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

RFL/RE – Iranian journalist Keyvan Samimi has been released from prison after being jailed last year owing to his presence at a protest rally in May 2019, according to a reformist newspaper. The Sharq daily on January 1 reported Samimi’s release from Semnan prison, 200 kilometers east of Tehran. It did not say on what date the 73-year-old, who is a member …

RFL/RE – Iranian authorities have arrested soccer players who attended a mixed party east of Tehran, local media reported on January 1 without identifying them or giving their exact number. “Several current and former players of one of Tehran’s prominent football clubs were arrested last night (December 31) at a mixed party in the city of Damavand,” Tasnim news agency …

VOA – Politicians in several European countries and Canada are sponsoring Iranian prisoners. The lawmakers’ sponsorship means they are using their political heft in communicating with Iranian ambassadors, other politicians and human rights organizations in bringing attention to the plight of individual Iranian prisoners. The hope is that the attention given to the prisoners will prevent Iranian judges from handing …

gatestoneinstitute.org – Since the revolution, the percentage of Iranians living below “absolute poverty” has increased from 7 percent in 1977 to 18.4 percent in 2022. The nation’s labor market has plunged from one crisis to another. There are several areas in which the Iran is world number one. According to International Monetary Fund, with over 150,000 highly-educated Iranians choosing exile …

Iranwire – The Australian chapter of PEN International, a freedom of expression group, has strongly condemned the detention of award-winning Baha’i writer and poet Mahvash Sabet in Tehran’s Evin Prison, where she is being held in solitary confinement, and the 10-year prison sentence handed down against her. Sabet, aged 69, was arrested in July and, on December 10, according to the Baha’i …