Arrest of a Journalist in Iran on Charges of 'Insulting the Eighth Imam of Shia'

Iranian media has reported the arrest of Amir Hossein Mir Asmaeili, a journalist for the economic newspaper 'Jahan San'at', on charges of insulting the Eighth Imam of Shia Islam. The Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, reported on Tuesday, April 23, citing 'an informed security source', that he intended to leave Iran for Georgia but was arrested at Imam Khomeini Airport. The report states that the journalist had been summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office on Monday, a news that was reflected in various media outlets, including the Tasnim news agency. The IRNA news agency also confirmed Mr. Mir Asmaeili's arrest without mentioning his name, referring to him as 'the journalist who insulted the sanctity of Imam Reza'. Amir Hossein Mir Asmaeili had recently tweeted criticizing Ahmad Alam al-Huda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, for opposing the holding of music concerts in the city, which was interpreted as an insult to the Eighth Imam of Shia Islam. However, he deleted that tweet and emphasized that he did not intend to insult anyone, stating that he himself is a Muslim and Shia and only wanted to criticize Alam al-Huda. He wrote on social media: 'My intention with that tweet was to critique the events that occurred in Mashhad in a contemporary and colloquial language understandable to the younger generation (criticizing Mr. Alam al-Huda's views on music and concerts), but unfortunately, after the tweet was published, I realized that the words used conveyed another meaning.' Mr. Mir Asmaeili further requested 'pardon and forgiveness' and simultaneously tweeted that he had been 'threatened with acid attacks and murder' because of his writing. Ahmad Alam al-Huda has declared the entire city of Mashhad as the courtyard of the Eighth Imam of Shia Islam and emphasized that no concerts should be held in this city for that reason. However, last year he stated that he opposed concerts throughout Iran. Recently, Alam al-Huda also strongly protested against 'dance and joy ceremonies' in Salman Tower in Mashhad, which Mr. Mir Asmaeili's tweet about 'events in Mashhad' refers to. In his tweet, which was interpreted as an insult, he wrote: 'There are two narratives about the cause of Imam Reza's martyrdom; one says he was poisoned by grapes, and the other says it was pomegranate water, so he definitely liked grape water, chips, and yogurt; meanwhile, Alam al-Huda says dancing and music are disrespectful to Imam Reza! Don't make empty claims, but Reza is one of us, man.' Mr. Mir Asmaeili's last tweet was published on Tuesday afternoon and was very brief: 'I have been arrested.'