.Iran confirms jailing Iranian-Canadian blogger
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Tuesday confirmed reports that it has detained a well-known Iranian-Canadian blogger who had made trips to Israel.
Judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi told reporters that Hossein Derakhshan was being held under an order from the revolutionary court. He said Derakhshan was charged with insulting religious figures, but did not elaborate.
Derakshan, described as the "father" of Iran's vigorous blogging scene, had been rumored to be in prison the past two months, according to international human rights groups. He reportedly was detained in November, few weeks after he returned to Iran.
Derakhshan lived in Canada and helped ignite the blog boom in Iran in 2001 by posting simple instructions online on how to create sites in Farsi.
Iranian authorities have arrested numerous bloggers in recent years as part of a wider attempt to clamp down on Internet dissent.
Derakhshan, who blogs in both Farsi and English, was a controversial figure among the large community of reformist Iranian bloggers.
In the past, he was critical of the Iranian government. But over the past year he expressed strong support for hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, praising him for standing up to the West and defending Iran's nuclear program. He also criticized Iranian reformers.
Despite an Iranian ban on travel to Israel, Derakhshan visited Israel twice, in 2006 and early 2007, saying he wanted to break the taboo on contacts with Israel and show Israelis a different face of Iran. During his trips, he did interviews with Israeli media and spoke at a university.
Iran sees Israel as its archenemy and repeatedly says it has disbanded Israeli spy networks in the country.
MyWay
Judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi told reporters that Hossein Derakhshan was being held under an order from the revolutionary court. He said Derakhshan was charged with insulting religious figures, but did not elaborate.
Derakshan, described as the "father" of Iran's vigorous blogging scene, had been rumored to be in prison the past two months, according to international human rights groups. He reportedly was detained in November, few weeks after he returned to Iran.
Derakhshan lived in Canada and helped ignite the blog boom in Iran in 2001 by posting simple instructions online on how to create sites in Farsi.
Iranian authorities have arrested numerous bloggers in recent years as part of a wider attempt to clamp down on Internet dissent.
Derakhshan, who blogs in both Farsi and English, was a controversial figure among the large community of reformist Iranian bloggers.
In the past, he was critical of the Iranian government. But over the past year he expressed strong support for hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, praising him for standing up to the West and defending Iran's nuclear program. He also criticized Iranian reformers.
Despite an Iranian ban on travel to Israel, Derakhshan visited Israel twice, in 2006 and early 2007, saying he wanted to break the taboo on contacts with Israel and show Israelis a different face of Iran. During his trips, he did interviews with Israeli media and spoke at a university.
Iran sees Israel as its archenemy and repeatedly says it has disbanded Israeli spy networks in the country.
MyWay
posted by madtom at 10:49 PM
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