The Iranian government is escalating its attacks against women activists, subjecting them to arbitrary detention, travel bans, and harassment.
On October 26, 2008, security agents blocked Sussan Tahmasebi, a leader of the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality, from boarding a plane and confiscated her passport, without charging her with any crime. At her home, they [...]

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Amnesty International calls on the Head of Iran’s Judiciary to apply with immediate effect today’s announcement that it will end the death penalty for those under the age of 18, irrespective of the type of crime allegedly committed.
Iran has instructed all courts to cease the execution of juvenile offenders who have committed crimes punishable by [...]

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Groups from 82 Countries Seek Urgent Reforms
As UN member states begin three days of debate on the rights of the child, more than 300 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from 82 countries called on the UN General Assembly to take urgent action to end executions for crimes committed by children, Human Rights Watch said today.
The vast majority [...]

Tags: Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, UN, Yemen

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For the second time in one month Turkish law enforcement officials have expelled the same group of Uzbekistani refugees into Iranian territory in flagrant disregard for international standards protecting the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers.
Amnesty International is calling on the Turkish authorities to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the illegal [...]

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Executions Increase Almost 300 Percent, Persecution of Rights Defenders Intensifies
Under the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, basic human rights protection in Iran has deteriorated to new lows, Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a briefing paper released today.
The new paper, “Iran Rights Crisis Escalates: Faces and Cases [...]

Tags: Iran, UN

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Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen Executed 32 for Crimes Committed as Children
Ending executions for crimes committed by children in just five countries would result in universal implementation of the prohibition on the juvenile death penalty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Governments should use next week’s United Nations General Assembly [...]

Tags: Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, UN, Yemen

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“Flexibility and ingenuity is what makes us a true social movement” Sussan Tahmasebi, founding member, Campaign for Equality. This Iranian women’s movement seeks to change all gender-biased laws in Iran. Its ‘One Million Signatures Campaign’ will show that one million Iranians want women to have equal rights.
Q: Tell us about the Campaign for Equality and [...]

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On the second anniversary of the launch of the Campaign for Equality on 27 August, Amnesty International is renewing its demand that the Iranian authorities cease harassing and imprisoning women’s rights defenders and to restrict their campaigning activities for the repeal of laws and policies which discriminate against women in Iran.
The Campaign for Equality is [...]

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Iran Executes Sixth Juvenile Offender This Year, 26th Since 2005
Calling Iran’s execution on August 26, 2008 of juvenile offender Behnam Zare abhorrent, Human Rights Watch urged the Iranian judiciary to immediately commute the sentences of more than 130 other prisoners facing death for crimes committed while children.
Zare is the sixth juvenile offender Iran has executed [...]

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Amnesty International has welcomed last week’s announcement by the spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary that execution by stoning has been suspended and that several unnamed women who were facing the punishment have had their sentences commuted.
“Stoning is a horrific practice, designed to increase the suffering of those facing execution, and it has no place in the [...]

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