Ali Motahari Calls for Explanation from Ministry of Intelligence Regarding the Long-Term Detention of Hengameh Shahidi

Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, called for an explanation from the Ministry of Intelligence regarding the reason for the "long-term" detention of Hengameh Shahidi, a journalist and political activist. According to ISNA news agency, Mr. Motahari made this request in a written notice read during the public session of Parliament on Sunday, April 20, concerning the "long detention" of Hengameh Shahidi, which has led to her hunger strike. On Wednesday, March 15, 2017, he also warned the Minister of Intelligence about the detention of managers of Telegram channels and the re-imprisonment of Ehsan Mazandarani, the former editor-in-chief of the Farhikhtegan newspaper, threatening him with impeachment. Hengameh Shahidi was arrested on March 10 last year in the city of Mashhad and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran. Reports indicate that she has been on a hunger strike since her arrest. Previously, Nahid Kermanshahi, the mother of this journalist, stated that on April 1, during a phone call from Evin Prison in the presence of her interrogator, she said she "can no longer walk and drags herself on the ground." The human rights organization Amnesty International expressed serious concern about Ms. Shahidi's physical condition in a statement on Friday, April 7, and called for her release. Reporters Without Borders issued a statement on Tuesday, April 4, warning that the risk of death threatens the life of this imprisoned journalist. In March of last year, in addition to Hengameh Shahidi, managers of several Telegram channels and a number of journalists, including Morad Saghafi and Ehsan Mazandarani, as well as Ramin Karimi, a researcher and translator, were arrested. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani requested a report from the Minister of Interior on Saturday, March 25, regarding the "suspicious" detention of several media activists ahead of the elections and urged to prevent the "illegal" interference of certain institutions in the elections. Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, also announced that the government opposes the detention of managers of opposing Telegram channels. In this context, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran, wrote a letter to the commander of the Revolutionary Guards on Saturday, March 18, stating that the detention of managers of several political Telegram channels has raised a "wave of concern" regarding the "commitment" to the promise of non-interference by this institution in the elections. Before Mr. Sadeghi, Hesameddin Ashna, an advisor to Hassan Rouhani, and several members of the Hope faction in Parliament reacted to these detentions, linking them to the presidential election of 2017. Elias Hazrati, Abdul Karim Hosseinzadeh, Bahram Parsai, and Mohammad Ali Vakili, four members of Parliament, in a joint letter to Hassan Rouhani, described these detentions as "suspicious" occurring in the "run-up to the New Year and the closure of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Nowruz travels." Tahereh Riahi, the social service editor of the Borna news agency, which is affiliated with the government, was also arrested on December 27, 2016, by "agents of the Ministry of Intelligence" and, according to reports, remains imprisoned.