Continued Arrests Due to Reactions to Raisi's Death on Social Media

The Azerbaijani Political Prisoners Defense Association in Iran reported the arrest of Ali Reihani Kajoar, owner of the Sonmez Azerbaijan factory, due to a post related to the death of Ebrahim Raisi. This association announced on Thursday, June 3, that Mr. Reihani Kajoar has been transferred to Tabriz prison, stating that the charge against him is 'propaganda against the regime and insulting Ebrahim Raisi.' Previously, human rights media had reported that Akbar Yousefi, a resident of Malekan in East Azerbaijan province, was arrested on May 21 by agents of the city's intelligence department for posting about the 'crash of the helicopter carrying Ebrahim Raisi.' The public relations office of the police in Qom province also announced that the manager of a restaurant in Kakh, who had 'spread falsehoods and insulted the martyrs of service,' was sent to prison following a judicial order. The announcement mentioned the closure of this restaurant and added that the arrested individual, whose name was not mentioned, 'had caused public unrest and distressed the respected families of martyrs by spreading false news and insulting content on social media.' Following the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the President, in a helicopter crash, security and judicial institutions have confronted some citizens and media activists who have posted about this incident on social media. In this context, Reza Babernaz, the brother of the bereaved Mahdi Babernaz, one of the victims of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests, was arrested on Tuesday, May 1, due to his reaction to Ebrahim Raisi's death. Additionally, according to Fatemeh Heydari, sister of Javad Heydari, another victim of recent protests who informs about bereaved families, the bank accounts of Shirin Najafi, sister of Hadis Najafi, another victim of the 2021 protests in Alborz province, were 'closed by order of legal authorities.' The Kerman province judiciary's information base also announced two days ago that '254 individuals' had received 'warnings and guidance by phone' due to the publication of 'insulting content' in collaboration with the IRGC Intelligence Organization, and judicial summons had been issued for eight others. After the news of the disappearance of the helicopter carrying the President and the former Foreign Minister of Iran and their accompanying delegation on May 30, Persian-language social media was filled with messages in the form of humor praying for the news of their death. Critics and opponents of the Iranian government refer to Ebrahim Raisi as 'the Execution Ayatollah' or 'the Massacre Ayatollah' due to his involvement in the executions of the summer of 1988. Raisi himself defended this involvement.