Watchdog

Iranian rights activist Maryam Akbari Monfared, who has spent 13 years in prison for protesting the execution of her two siblings, faces new charges of "propaganda against the system."

The watchdog Iran Human Rights quoted a source as saying Monfared was to have appeared in court on July 16 but refused as her lawyer had not been informed of the charges.

Hassan Jafari, Monfared’s husband, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that the content of the new case is still unknown.

Monfared was arrested on December 2009 and was forcibly disappeared for five months.

She was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran in May 2010, which condemned her for “acting against national security” and "enmity against God."

Jafari says a judge convicted his wife in a four-minute trial because of her family, who were members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO). Three of her siblings were executed by the state in 1988, while a fourth died while being tortured in 1985.

Monfared has been in prison since her conviction without being granted any leave. She reportedly has been suffering health problems.

Jafari says that the Ministry of Intelligence has stopped any early or temporary release of his wife, even though a bail deposit has been posted.

In 2015, after the release of audio from Ayatollah Montazeri, then the country's deputy leader, regarding the mass killing of prisoners, including her siblings, Monfared filed a lawsuit with the Tehran Prosecutor's Office.

Jila Bani Yaqoub, a journalist who was in the women's ward of Evin prison with Maryam Akbari Monfared, said in an interview with Radio Farda that after Monfared's complaint and lawsuit, prison officials “specifically told her that they will not let her go on leave, and they have stuck to this."

With reporting and writing by Ardeshir Tayebi

Security agents halted a music concert in Tehran while the musicians were on stage playing, another sign of the crackdown authorities are waging against events they deem contrary to Islamic values.

According to video published on social media early on July 29, the members of the band Kamakan were performing when a security guard suddenly comes on stage and tells the band's singer: "Stop. We were ordered to stop this."

Despite protests by the singer, band members, and those present at the venue, a security agent insists that the concert end immediately.

Following a recent uptick in social protests, several concerts have been canceled, including that of pop singer Sirvan Khosravi in the city of Ahvaz. In response to this crackdown, the director-general of guidance for Khuzestan Province has announced a ban on all music concerts in Ahvaz until further notice.

Dozens of concerts and cultural performances have been abruptly called off in Iran following pressure and intimidation by hard-liners who claim such events undermine Islamic values.

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New Case Filed Against Jailed Dissident Meysami For Supporting Protests Against Iran's Hijab Law

Meanwhile, authorities have also increased the enforcement of rules that make it mandatory for women to wear a hijab in public.

Female singers are not allowed to perform in Iran, and holding music concerts in the country after the 1979 Islamic Revolution has been accompanied by many obstacles.

With writing and reporting by Ardeshir Tayebi