by Staff writer, SF
Iranian Canadian academic and Environmentalist Kavous Seyed-Emami died in Iran’s Evin Prison two months ago, yet officials have still not released a final autopsy report.
According to attorney Payam Derafshan, who represents the Seyed-Emami family, when he spoke to CHRI on April 19, 2018, the preliminary report mentions “bruises on different parts of the body.” He claimed that the medical examiner noted an injection on the skin, and bruises on the body.
by Navid Felker
Iran regime MP Mahmoud Sadeghi has criticized the intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), accusing it of rights abuses, in an open letter, in which he called upon IRGC intelligence director, Hossein Ta’ib, to “revise his style of management.”
by Azita Carlson
An inter-Korean summit has been scheduled for April 27th. It is expected to be followed by a United States – North Korean summit in late May or June.
US Secretary of State designate Mike Pompeo’s successful meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is credited for the sudden breakthrough. Pompeo’s success in his first diplomatic mission is a cause for optimism for American diplomacy.
by Staff writer, SF
Iran’s justice minister, Alireza Avayi, is accused of being among those who have been involved in imprisoning, torturing, and executing Iranians over the past 39 years.
Yet, regime’s President Hassan Rouhani, said to be a “moderate reformist”, appointed Avayi to replace Mostafa Pourmohammadi and continue this discredited official’s policies.
Numerous protests followed Avayi’s speech that caused many diplomats to walk out at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
by Atousa Pilger
On April 19th, deputy prosecutor Hassan Heydari told the judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency that the head of the department of Islamic guidance in the holy city of Mashhad had been arrested for “undermining public decency and disrespecting the laws.”
The official was arrested on Thursday after a video showing young boys and girls dancing in public was posted online. The event took place on Tuesday. The boys and girls were innocently dancing in a shopping mall, where a singer was performing for a huge crowd.
by Staff writer, SF
On Wednesday, April 18, Kamran Hamzeh, Iranian regime’s prosecutor in the city of Hamadan announced the execution of Behnam Varmazyar in the city’s main prison.
The state-run ISNA news agency quoting him wrote: “After resolving legal issues of the case, the death sentence was carried out.”
by Armin Baldwin
On March 21, the first day of the Iranian year, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave a speech praising “freedom of expression” under the Regime, but notably left out the fact that thousands of activists are currently imprisoned for peaceful protest against the Regime.
It is more clear than ever that the just Islamic Republic that was envisaged by the protesters during the 1979 revolution has not come to pass. Not only are the people just as suppressed, the country is now on the brink of bankruptcy.
by Saeed
Iranian Kurdish prisoner Ramin Hossein Panahi, who was arrested last June for alleged membership of the Kurdish nationalist group Komala, was repeatedly beaten in detention, denied medical care and access to a lawyer, and held in solitary confinement until January, UN rights experts said in a news release on Wednesday.
by Staff writer, SF
When Iran closed the border with Iraqi Kurdistan last year, trade among Kurds from the neighboring countries was effectively blocked. Now, merchants in the majority Kurdish regions of western Iran are on strike to highlight the financial losses they’ve suffered In cities such as Baneh, Javanrood, Marivan, and Saqqez no goods were available for sale in the bazaars. Instead, on April 17th, merchants placed empty table cloths on the ground to symbolize their starvation as a result of the border closing.
by Azita Carlson
French President Emmanuel Macron is heading to the US next week in order to attempt to persuade Donald Trump to remain in the Iran nuclear deal, otherwise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Macron’s aides have said that he isn’t confident about convincing Trump, but that France, as well as the UK and Germany, will try to guarantee Trump that the deal can work. This might include a side deal to set out the European nations’ additional commitments.
