Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Iran

HRW Criticizes 'Attempt To Silence' Iranian Rights Group

Shirin Ebadi (file photo) (AFP)

August 8, 2006 -- The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on Iran's authorities to immediately reverse their threat to prosecute the Center of Human Rights Defenders, an advocacy group led Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.

TEXT SIZE - +

August 08, 2006

Iran's Interior Ministry said on August 2 that Ebadi's organization has no valid registration permit and that its activities are therefore illegal.

HRW says in a statement the decision is an "attempt to silence" the group and a "huge setback for protecting human rights in Iran."

Ebadi told RFE/RL on August 7 that her group applied for registration when it was set up four years ago, but that the authorities never issued a permit, despite assurances that they would.

Ebadi's center has defended several prominent Iranian activists and dissidents in the past.

Iran has stepped up its pressure on activists using the Internet

Iranian Activists, Journalists Receive Threatening E-mails

A number of Iranian activists and journalists based inside and outside the country have told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda they have been threatened in anonymous e-mails. More

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

Many Iranians have been claiming that their access to social networks and Internet-based e-mail sites has been blocked in recent days.

Iran Tightens Internet Control

Iranians are reporting that their access to Facebook and Internet-based e-mail sites like Gmail has been blocked, without any explanation from the government. Not even the strongest antifiltering programs have penetrated the firewall, they say. Some speculate the move is related to Iran's plan to launch a national internet, which might sever Iranians' ability to access the World Wide Web. More