Authoritarianism

By Whitney Shylee May, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts | – Images of the protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Zhina Amini on Sept. 16, 2022, in Iran and reports of the government’s brutal crackdown have circulated widely on social media. This flow of information comes despite efforts […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: Two Protesters Executed in Grossly Unfair Trials, Several More in Danger (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities’ execution of two men in connection with widespread antigovernment protests is a gross miscarriage of justice and a dangerous escalation, Human Rights Watch said today. According to human rights groups, revolutionary courts of first instance have issued at least 11 other protest-related death sentences and are expected […]

Authoritarianism

What are Iran’s morality Police? A Scholar of the Middle East explains their History

The Conversation

By Pardis Mahdavi, The University of Montana | – Until recently, most people outside of Iran had never heard of the country’s morality police, let alone followed their wider role in the region. But on Sept. 16, 2022, the death of Jina Mahsa Amini sparked widespread protests in the streets of Iran and elsewhere that […]

Authoritarianism

Family Says Son Died After Torture By Iranian Security Agents

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By RFE/RL’s Radio Farda Shadman Ahmadi died in police custody in Kurdistan. The family of a 22-year-old Iranian protester says their son has died in a detention center after being tortured for hours following his arrest during a protest in the western Iranian city of Dehgolan. The France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network quoted Shadman Ahmadi’s […]

Authoritarianism

Iran executes first Protester as Human Rights Abuses come under International Scrutiny

The Conversation

By Sahar Maranlou, University of Essex | – Iran’s execution of protester Mohsen Shekari is the first after a huge wave of unrest swept around the country in the autumn of 2022. Shekari was found guilty by a Iranian Revolutionary Court of “moharebeh” (enmity against God), news sources reported. Human rights groups say Shekari and […]

Authoritarianism

Women’s Revolt in Iran reaches Household of Leader Khamenei, as his Sister denounces “Despotic Caliphate”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Badri Hosseini Khamenei, the sister of Iran’s clerical Leader Ali Khamenei, just issued a public broadside against him on her son’s web site, denouncing him as a dictator who is entangled in a web of high-level corruption and disgraceful thuggery. Thus, the women’s revolt in Iran, which has been led […]

Authoritarianism

Iranian-Baluch Prisoner Khodanoor Lajaei: Icon for a Revolution

Global Voices

By Hamid Yazdan Panah | – ( Globalvoices.org) – Unprecedented protests have been taking place in Iran over the last two months, with thousands taking to the streets to protest the Islamic Republic. The uprising that began in response to the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini has been called a revolution by many, and has […]

Authoritarianism

In Escalation, Iranians in 23 Provinces join in National Strike, as Truckers, Shopkeepers Walk Out

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Protesters in Iran, including political prisoners had called for three days of national strikes beginning Sunday, and if reports and videos posted to social media can be believed, there was substantial buy-in to the strike, as shopkeepers closed their establishments and workers in key industries stayed home. So report Patrick […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: State-Backed Hacking of Activists, Journalists, Politicians (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Hackers backed by the Iranian government have targeted two Human Rights Watch staff members and at least 18 other high-profile activists, journalists, researchers, academics, diplomats, and politicians working on Middle East issues in an ongoing social engineering and credential phishing campaign, Human Rights Watch said today. An investigation by […]