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Mojtaba Saminejad was initially arrested in November 2004. He was released on bail on January 27, 2005 but arrested again on February 12, 2005 because his bail fee was doubled and he was unable to pay it.
According to Saminejad's supporters, the reason for his arrest was that he blogged about the arrests of three other bloggers. According to official charges, Saminejad was suspected of having insulted the head of state of Iran (the Supreme Leader), of "endangering national security," and of having "insulted the prophets." He was found guilty and sentenced to two years and ten months' imprisonment.
On June 28, 2005, Saminejad was found 'not guilty' of the charge of "insulting the prophets" (punishable by the death penalty). He was released a few months ago but still is under pressure today.
Detained for over a month
More than 40 days ago, reports surfaced that Hossein Derakhshan (also known as Hoder), a famed Iranian blogger, was arrested in Tehran. The reasons for his arrest are unclear, but some speculate that his two (highly publicised) trips to Israel were the main reason.
Blogger Z8tun says other Iranians have been caught visiting Israel, but were released after a few hours of interrogation. Some speculate that Derakhshan who in recent years became a supporter of President Ahmadinejad's government, was arrested because he insulted some religious leaders in the country. He has himself argued in Western media, despite multiple testimonies of jailed bloggers, that nobody goes to jail in Iran because of the content of their blog. There is a Free Hoder facebook page campaigning for his release.
Please read more in "Iranian Bloggers Talk About Their Prison Experience ".
Imageby Kosoof Tehran Spring
Cold Tehran Spring
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