Iran, Nigeria, Tunisia.
Today's three stories you should know.
Apologies for the radio silence recently. I’ve been ill.
Bests,
Barry.
Iran
Iran today filed new cases against two female journalists just a day after they were released from prison on bail. Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi had been sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison respectively for their reporting on the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in the custody of the country’s so-called morality police after being detained for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. And the new charges against Hamedi and Mohammadi? That they failed to wear hijabs in images taken of them after they were released. Amini’s death in 2022 sparked nationwide protests that became the biggest threat to Iran’s government for decades.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Nigeria
Nigerians have reacted with fury to the news that one of six sisters kidnapped for ransom by a criminal gang has been killed in captivity. The sisters were snatched from their home in the capital Abuja along with their father in an attack during which three police officers were shot, with two later dying. The gang is reported to have killed the girl - identified as Nabeehah, a university student - after the family failed to pay a ransom of $63,000. They have now increased the ransom to $104,000, warning they will kill the rest of the sisters if it is not paid by Wednesday. Kidnapping for ransom is common in Nigeria and has reached crisis levels in the country’s north.
More from BBC here.
Tunisia
It’s the nation that started the Arab Spring. But, to mark its thirteenth anniversary, Tunisians have marched in the capital Tunis to protest what they see as an increasingly dictatorial government, chanting for freedom and jobs. In the last two and a half years, President Kais Saied has suspended parliament, seized most executive powers and imprisoned at least 20 critics and opponents. “After a successful start, Tunisia’s democratic transition today has broken down,” Ahmed Chebbi, the president of the National Salvation Front party, told The Associated Press news.
More from AP here.