We wish everyone around the world a happy and joyous Spring

The Spring Equinox marks Norooz, the start of the Persian New Year. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran takes this opportunity to wish everyone around the world a happy and joyous Spring, and a world free of pain, suffering, abuse, persecution, torture, and execution; a world in which no one is prosecuted and imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of their basic rights to freedom of thought, expression, religion, assembly, and association. Iranian cartoonist Touka Neyestani remembers Iranian political prisoners on the occasion of Norooz on this Year of the Monkey.

https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2016/03/cartoon-143/

A glim of hope from prisons inside Iran before New Years

From a large number of letters and news reports that I have received recently from inside Iran’s prisons on the verge of the Persian New Years, “Norouz”, I have brought three different examples so that we can be in sympathy with their pains and sufferings.

Massoud Arab Choubdar launches hunger strike in solidarity with political prisoners Farid Azmoudeh and Iraj Hatami

Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Massoud Arab Choubdar in a letter to the child of Farid Azmoudeh, currently in prison, saying he has launched a hunger strike in solidarity with Farid Azmoudeh and Iraj Hatami.

Iran: youth Real Vote, Enthusiastic Practice of Fire Festival

This article is originally published on Area Info.

Many years ago, back in third grade I read a short story titled “The Last Lesson” from a story collection titled “Last Monday” by a French Author who I do not recall the name. Whole book is about the author’s first hand experience living under Nazis role during the German invasion of France as a kid. “The Last Lesson” describes in details the last French class before the enforcement of Nazi law of ban on teaching French in French schools. This young man described with honesty and in moving words, his emotions, his sorrow and his chagrin for not being able to freely use his mother tongue and praise his national culture. After close to four decades I can still remember how I was affected and cried as I was reading the story.

Iran: Protest of Iran’s political prisoners outside Evin Prison

 

A group of Iranian mothers and family members of political prisoners and their supporters gathered outside Tehran's notorious Evin Prison on Sunday, which marked the Iranian New Year, to spend time near their loved ones.

Dr. Mohammad Maleki, the first post-revolution Chancellor of Tehran University, took part in the sit-in.

The regime's security forces attacked and beat up the families to force them to disperse.

The father of Atena Faraghdani, a young female cartoonist detained in Evin, was among those who were beaten up by regime's security force.