Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.

Shabtabnews – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has organised a virtual event examining the long-term impact of the Arab Spring movement on religious freedom across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and assessing U.S. policy options, under the title of : Ten Years after the Arab Spring: How has Religious Freedom Changed Across the Middle East? …

RFL/RE – The influential political scion and speaker of Iran’s parliament, Ali Larijani, has demanded an explanation from the country’s vetters as to why he was excluded from running in next week’s Iranian presidential election. Larijani’s query toward the hard-line Guardians Council follows that body’s disqualification of hundreds of would-be candidates in a familiar feature of Iranian elections that left …

Iranwire – “Until further notice, we have no coronavirus vaccines”. This notice pinned to doors has greeted visitors to many vaccination centers in Iran over the past week. Elderly people aged over 70 are supposed to be receiving their second jab now, but countless patients have been turned away. This is deeply worrying because of the time-frame in which the …

Iranwire – Akbar Faraji is a political prisoner being held in Greater Tehran Penitentiary, commonly known as Fashafuyeh (Fashafouyeh). Arrested in January 2019 over a handful of social media posts, he told IranWire he was tricked by interrogators into incriminating himself. Faraji, who was born in 1981 and is a resident of Baqershahr in Shahr-e Rey, Tehran province, was abruptly …

Iran Human Rights (IHR) –  Yesterday, a draft bill was passed in the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament), which if approved, can result in the death penalty for citizen journalists reporting on the death penalty. Iran Human Rights condemns the draft bill which is in breach of international human rights standards. IHR director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “Instead of adopting repressive measures …