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

gatestoneinstitute.org – As Iran’s theocratic establishment believes that the Supreme Leader is Allah’s representative on earth, whatever words or desires the Supreme Leader utters are considered Allah’s wishes, which must be brought to life by Allah’s true believers. Iran has built, or is in the process of building, more than 10 military bases in Syria, some of which are near …

CHRI – A coalition of diverse human rights organizations have signed an open letter supporting the renewal of the UN special rapporteur’s (SR’s) mandate on Iran. Javaid Rehman, a Pakistani-born British legal scholar, was appointed to the position in July 2018 after former SR Asma Jahangir passed away in February 2018. Read the full letter below. TO: Member states of …

CHRI – UN, GENEVA– Worrying patterns of intimidation, arrest, prosecution, and ill-treatment of human rights defenders, lawyers, and labour rights activists in Iran signal an increasingly severe State response to protests and strikes in the country, a UN expert said today. Javaid Rehman, the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, said rising inflation, difficult working conditions, late or unpaid …

Al-Monitor – In an unusual development, a judge in Tehran has sentenced prominent — and aging — political activist Abolfazl Ghadyani to copy three books by hand while serving his prison term. The 74-year-old Ghadyani, who has been tortured and imprisoned both under the former shah and after the 1979 Revolution for his political activism, had been charged with insulting Supreme …

Al-Monitor – President Hassan Rouhani became the first sitting Iranian president to meet with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most senior Iraqi Shiite leader, when he visited the holy city of Najaf on March 14. The meeting took place on the final day of his three-day tour of Iraq. The historic meeting received widespread coverage by Iranian newspapers and was …