Iranian poet and filmmaker Baktash Abtin, who had been jailed on security charges, has passed away in a hospital in Tehran after contracting COVID-19 in detention. Abtin was a joint winner of the 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. The 48-year-old was transferred to a hospital from the Evin Prison in mid-December and was placed in a medically induced coma a week before his death in an attempt to help him recover from a severe case of the coronavirus. Rights groups claimed authorities wasted time in offering him medical assistance when he first started showing symptoms of the disease more than a month ago.

28/11/2021 - Following months of protests by farmers in Isfahan over waters shortages caused by the drying up of the Zayandehroud river, a sit-in and protest was held in the city as thousands gathered on the dried up river bed of the river. The Zayandehroud river has for hundreds of years been a lifeline for the people of Isfahan province, providing fertile lands to grow and sell produce as well as providing sustenance for ordinary people.

The regime’s judiciary in Lorestan province announced on January 12th, 2022, that “the death sentences of two people had been carried out,” but the names of the victims, the time of execution and the place of their burial remained unknown. We now know the two executed dissidents were Jahanbakhsh Abbasi and Mehran Naqdi, whom the mullahs’ court sentenced to death last year after torturing them and forcing them to take part in television confessions. Both men were charged with “Moharebeh” (Waging war against God). Engulfed in crisis, and terrified of the spread of uprisings, the clerical regime has found the only way to remain in power in stepping up executions, torture, and repression.

10/11/2021 - Protests by different sectors across Iran continued in the past week. 

- Farmers in Isfahan resumed their gathering for the third consecutive day. Protesting the state officials’ negligence to address the water problem, they also spent the last night setting up tents at the Zayandehrood river bed. The farmers have been regularly protesting the deteriorating conditions of the province’s farming industry and water shortages.

On Tuesday, December 28, 2021, large groups of retired teachers in 18 provinces across the country gathered in protest against the unbearable living conditions, the oppressive policies of the clerical regime, and the deceptive “ranking” bill approved by the regime’s parliament. Acting on a previous call, retired teachers gathered outside the parliament in Tehran and other cities opposite the pension fund, including in Sanandaj, Mashhad and 18 other major cities.

10/11/2021 - The trial of Hamid Nouri, one of the main perpetrators of the 1988 massacre of political poisoners in Iran, has relocated to Albania for 2 weeks to hear the testimonies of several Iranian dissidents.

Since the start of the court's proceedings in Sweden, a number of the dissidents in Albania had given their testimonies via webcam, however, the court decided to relocate to Albania to hear the remaining testimonies of the witnesses and plaintiffs. Many of the lawyers and the judge have gone to Albania to continue the court's proceedings, however, Noury has remained in Sweden. The court will hear from 7 plaintiffs in total in Albania.