End of 10 Days of Uncertainty for Shaker Bouri; Temporary Release of the Satirist Critical of the Islamic Republic

Shaker Bouri, a satirist critical of the Islamic Republic who was arrested by the Intelligence Department of the Revolutionary Guard in Abadan, was released after ten days of uncertainty. The news agency 'Mizan', affiliated with the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, reported on Thursday, August 10, that Rouhollah Zandi, the prosecutor of Abadan, cited the charges against Shaker Bouri as 'crimes against security' and announced that the satirist was released after the completion of investigations with the issuance of a bail order on Thursday morning, August 10. Shaker Bouri, who used social and political issues as the basis for his visual satire on Instagram and YouTube, was arrested on August 1 after being summoned to the Intelligence Department of the Revolutionary Guard in Abadan. According to HRANA, a news agency of human rights activists in Iran, security and judicial authorities had refrained from providing clear answers to Bouri's family despite their inquiries in recent days. Meanwhile, according to the website Dadban, the avoidance of providing information about detainees, including their charges and place of detention, especially the denial of the presence of detainees in prison, is considered a form of enforced disappearance and a crime against humanity. Shaker Bouri, who has 1.2 million followers on his Instagram page, critiqued current issues in Iran and the statements of Islamic Republic officials. The last part of Bouri's published satire series on his Instagram and YouTube channel, titled 'I Dressed in a Shroud for Money', criticized the government's treatment of women opposing the hijab. Previously, security agents had temporarily detained Shaker Bouri at his home and confiscated his mobile phone. In recent years, security agencies have repeatedly arrested critical satirists with charges such as 'propaganda against the regime' and 'insulting the sacred'. The continued detention and uncertainty regarding the status of several artists and writers, the arrest of Shaker Bouri, the critical satirist in Abadan; the arrest of two citizens in Nowshahr; only five years of the 11-year sentence of Kiumars Marzban were granted amnesty; the satirical poet 'Mr. Halo' was released; an Iranian couple of street vendors were released on bail; 'insulting Syria and Palestine' in the titles of charges; an Iranian comedian, 'Emperor Kuzco': I have been sentenced to two years in prison.