Iran: STOP the execution of Soheil Arabi سهیل عربی‌ را اعدام نکنید

Death Sentence for “Insulting the Prophet” on Facebook

A blogger found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammad in his postings on Facebook has been sentenced to death. An informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the blogger, Soheil Arabi, will be able to appeal the decision until September 20, 2014.

Agents from the Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Sarallah Base arrested Soheil Arabi, 30, and his wife in November 2013. Arabi’s wife was released a few hours later, but he was kept in solitary confinement for two months inside IRGC’s Ward 2-A at Evin Prison, before he was transferred to Evin’s General Ward 350. Branch 76 of the Tehran Criminal Court, under Judge Khorasani, found Arabi guilty of “sabb al-nabi” (insulting the Prophet), on August 30, 2014.

Click the link for more information and another petition for Soheil Arabi. 

Amnesty International also has an Urgent Action for this case which can be found here.

Write for Rights 2014 - AI Madison Group #139 Activities

We are in the middle of collecting signatures for this year's Write for Rights campaign. Thank you to our volunteers who have spent hours distributing information, talking to groups, and advocating on behalf the the 2014 cases (plus one). It's been an exciting time to reconnect with friends and to spread our message of human rights. Some of our outreach efforts included events at the following: UW Law School, Nolen Shore,and Capitol Lakes. If you have not signed a letter, it's not too late. Click here for case information and addresses. Send us an email group139@aiusa.org if you have any questions. We continue to post online petitions and urgent actions on our Facebook page and Twitter. The deadline is quickly approaching so contact today. Happy Human Rights Day!

Note: We also partnered with the Anti-Violence Campaign and IHERC. Click here for photos from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. 

Iran: HRANA News: December 10, 2014

Please click here for complete stories and photos. 

o 18 executions for drug related crimes in one day

o Ali Tabarzadi, released from prison

o Yalda Pajoohesh, women’s right activist has been arrested

o Majid Moghadam arrested in Tehran

o Indifference of prison authorities to prisoners’ on-going hunger strike in Urmieh Central Prison (Darya)

o Death Sentence for Photographer Soheil Arabi, for “Insulting the Prophet of Islam”

o Ilka Mithaqi, a 19-year-old Bahai girl, was arrested in Tabriz

o Bahai home and business searched in Rasht

o No word of Hamid Azizi, a Bahai from Hamedan
o No whereabouts of Atta Rajabi, a Bahai in Hamadan
o No whereabouts of Saqi Feda’i, a Bahai from Mashhad
o Bahai home raided in Shiraz
o Bahai youth sentenced in Shiraz
o Bahai’s face Home raids and closures in Najafabad and Vila Shahr 

Click here for photos and complete stories from HRANA News.

Human Rights Day message from United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein - 2014!

Published on Dec 8, 2014

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein's message for Human Rights Day 10 December 2014. (video 3:59 min in English)

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence - Day 16

from the World Health Organization
 "Violence against women has profound implications for health but is often ignored. WHO's World Report on Violence and Health notes that "one of the most common forms of violence against women is that performed by a husband or male partner.” This type of violence is frequently invisible since it happens behind closed doors, and effectively, when legal systems and cultural norms do not treat as a crime, but rather as a "private" family matter, or a normal part of life." 

Click here for more information found on their website.

Celebrating International Human Rights Day today - December 10, 2014

Today is United Nations Human Rights Day. Thank you for caring, for acting, for changing lives, and for being an example for this generation & future generations. Because of YOU, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is becoming the common standard of achievement for all peoples at home and around the world. Because of you, we continue to work so that Human Rights Day is every day. Thank you. -AI Madison Group #139

Americas: Violence on the rise against those defending human rights - Dec 9, 2014

Amnesty International News Release

     "Campaigners, lawyers, journalists, community leaders and trade unionists, all human rights defenders who put their lives and liberty at risk in the fight for human rights, continue to suffer intimidation, harassment and violence across Latin America and the Caribbean according to a new Amnesty International report published today."

Click here for entire News Release.

Defending Human Rights in the Americas: Necessary, Legitimate and Dangerous Read the full report (in Spanish)