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

RFL/RE – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says 21 journalists worldwide were singled out for murder in reprisal for their work in 2020, more than double the previous year’s figure of 10.Overall, at least 30 journalists were slain while on duty this year, the New York-based media freedom watchdog said in a report released on December 22.“It’s appalling that the murders …

Iranwire.com – We may yet remember 2020 as the year that apathy died. During the pandemic, billions of people have been compelled to live, breathe and engage, with a directness that for many was totally unprecedented, with the impact of political choices and top-down decisions made in the countries they call home. Crises such as this have a way of …

Iranwire.com – Yalda, the longest night in the northern hemisphere, when Iranians gather with friends and family to celebrate “the rebirth of the sun,” has now passed. Special restrictions and curfews were announced earlier to prevent the gatherings – which were bound to spread the virus – but many people and businesses ignored these restrictions. The consequences of so much mixing will …

Iranwire.com – BBC Persian journalists have told United Nations experts they continue to receive death threats from Iranian agents, and that a campaign of harassment and intimidation has increased over the last year. On December 18, lawyers for the BBC Persian journalists filed an Urgent Appeal with three UN experts detailing the death threats and other harassment, including the freezing of assets …

Iranwire.com – A politician has released details of a wide-ranging report on corruption among some of Iran’s well-known officials, just the latest in a long history of scandals. On Friday, December 18, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a former Iranian parliamentarian, published the full text of an investigation into the corrupt practices of Sarmayeh Bank carried out during the previous parliament, which ran …