Crumbs of human rights

Keywan Karimi’s new film Writing on the City ​had its first official screening ​just a couple of days ago, on 12 February​ ​at the Spanish Punto de Vista International Documentary Film Festival in Pamplona . However, the director ​wasn​'​t​ ​present: Karimi is ​in Iran, awaiting the outcome of his appeal ​against his six-year prison sentence. The hour-long film is “ a historic journey in terms of an essay through the use of murals and political paintings in Tehran ”. Through the graffiti and wall paintings the past of the city revives: The audience can learn about forgotten events, that the locals couldn’t express otherwise, due to the regime’s repression. In those artworks freedom of expression and idea can thrive. However, as Karimi said in an interview with the Times of India , “ [The authorities] say it is a propaganda against the government. ” He goes on saying: “Some picture[s] and archive photo[s] are [from] some period in Iran that the government hates.” But becau...

Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of a new spiritual group Erfan-e Halgheh, has been on hunger strike for a few days. He is protesting the limbo his case is in. His five-year prison sentence is about to terminate soon, however, the court that had previously sentenced him to death has resumed its investigation into his case. Mohammad Ali Taheri has been held in solitary confinement for the past nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison. His contact with his inmates and the outside world has been very limited. The only connections that have given him hope and energy are the weekly meetings with his wife and the irregular calls the prison authorities allow him to have with his family. Mohammad Ali Taheri always looks forward to these events, as he doesn’t have anything else to occupy himself with: he hasn’t even had access to books, a piece of paper or a pen for a very long time. Imprisoned for his teachings and belief   Mohammad Ali Taheri established the Erfan-e Halgheh ...

Throughout 2015, the human rights situation of women in Iran hasn’t got any better. In the spring, Amnesty International has begun an intensified campaign, when the Iranian Parliament held its legislative session and considered Bill 315 . This draft law proposes various harmful and discriminatory measures aimed at encouraging early marriage and repeated childbearing. Furthermore, this bill would allow discrimination against female job applicants, particularly if they are single or childless. It would also make divorce more difficult for couples, by incentivising judges to settle family disputes.    Last month, this draft law moved one step closer to entering into force : its general principles were passed by an overwhelming majority in Parliament. Currently, the legislature's Cultural Commission is analysing the budgetary costs necessary to the bill’s incentive schemes, which would be entitled to families with three or more children. (Source: www.epa.eu) Over 2...

In the past month, Amnesty issued several updates on juvenile offenders, who were about to face the gallows. Because of that, names like Salar Shadizadi, Saman Naseem, Alireza Shahi or Milad Azimi might all sound familiar to you – unfortunately. There have been some good news and some bad news, as well. As of the good, the execution of Salar Shadizadi has been postponed. This is to allow the murder victim’s family to pardon him. However, Salar remains at risk. The authorities should grant him a fair retrial, making sure that there will not be a recourse to the death penalty. As of the bad news: sadly, Alireza Shahi , a 25-year-old man was executed in the morning of 24 November 2015.  By now, Saman Naseem has become a person, whose fate we have been following closely. In this year’s Write for Rights campaign, you might already have signed a card for him or you might do so with your local group within the next days. Amnesty International is asking the Iranian regime ...

In ‪Iran‬, followers of the Baha’i faith face discrimination, arrest and arbitrary detention, some have even been executed because of their religion. But the Baha’i community has chosen to respond to the oppression through ‘constructive resilience’, while taking an active part in the life of the Iranian society. Please find the summary of my event dedicated to the Baha'i religious minority here . >>TAKE ACTION!  Please join us in urging the Iranian authorities not to persecute Baha’is, but to respect their right to freedom of religion and to education. Please send the below tweet to the authorities. Tweet #EducationIsNotACrime

Graffitis on Tehran’s walls, close to some specific places sent a Kurdish filmmaker to prison. The new film of Keyvan Karimi, ‘Writing on the City’ was shot at scenes related to the protests following the 2009 presidential election. Two weeks ago, Karimi was sentenced to six years in prison and 223 lashes by the Tehran Revolutionary Court. His charges: 'insulting the sacred' and 'illegitimate relations'. As Karimi's lawyer highlights “ The maximum penalty for insulting the sacred is five years, but…Judge Moghisseh has condemned him to six years in prison ”. The lawyer added: Iran’s Islamic Penal Code states that an individual should serve no more than the maximum sentence for the charge carrying the heaviest penalty, in cases of multiple charges. Based on that, the sentence imposed on Karimi was unlawful.  A source close to the filmmaker said that Karimi’s Kurdish and Sunni background may also have contributed to his harsh sentence. Iran’s Kurdish ethn...

An ideal solution for the regime to increase the number of the population would be: Not to sacrifice more lives. Amnesty International has received reports of more than 700 executions so far this year. Having a look at the numbers of juvenile offenders, it shows that 75 executions took place between 2005 and 2015 . This year itself, at least three juvenile offenders have faced the death penalty. More than 160 are believed to be currently on death row in prisons across the country.  Fatemeh Salbehi was one of the recent cases. The 23-year-old woman was hanged on 13 October for a crime she allegedly committed when she was 17. She had been sentenced to death in May 2010 for the murder of her 30-year-old husband. She had been forced to marry Hamed Sadeghi at the age of 16. A few days earlier, Samad Zahabi had been hanged for shooting a fellow shepherd during a row over who should graze their sheep. He committed this, when he was 17. Samad had been sentenced to death by the...