Another Journalist Arrested in Iran; Ehsan Mazandarani on Hunger Strike

The brother of Ehsan Mazandarani's wife reported that he has been arrested again by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) despite the end of his sentence, and he has gone on a dry hunger strike in protest of his "illegal, political, and arbitrary" detention. Sam Hosseini, the brother-in-law of Ehsan Mazandarani, stated in an interview with Radio Farda that Mazandarani's arrest is aimed at influencing the 2017 presidential elections. Four days prior to Mazandarani's arrest, journalist Hengameh Shahidi was also detained and linked her arrest to a "project" that could lead to the "widespread detention of political activists and journalists" before the presidential election. Sam Hosseini reported that on Sunday, March 13, agents from the IRGC's Intelligence Organization visited Ehsan Mazandarani's home and asked him to come to the parking lot. According to Hosseini, the agents beat Mazandarani with a taser during his arrest. Ehsan Mazandarani had been released from prison on February 12, and a photo of his release order was circulated on social media. Hosseini mentioned that the journalist had asked Fataneh Fattahi, the head of the execution of sentences at the Culture and Media Court, twice in writing about the exact date of his release, and Fattahi had confirmed that Mazandarani's imprisonment ended on February 12. However, the IRGC agents claimed that Fattahi had informed Hossein Taeb, the head of the IRGC, that Mazandarani's prison sentence had not ended and that he should have returned to prison but had "escaped and gone into hiding." Sam Hosseini also reported that Ehsan Mazandarani informed his family in a brief phone call on Sunday evening that he had been transferred to Ward 6 of Evin Prison, known as the "Labor Ward." According to Hosseini, Mazandarani has also stated that he is on a dry hunger strike in protest of his "illegal, political, and arbitrary" detention. Hosseini declared that Mazandarani's arrest is similar to his arrest in 2013, which was related to the presidential election, and that other journalists may also be arrested in the coming days. In 2013, prior to the 2014 presidential election, 18 journalists, including Ehsan Mazandarani, were arrested and later released. On March 10, four days before Mazandarani's arrest, Hengameh Shahidi, a journalist and political activist, was arrested in Mashhad and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran. Shahidi was in Mashhad to attend her grandmother's funeral. On social media, including Twitter, a handwritten note from her last message before her arrest was published. In her note, Shahidi stated that she had received warnings from "some media and individuals close to the government" about the possibility of her arrest. She asserted that there was no reason for her arrest unless there was a "project" for the "widespread detention of political activists and journalists" before the presidential election. She threatened that if arrested, she would go on a hunger strike from the very first moment in protest against the "illegal practices of restricting journalists and political activists" in Iran.