Arrest of One Individual in Connection with the Release of Photos Attributed to Minou Khalighi

News sources in Iran report the arrest of an individual in connection with the release of internet photos attributed to Minou Khalighi. The Tasnim news agency reported that Hamed Talebi, a former reporter for the Fars news agency, was arrested on Tuesday evening, May 21. Mr. Talebi is a former reporter for Fars news agency and a former official of the Rajanews website, and during the early presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he was also a government sector journalist. Hamed Talebi is mentioned as the manager of the Qaychi channel on Telegram, which published hijab-less photos of a woman and introduced her as Minou Khalighi, the third elected representative of Isfahan in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, who was disqualified by the Guardian Council. However, Tasnim's report on the arrest stated that 'it seems' the photos attributed to Ms. Khalighi were published on other social media before being released on the Qaychi Telegram channel, and there is currently 'ambiguity' regarding Mr. Talebi's management of the Qaychi channel. Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, had previously requested in a letter to his security and police deputy to identify and arrest those responsible for publishing the photos attributed to Minou Khalighi on the internet. Ms. Khalighi has previously denied the attribution of these photos to herself and requested action against those who published them. Meanwhile, news agencies close to the IRGC reported that the High Council for Resolving Disputes between the branches of government announced its opinion on Ms. Khalighi's case in favor of the Guardian Council, stating that she cannot enter the tenth parliament. Minou Khalighi was one of the candidates on the government supporters' list in the recent parliamentary elections, successfully elected as the third representative of Isfahan, but the Guardian Council disqualified her and invalidated her votes after the elections. In this context, 30 student organizations across the country sent a letter to the President, published on Tuesday, urging him to send Minou Khalighi's credentials to the Islamic Consultative Assembly, preventing a 'dangerous precedent in disregarding the people's votes.' In this letter, published on the Kaleme website, the Guardian Council's action in disqualifying and invalidating Ms. Khalighi's votes after the elections is described as 'illegal.'