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OCT — Actress Marzieh Vafamehr Sentenced
Actress Marzieh Vafamehr was sentenced to one-year in prison and 90 lashes. After international protest, this sentence was reduced to three months with no lashes. Maziar Vafamehr was arrested for appearing in the film “Tehran for Sale” without hejab, but with
Featured Issue: HIV/AIDS
Since the middle of the 1980s, Iran, like most other countries in the world, has grappled with a growing number of citizens diagnosed with the Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). In a series of articles, we will be looking into the ways in which civil
Help Us Learn More: Tell Us What You Think
Click here to take the survey. Arseh Sevom is conducting a survey to gain an understanding of how organizations and civil society activists get started and overcome obstacles. You can help us learn more by filling out this survey. If you would rather we talk t
Are You a Civil Society Activist?
What is Civil Society Click here for the complete post. Before trying to delve deep into a practical definition of a “civil society activist” let us see what is exactly meant by a “civil society”. According to Jeffrey C. Alexander – one of the thinkers who has
Remembering Wangari Maathai, I Will Be a Hummingbird
“I have always believed that, no matter how dark the cloud, there is always a thin, silver lining, and that is what we must look for.” – Prof. Wangari Maathai Arseh Sevom remembers the Nobel Prize winning activist, Prof. Wangari Maathai who died recently of ov
Sept — IRI Arrests Filmmakers for Alleged Ties to BBC
Several people who sold work to the BBC were summoned and arrested in September 2011. Six arrested were Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, co-director of banned film-maker Jafar Panahi’s […]
SEPT — House of Cinema Issues Statement in Support of Detained Documentary Filmmakers
The House of Cinema issued a statement in support of several filmmakers detained for contact with the BBC. They question the legal basis for the arrests, pointing out that the government itself has contact with international news organizations. An excerpt from
Was Your Gmail Account Safe?
More than 300,000 Iranians have had their Gmail accounts compromised. From the report by the investigative firm Fox-IT, the security firm hired to investigate the stolen DigiNotar security certificates, it is clear that as early as July 28, the company was awa
Cultural Censorship in Iran
The Small Media Foundation has published the report, Cultural Censorship in Iran: Iranian Culture in a State of Emergency. This report looks at government pressure on and censorship of publishing, music, theater, and film, demonstrating an increase since the d