting the Supreme Leader’.

(10) Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had written to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, about the conditions of detained journalists in Iran, which is one of the world’s five biggest jailers of journalist. According to the worldwide round-up on deadly violence and abusive treatment of media personnel that RSF published yesterday. “Imprisoning journalists, denying them medical care while they are detained and denying them the right to a fair trial constitute a flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is party,” RSF points out.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 6, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 6th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Continue reading “A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 6, 2018”

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 5, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 5th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Continue reading “A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 5, 2018”