Human Rights Developments in Iran - March 2019

Follow the latest human rights developments in Iran throughout March 2019 here. Recent reports indicate that civil activist Arasham Rezaei has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for charges including 'insulting the leadership', 'propaganda against the regime', and 'collusion against national security'. He has been in Evin prison since mid-January. Additionally, Davood Rezvani, a member of the board of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, received a five-year suspended prison sentence for 'collusion to commit a crime against national security'. Worker activist Behnam Ebrahimzadeh was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to read and transcribe three books about war and the leader of the Islamic Republic for 'propaganda against the regime' and 'membership in illegal groups'. American citizen Michael White has been sentenced to ten years in prison, although the charges against him remain undisclosed. Three civil activists in Tehran, including Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbigi, received prison sentences for similar charges. Environmental activist Youssef Farhadi Babadi was released on bail after being arrested in late February. Three Baha'i citizens were also released on bail, including Sheida Ghoddousi, who had served part of her five-year sentence. Javid Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, presented his oral report criticizing executions, arrests of journalists and civil activists, and the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities. The European Parliament has called for an end to the harassment of human rights activists and journalists in Iran, urging the EU to use diplomatic tools to address human rights violations. The US State Department's annual report indicated that the human rights situation in Iran has worsened in some respects, accusing the Iranian authorities of continuous violations of fundamental rights.