Hitchhiker who fell in love with #Iran. Now #ReligiousFreedom advocate on behalf of Iranian #Christians @articleeighteen. Journalist/author
United Kingdom
Joined February 2010
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Had the privilege of interviewing Joseph Hovsepian, son of murdered pastor Haik, about his new film (and father) yesterday. Look forward to sharing podcast soon. Meanwhile, you can sign up to join us at the premiere on 4 December in London here 👇🏻 eventbrite.co.uk/e/movie-scr…
Scandalous. Yet very much in keeping with the general ethos of the Islamic Republic.
Amirhossein Mousavi is sentenced to death just for his activities on social media (mainly X)! #NoDeathPenalty
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
Amirhossein Mousavi is sentenced to death just for his activities on social media (mainly X)! #NoDeathPenalty
🔴 Death sentence for Amirhossein Mousavi over online activism
Amirhossein Mousavi, a 40-year-old political prisoner held in Evin Prison, has been sentenced to death on the charge of “corruption on earth”. His lawyer, Reza Shafakhah, says the sentence relates to his activity on X under the account name “James Bi-Dean”.
Mousavi was arrested with his wife on 18 December 2024. In a statement from Evin Prison, he said he was forced to confess after 148 days in solitary confinement, severe beatings and threats to rearrest his wife.
State television broadcast his forced confessions on the 20:30 news programme on 6 October 2025, before his trial. The following day, Mousavi rejected the broadcast’s allegations and said his statements had been edited and distorted.
His lawyer, citing Mousavi’s account, said the recording had been obtained in exchange for his ill wife’s release on bail. Shafakhah also said much of the televised material was absent from the indictment.
Read the full Iran Human Rights report via the link: iranhr.net/en/articles/9180/
#AmirhosseinMousavi #NoDeathPenalty #StopExecutionsInIran
This is a nice write-up of my recent interview with @drmaisato for the @articleeighteen podcast. Grateful for it, and worth reading if you don’t have time to listen to the episode in full.
This is well worth watching. Gives a glimpse into the horrors and utter evil of the Islamic Republic, including, as one Iranian interviewee aptly puts it, “putting on their dirty games for the world” (conning people into believing they aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be).
Panorama has gained rare access to Iranians who have lived through protests, crackdowns and war
This is the story of a tumultuous year in Iran, told by some of the people who were there
Watch now on BBC iPlayer, or on BBC One at 8pm:
bbc.in/47ZDe3M
#PropagandaWatch
Another day, another video with twinkly music attempting to show Christians are not persecuted in Iran because there’s a Mary metro station with a church outside.
What they fail to divulge is who can/cannot enter the church & what happens to converts who try.
This video tells a lot about Iran 🇮🇷 a country under 50yrs of sanctions, a country the west trying to tell you they people less freedom, this is a metro station named after Mary (the mother of Jesus). They said other religions in Iran are not practicing their religion freely.
These are the oppressed Christians in Iran 🇮🇷
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
Farhad and Shahnaz were both persecuted in Iran for their Christian ministry; they were both imprisoned for a year. They stand with the persecuted church. #humanrights #persecutedchurch #iran
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
Iranians and British Christians were praying for the persecuted Iranians including the persecuted church and protestors and freedom of Iran outside the Iranian embassy.
Great to see this being covered. Only wish there had been far more articles and interviews like this since January.
Iran killed her teenage daughter - now she is facing up to the regime bbc.in/3UY41uo
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
Good to see Wall street journal now relies on a single NIAC funded poll to gauge the opinion of Iranians.
Most Americans—including many Iranian Americans and Jewish Americans—oppose the war in Iran. But a community of Persian Jews on Long Island are some of the war’s most ardent defenders. on.wsj.com/3WUw0vu
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
به این چهرهها نگاه کنید. اینها انسانهایی هستند که بهخاطر بیان عقیده و باورهایی که شاید با باورهای ما بسیار متفاوت باشد، آزادیشان سلب شده و برخی حتی در خطر اعداماند.
نامشان را تکرار کنیم، تصاویرشان را منتشر کنیم و به آنها بگوییم: فراموش نشدهاید.
و به جمهوری اسلامی بگوییم: هر کس را که زندانی میکنید، صدایش را صدها بار رساتر خواهید شنید؛ چون ما صدایش خواهیم شد.
امشب به طوفان توییتری برای آزادی زندانیان سیاسی و توقف اعدامها بپیوندید. ساعت ۹ تا ۱۱ شب بوقت ایران
#زندانی_سیاسی_آزاد_باید_گردد #نه_به_اعدام
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
Mai Sato's message to Iranian Christians
"The situation of #Christians and Christian #converts in #Iran hasn't always received the attention that it deserves," says @UN rapporteur @drmaisato.
"But what I want to say is that your everyday matters to my mandate, not only when you're arrested or detained, or in prison, but every aspect of your rights - whether it's your worship, your home & property, or work & #education and your family. So keep sharing what you're experiencing with my mandate, either directly or through organisations like #Article18, whenever it's safe to do so."
The 5th episode of the #article18podcast is here, featuring the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Situation of #humanrights in the #IslamicRepublic of #iran, Mai Sato.
Watch the full interview here:
📽️ youtube.com/watch?v=zKV7FMnm…
#Article18 #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #StPeters #JosephShahbazian #MohammadNikbakht #LidaAlexani #Tehran #Iranian_Christians
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
On Wednesday 28 October from 3pm (New York time), I will present my report on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN General Assembly, sharing the floor with the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran.
My report examines the harm suffered by those killed and executed; those detained and disappeared; human rights defenders, documenters and mobilisers; and the harm to people’s livelihoods and the environment. In each of these areas, the impact of the hostilities with the United States and Israel has compounded the repression by the Iranian authorities. In each area, harms from outside and inside the country converge. War did not reduce repression but intensified it, and the heaviest burden fell on those already marginalised. My recommendations are therefore addressed to all parties: Iran, the United States and Israel, and all States.
My report: ohchr.org/en/documents/count…
Persian translation of my report: ohchr.org/sites/default/file…
Watch the interactive dialogue: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1n/k1…
For the three recent UN reports on Iran, by the Secretary-General, the Fact-Finding Mission and my mandate, see my earlier post: teapawt.net/drmaisato/status/21136…
سه گزارش سازمان ملل متحد درباره وضعیت حقوق بشر در جمهوری اسلامی ایران در طی هفتههای اخیر منتشر شدهاند.
یافتههای گزارش کمیته مستقل بینالمللی حقیقتیاب نشان میدهد که سرکوب اعتراضات دی ۱۴۰۴ از سوی مقامهای جمهوری اسلامی، مصداق جنایت علیه بشریت از جمله قتل، حبس، شکنجه و سایر اعمال غیرانسانی است. این گزارش همچنین اعلام میکند که دلایل معقولی برای این باور وجود دارد که ایالات متحده آمریکا، با حمله بدون تمایز (میان نظامیان و غیرنظامیان) به دبستان در میناب و استفاده از مهمات خوشهای در محدوده یک مرکز ورزشی و خانههای مسکونی در لامرد مرتکب جنایت جنگی شده است.
ohchr.org/sites/default/file…
گزارش دبیرکل سازمان ملل بازه زمانی مرداد ۱۴۰۴ - اردیبهشت ۱۴۰۵ را پوشش میدهد. این گزارش نشان میدهد که مقامهای جمهوری اسلامی، چطور با توسل به امنیت ملی و علیرغم وجود ملاحظات جدی در مورد دادرسی عادلانه، اعدامها را گسترش دادند، بازداشتهای گسترده انجام دادند و اینترنت را قطع کردند. تحریمها، مخاصمات و قطع اینترنت تنگنای اجتماعی اقتصادی موجود از پیش را عمیقتر کرد و حقوق اجتماعی اقتصادی را تحتتأثیر قرار داد. توصیههای این گزارش شامل تغییرات ساختاری است: اصلاحات در سطوح قانونگذاری و قانون اساسی و تعلیق مجازات اعدام. این گزارش از دولتهای عضو درخواست میکند که به مخاصمات پایان دهند، و حقوق بشر را در مراودات دیپلماتیک و اقتصادی با ایران بگنجانند.
ohchr.org/en/documents/count…
گزارش من حول آسیبها تنظیم شده است: کشتهشدهها و اعدامشدهها، بازداشتشدهها و ناپدیدشدگان، مدافعان، مستندکنندگان و سازماندهندگان، معیشت مردم، و محیط زیست. در هرکدام از این موارد، منبع آسیب از خارج و داخل به هم میرسند. هشدارهای مربوط به حملات قریبالوقوع در شبکههای اجتماعی منتشر میشدند؛ شبکههایی که بهدلیل قطعی اینترنت اعمالشده از سوی مقامها جمهوری اسلامی، دیگر در دسترس نبودند. همچنین گزارشهایی وجود دارد مبنی بر اینکه هنگام حملات، زندانیان در سلولهای خود محبوس نگه داشته شدند. جنگ نهتنها از شدت سرکوب نکاست، بلکه آن را تشدید کرد: معترضان بهعنوان عوامل کشورهای متخاصم معرفی شدند و اعدامها در سراسر این دوره ادامه یافت. سنگینترین بار این وضعیت بر دوش کسانی افتاد که پیش از این نیز در حاشیه جامعه قرار داشتند. از همین رو، توصیههای من همه طرفها را مخاطب قرار میدهد: ایران، ایالات متحده و اسرائیل، و همچنین تمامی دولتها.
ohchr.org/en/documents/count…
چیزی که در بین این گزارشها مشترک است، مصونیت از مجازات است. در جریان هیچگونه تحقیق و تفحصی از سوی مقامهای ایرانی درباره کشتارهایی که نیروهای آنان مرتکب شدهاند، نیستم؛ ایالات متحده و اسرائیل نیز هیچ یافتهای درباره حملات خود منتشر نکردهاند. وقتی مسئولان حاضر نیستند درباره اقدامات خود تحقیق کنند، مستندسازی مستقل تنها چیزی است که میان قربانیان و محو شدن حقیقت و خاطره آنان از تاریخ قرار میگیرد. این گزارشها که بر پایه تلاشهای بازماندگان، خانوادهها و جامعه مدنی تهیه شدهاند، همان سابقه مستند و ماندگاری هستند که پاسخگویی در آینده به آن وابسته خواهد بود.
تا آن زمان، این گزارشها همگی بر ضرورت اقداماتی که در حال حاضر باید انجام شوند تأکید دارند: پایان دادن به مخاصمات از طریق دیپلماسی، با قرار دادن حقوق بشر در کانون هرگونه توافق؛ توقف اعدامها؛ آزادی افرادی که بهدلیل اعمال حقوق خود بازداشت شدهاند؛ تحقیق مستقل درباره تکتک مرگها؛ و فراهم کردن دسترسی سازوکارهای سازمان ملل متحد.
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
'Why bother when violations continue?'
"I get this question a lot: 'What more can you do? Enough with your words! Act on it!'" @UN Special Rapporteur on #Iran @drmaisato tells the #Article18Podcast.
"It feels like it's almost like asking a journalist to stop an execution by writing a piece about it.
"But the overall point I really do get, and it's difficult to measure impact. Because we don't know what action leads to what ... and it's even more difficult to prove what has been prevented.
"The authorities know that we're watching. Does that mean the next #church confiscation may not happen, or would it be delayed? We'll never be able to measure that."
The 5th episode of the #article18podcast is here, featuring the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Situation of #humanrights in the #IslamicRepublic of #iran, Mai Sato.
Watch the full interview here:
📽️ youtube.com/watch?v=zKV7FMnm…
#Article18 #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #StPeters #JosephShahbazian #MohammadNikbakht #LidaAlexani #Tehran
Article 18 of the ICCPR, to which Iran is a signatory, allows states to limit religious freedom only to “protect public safety, order, health, morals, or the fundamental rights & freedoms of others”. So I suppose it’s little wonder this is the tactic the Islamic Republic uses.
‘Labelling Christians as national-security threat’
The @UN's Special Rapporteur on #HumanRights in #Iran, @drmaisato, tells the #Article18Podcast there's only been one response to official communications regarding #Christians in #Iran and it sought to portray those arrested as a "threat to national security".
📽️ youtube.com/watch?v=zKV7FMnm…
#Article18 #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #StPeters #JosephShahbazian #MohammadNikbakht #LidaAlexani #Tehran
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
‘Labelling Christians as national-security threat’
The @UN's Special Rapporteur on #HumanRights in #Iran, @drmaisato, tells the #Article18Podcast there's only been one response to official communications regarding #Christians in #Iran and it sought to portray those arrested as a "threat to national security".
📽️ youtube.com/watch?v=zKV7FMnm…
#Article18 #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #StPeters #JosephShahbazian #MohammadNikbakht #LidaAlexani #Tehran
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
Iranian authorities must immediately halt plans to execute Taraneh Rahimi, 21, and quash her conviction and death sentence. In August 2026, a Revolutionary Court in Esfahan sentenced her to death after a grossly unfair torture-tainted trial linked to the January 2026 uprising.1/5
Steve Dew-Jones retweeted
The 5th episode of the #Article18Podcast is here, featuring the @UN's Special Rapporteur on the Situation of #HumanRights in the #IslamicRepublic of #Iran, @drmaisato.
📽️ youtube.com/watch?v=zKV7FMnm…
#Article18 #FoRBForAll #Place2Worship #StPeters #JosephShahbazian #MohammadNikbakht #LidaAlexani #Tehran
A real joy and honour to speak with @drmaisato for the latest episode of our #Article18Podcast.
youtu.be/zKV7FMnmIXE