Iran’s president says he is following the case of the American-Iranian bureau chief for The Washington Post who is accused by Iran of espionage and propaganda. President Hassan Rohani told a June 13 press conference that he is committed to ensuring the rights of all Iranians and 39-year-old Jason Rezaian’s case is no exception. […]
Tag: rouhani
The Green Movement Stirs and Rouhani Responds
On February 14, Iran’s Green Movement leaders will enter their fifth year of house arrest. Despite his implicit campaign promise, President Hassan Rouhani has been unable to gain the release of former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, his wife Zahra Rahnavard, and former speaker of parliament Mehdi Karroubi. As recent events indicate, however, supporters […]
If No Journalists Jailed in Iran, Why Did You Promise Their Release?
The Iranian president’s short but strange answer to Christian Amanpour’s question has unleashed a wave of criticism against him. One of Rouhani’s main slogans during his presidential campaign was the release of journalists and political prisoner. Only a year after coming to power, however, Rouhani told CNN that he “does not believe that an […]
As Rouhani Comes to NY, Domestic Repression in Iran Remains Unabated
New Video Shows Gap between Rouhani’s Rhetoric and Reality on the Ground in Iran http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wdZ7vdPndkQ (September 17, 2014) Ahead of President Rouhani’s visit to New York next week, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran released a video today, bringing into sharp focus the disconnect between Rouhani’s rhetoric on domestic affairs and the reality […]
Iranian journalists reject Rouhani’s new guild
The Association of Iranian Journalists have requested that President Hassan Rouhani reopen their current guild rather than opening a new guild. The Association of Iranian Journalists (AIJ) have written an open letter to President Hassan Rouhani expressing regret that instead of pushing to have their guild reopened the president proposed a less controversial plan […]
Rouhani announces new guild for Iran journalists
Iran’s president has announced plans to open a new guild for journalists, sidestepping the issue of the closure of the previous professional association. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke in anticipation of Journalists Day, to be held Aug. 8 in Iran, saying that steps have been taken to create an alternative journalists guild, a proposal that […]
Yunesi: We Are Under Pressure From Both Sides
The special assistant to president Hassan Rouhani in ethnic and religious minority affairs Ali Yunesi said that some refrain from mentioning religious minorities or ethnic groups while there are those who insist on peripheral and non-priority issues such as the “mother tongue and make the work of this administration more difficult.” He posted these […]
Dispute Over Heaven Rages In Iran
Twenty-five years after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death, the clerical establishment ushered in by the Islamic republic’s founding father is at odds over how far its influence on Iranians’ lives should extend. The debate pits powerful, hard-line religious conservatives against Iran’s relatively moderate president, Hassan Rohani. And at the center of the debate is heaven, […]
MP Calls On Rouhani to Stop Judiciary’s Closure of Newspapers
A prominent member of the Iranian Parliament who sits on the Press Oversight Committee has called on the Rouhani Administration to stop what he believes is the wrongful process of newspaper closures. MP Ali Motahhari was speaking a day after the major daily Ghanoon was shut down by the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office on […]
Iranian Activist Says Her Release Is A Gesture, Not A New Era
When Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer, was — along with 11 other high-profile political prisoners — many Iranians saw the move as opening a new era following the election of centrist President Hassan Rouhani. He had promised to release political prisoners rounded up after the contested 2009 elections, when thousands of protesters, […]