Personal Essay

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NationalMonday, 9 May 2016 A young Iranian man who rejected Islam and moved to New Zealand has avoided deportation and been granted refugee status in a precedent setting immigration case. The man, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, is now in his twenties and moved to New Zealand during the 2000s for schooling…

ThumpFriday, 6 May 2016 How do you organize a desert rave in a country where such events are illegal? If you're Tehran techno DJs Anoosh and Arash, who perform under the moniker Blade&Beard, the answer is: very carefully. A new documentary screening this weekend at the Hot Docs Film Festival in…

By Ezat Taheri, Amnesty International Wednesday, 4 May 2016 Iranian spiritual teacher and prisoner of conscience Mohammad Ali Taheri has been in pre-trial solitary confinement for five years, and has launched over a dozen hunger strikes in protest at his detention. His mother Ezat tells us of her long fight for his release…

By Hengameh Haj Hassan It was the spring of 1979 when we were experiencing freedom after the oppression of the Shah’s rule. One day I saw Faride, one of my colleagues, and a number of other college students outside a hospital getting prepared to start distributing People's Mojahedin Organization of…

By Staff Writer, Iran ProbeFriday, 29 April 2016 Iranian Political prisoner Massoud Arab Choubdar has written a letter to Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, unveiling a tip of the iceberg of the crimes committed by the mullahs’ regime in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj,…

Early on after the 1979 revolution I was a nurse at the time and in those years didn’t know much about politics, was thirsty to learn more and to tell you the truth I had no prejudice thoughts in mind. Considering the fact that in the early years after the…

Ms. Hengameh Haj Hassan was arrested in city of Tehran, capital of Iran, back in the fall of 1981 for her support of the Iranian opposition movement People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). She spent three years under torture in various prisons of the fundamentalist regime ruling Iran. Prior to…

When one decides to write his or her memories of the time spent behind bars, especially the horrific prisons in Iran under the mullahs’ rule, one is suddenly faced with waves of different emotions and thoughts. Can one truly portray all those moments and scenes that will seem unbelievable to…

By Maryam Safajoo, The Boston HeraldSaturday, 9 April 2016 I grew up in the city of Karaj, just outside of Tehran. My family are Baha’i. We are followers of Baha’u’llah, who taught that the religions of the world come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one…

By Vahed Seif In many cultures a fox is a symbol of lying and conning human beings. In the Iranian culture from long ago the mullahs have always been described as foxes. One of the most famous classic musical theater plays in Iran by the name of "Shahre Ghesseh" meaning…