Detained Teachers’ Rights Activist Denied Months of Salary Due to “Fault of Others” 

JULY 21, 2018

Detained teachers’ rights activist Mohammad Habibi is being denied his monthly state salary despite not being convicted of any crime, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has been informed.

Habibi, a 29-year-old member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA), has not been paid his wages since his arrest on May 17, 2018, according to a colleague who spoke to CHRI on July 18, 2018.

“Mr. Habibi is still under temporary detention and has not been convicted of anything but his salary has been cut off,” said the colleague who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Activists Note Serious Failings by Iranian Organization Tasked With Supporting People With Disabilities

 

JULY 21, 2018

As Iran’s State Welfare Organization (SWO) marked its 38th birthday, several people with disabilitiesbased in the country told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) that the organization must undergo fundamental reform in order to carry out its mission. 

Pouya, a disability rights activist who requested anonymity for security reasons, said: “The welfare organization does not have a sufficient budget or the human resources to handle a mountain of responsibilities. Destitute women, child laborers and street workers, drug addicts, victims of violence among women and children, the elderly and persons with disabilities have all been entrusted to the welfare organization even though each of these groups requires specialized expertise and equipment.”

The names of the people who provided testimony to CHRI for this report have been changed due to the sensitivities in Iran around speaking to foreign media outlets.

Iranian Judiciary Closes Acid Attack Cases With No Convictions But Promises Victims Compensation

 

JULY 21, 2018

Nearly four years after a series of acid attacks on women in the Iranian city of Isfahan, the judiciary has closed the cases without any convictions while pledging to compensate the victims.

“This was a public crime that does not go away with the passage of time and therefore it makes no sense to close the case,” Iranian Canadian attorney Hossein Raeesi told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on July 19.

“If the private plaintiffs have agreed to stop pursuing the case, that’s fine but if it means that the authorities are going to stop looking for the perpetrators, that would be unlawful and unreasonable,” said Raeesi.

Iran: Crackdown on Student ActivistsLong Prison Sentences, Rights Violated

University students cross a street during a snow storm in Tehran November 8, 2010. 

 © 2010 Reuters/Caren Firouz

 

July 21, 2018

(Beirut) – Iranian authorities have increased their crackdown on student protesters with prison terms and restrictions on their peaceful activities, Human Rights Watch said today.  After authorities repressed the protests that broke out in December 2017 and January 2018, Intelligence Ministry authorities have arrested at least 150 students and courts have sentenced 17 to prison terms, according to a member of parliament. In January, another parliament member had tweeted that when he followed up on the arrests of students with the authorities, he was told that most arrests were “preventive.”

As of mid-July 2018, reliable sources reported that revolutionary courts had sentenced at least eight student protesters from universities in Tehran and Tabriz to prison sentences of up to eight years and banned some of them from membership in political parties or participating in media, including social media, for two years.

Iran is Imprisoning University Students Accused of Attending Protests

 

JULY 13, 2018

The number of students being prosecuted for allegedly joining Iran’s December 2017/January 2018 protests is much higher than earlier estimates according to a well-known reformist lawmaker.

“A list has been put together of the students detained in the December 2017 incidents and they number more than 150,” said Member of Parliament Parvaneh Salahshouri in an interview with the state-funded Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on July 10, 2018.

“So we’re not talking about just 55 or 90 students,” she added. Unfortunately, the issue of student detentions is much more extensive.”

Leading Teachers’ Rights Activist Mahmoud Beheshti Refusing Food to Protest “Unjust” Sentence

JULY 14, 2018

Beheshti Warns of Further Uprisings as Officials Continue to Ignore People’s Demands

Prominent Iranian teachers’ rights activist Mahmoud Beheshti has been on hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin Prison since July 10, 2018, to protest the judiciary’s refusal to review his case and the mistreatment of political prisoners.

In a letter announcing the strike on July 12, a copy of which was obtained by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), Beheshti said he would only consume liquids and minerals during his hunger strike.

Local Police in Iran Admit Killing Farmer at Protest Against Water Shortages

JULY 13, 2018

Police in the Iranian city of Kazeroon have admitted killing a farmer at a local protest against water resources in the region.

“After several warnings to the crowd to disperse, the police opened fire into the air with pellet guns and in the midst of it, one of the unruly individuals identified as ‘I. A.’ was wounded in the neck area and transferred to the hospital where he died,” said police chief Col. Mohammad Ebadinejad on July 12, 2018.

The exact number of fatalities was previously unconfirmed due to the authorities’ unwillingness to speak publicly about the cases.