Three years after fleeing Iran, chess referee Shohreh Bayat fears being further ostracized after challenging the game’s governing body and its president, Russia’s former deputy prime minister, over her choice of clothing at a tournament in October. Back in 2020,…
Iran charges 2 French nationals with espionage
A spokesperson for the judicial authorities in Tehran, on Tuesday said Iranian prosecutors had charged two French nationals with espionage. According to the Misan portal operated by the judicial authorities, the two, whose identities were not made known, are also…
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe tells Andy Murray she sometimes misses prison
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has told Andy Murray she ‘sometimes misses’ the prison environment and the friends she made in the six years she was jailed in Iran. The British Iranian national, who was released in March, spoke to the tennis champ,…
SCIRF condemns sentencing of 2 Iranian Baha’i women
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has condemned the 10-year prison sentences given two Baha’i women in Iran. Both women, 69-year-old Mahvash Sabet and 60-year-old Fariba Kamalabadi, had already served 10-year sentences between 2008 and 2018, along with five…
Iran authorities arrest actress from Oscar-winning movie over protest solidarity
Iranian authorities arrested one of the country’s most famous actresses on charges of spreading falsehoods about nationwide protests that grip the country, state media said Saturday. The report by IRNA said Taraneh Alidoosti, star of the Oscar-winning movie “The Salesman,”…
Iran publicly carries out second protest-related execution
Iran has publicly executed a second man who was arrested during unrest linked with the country’s ongoing protests. The judiciary’s news website announced early on Monday that Majidreza Rahnavard, who was convicted of killing two members of security forces, was…
Sister of Iran’s Supreme Leader calls for an end to protest crackdown
A sister of Iran’s supreme leader has condemned the crackdown on protesters in Iran and called on the Revolutionary Guard to stand down, according to a letter published by her son in France. In a letter dated December 2022, Badri…
Iran executes 1st protester since start of unrest
A demonstrator in Iran has been executed for the first time since mass anti-government protests began in September, state news agency IRNA reported on Thursday. The man was arrested in Tehran at the end of September and was taken to…
Iran’s morality police dissolved, says prosecutor general
Iran has scrapped its morality police after more than two months of protests triggered by the arrest of Mahsa Amini for allegedly violating the country’s strict female dress code, local media said Sunday. Women-led protests, labelled “riots” by the authorities,…
Elnaz Rekabi: Family home of Iranian climber demolished
The family villa of Elnaz Rekabi – an Iranian climber who competed abroad with her hair uncovered – has reportedly been demolished. Ms Rekabi, 33, broke Iran’s mandatory dress code at the contest in South Korea – but later said…