Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Active Cases

Iran: Arbitrary arrest of human rights defender Mr Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi

Posted on 2010/02/04

Human rights defender Mr Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi was arrested on 3 February 2010. Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi is a journalist and a member of the Central Council of the Human Rights Organisation of Kurdistan. He is also a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, working for an end to gender discrimination in Iran. 

• arbitrary detention
• Front Line
• human rights
• human rights defender
• whereabouts unknown

• Iran

Iran: Ms Shiva Nazarahari and six other human rights defenders at risk in detention

Posted on 2010/02/02

Human rights defender Ms Shiva Nazarahari and six other members of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), Mr Kouhyar Goudarzi, Mr Saeed Kalanaki, Mr Mehrdad Rahimi, Ms Parisa Kakaie, Mr Saeed Haeri and Mr Saeed Jalalifar are being pressurized to falsely confess that the CHRR is affiliated with the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO). Affiliation with the MKO is considered a very serious crime in Iran which carries a possible sentence of execution. Front Line previously sent an appeal in relation to Shiva Nazarahari on 23 June 2009 and in relation to Parisa Kakaie on 5 November 2009. 

• Front Line
• human rights
• Human Rights Defenders
• pressurized to falsely confess

• Iran

Human rights defenders in Iran are subjected to death threats, acts of harassment, arbitrary arrest, judicial harassment, stigmatization, violent attacks, ill-treatment, torture and killings. Women human rights defenders are particularly at risk in Iran. Freedoms of expression, association and assembly are severely restricted in Iran as they are usually associated with breaches of the security of the state or are reported to conflict with the teachings of Islam. E-security is a problem for human rights defenders in Iran as the authorities regularly close down human rights related websites.

According to the report on the situation of human rights defenders of the UN SRSG, “defenders in Iran reportedly come from many backgrounds and include journalists, critical Islamic scholars, writers, “cultural personalities”, cultural institutions and lawyers”. Particular issues of concern for defenders in Iran include the rights of women, rights of children, rights of prisoners, rights of minorities, environmental issues, freedom of expression, e-security, advocacy of human rights and campaigning against legislative restrictions which impede human rights. Women campaigning for equal rights are targeted by the authorities and subjected to arbitrary detention, judicial harassment and acts of torture. Defenders of LGBTI rights are also a very vulnerable group as homosexuality is a crime punishable by death in Iran. Most defenders who are imprisoned in relation to their legitimate human rights activities are held at Evin prison which is notorious for acts of ill-treatment and torture. Human rights organizations in Iran face many difficulties due to the registration procedure as it is particularly restrictive for independent non-governmental organisations and they have very limited funding.