Iranian authorities have agreed to grant a furlough to a number of political prisoners on the occasion of Norooz to let them spend the New Year holidays with their families. Mahmoud Beheshti, the spokesman for the Teachers’ Association, Meysam Mohammadi, a Shahid Beheshti Foundation staff member, an...

March 18, 2016 at 4:41 pm A Tehran appeals court has upheld a three-year prison sentence for teacher activist Rasoul Bodaghi. Rasoul Bodaghi The Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that while Bodaghi’s original jail term would have been served by July of this year, he was slapped with new cha...

Iranian poet and humourist Mohammadreza Alipayam was released from jail on March 16, 2016. Kaleme reports that Alipayam, who has been in jail since last May, was released on Wednesday. Alipayam, who published his poetry under the alias “Haloo”, was arrested for the social and political commentary in...

Veteran Iranian actor Ezzatollah Entezami has written a letter to President Rohani calling for an end to the house arrest of the opposition leaders detained for the 2009 election protests, MirHosein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi. Ezatollah Entezami Entezami calls on the president to li...

Iranian authorities have denied a hospital stay to one of the longest-serving prisoners in the country. Mohammad Nazari Mohammad Nazari, a 44-year-old political prisoner who has been in prison for over 22 years, was taken to hospital for chest pains and heart complication but was prevented from bein...

March 16, 2016 at 4:42 pm Jailed teacher Ali Akbar Baghani, who is the deputy head of the Iranian Teachers’ Association, was released on bail from Rejai Shahr Prison on Wednesday March 16. Ali Akbar Baghani The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that Baghani was released at the end o...

Khalil Mohammadi (Tehran) – What can the outcome of the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections provide for voters who went to the polls with hopes for “change”? The answer to this question may be evident to those who are familiar with the precedents of such events in the Islamic system. The...

Kian Sabeti Source: www.radiozamaneh.com Translation by Iran Press Watch In the final days of the current year, in which Iranian families are preparing to welcome the New Year*, a Baha’i couple, Payman Kooshakbaghi and Azita Rafizadeh were arrested and sent to prison to start their long sentences. T...

Asad Binakhahi

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has once again criticized Chaharshanbeh Souri festivities, saying they go against Islam’s Sharia laws. On Monday March 14, one day before Chaharshanbeh Souri, Ayatollah Khamenei’s website published a question put to him regarding the Chaharshanbeh Souri festi...

Iran’s Guardian Council has approved a parliamentary bill to make blood money for men and women equal for driving insurance purposes. Rahim Zareh, the spokesman for parliament’s economic commission, said on television that the bill to implement parity in the third person life insurance of men and wo...

Jailed jou alist Serajeddin Mirdamadi and jailed children’s rights activist Saeed Hosseinzadeh were released from Evin Prison on Monday March 14. Saeed Hosseinzadeh – Sarajeddin MIrdamadi The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that Mirdamadi has been granted a conditional release, wh...

The Iranian health minister has contacted the daughters of MirHosein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnvard, the opposition leaders under house arrest, assuring them that he visited their parents together with their physician and will make sure that they receive adequate medical care. Kaleme reports that Hassan...

March 14, 2016 at 3:23 pm Iran’s minister of communications has once again stressed that the administration is opposed to the complete blocking of inte et sites. Mahmoud Vaezi Mahmoud Vaezi told ISNA on Monday March 14 that it is not appropriate to block a whole site that provides beneficial informa...

March 14, 2016 at 3:24 pm The head of Iran’s Elections Office a ounced that voting in ridings that went into the second round of the election will be held on April 29. Mideast Iran Elections Ali Pourali reported that the ministry of interior and the Guardian Council have agreed on the date. Iranians...

Daniel Murphy

Simin Eyvazideh, the mother of political prisoner Omid Haghshenas, has been sentenced to 91 days in jail and 74 lashes. The Inte ational Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reports that Eyvazzadeh had until Saturday March 12 to appeal the sentence. Eyvazzadeh told the campaign: “The charge against me ...

Iranian political activist Heshamatollah Tabarzadi has been summoned to court for Wednesday March 16. Heshmatollah Tabarzadi Tabarzadi a ounced the news on social media, adding that if he is arrested, he will go on a hunger strike from the moment they take him. Tabatzadi writes: “They rang my bell t...

In the final weeks of the Iranian calendar year, as Iranians prepare for new year celebrations, fruit prices have jumped by 18.4 percent and vegetables by 8.7 percent, while price hikes are also being reported for other food items. ISNA reported on Saturday March 12 that in addition to produce, pric...

March 12, 2016 at 1:11 pm Floods in Nikshahr in the southeaste province of Sistan-Baluchistan have claimed the lives of two people. The Mehr News Agency reported on Saturday March 12 that rain and a flooded river overtu ed a pickup truck, killing two people and leaving one injured. The Sistan-Baluch...