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

RFL/RE – Iranian media say a 34-year-old man had a hand chopped off as punishment for stealing livestock in the northeastern province of Razavi Khorasan. The local, state-sponsored newspaper Khorasan reported that the amputation took place on January 17 in the central prison in the provincial capital, Mashhad. The man, referred to as A. Kh., was transferred to a medical …

RFL/RE – The biggest challenge to Iran’s establishment in years fizzled out after a couple of weeks of violent demonstrations, but while widespread discontent has been quieted for now, the calm won’t last forever. The roots of the protests — frustration among the youth over their lack of freedoms and opportunities — remain just below the surface. And with the …

Amnesty – Iranian teenager Abolfazl Chezani Sharahi remains at risk of execution after his execution scheduled for 17 January was postponed. He was 14 years old at the time of the crime of which he was convicted. Since 2014, he has been subjected to the anguish of being transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution four times. To …

CHRI – Ten members of a persecuted Sufi order in Iran were injured and three others arrested in the city of Kowar, Fars Province after police attacked their rally in support of detained fellow devotees on January 14, 2018. Kasra Nouri, a reporter for Majzooban Noor, the official website of the Gonabadi Dervishes, told the Center for Human Rights in …

CHRI – A majority of Iranian lawmakers have signed a letter calling for a ban on foreign social media apps to support state-led efforts to drive Iranians toward using state-approved domestic alternatives. The letter was published the same week President Hassan Rouhani lifted the ban on the widely used Telegram messaging app. “In order to protect the political and cultural …