December 12, 2013
Arseh Sevom— The nuclear agreement may represent a step away from international isolation, but Iran’s people still have a long way to go before breaking down the barriers to dissent and free speech. Read more in this week's review.
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November 29, 2013
Arseh Sevom--Trust, but verify: that is the message of the recent nuclear agreement with Iran. The completed agreement sent hopes of better times soaring in Iran where a whole generation has felt itself sacrificed to hardline policies and the results of sanctions. If trust can be built in the wake of these negotiations, there is an opportunity for the international community to engage Iran on its human rights record. That is the next step.
November 19, 2013
Arseh Sevom – It’s been more than 100 days since Hassan Rouhani took office. Despite slow progress on human rights, many exiled activists are planning to return. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear negotiations are about to restart, and Iran’s top negotiator is working to get his country’s message out via social media. Over 25 NGOs and civil rights organizations wrote a letter asking UN representatives to vote to hold Iran accountable for continuing human rights violations. The message: human rights are not negotiable.
November 18, 2013
The new administration of President Hassan Rouhani has pledged to tackle a range of human rights issues in Iran, by eliminating discrimination against women and ethnic and religious minorities, and ensuring respect for the right to freedom of expression, among other measures. Despite these welcome signals, human rights abuses are deeply rooted in Iran’s laws and policies, many of which pose a serious barrier to the executive branch’s ability to push through much needed rights reforms.
November 11, 2013
Arseh Sevom -- Can you excuse us for hoping for change even though we know that political prisoners and prisoners of conscience face malicious neglect and execution to this day? Like many in Iran, we were hoping for a quick positive outcome to the nuclear negotiations. Like others, we are enjoying the fashion spread in Fashionable, Sexy, Haute and Naughty Magazine. We enjoy hearing more of Iran's political figures call for the filtering of social networking to end and look forward to the day that the most interesting news out of Iran is what a friend ate for lunch.
November 7, 2013
Arseh Sevom--In part two of Arturo Desimone's interview with the civil society activist "O" in Azerbaijan, we read about the struggles to create capacity for critically analyzing the actions taken by the government. Education, O, argues is something that cannot be left to the government. "I think we have to start now with realism," O states, "actually depicting the sufferings as they are, in their immense intensity and contrast, in all their extreme dimensions."
November 6, 2013
Arseh Sevom- This week’s review is unfortunately focused on the treatment of political prisoners in Iran. Events of the past months demand this. The season marking the anniversary of the taking of the American Embassy seems to endanger Iran’s homegrown activists more than it hurts the US with the chanting of “Death to America.” At a time when Iranians are hoping for change, and especially at this time, it’s necessary to put pressure on Iran’s government to improve the conditions for all of its prisoners and urgently for its political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
October 28, 2013
Arseh Sevom -- The ideological struggle between reform and restriction is being played out in many arenas in Iran. Last week, hardliners hung billboards opposing negotiation with the West, this week they were taken down and replaced with less combative messages. The ministry of culture promised to liberalize the publication process, while a reformist newspaper was ordered shut down. For those condemned to execution in Iran, there has been no change for the better, with increases in the number of executions. This was dramatically played out over the weekend when 16 prisoners were executed in response to a deadly attack on Iran's border guards.
October 21, 2013
Arseh Sevom -- Nuclear negotiations are eclipsing other news in Iran. There are hopes that an agreement can be reached and that at least some of the sanctions will be relaxed. Attention to foreign relations seems to have left the Rouhani administration with little time to address domestic issues. This has led to a number of unfulfilled promises and a slow pace of change domestically. The application of economic sanctions continues to overreach their mandate, with internet freedom suffering. Wishes did not come true when it comes to the release from house arrest of Green Movement leaders. And theater goers in Tehran eagerly anticipate the opening of The Hills Are Alive, based on The Sound of Music.