Civil Society Watch
#Iran — Where’s My Gold?
Arseh Sevom – Anyone who has every read Joseph Heller’s classic novel depicting the insanity of war and military life, Catch 22, won’t be surprised by speculations of unscrupulous profiteering in the name of country and honor. Iran’s Babak Zanjani — deal-maker
2013 Year in Review — #Iran and Its Civil Society
They say that an optimist is someone who knows that one step forward and two steps back is a dance, not a defeat. In 2013, those acting for a vibrant civil society in Iran wore out their dancing shoes. This post presents a brief and incomplete overview of the
#Iran: I’m Dreaming of Citizens’ Rights
Arseh Sevom—In this season of celebrations, we begin by wishing all our readers happy holidays. A Citizenship Rights Charter has been presented to the people of Iran. The charter, like the constitution of Iran, guarantees nothing in the end. It’s as substantia
#Iran — Time for Attention to Human Rights
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 sanctio
#Iran — Can Activists Return Safely?
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 w
#Iran — Are We Wrong to Hope?
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 negot
#Iran — Ssshh…People are Dying Here
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 activis
#Iran — Executions and Ideological Struggles
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
#Iran: Let’s Make a (Nuclear) Deal
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 lit