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

RFL/RE – Narges Mohammadi, a prominent human rights activist and political prisoner in Iran’s Evin Prison, has voiced concerns over the health of Zohreh Sayadi, a fellow prisoner of conscience who is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments for cancer. “Since her imprisonment, Zohreh has been transferred back to prison twice, just 24 hours after undergoing chemotherapy. Even the prison doctors believe that enduring …

Iranwire – Iranian news agencies reported details of the Hijab and Chastity Bill on Thursday amid an intensifying clampdown on violations of the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women. The contentious legislation, consisting of 69 articles, imposes stringent penalties on women who refuse to adhere to the mandatory hijab. Under this bill, women found in violation of mandatory hijab …

Iranwire – Iran’s leading Sunni cleric, in his ongoing series of Friday prayers sermons in which he criticises Iran’s government, has urged the Shia leadership not to attribute the country’s problems solely to “the enemy.” “Instead of confronting people and attributing everything to ‘the enemy,’ try adopting a more constructive approach,” Molavi Abdulhamid, the outspoken Sunni Friday prayer leader of …

Iranwire – In the aftermath of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, several lawyers have faced arrest and received prison sentences for various reasons, though Marzieh Mohebi’s verdict has taken an unexpected turn in the judicial system. A court in the northeastern city of Mashhad issued a ruling for Mohebi – granting authorities the power to confiscate her properties – in …

VOA – Two major labor unions in Iran are strongly condemning the Revolutionary Court of Tehran’s sentencing of Reyhaneh Ansari-Nejad, a retired worker and dedicated labor activist, to a four-year prison term. Ansari-Nejad was sentenced for “participating in an organizational session” and alleged affiliations with dissident groups and French spy organizations. The Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Mill Labor Syndicate and the …