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CNN —Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour, whose song became popular during mass protests in 2022, has been sentenced to three years and eight months in prison and ordered to write a song about US “atrocities,” a human rights group reported. The 27-year-old Grammy Award winner was accused of “inciting unrest against national security” and “spreading propaganda against the regime,” according to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) on Friday. US first lady Jill Biden accepts the award for best song for social change on behalf of Shervin Hajipour for "Baraye." (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)The court’s verdict extends beyond the prison sentence, imposing additional penalties deemed necessary to reflect the “gravity of Hajipour’s actions,” HRANA said. On his Instagram account, Hajipour posted a picture of the verdict, thanking his lawyers and management team.

Persons: Shervin Hajipour, Jill Biden, Shervin, Chris Pizzello, ” HRANA, ” Hajipour, Hajipour, he’s “ Organizations: CNN, Human Rights, News Agency, U.S Locations: Sari, Mazandaran Province, US, Iran, Islam

☆ Mohammad Ghobadlou: Iran executes protester with mental health condition, judiciary says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Adam Pourahmadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —An Iranian protester with a mental health condition has been executed over the death of a local official during mass demonstrations that rocked the country in 2022, the Iranian judiciary’s news agency reported on Tuesday. International law and standards prohibit using the death penalty against people with mental disabilities, according to the rights group. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of Norway-based Iranian human rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR), called Ghobadlou’s execution an “extrajudicial killing.”On X, formerly Twitter, he wrote that “the Islamic Republic’s leader Ali Khamenei and his Judiciary must be held accountable for this crime. US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) placed the number of dead at more than 500, including 70 children. Thousands were arrested across the country, the UN said in a report last year, citing research from its Human Rights Committee.

Persons: “, Mohammad Ghobadlou, Farid Karampour Hassanvand, Ghobadlou, Robat, Abolqasem Salavati –, ”, Mizan, ” Ghobadlou, Mahmood Amiry, Ali Khamenei, Mahsa Amini Organizations: CNN, Amnesty, Revolutionary, Supreme, Iran Human, United Nations, Rights, News Agency, UN, Human Rights Locations: Robat Karim, Tehran province, United States, Norway, Iran

CNN —Activists on Wednesday accused Iran’s morality police of assaulting a teenage girl for not wearing a headscarf in a Tehran metro station, leading to her hospitalization with serious injuries. But Iranian authorities and the teenager’s parents said she was hospitalized due to low blood pressure. The CEO of the Tehran metro however told state media that there was no physical or verbal interaction between Geravand and members of his staff. There was nothing recorded on the videos,” Tehran metro managing director Masoud Dorosti, told state media. In a video posted on state-affiliated Fars News Agency’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter, a group of girls are seen entering the metro train.

Persons: Iran’s, Geravand, “, ” “, Armita, ” Hengaw, Awyer Shekhi, Shekhi, Hengaw, Masoud Dorosti, ”, Shahin Ahmadi, …, Ahmad Garavand, Amini, Maryam Lotfi Organizations: CNN, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Fars News, Twitter, Fars News Agency, Fajr Air Force Hospital, UN, Rights, News Agency, Human Rights Locations: Tehran, Norway, Fars, Iran, Iranian

☆ Sporadic protests continue in Iran as Mahsa Amini anniversary passes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Newspapers, with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police" are seen in Tehran, Iran September 18, 2022. Iran International, a London-based television station critical of the Iranian government, in February said it was moving its live broadcasting studios to the United States following threats it faced in Britain. "(Iran) International is a terrorist network, and we will take action wherever and whenever we recognise any terrorist act," the semi-official news agency Fars quoted the minister, Esmail Khatib, as saying. AMINI 'INSPIRED A MOVEMENT'In the demonstrations that followed Amini's death more than 500 people, including 71 minors, were killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested, rights groups said. Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected as "double standards and lies" Western expressions of support for women's rights in Iran.

Persons: Mahsa, Majid Asgaripour, Mahsa's, Amjad Amini, Esmail Khatib, AMINI, Joe Biden, Amini, Amini's, Conor Humphries Organizations: West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Islamic, Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Sunday, Saturday, White, Iran's Foreign, Amnesty International, Dubai, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran, Rights DUBAI, Kurdish, Kurdistan, Hamadan, Republic, Saqez, Sanandaj, London, United States, Britain, Fars

CNN —Iranian authorities detained the father of Mahsa Amini on the one-year anniversary of her death Saturday, Iranian journalists and rights groups have said. Iranian journalist and founder of activist outlet “IranWire” Maziar Bahari told CNN that Amini’s father, Amjad, has been regularly summoned by security officers in the months following his daughter’s death. US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) in January placed the number at more than 500, including 70 children. Thousands more were arrested during the months of nationwide protest, the UN said in a report in June, citing research released last year by their Human Rights Committee. Iran executed seven protesters for their involvement in the unrest, according to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Persons: Mahsa, Amini, Maziar Bahari, Amjad, ” Bahari, Amini’s, IranWire, Bahari, Safa, Hengaw Organizations: CNN, Helicopters, Human, News Agency, UN, Rights, Human Rights Committee, UN’s, Human Rights Locations: Iran, Iranian, Kurdish, Saqqez

☆ One year since Mahsa Amini’s death, a protester shot in the eye during Iran’s crackdown continues her struggle from exile
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Adam Pourahmadi Sarah El Sirgany Jomana Karadsheh | Adam Pourahmadi | Sarah El Sirgany | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Milan, Italy CNN —Elahe Tavakolian’s shooter was so close, she could see him pointing his gun at her. Flares of dissent were slowly lighting up cities and small towns like Esfarayen in the northeast of the country, where Tavakolian was shot. Help!’” she tells CNN in an interview in Milan, Italy, where she has sought asylum. Tavakolian felt like her fight wasn’t over. Now fitted with a prosthetic eye in Italy, Tavakolian is coming to terms with her new reality.

Persons: Italy CNN — Elahe, ”, “, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tavakolian, ” Tavakolian, can’t, ‘, didn’t, ’, I’m, Mahsa, IranWire, ophthalmologists, Mark Esplin, Roberta Rei, she’s Organizations: Italy CNN, Iran’s, CNN, Taxi, Amnesty, UN, Rights, News Agency, Human Rights, San Locations: Milan, Italy, Iran

☆ Mahsa Amini’s uncle arrested ahead of one-year anniversary of her death
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Teele Rebane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The uncle of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman whose death in the custody of Iran’s morality police sparked nation-wide protests last year, was arrested last week, according to a family member and a human rights group. Safa Aeli, a resident of the Kurdish city of Saqqez, was arrested on Tuesday at his home by 10 intelligence agents, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). A family member told CNN on condition of anonymity that Aeli has since been taken to Tehran, without providing further details out of concern for his safety. The reasons behind his arrest are unknown, but his detention comes just days before the one-year anniversary of Amini’s death. The protests dwindled, but the regime has ramped up its arrests of activists and their relatives ahead of the anniversary of Amini’s death September 16.

Persons: Mahsa Amini, Safa, Aeli, Amini, ” Organizations: CNN, Human, News Agency Locations: Kurdish, Saqqez, Tehran, Iran

☆ Iran rounds up activists and relatives of killed protesters ahead of Mahsa Amini anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Mostafa Salem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Iran is moving to head off a possible repeat of unrest ahead of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, arresting women’s rights activists and family members of people killed during last year’s nationwide protests, local and international human rights groups said Wednesday. More than 300 people were killed in the protests, including more than 40 children, the UN said in November last year. US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) in January placed the number at more than 500, including 70 children. Iran executed seven protesters for their involvement in the unrest, according to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Meanwhile, Bidarzani, an independent women’s rights group, alleges in social media posts that 11 women’s rights activists and one man were arrested in Gilan province over the last week.

Persons: Mahsa Amini, ”, Shermin Habibi, Fereydoon, Mahsa, Tara Sepehri Far Organizations: CNN, UN, Rights, News Agency, Human Rights Committee, UN’s, Human Rights, Iranian Foreign Ministry, Amnesty, Prosecutors Locations: Iran, HRANA, Gilan province, Tehran, Gilan

☆ Women’s Rights Activists Rounded Up in Iran as Protest Anniversary Nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Leily Nikounazar | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a sweeping operation ahead of an important anniversary, the Iranian authorities have detained at least 12 rights activists, all but one of them women, over the past two days, human rights groups and Iranian media have reported. Hundreds were killed in the ensuing government crackdown, including at least 44 minors, while around 20,000 Iranians were arrested, the United Nations calculated. The arrested activists were rounded up in cities across Iran’s northern Gilan Province, according to HRANA, an Iranian human rights organization. On Thursday, Iranian officials accused the 12 detainees of planning to incite “chaos and vandalism” on the upcoming anniversary of Ms. Amini’s death, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reported. According to Fars, which has close ties to the country’s security agencies, the officials also accused the activists of being funded by foreign intelligence and collaborating with Iran International, an opposition television channel based in Washington.

Persons: Amini, “, ”, Sanam Vakil, Amini’s Organizations: United Nations, Chatham House, Fars News Agency, Iran International Locations: Iran, Iran’s, Gilan Province, Iranian, East, North Africa, London, Fars, Washington

☆ Iran says there were no school poisonings, blames foreign 'enemies'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Iran's intelligence ministry on Friday accused foreign "enemies" and dissidents of fomenting fears over suspected poisonings of schoolgirls, saying its investigation found no actual poisoning. The report accused unnamed dissidents of provoking fears to produce propaganda videos and warned of "prosecution of individuals, groups, media who accused the government ... and aligned themselves with enemies". Authorities have accused the Islamic Republic's "enemies" of using the suspected attacks to undermine the clerical establishment. The suspected poisonings began in November in the holy Shi'ite Muslim city of Qom and spread to 28 of Iran's 31 provinces, according to activist HRANA news agency, prompting some parents to take children out of school and protest. For the first time since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, schoolgirls have joined the protests that spiralled after Mahsa Amini's death in morality police custody.

☆ Iran marks revolution anniversary, hackers interrupt state TV coverage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Iranians are seen under a large flag of Iran during the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran, February 11, 2023. His live televised speech was interrupted on the internet for about a minute, with a logo appearing on the screen of a group of anti-Iranian government hackers that goes by the name of “Edalat Ali (Justice of Ali). A voice shouted “Death to the Islamic Republic.”Nationwide protests swept Iran following the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's morality police. Government television on Saturday aired live footage of the state rallies around the country. His speech was frequently interrupted by chants of “Death to America” - a trademark slogan at state rallies.

☆ Iran issues pardon for 'tens of thousands' of prisoners
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pardoned "tens of thousands" of prisoners, including many arrested in recent anti-government protests over security-related charges, state media reported on Sunday. "Prisoners not facing charges of spying for foreign agencies, having direct contact with foreign agents, committing intentional murder and injury, committing destruction and arson of state property, or not having a private plaintiff in their case will be pardoned," state media said. The pardons were announced in honour of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. According to the HRANA activist news agency, about 20,000 people have been arrested over anti-government protests sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish Iranian woman, in September. Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Images of emaciated Iranian prisoner on hunger strike prompt outrage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Imprisoned Iranian activist Farhad Meysami, who is reported to have gone on a hunger strike, is seen at Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, Iran, in this social media image released on February 2, 2023. Mohammad Moghimi/via REUTERS TFeb 3 (Reuters) - Social media images purported to be of an emaciated jailed Iranian physician who went on hunger strike in support of demonstrations against the compulsory wearing of the hijab have caused outrage and warnings that he risks death. But the Iranian judiciary denied the hunger strike claim and said the photos that have gone viral on social media were from four years ago when Meysami did go on hunger strike. "He went on hunger strike to protest the recent government killings in the streets." "Shocking images of Dr. Farhad Meysami, a brave advocate for women's rights who has been on hunger strike in prison,” tweeted Robert Malley, Washington's special envoy for Iran.

☆ Nobel laureate Ebadi says Iran's 'revolutionary process' is irreversible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi answers a question during an interview at the Thomson Reuters office in London, Britain February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Suzanne PlunkettDUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said the death in custody of a young Iranian Kurdish woman last year has sparked an irreversible "revolutionary process" that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Islamic Republic. Iran's clerical rulers have faced widespread unrest since Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the morality police on Sept. 16 after she was arrested for wearing "inappropriate attire". As they have done in the past in the face of protests in the past four decades, Iran's hardline rulers have cracked down hard. Like many critics of Iran's clerical rulers, Ebadi believes the current wave of protests has been the boldest challenge to the establishment's legitimacy yet.

☆ Rapper who became the voice of the Iranian revolt is in danger of execution
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Sanam Mahoozi | Sanam Mahoozi Is A Freelance Writer Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Fear for his safety have also grown after Salehi’s official Twitter account posted Friday that despite being in danger of losing his eyesight, he was being repeatedly beaten. Iranian mourners march towards Aichi cemetery in Saqez in Iranian Kurdistan to mark 40 days since Mahsa Amini's death on Oct. 26, 2022. ESN / AFP - Getty ImagesUsing his voice and lyrics, Salehi came out in support of the anti-government protesters from the beginning. At the heart of the protests, and Salehi’s lyrics, is the conviction that the government must go. “This is Toomaj Salehi,” he wrote, reposting a Salehi video supportive of the protesters.

☆ Top Iranian Sunni cleric says torture of protesters un-Islamic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A top dissident Iranian Sunni cleric on Friday denounced as un-Islamic Iran's alleged use of forced confessions to convict detained protesters, as weekly demonstrations continued in the county's southeast. Meanwhile, the authorities' crackdown following nationwide protests continued with arrests, including that of a celebrity chef and a prominent journalist. "If someone does not accept the accusation, they torture him to accept it. After the sermon, demonstrators marched in Zahedan, chanting "Death to the Islamic Republic", according to videos posted on social media. Officials are yet to announce the reasons for the detention of Beik, who had interviewed relatives of arrested protesters.

☆ Iran supreme leader Khamenei hints at loosening of hijab rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Sanam Mahoozi | Sanam Mahoozi Is A Freelance Writer Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

While his comments were vague and did not promise to change the existing laws, they were a recognition of how potent the issue of the hijab remains, according to Abbas Milani, the director of Iranian studies at Stanford University. “I think he knows how pervasive women’s rejection of compulsory hijab has been,” he said. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency, or HRANA, estimates that more than 18,000 people have been arrested. In his speech, Khamenei also criticized the West for its treatment of women. Women in the West are “alienated,” he said, adding that the “Western capitalist system is a patriarchal system,” according to Mehr News Agency.

☆ Iran top court accepts protester's appeal against death sentence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The Supreme Court has accepted the appeal of Sahand Noor Mohammadzadeh, one of the accused in the recent riots. It said 66 members of the security forces had also been killed. Iranian officials have said that up to 300 people, including members of the security forces, have lost their lives. Last week, the Supreme Court accepted the death sentence appeal of rapper Saman Seydi Yasin but confirmed the same sentence against protester Mohammad Qobadloo. Earlier this month it suspended the death sentence of protester Mahan Sadrat, who had been charged with various alleged offences including stabbing a security officer and setting fire to a motorcycle.

☆ Iranian woman competes at chess tournament without hijab- media reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player has taken part in an international tournament without a hijab, according to media reports, the latest of several Iranian sportswomen to appear at competitions without one since anti-government protests began. Iranian news outlets Khabarvarzeshi and Etemad, in reports on Monday, said Sara Khadem had competed at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, without the hijab - a headscarf mandatory under Iran's strict dress codes. Photos posted by both outlets appeared to show her with no headscarf during the tournament. There was no comment on Khadem's Instagram page about the tournament or the reports, and she did not immediately respond to a direct message from Reuters. In October, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without a headscarf, later saying she had done so unintentionally.

☆ Iran says UK-linked arrests reflect 'destructive role' in protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 26 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that the arrests of citizens linked to the United Kingdom showed London's "destructive role" in the recent protests in Iran. "Their role was totally destructive and incited the riots". Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that the seven, including some who held dual nationality, were arrested over anti-government protests that have rocked the country. The British foreign ministry had said it was seeking further information from Iranian authorities on the reports that British-Iranian dual nationals had been arrested. Kanaani said the files of some of the detainees had been completed, while those of others were still being investigated.

☆ Iran reroutes plane carrying soccer star's wife, blames UK over unrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A service that could help Iranians circumvent internet restrictions is Starlink, a satellite-based broadband service operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Musk said on Monday that the company was getting close to having 100 active Starlink satellite receivers inside Iran. After he voiced support for the protests on social media, authorities this month shut down a jewellery shop and a restaurant he owned. The British foreign ministry had said it was seeking further information from Iranian authorities on the reported arrests. Besides arrests, authorities have imposed travel bans on dozens of artists, lawyers, journalists and celebrities for endorsing the protests.

☆ Iran Supreme Court accepts appeals of two protesters sentenced to death
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 24 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Court has accepted the appeals of two protesters sentenced to death due to flaws in investigating their cases, the country's judiciary said on Saturday. "The Supreme Court accepted the appeals of Mohammad Qobadloo and Saman Saidi Yasin, accused of the recent riots," the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported. "Due to research deficiencies, the Supreme Court has referred them to the same courts for re-examination." Yasin, a Kurd who raps about inequality, oppression and unemployment, was accused of attempting to kill security forces and singing revolutionary songs. A top state security body said early this month that 200 people, including members of security forces, had lost their lives in the unrest.

☆ Prominent Sunni cleric denounces Iran crackdown, currency near record low
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] People take part in a protest against the Islamic regime of Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, in Istanbul, Turkey December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dilara SenkayaDUBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Iran's currency hovered near a historic low against the U.S. dollar on the unofficial foreign exchange market on Friday amid renewed street protests in the restive southeast, where a prominent dissident Sunni Muslim cleric denounced a bloody crackdown on street demonstrations. Some of the worst unrest in recent months has been in areas home to minority ethnic groups with long-standing grievances against the state, including Sistan-Baluchistan and Kurdish regions. On the unofficial foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar sold for as much as 400,500 rials on Friday, slightly down from an all-time high of 401,000 on Thursday, according to foreign exchange site Bonbast.com. State officials have said up to 300 have been killed, including members of the security forces.

☆ Iran's clerical leaders to grapple with deepening dissent in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Amini's family said she was beaten after being arrested by the morality police on Sept. 13 for violating the Islamic Republic's imposed dress code. Facing their worst legitimacy crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran's religious leaders have tried to portray the unrest as breakaway uprisings by ethnic minorities threatening national unity rather than its clerical rule. Protesters from all walks of life have taken to the streets, calling for the downfall of the Islamic Republic. However, the persistent unrest does not mean the four-decade-old Islamic Republic will disappear any time soon given the power wielded by its security apparatus. The Islamic Republic will be engulfed by what analysts call a "revolutionary process" that will likely fuel more protests into 2023, with neither side backing down.

☆ Iranian oil workers protest for higher wages
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Groups of oil workers held protests in southern Iran on Saturday, demanding higher wages and retirement bonuses, according to videos and reports posted on social media. There was no immediate comment from Iran's oil ministry about the reported oil worker protests. The activist HRANA news agency said a group of oil workers protested outside the Pars Oil and Gas Company in Asaluyeh in the southern province of Bushehr on the Gulf. HRANA and other social media carried videos and photographs of similar protests by oil workers in areas including Ahvaz, capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan province, Gachsaran and Mahshahr. Four decades ago, a combination of mass protests and strikes by oil workers and bazaar merchants helped sweep Iran's Shi'ite Muslim clergy to power.

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