Arrest of Two Baloch Citizens for Online Activity Regarding Raisi's Death and Celebration at a Wedding

Two Baloch bloggers, including a disabled individual, were arrested by security forces in the city of Ramshak on Wednesday, June 13, 1403, due to their online activity regarding the death of Ibrahim Raisi. According to Halosh, the reason for the arrest of 19-year-old blogger and physically disabled Mohammad Pirayesh and social activist Saeed Baloch was their reporting on social media and holding a wedding ceremony at the time of Raisi's death in Ramshak. Local sources stated that Mohammad, who has a physical disability, 'recently got married a few days after Raisi's death, and the excuse for the intelligence forces to arrest him and his friend Saeed was their online activity during Raisi's death.' There is still no information available about the location where these two detained Baloch citizens are being held. In recent weeks, Islamic Republic officials have arrested several citizens for expressing joy over Ibrahim Raisi's death and have threatened others to delete their posts from social media. Amnesty International reported on April 23 that the Islamic Republic has further restricted the freedom of expression of the Iranian people in the past year. According to 'Freedom House,' the Iranian government has been identified as one of the violators of freedom last year, and Iran continues to be classified as a 'non-free' country regarding freedom indicators. Reporters Without Borders also identified the Islamic Republic as 'one of the most repressive governments in the world' in terms of media freedom, ranking Iran 177th out of 180 countries regarding freedom of expression.