Iranian human rights and democracy defenders on sanctions and war
Below is a compendium of public statements by notable Iranian human rights and democracy defenders regarding the impact that sanctions and threats of war have on Iran: Iran sanctions strengthen Ahmadinejad regime – Karroubi, The Guardian, August 11, 2010: “These sanctions have given an excuse to the Iranian government to suppress the opposition by blaming […]
A Half-Hearted Attempt at Accountability
A military court in Iran sentenced two men on Wednesday to death and nine others to jail for the torture of three protesters which resulted in their death last summer at the notorious Kahrizak detention center. According to the report on Jahan News, an additional 33 others were also accused of attacking a student dormitory […]
Iranian Women Band Together, Caution Against Broad Sanctions
March 8th, International Women’s Day, was celebrated with even more passion this year in Tehran. Zahra Rahnavard – the outspoken wife of the presidential election challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi – issued a statement at a meeting with members of the women’s rights movement in Iran praising all the brave women of the Green Movement for […]
Zahra: No compromise, no recognition of Ahmadinejad government
“We have made a shield of our chest and are ready for any kind of attack and terror,” stated Zahra Rahnavard, wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi, responding to a question about the prices their family has had to pay. “These prices have not been paid for Mr. Mousavi, but for the Green movement. We are […]
Shapour Kazemi still in Evin; pressure on Mousavi
Three hundred employees of Dr. Shapour Kazemi, Zahra Rahnavard’s brother, pleaded for his release from Evin prison today in an open letter to Sadegh Larijani, Iran’s Chief of Judiciary. The letter emphasizes the high academic and scientific achievements of Dr. Kazemi for Iran’s electronic industry, while mentioning the fact that he has not been involved […]
Mousavi’s brother-in-law detained since last month
According to Mowj Camp, the brother of Zahra Rahnavard (Mousavi’s wife), has been arrested for over a month. Mousavi’s family, however, made an “ethical decision” to keep this a secret until the conservative Javan Newspaper revealed this news today. “Mousavi’s family did not announce this news because they did not want Mousavi’s positions regarding the […]