Iran: Mounting Crackdown on Teachers, Labor ActivistsAuthorities Arrest Union Leaders, Threaten Strikersایران: افزایش سرکوب فعالان کارگری و معلمانمقامات رهبران اتحادیه‌ها را دستگیر و اعتصاب‌کنندگان را تهدید می‌کنند

November 22, 2018

(Beirut) – Iranian authorities have increased targeting of teachers and labor activists in recent weeks for organizing and conducting peaceful protests, Human Rights Watch said today.

On November 13, 2018, the Council for Coordination among Teachers Unions organized a walkout involving dozens of teachers across Iran to protest their insufficient salaries due to high inflation and poor living conditions. It was the second teacher-organized walkout since September 21, when Iran’s public school year began.

Iran Must Pass Legislation to Protect Women Against Violenceمجلس باید تصویب لایحه تامین امنیت زنان در برابر خشونت را در اولویت قرار دهد

NOVEMBER 23, 2018

Women with Disabilities and Other Vulnerable Groups Face Heightened Risk of Abuse

November 23, 2018—The Iranian authorities must bring legislation protecting women from domestic violence that has been languishing for years to parliament and ratify it so that Iranian women can have the protections against domestic violence required under international law, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said today.

Iran Executions: Three Men Hanged in Public- IHR Warns About a New Wave of Execution in the Coming Weeks

November 21, 2018

Iran Human Rights; November 21, 2018: Three prisoners were hanged in public at Iranian city of Shiraz this morning. Several children were observed among the crowd watching the executions.

Iranian authorities have executed at least 15 people during the last 8 days. Iran Human Rights (IHR) warns against a new wave of executions in Iran and urges the UN, EU and countries with diplomatic relations with Iran to react immediately to stop these executions.

The IHR spokesperson and director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said: “We demand the halt of all executions, especially public executions which are inhumane and humiliating, and promote violence in society,” IHR spokesperson emphasized, “At the first anniversary of the nationwide protests in Iran, we are concerned that the Iranian authorities will use more executions and terror to avoid new protests. Adequate and prompt international reactions can stop these executions”.

According to Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA), Siamak Eslaminia, Kourosh Gholizadeh and Foad Ghanemi were hanged in public at Payam square of Shiraz city.

All three were convicted to death on Moharebeh charge (waging war against God) for armed robbery. The first defendant was also accused of killing a policeman.

“Tens of children between 3 to 10 years old were among crowd along with their parents,” Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

UN human rights experts, including the former Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, had previously drawn particular attention to continued reports of public executions. “A dehumanizing effect on both the victim and those who witness the execution” and ultimately reinforced the “already cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the death penalty,” UN experts said.

COMMENTARY - EU Should Wake Up And Help Real Change In Iranاتحادیه اروپا باید بیدار شود و به تغییر واقعی در ایران کمک کند - نظر

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (left) and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attend a ministerial meeting of the P5+1 countries and Iran held on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly.

November 23, 2018

The principal reason European officials think that forging financial ties with Iran will change the behavior of the Islamic Republic is the belief that helping a stable but dictatorial state is better than taking a risk hearing the voices of millions of Iranians calling for structural change.

There are many metaphors and allegories for the problems in Iran and the multiple threats it poses to global security, but as we pen this commentary we cannot help but think of one specific image: an empty train station with 28 passengers waiting on a platform for a train that will never arrive. These 28 passengers are the member states of the European Union, and the awaited train is their desire for normal relations with what can only be called a theocratic dictatorship.

UN committee criticizes human rights violations in Iranکمیته سازمان ملل متحد نقض حقوق بشر در ایران را مورد انتقاد قرار می دهد

November 15, 2018

By Edith M. Lederer | AP

UNITED NATIONS — A U.N. committee on human rights approved a resolution Thursday urging Iran to stop its widespread use of arbitrary detention and expressing serious concern at its “alarmingly high” use of the death penalty.

The General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee adopted the resolution by a vote of 85-30, with 68 abstentions. It is virtually certain to be approved by the 193-member world body next month.

The resolution “strongly urges” Iran to eliminate discrimination against women in law and practice and expresses “serious concern about ongoing severe limitations and restrictions on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.”

‘Sultan of Coins’ executed as Iran violates human rights to placate anger over economy and corruption"سلطان سکه" اعدام شده است، زیرا ایران حقوق بشر را نقض می کند تا عصبانیت مردم را بر اقتصاد و فساد اداری کندThree more remain on death row over financial crimes after convictions in quick trials that critics say fail to meet Iranian or international legal standards

November 17, 2018

The execution of two Iranian gold traders this week has raised concerns that the authorities are seeking to use them as scapegoats to divert attention from corruption at the heart of the regime.

But while the Iranian establishment has hailed the arrests and prosecutions of the traders, charged with corruption and tried by a special court dealing with cases of economic malfeasance, rights advocates have criticised what they call “kangaroo trials”.

Among the executed was Vahid Mazloumin, branded “the Sultan of Coins” for hoarding gold in an alleged effort to manipulate prices. 

The pair were convicted on charges of “spreading corruption on earth”, considered a severe breach of Iranian law. Amnesty International called the trial “grossly unfair”.

Iran does not respect human rights: Saudi envoyایران به حقوق بشر احترام نمی گذارد: نماینده سعودی

November 15, 2018

JEDDAH: The Iranian people continue to suffer under an “unjust… system of darkness” that does not respect human rights, said the Saudi ambassador to the UN.

Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said the report of the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, submitted on Sept. 27, and the secretary-general’s report on Aug. 6, made clear that the country persecutes ethnic and religious minorities, including Sunni Muslim Balochis and Ahwazi Arabs.

“The Kingdom affirms the sovereign right of states to determine their judicial systems and penal provisions, while believing in the need to limit the application of death sentences to cases of extreme necessity,” he added.

He stressed the importance of a political solution to the Syrian conflict, establishing a transitional authority and drafting a new constitution guaranteeing justice for all Syrians. He also urged Myanmar’s civilian leadership to prove that it deserves the world’s respect and its people’s support by embracing all its citizens without discrimination or favoritism.