So, the smoke has cleared, and Iran’s presidential candidates have been announced. Despite all the attention that Iran receives when it holds “elections”, what should be clear to anyone that pays attention to events in that country is that the system is not democratic. You may have noticed that this week two of the most
The latest State Department report on the state of religious freedom in the world is out. Unsurprisingly, Iran ranks amongst the worst violators. From the executive summary: The constitution and other laws and policies do not protect religious freedom, and in practice, the government severely restricted religious freedom. The government’s respect for religious freedom declined
You might not be aware of it, because (nearly) every news organization in the world seems to think that it isn’t news, but talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have broken down once again. The talks, held in Vienna on May 15, ended with no breakthroughs. There is no date set for
In the run up to Iran’s “elections” next month it is clear that we have entered the season of the crackdown. To raise awareness about how this crackdown is affecting Iran’s journalists and bloggers the Committee to Protect Journalists has put together a powerful video that sheds light on just how ugly this has been.
What would an indictment of Ayatollah Khamenei look like? Thousands, if not millions, victims of the Iranian regime around the world have undoubtedly wondered. Reporters Without Borders has offered an aide to the imagination with a faux “indictment” of the “Supreme Leader” and the system of government he established. It reads in full: You are
The BBC and others are reporting that candidates for Iran’s upcoming presidential “elections” have begun to register. As readers of this blog are aware, Iran’s elections are really “selections”, not competitive electoral contests. In fact, the number of individuals deemed “qualified” by the Guardian Council is exceedingly small. From the BBC: In 2009, 475 hopefuls
Today is World Press Freedom Day 2013. Last year to mark this day we spoke with a series of activists and journalists to get a sense of the risks facing journalists in Iran. The result was this video: Sadly, not much has changed in the past year. In fact, it may be worse. Just as
In six weeks Iranians will be asked to “pick” the successor to the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Never mind that potential candidates for elected office have to be pre-cleared by the unelected and democratically unaccountable Guardian Council, we still get to call this an “election”! However, given the experience of average Iranians the last time
In Iran, it is against the law to partake in independent labor organizing. The only approved labor organizations are those controlled by the regime, and efforts at bucking these requirements are routinely stifled. The leader of Iran’s most prominent independent labor organization, Mansoor Osanloo, has been repeatedly jailed for his efforts. Recently there has been
As anyone following developments in Iran knows, now is not a good time to be an activist there. Golnaz Esfandiari of Radio Free Europe recently sat down with Kouhyar Goudarzi, a leading Iranian civil society activist who recently fled the country, to find out just what is going on. RFE/RL: Why did you decide to
