The Latest from Iran (2 March): Marching Through the Blackout

2135 GMT: Economy Watch. Voice of America profiles the five- to ten-fold increase in domestic gas prices after the removal of subsidy cuts.

2125 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Farah Vazehan, arrested after the Ashura demonstration of December 2009, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Vazehan was originally condemned to death.

Reformist activist Davoud Kahnamooei was arrested in Tabriz during Tuesday's protests.

Kahnamooei is a member of the East Azerbaijan branch of the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front and of Mir Hossein Mousavi's 2009 Presidential campaign.

Three other activists distributing green wristbands have also been detained.

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Belarus Feature: Europe Criticises, But Will It Make a Difference?

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe agreed on Wednesday to a statement about “the worrying developments that took place in Belarus following the Presidential elections held on 19 December 2010 [which] raise a number of questions". The Committee asked for "additional information on what basis the presidential candidates, journalists, and human rights activists were arrested in the wake of the elections", demanding their immediate release, and insisted, "Political freedoms should be fully respected.” 

The Committee warned that it "will continue supporting the establishment of closer relations between the Council of Europe and Belarus only on the basis of respect for European values and principles".

But will the statements matter?

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