All News items from Iran

Case Update

Esha Momeni Iranian-American student who had returned to Iran to complete her thesis involving a film documentary on women's situation -arrested on 15 October 2008-, has been released on a 198000 dollar bail from Evin prison. According to Reza Momeni, her father, Esha is not allowed to leave Iran and has to be present in a political court hearing on charges of "acting against national security and propagating against the government". These charges are heavy enough to have her sentenced to a life prison term. Read more about Esha Momeni's release.  

Front Line is concerned for the wellbeing of Muhammad Sadiq Kaboudvand, a journalist and the founder of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK). Information received today reveals that Mr. Kaboudvand is in solitary confinement and has been denied necessary treatment.  

Posted 18/07/2008 Zeinab Bayzeydi, women’s rights activist, member of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan and a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign in the city of Mahabad in Kurdistan Province, was arrested on 9 July 2008. On 5 July 2008, Zeinab Bayzeyd was reportedly summoned by telephone for questioning and interrogated for several hours. She was told to return for interrogation again on 9 July 2008, and after three hours of interrogation, she was arrested on the order of the courts and transferred to a detention center in Mahabad, managed by the Ministry of Information and Security.

Front Line is deeply concerned following the arrest of nine women's rights defenders during peaceful demonstration outside the Rahe Abrisham Gallery in Tehran, on 12 June 2008. The women's rights defenders, Aida Saadat, an online journalist for Etemad and Change for Equality; Nasrin Sotoode, a women's rights lawyer; Jelve Javaheri, an online journalist for the Change for Equality website; Jilla Baniyagoub, an online journalist with Sarmayeh and the Canon Zeman Irani; Sarah Loghmani and Farideh Ghaeb, both online journalists for Canon Zeman Irani; Alieh Motalbezadeh, a journalist and photographer; and women's rights defenders, Nahid Mirhaj and Nafiseh Azad, were meeting to celebrate the National Day of Solidarity of Iranian Women in objection to discriminatory laws against women in Iran and to review the achievements of the women's rights movement through similar meetings over previous years.  

A new report by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran documents how the Iranian authorities have systematically thwarted peaceful and legal civil society efforts to advocate for women’s rights in Iran, abusing the legal system and gravely violating internationally protected civil rights in the process.  

According to reports received, Delarim Ali's sentence of two years and six months has not been implemented, as the Iranian authorities have requested that there be a two week period of investigation. For more information please click here: http://www.we4change.info/english/spip.php?article167

To His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, The people of Iran are experiencing difficult times both internationally and domestically. Internationally, they face the threat of a military attack from the US and the imposition of extensive sanctions by the UN Security Council. Domestically, a despotic state has – through constant and organized repression – imprisoned them in a life and death situation.