{"id":458,"date":"2017-01-25T06:50:22","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T06:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=458"},"modified":"2017-01-25T08:01:15","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T08:01:15","slug":"intelligence-agents-arrest-filmmaker-and-journalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=458","title":{"rendered":"Intelligence Agents Arrest Filmmaker and Journalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Intelligence Ministry forces arrested filmmaker Saleh Deldan and a journalist, Zeynab Karimian, on January 23.<\/p>\n

Prior to the arrest, in December 2016, Intelligence Ministry agents searched the home of Deldan and accused of him of \u201cacting against national security\u201d and \u201cpropaganda against the regime,\u201d but stopped short of arresting him. Intelligence officials \u2013 both government-linked and those working on behalf of the Revolutionary Guards \u2014 have regularly interrogated the filmmaker, who is a member of Iran\u2019s Marodmsalari Party (the Democracy Party of Iran), over the last seven years, often in connection with his political activities. He was also arrested in the aftermath of the 2009 disputed election, along with hundreds of political activists and journalists.<\/p>\n

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During a press conference, government spokesperson Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said he didn’t have any information about the arrests<\/p><\/div>\n

The website Kalameh reported that Karimian, a former reporter for\u00a0Mehr\u00a0and the Islamic Republic news agencies, is a known supporter of Hassan Rouhani, so it is unclear why the president\u2019s intelligence staff would want to target her.<\/p>\n

Reporters asked government spokesperson Mohammad Bagher Nobakht about the arrests at his weekly press conference on January 24, but Nobakht refused to shed any light on the matter.<\/p>\n

“I don’t have any information. You should ask the intelligence minister,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kalameh also reported the arrest of another journalist, Tahereh Riyahi, on December 26. Authorities have not provided any information about where she is being held or the reason for her arrest.<\/p>\n

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