Iranian Journalist Masoud Kazemi Arrested

Masoud Kazemi, an Iranian journalist who has previously worked with newspapers such as Shargh and Ghanun, was arrested on Monday at his home in Tehran by security officials.

Kazemi’s representative tweeted that security officials entered his residence and arrested Mr. Kazemi. They also confiscated items including a laptop, hard drive, and flash drive, taking them away.

No information has yet been released about the reason for Masoud Kazemi’s arrest, the arresting agency, or his place of detention, and official sources have remained silent on the matter.

Masoud Kazemi, who previously served as editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine Sedaye Farsi, had recently written on his Twitter page about corruption cases that occurred in the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade. He had also posed questions to Hossein Ashena, an adviser to Hassan Rouhani, regarding serial killings.

He is the latest journalist to be arrested or summoned by security agencies in recent weeks. Amirhossein Esmaili, Pouyan Khoshhal, and Saba Azarpak are among the journalists who have been previously arrested.

Some of these journalists are currently released on bail or bond pending their trials.

International human rights organizations and the United States government have accused the Islamic Republic of violating freedom of speech and suppressing journalists, and have called for the release of journalists who have been imprisoned solely for carrying out their professional duties.

According to the global press freedom ranking published annually by Reporters Without Borders, Iran was ranked 165th in the world (among 180 countries) in the 2017 ranking.

Source: Voice of America