The Latest from Iran (14 March): All Hail Intelligence

1955 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The International Committee for Human Rights in Iran describes the case of 80-year-old Ebrahim Yazdi, whose trial has been postponed for the third time.

Yazdi, the Secretary-General of the Iran Freedom Movement, has been in prison since early October, charged with “acting against national security,” “propagating against the regime,” and “establishing the Iran Freedom Movement". He is in poor helath and is now detained in a Ministry of Intelligence house of detention.

1925 GMT: Human Rights Update. The Secretary-General of the UN has just released his interim report to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Iran:

The present report highlights many areas of continuing concern for human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Secretary-General has been deeply troubled by reports of increased executions, amputations, arbitrary arrest and detention, unfair trials, and possible torture and ill-treatment of human rights activists, lawyers, journalists and opposition activists.

The Secretary-General encourages the Government to address the concerns highlighted in the report and the specific calls to action found in previous resolutions of the General Assembly as well as the Universal Periodic Review process. The Secretary-General notes the important and constructive role the human rights lawyers and activists play in protecting human rights and encourages the Government of Iran to fully guarantee freedom of expression and assembly and to open up greater space for human rights lawyers and activists.

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