Iranwire – Prosecutors in Tehran’s Evin prison summoned three women journalists on April 26 and gave them five days to present their last defense in court, according to media reports, amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent and the media.  The charges against Saeedeh Shafiei, Mehrnoosh Zarei and Nasim Sultan Beygi include “propaganda against” the regime. The three journalists were arrested last year …

Iranwire – Senior Iranian officials and religious authorities – and their relatives – made dozens of trips to Europe between in the 1980s and 1990s to undergo medical treatments, according to late President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s memoirs. The collaborative initiative Iran Open Data said in an article on April 27 that Rafsanjani’s massive memoirs mention at least 43 such travels …

Iranwire – More than a quarter of all radio and television programs produced in Iran are dedicated to Islamic and religious topics, new research shows. Out of a total of 345,000 hours of programs produced in the country in 2021, more than 70,000 hours were dedicated to Islamic teachings, the collaborative initiative Iran Open Data said in an article published …

Iranwire – The concept of an “Islamic economy” has been a topic of discussion for at least 45 years. In a recent televised debate, Musa Ghaninejad, a proponent of competitive capitalism, asked Masoud Derakhshan, a professor of economics at Imam Sadiq University and advocate for Islamic economics, to define what the Islamic economy is, highlighting the frustration felt by economists …

VOA – Iranian authorities have been shutting down a large number of shops and businesses around the country they say are not observing the mandatory hijab law. According to reports from Iran, Ali Akbar Javidan, the police commander of Kermanshah Province, said the Public Places’ Supervision Department, in cooperation with “other responsible agencies,” has begun “the implementation of the chastity …

Al-Monitor — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has condemned the decision by Iran’s top court to uphold the death sentence of German-Iranian dual national Jamshid Sharmahd, convicted of involvement in a 2008 deadly bomb attack at a mosque in Shiraz. “The confirmation of death sentence against Jamshid Sharmahd is unacceptable,” Baerbock said in a statement Wednesday. “Sharmahd never benefited from even a semblance …

Shabtabnews – In a twitter statement USCIRF welcomed this week’s @USTreasury sanctions and @StateDept visa restrictions on Iranian officials complicit in the violent repression of protestors, including those asserting their freedom of religion or belief. USCIRF Commissioner @Skleinbaum: "USCIRF welcomes this week’s @USTreasury sanctions and @StateDept visa restrictions on Iranian officials complicit in the violent repression of protestors, including those …

RFL/RE – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled out holding a referendum on key national issues, a demand made by antiestablishment protesters, activists, and opposition figures. “Where in the world is this done? Is it possible to hold a referendum for various issues of the country?” Khamenei, who has the final say on all important matters of the …

RFL/RE – Award-winning Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s travel ban has been lifted after 14 years, his wife, Tahereh Saeedi, said on Instagram on April 25, adding that she and her husband were going to travel abroad “for a few days.” Panahi, 62, was temporarily released from prison last month after going on a hunger strike to protest “the illegal and inhumane behavior” …

Iranwire – The Iranian judiciary has announced charges against two women journalists who have been incarcerated for seven months for covering the events surrounding Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody. Judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayshi said on April 26 that Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi are accused of “collaborating with the hostile American government, colluding against national security and engaging in …