[Picture from same article - copyright hrw.org
14/12/2012 - Images Mohammad Olyaeifard,
Rebin Rahmani, Abbas Khorsandi]
18.12.2012. The space in Iran for civil
society has been shrinking since the crackdown following the disputed
presidential election in 2009, Human Rights Watch said in a report released
today. Three-and-a-half years after government forces brutally suppressed
largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations, hundreds of activists have
sought temporary refuge and an uncertain future in neighboring Turkey and Iraqi
Kurdistan in the face of harassment and detention at home.
The 60-page report, “Why they Left:
Stories of Iranian Activists in Exile,” documents the experiences of dozens of
rights defenders, journalists, bloggers, and lawyers whom security and
intelligence forces targeted because they spoke out against the government.
