Author: AIAINY

August 31, 2017 GENEVA – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Asma Jahangir, today expressed her deep concern about the situation of a number of prisoners who have been on prolonged hunger strike to protest against their transfer to a high-security section of Rajai-Shahr prison in Karaj, West of Tehran, and about their treatment while in detention. “I am deeply alarmed by reports about the deteriorating medical conditions of the prisoners on hunger strike, and that their torture and ill-treatment have continued since their transfer,” Ms. Jahangir said. Over the past few weeks, 53…

August 23, 2017 Twitter is blocked in Iran because it poses a risk to national security, not because it threatens the morals or culture of the country, according to the newly appointed Iranian Minister of Information Technology and Communication (ITC), Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi. Jahromi, 36, the youngest member of Rouhani’s new cabinet, also said: “ITC has not been behind filtering Twitter, therefore it is not up to the ministry to unblock it. It is not right to say that we can end filtering Twitter since the entity behind the decision has done it for [its own] considerations.” This statement…

August 22, 2017  Reporters Without Borders – Media freedom was one of the key demands of the revolution that toppled the Shah and swept Ayatollah Khomeini to power in 1979, but it is a promise that has never been kept. The media are mostly under the Islamic regime’s close control and there has been no let-up in the persecution of independent journalists, citizen journalists, and media outlets. Media personnel are still constantly exposed to intimidation, arbitrary arrest, and long jail sentences imposed by revolutionary courts at the end of unfair trials. Despite an improvement in its international relations, Iran continues to…

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams 6/28/2017   By Iran HRM Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is leading a campaign urging western countries to put religious minorities at the heart of any future deal with Iran. Lord Williams joins the former Bishop of Oxford John Pritchard, the Bishop of Bristol Mike Hill, the Bishop of Burnley Philip North and dozens of other faith leaders in the UK and US to stress the ‘harassment and persecution’ of Christians in Iran under ‘the ruling theocracy’. The petition calling on governments to make the end to oppression of religious minorities a precondition before any deal with Iran…

2 August 2017 Amnesty International – Iran’s judicial and security bodies have waged a vicious crackdown against human rights defenders since Hassan Rouhani became president in 2013, demonizing and imprisoning activists who dare to stand up for people’s rights, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.  Caught in a web of repression: Iran’s human rights defenders under attack details how scores of human rights activists – often labelled “foreign agents” and “traitors” by state media – have been prosecuted and jailed on spurious “national security” charges, dealing a crushing blow to hopes of human rights reform raised during President…

Mass Protest Against Rouhani Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member September 20, 2017 New York United Nations Plaza Good afternoon everyone, welcome to my hometown, New York City. [applause] When I look up I see all these wonderful signs.  They’re all wonderful, but the one I like the best says “Free Iran.” [applause] [chanting] The Iranian people are great people, but right now they are being kept down by leadership that strangles them.  But we’re not going to allow that leadership to continue to strangle, we’re going to fight until we have…

New York – The Organization of Iranian American Communities in the U.S. organized a picket line on Monday, July 17, 2017, to protest the hosting by the Council of Foreign Relations of the Foreign Minister of the Iranian regime, the most active state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Such gestures, in blatant disregards for the ruling theocracy appalling human rights record and continuing malign interference in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, only lend legitimacy to Tehran rulers and emboldens them to continue to suppress the Iranian people and export terrorism abroad. Date: Monday, July 17, 2017, 4:30 pm Venue: The…

By Raha Bahreini, Amnesty International’s researcher on Iran 13 July 2017 Amnesty International – Last week the Iranian authorities arranged a rare visit to one of the country’s most infamous prisons for representatives of up to 45 foreign diplomatic missions from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. The authorities made no secret of the fact that the tour of Evin Prison in Tehran was designed to counter negative human rights reports about the prison, and showcase the “excellent facilities” on offer which include an in-house beauty salon, gym, library and restaurant. In the days that followed, state media outlets were flooded…

GUEST POST WRITTEN BY Tom Ridge Mr. Ridge was the nation’s first homeland security secretary and former Pennsylvania governor Forbes – As Hassan Rouhani commences his second term as president, the West must realize that he is not and has never been an agent of change in Iran. In the run-up to his election, Rouhani routinely invoked “violence and extremism” in his campaign rhetoric to bolster opposition to his leading opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, in the ongoing roleplay where the incumbent represents a more moderate approach than his acknowledged hardline alternative. This despite the fact that Rouhani had already demonstrated during his…