Stories about Iran
Baloch protests in Iran underscore repression against the ethnic minority
Sandwiched between borders of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, the Baloch population is a disenfranchised minority relegated to the fringes of society, provided little economic opportunity, and systematically targeted by state violence.
Iran's oppression of its Christians tears daughter from convert parents
The court ruling denying Sam Khosravi and his wife custody of their adopted daughter after converting to Christianity is one way the state's utilizes the judiciary to clampdown on minorities.
Nearly a hundred Kurdish activists detained by Iran's security forces in 2021
An interview with Switzerland-based KMMG’s director reveals how recent arbitrary detentions of Kurds and other minorities coincides with the regime’s bid to fortify its rule amidst piling internal challenges.
‘Stop silencing MENA critical voices,’ say activists in open letter to Twitter and Facebook
A decade after uprisings heavily relied on social media to topple dictators across the region, human rights defenders denounce these platforms' discrimination against voices of dissent still fight for freedoms.
Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert freed from Iranian jail in prisoner swap
"It’s far past time for democratic allies — indeed all responsible governments — to work together to end state sponsored hostage taking once and for all, beginning with #Iran"
Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh raises scrutiny of Israel's arms sales to Azerbaijan
Israeli-produced weaponry gave Azerbaijan a key advantage over Armenia in the latest war over Nagorno-Karabakh. But for some human rights activists in Israel, that's not a matter of pride.
Ali Banisadr and the art of ‘visual thinking’
Ali Banisadr's MATRIX 185 exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is the Iranian-American artist’s first solo museum exhibition in the US.
New book tells stories of suffering and resistance from Iran’s female prisons
In "White Torture," Narges Mohammadi interviews 12 female political prisoners—and shares her own experiences in an Iranian jail, where she spent eight and a half years.
Nagorno-Karabakh: An old conflict in a new geopolitical context, says South Caucasus expert Tom de Waal
The most recent of outbreak of violence began on September 27. This time, both combatants and analysts are predicting that the conflict will escalate, with unknown and potentially dangerous consequences.
Melbourne academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert remains a ‘political hostage’ inside Iran’s Qarchak prison
"Whatever the governments of #Australia and the #UK are doing to free their citizen, Kylie Moore-Gilbert from prison in #Iran, it’s failing miserably. This innocent woman should be free."
Iranians and Hongkongers connect through online campaign against China-Iran deal
Despite language and cultural barriers, Hong Kong and Iranian activists share similar views when it comes to speaking out against China's proposed 25-year partnership agreement with Iran.
In Assad-controlled Syria, the official narrative is ‘no COVID-19 cases’
In order to maintain a facade of control, the Assad regime does whatever it takes to deny the presence of COVID-19 in the territories it controls.
Information warfare: COVID-19’s other battleground in the Middle East
As leaders vie to frame narratives and control public opinion on COVID-19, social media is a battlefield where influencers, trolls, bots, and commenter armies fight for influence and power.
The magic of paper and ink: A conversation with Iranian-American artist Hadieh Shafie
Born in Iran and raised in the US, Hadieh Shafie is fascinated with reimagining the book form, drawing textual forms and exploring color and its emotive power.
Desecration of three religious sites in Iran signal the Islamic Republic's continued oppression of minorities
"Pressure on religious minorities has also taken the form of persecution of individuals by accusing them of promoting 'propaganda against the Islamic Republic or 'belonging to hostile groups.
Iran fails to contain COVID-19 as internal political clashes prevent a timely and unified response
Iran is one of the countries worst affected by COVID-19, thanks in part to political disagreements and a lack of coordination among government authorities.
Coronavirus and surveillance technology: How far will governments go?
''While surveillance technologies and measures may give the public a sense of security in controlling the spread of the virus, we must remain mindful and vigilant of their continued use...
Two Iranian rights activists revisit the November 2019 internet shutdown
“Hundreds of protestors were killed in a matter of three days and most of the world was not aware of what happened.’’
To apply for a national ID card in Iran, members of ‘unrecognized’ religious minorities now need to deny their faith
The removal of the "other religions" option from the national ID card application form essentially bars members of certain religious minorities from full citizenship.
‘An interplay between Western and Eastern Cultures': Two art exhibitions on cultural collisions
In October 2019 in Brooklyn, New York, two women artists from Iran and Pakistan exhibited new bodies of work in which they portrayed the interplay between Western and Eastern cultures
