Center for Human Rights in Iran @ICHRI

Three defense attorneys in Shiraz have each been sentenced to three years in prison and banned from leaving the country for two years. Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz convicted Nazanin Salari, Mahmoud Taravat Rouy, and Masoud Ahmadian of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime,” sentencing each to two years and one year in prison, respectively. The court also ordered the confiscation of their passports and imposed a two-year travel ban. The case stems from their participation in seminars on women's and children's rights, advocacy for legal reforms addressing domestic violence, and efforts to combat child marriage and violence against women. The lawyers were first summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence in 2020 and formally charged in 2021. They also face separate charges in a criminal court, including appearing in public without the mandatory hijab and encouraging non-compliance with hijab laws. In recent months, the independent legal community in Iran has been targeted by authorities, with several human rights lawyers facing arrests, prosecutions, imprisonment, and judicial harassment related to their work.

42-year-old protester Fathollah Avari was executed after his death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, according to Iran's state media. While officials did not disclose the date or location of the execution, reports indicate that it was carried out at Hamedan Central Prison. Avari was sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh ("enmity against God") and the alleged murder of a police officer during the protests. State media broadcast his televised forced "confession," a serious violation of his due process rights. 🚨 Since March 19, at least 18 protesters are known to have been executed in connection with the nationwide protests that began in January and were followed by a bloody massacre of protesters. 👉 These executions are being carried out at an alarmingly rapid pace, with protesters arrested, interrogated, prosecuted, and sentenced to death, and their convictions swiftly upheld by the Supreme Court, all within a matter of months through proceedings that lack even the most basic due process guarantees. 👉 Many have been held incommunicado for weeks while undergoing interrogations marked by torture and coercion, denied access to independent legal counsel, convicted on the basis of forced “confessions,” and, in some cases, secretly executed without prior notice to their families.

Iranian authorities have sentenced attorney Mohammad Tarighat Esfanjani to three years in prison, while another lawyer, Seyed Mohammadreza Razavi Fard, stood trial this week. The Revolutionary Court of Osku County in East Azerbaijan province recently sentenced Tarighat Esfanjani to one year in prison for “propaganda against the regime” and an additional two years of discretionary imprisonment for allegedly “insulting the Supreme Leader." Authorities cited content published on his Instagram page as evidence in the case. Tarighat Esfanjani, an attorney and member of the East Azerbaijan Province Bar Association, was reportedly assaulted last year by individuals wearing military uniforms. His wife was also reportedly threatened during the incident. Separately, on May 26, attorney Seyed Mohammadreza Razavi Fard appeared before Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Qom to defend himself against a charge of “propaganda against the regime.” Razavi Fard is currently out on bail pending further proceedings. In recent months, lawyers in Iran have faced arrests, prosecutions, and judicial harassment. Lawyers Elham Zeraatpisheh and Astareh (Maryam) Ansari were arrested in Shiraz on May 4 and May 3, 2026, respectively. In a separate case, lawyers Amir Raisian and Milad Panahipour are facing judicial proceedings at Tehran’s Security Prosecutor’s Office after publicly raising concerns about their client, death row protester Ehsan Hosseinipour. Prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents at her home on April 1, 2026, and released on bail on May 13.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran @ICHRI documents a sharp escalation in the systematic persecution of Iranian Baha'is amid a nationwide crackdown, including dozens of arbitrary arrests, violent home raids, enforced disappearances, torture, and property seizures across cities like Shiraz, Kerman, Mashhad, and Yazd. The report details cases where detainees were denied access to lawyers, held incommunicado, or subjected to mock executions and electric shocks — with one appellate judge telling three Baha'i women: "You are Baha'i, and in an Islamic country you must pay the price for being Baha'i." For decades, Iran's constitution has denied Baha'is recognition, barring them from higher education, government employment, and even burial rights. CHRI calls on the UN and governments worldwide to demand an immediate end to these violations and the release of all Baha'is imprisoned solely for their faith. iranhumanrights.org/2026/05/irans-… This reporting adds to growing international concern over the Iranian government's continued scapegoating of the country's largest non-Muslim minority community. #BahaiRights #Iran #CHRI #PeyvandNaimi #BornaNaimi

Läs rapporten från @ICHRI som beskriver den kraftiga eskaleringen av de iranska myndigheternas förföljelse av #bahai-erna i #Iran ➡️ iranhumanrights.org/2026/05/irans-…

Center for Human Rights in Iran @ICHRI

3 weeks ago

As Iranian authorities intensify domestic repression, they have sharply escalated the persecution of the #Bahai religious minority community through 🔸arbitrary arrests 🔸violent home raids 🔸enforced disappearances 🔸property seizures Read more ⬇️ tinyurl.com/d5659awp

0 32 42 3K 3

Iranian authorities secretly executed two Kurdish political prisoners, Ramin Zoleh and Karim Maroufpour, on May 21 in Naqadeh Prison in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, without notifying their families or lawyers. A former cellmate told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network that the two men were arrested by intelligence forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the summer of 2024 and subjected to months of physical and psychological torture to extract forced “confessions” alleging they had planned to kill an IRGC member in Piranshahr. The two men were sentenced to death by Branch One of the Mahabad Revolutionary Court on charges of “armed rebellion” through alleged membership in a Kurdish opposition party. According to Kurdpa, the verdict was issued following a trial that lasted only a few minutes, during which they were denied access to lawyers of their choosing. Their torture-tainted forced “confessions” were used as evidence against them. 🔸 Security-related charges such as “baghy” (armed rebellion) are frequently used against political prisoners in Iran, particularly Kurdish minority citizens, to impose lengthy prison sentences or the death penalty in cases marked by torture, forced “confessions,” and sham trials. 🔸 At least 34 people, including 14 protesters arrested during the January protests, have been executed on politically motivated charges since March 19. 🔸 Death sentences in Iran are routinely handed down following grossly unfair trials, with defendants frequently denied access to independent legal counsel and convicted solely on the basis of forced “confessions” extracted under torture and coercion. 🔸 Under the cover of war, Iranian authorities are accelerating politically motivated executions at an unprecedented pace, emboldened by near-total impunity and a lack of sustained international outcry. 🔸 World leaders must place the ongoing human rights crisis in Iran, including the alarming wave of executions, at the center of all diplomatic engagement with the Islamic Republic’s authorities. #رامین_زله #کریم_معروف‌پور

As Iranian authorities intensify domestic repression, they have sharply escalated the persecution of the #Bahai religious minority community through 🔸arbitrary arrests 🔸violent home raids 🔸enforced disappearances 🔸property seizures Read more ⬇️ tinyurl.com/d5659awp

Erfan Arabi, a 20-year-old computer engineering student at Islamic Azad University of Birjand in Iran's South Khorasan province, has been sentenced to eight years in prison by a Revolutionary Court in connection with the 2026 nationwide protests. He was verbally informed of the sentence on May 12. Arabi was arrested in February 2026 after being summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence, which confiscated his electronic devices. He was released on bail in April. He was reportedly charged with “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime." Under Article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, 5 years of the imprisonment sentence is enforceable. 🔸 Thousands were arrested during the nationwide protests earlier this year, with many subjected to enforced disappearance and held without charge. Defendants have been denied access to independent lawyers, deprived of due process, subjected to torture and other ill-treatment to extract forced confessions, and handed heavy sentences, including the death penalty. The wave of arbitrary arrests has continued since the war began.

Iranian authorities executed protester Mohammad Abbasi at dawn on May 13 in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. He is the 14th person executed in connection with the January 2026 protests. Prison officials reportedly summoned Abbasi’s family for a visit, but when they arrived at the prison, they were denied the opportunity to see him. The family was later informed by phone that the execution had been carried out. Abbasi was sentenced to death on charges of “enmity against God” in connection with the alleged killing of a police officer by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. The sentences were issued by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, known as the “judge of death” and the “hanging judge” for his long record of sentencing protesters to death. In the same case, the Supreme Court also upheld the 25-year prison sentence of Abbasi’s daughter, Fatemeh Abbasi, who is currently imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Attorney Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani had previously said that Branch 39 of the Supreme Court barred him and another independent lawyer from representing the defendants or reviewing their case files, despite serious concerns over the judicial process and the evidence presented against them, further undermining their right to a fair trial. 🔸 At least 32 people, including 14 protesters arrested during the January protests, have been executed on politically motivated charges since the outbreak of the war. 🔸 Death sentences in Iran are routinely handed down following grossly unfair trials, with defendants frequently denied access to independent legal counsel and convicted on the basis of forced “confessions” extracted under torture and coercion. 🔸 Under the cover of war, Iranian authorities are accelerating politically motivated executions at an unprecedented pace, emboldened by near-total impunity and a lack of sustained international outcry. 🔸 World leaders must place the ongoing human rights crisis in Iran, including the alarming wave of executions, at the center of all diplomatic engagement with the Islamic Republic’s authorities.

Authorities in Iran have executed at least six political prisoners and protesters over the past two days. These individuals were sentenced to death following grossly unfair trials that failed to meet even the most basic due process standards, and were convicted on allegations based on forced “confessions” obtained under torture and coercion. On May 2, Yaghoub Karimpour, a Turkish citizen and follower of the Yarsan faith, and Naser Bakrzadeh, a Kurdish political prisoner, were executed. On May 3, Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a Kurdish protester arrested during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, was executed. Also on May 3, three protesters arrested during the recent January protests—Mehdi Rasouli, 25; Mohammadreza Miri, 21; and Ebrahim Dowlatabadi-Nejad—were executed. Since the start of the war, authorities have executed 28 individuals, including 14 protesters, most of whom were arrested during the recent protests. 🔸The absence of sustained international outcry has emboldened the Islamic Republic to rapidly execute political prisoners with impunity under the cover of war. World leaders must urgently press the authorities to halt all executions and immediately release all political prisoners.

I echo UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk's statement on Iran and join him in calling on the Iranian authorities to halt executions, release those arbitrarily detained, and restore internet access immediately. ohchr.org/en/press-relea… The use of national security charges to silence dissent, coerced confessions as the basis for executions, and the targeting of ethnic and religious minorities are patterns I have documented throughout my mandate — and they are continuing despite the ceasefire, as fragile as it is. At least 21 executions have been announced by the State since the conflict began, but the ongoing shutdown gives me serious concern that further executions may be taking place without our knowledge. I am concerned for Narges Mohammadi, whose health is reportedly deteriorating in detention, and for Nasrin Sotoudeh, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Authorities have also reportedly seized the assets of hundreds of citizens — including 400 Iranians living abroad — labelling them 'traitors to the homeland’.The 61-day internet shutdown, the longest ever recorded, has caused severe economic losses, disrupted education and healthcare, and left people unable to access safety information during active hostilities — allowing the State to monopolise the narrative and making it impossible to grasp the full human rights situation inside the country.

PEN America announced on April 22 that Iranian writers Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Ali Asadollahi will receive the 2026 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, as repression of free expression in Iran intensifies. Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, a writer and human rights defender, has faced over a decade of harassment, detention, and repeated imprisonment for her activism. Following her detention during the 2022 protests, she was sentenced to seven years in prison, later reduced to five on appeal. She remains imprisoned in Evin Prison. Ali Asadollahi, a writer and translator, was arrested at his home during the recent protests in January 2026. He was denied legal counsel and subjected to prolonged interrogations, physical abuse, and pressure to confess before being released on bail in mid-March amid international pressure. An award-winning poet and member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, Asadollahi has published six collections and was previously detained during the 2022 protests. PEN America said the award recognizes writers targeted for their work and draws attention to both the long-standing persecution of Iranian writers and escalating risks amid ongoing conflict.

Two teenagers from Iran's Baluch ethnic minority community were killed after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces opened fire on them in a border area of southeastern Iran, according to local reports. The incident occurred around 7:00 a.m. on April 13, 2026, near the village of Bunser in the Kalgan border region of Golshan County, where the two youths had taken their flock of sheep out to graze. The victims have been identified as Ali Siahani, approximately 18, and Imran Siahani, approximately 17, both residents of Bunser village. According to sources cited by Halvash, IRGC forces opened fire on the teenagers without prior warning. Imran Siahani was struck by two bullets to the chest and died at the scene. Ali Siahani was wounded and left at the scene for several hours. Military forces reportedly transferred Imran’s body to a border outpost, while Ali remained at the scene until around noon, when relatives found him still alive and attempted to take him to a hospital. He died en route due to the severity of his injuries. Authorities have not provided any explanation for the shooting. Iran’s Baluch ethnic minority community has long faced systemic discrimination, economic deprivation, and heavy security crackdowns from the government. Many Baluch citizens also belong to the Sunni religious minority and are therefore subjected to both ethnic and religious persecution in Iran. Iranian security forces routinely use unlawful force against the Baluch citizens, in violation of international human rights laws prohibiting extrajudicial killings and excessive use of force.

Authorities in Iran have transferred 73-year-old political prisoner Mir-Youssef Younesi from Evin Prison to an undisclosed location, raising serious concerns about his safety and health. His son, Reza Younesi, said prison officials summoned his father to the prison office on Monday morning, but he was not returned to his ward. Fellow inmates were later informed that he had been transferred. His family says authorities have not disclosed his whereabouts. Younesi was sentenced in January 2024 by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to five years' imprisonment after a trial marred by due process violations. He was arrested on December 28, 2022, and spent 107 days in solitary confinement before being moved to the general ward of Evin Prison. Younesi is also the father of Ali Younesi, an award-winning 25-year-old student who has been imprisoned in Evin Prison since April 2020 for political charges, such as “propaganda against the regime.” Ali Younesi won silver and gold medals in Iran’s National Astronomy Olympiad in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and later secured first place at the 12th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics in China.

A coalition of 30 international legal organizations has issued a joint letter calling for the immediate & unconditional release of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been held incommunicado since her unlawful arrest on April 1. iranhumanrights.org/2026/04/30-leg…

Four individuals detained during the January 2026 protests in Iran have been sentenced to death by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, along with additional prison terms and asset confiscation. Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl, Bita Hemmati, Behrouz Zamaninejad, and Kourosh Zamaninejad were all sentenced to death on charges of “operational action for the hostile government of the United States and hostile groups," along with five-year prison terms for “assembly and collusion against national security,” and had all their assets confiscated, according to the ruling obtained by HRANA. A fifth defendant, Amir Hemmati, was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.” Majidi-Asl and Hemmati are a married couple, Amir Hemmati is their relative, and the Zamaninejads are brothers. They were arrested in the same residential building. 👉 Dozens of individuals arrested during the January 2026 protests have been sentenced to death following grossly unfair, fast-tracked trials conducted without due process, access to independent counsel, and reliance on torture-tainted forced "confessions" as evidence. 👉 Authorities routinely use broadly defined, vague "national security" charges against political prisoners and protesters to secure convictions carrying severe penalties, including the death penalty. Since the start of the war, at least 13 political prisoners and protesters have been executed, most of them without prior notification to their families or lawyers.

Authorities in Iran have arrested 10 citizens in Qom Province over the alleged use of Starlink satellite internet, according to state-affiliated media reports. The head of Iran’s Cyber Police (FATA) in Qom announced the arrests, stating that several Starlink devices were seized during the operation. He described the equipment as “anti-security goods” and warned that authorities would take strict action against those found possessing or using such devices. No information has been released regarding the identities of those detained or the charges brought against them. The arrests come amid a broader crackdown on internet circumvention tools during a state-imposed nationwide shutdown in place since February 28, which has cut off millions from critical information, severed communication with loved ones, and undermined their livelihoods. Starlink devices are banned in Iran, and their use carries severe penalties, including prison sentences and even the death penalty. Despite this, they have become one of the few remaining ways for Iranians to access the global internet during the blackout.

More than a week after the execution of six political prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Iranian authorities have yet to return their bodies to their families. The men—Akbar Daneshvar Kar, Seyed Mohammad Taghavi Sang-Dehi, Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi Bistouni, Seyed Abolhassan Montazer, and Vahid Bani-Amerian—were executed between March 30 and April 4. Despite the passage of time, officials have not disclosed the location of their remains or provided information about their burial. The Islamic Republic of Iran routinely withholds the bodies of political prisoners and dissidents, denying their families the right to mourn and bury their loved ones with dignity. The continued refusal to return the remains of these six men, combined with a lack of official information about their fate and burial, intensifies families’ suffering and constitutes a clear violation of their fundamental rights.

Iran has now entered its 40th day under a near-total, government-imposed internet shutdown. Internet access is a fundamental right. In moments of fear and uncertainty, people rely on it for accurate information and to receive updates about their loved ones’ conditions, especially those behind bars. In Iran, many also depend on online access to sustain their livelihoods. 👉 All parties involved in negotiations must urgently pressure Iranian authorities to restore full internet connectivity. @realDonaldTrump @JDVance @SecRubio @SteveWitkoff @CMShehbaz @PakPMO @GovtofPakistan @drpezeshkian @mb_ghalibaf @araghchi

Unlawful attacks on critical civilian infrastructure will have a catastrophic impact on the lives of millions of civilians in Iran and across the region. The international community must act urgently to prevent a large-scale humanitarian disaster. iranhumanrights.org/2026/04/attack…