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

Iranwire – Reporter and Telegram channel operator Amir Saeinia has been sentenced to six months in prison for “spreading lies via an electronic system” after penning an open letter of complaint to Hassan Morsali, Friday Imam for the city of Sufiyan in East Azerbaijan province. Saeinia runs the Deniz Sesi Telegram channel, an independent news provider sharing items of interest to local …

Iranwire – Two women have accused Shahram Gilabadi, an ex-senior official at the IRIB and former deputy to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf when the latter was Mayor of Tehran, of rape. At the time of writing Gilabadi had not responded to the allegations. The stories, posted in a series of tweets shared by the Iran MeToo Twitter account, go back to the period …

HRW – On June 14, Iranian Ministry of Intelligence agents arrested Maryam Karimbeigi, a 34-year-old sociology student and civil rights activist, according to tweets by her mother, Shahnaz Akmali. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, Maryam is being held in Ward 209 at Evin Prison. Ward 209 is operated by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and Human Rights Watch has documented the …

Iran-HRM – Political prisoner Ayyub Porkar was banished to the Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz, notorious for its horrible infrastructural conditions and torture of prisoners. Ayyub Porkar was arrested in January 2009. The Revolutionary Court of Tehran convicted him of Moharebeh (waging war on God) and sentenced him to death. Moharebeh is used for a wide range of offenses including on …

CHRI – For trying to sue Iranian leaders for their grossly negligent response to the COVID-19 pandemic, three lawyers and two civil rights activists have been sentenced to prison. “These individuals are being punished in order to send a message to the people of Iran: Seeking an accountable government in the Islamic Republic will land you in jail,” said Hadi …