Hossein Ronaghi Arrested for Carrying 'Lion and Sun' and 'Women, Life, Freedom' Symbols

Hossein Ronaghi, a political activist, reported his arrest and several hours of interrogation at Tabriz airport on Sunday evening, June 20. He stated that the reason for his arrest was carrying the symbols of 'Women, Life, Freedom' and 'Lion and Sun'. In a post on his account on X, he wrote: 'I was on my way from Tabriz to Tehran when I was detained and interrogated for several hours by security forces at Tabriz airport. The initial reason given was carrying the symbols of Women, Life, Freedom and Lion and Sun.' This political and civil activist, who had recently supported another detainee, Hossein Shanzadeh, continued: 'At Tabriz airport, they illegally and without a warrant stated that the deputy prosecutor of Tabriz ordered the seizure of my mobile phone, laptop, electronic devices, and identity documents, and if I refuse to hand them over, I will be detained along with my belongings.' On June 16, in reaction to the arrest of Hossein Shanzadeh, he stated, 'This point will remain a line forever,' adding, 'Hossein was the voice of part of society and cried out the ongoing sufferings in this land in his own way.' Meanwhile, domestic media reported on Sunday, June 20, that Yashar Soltani and Saba Azarpeik, two Iranian journalists, were transferred to prison to serve their sentences. The Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, announced that Yashar Soltani was sentenced to one year and two months in prison for 'spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public minds,' and Saba Azarpeik was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine for 'spreading falsehoods' and 'threatening.' Yashar Soltani had previously made headlines by exposing the misconduct of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf during his tenure as mayor of Tehran and the land-grabbing case of Kazem Sediqi, the Tehran Friday prayer leader. Saba Azarpeik had also previously accused Mohsen Dehnavi, a member of the former parliament's board of directors, of financial misconduct and bribery. These arrests occurred on the same day that the Guardian Council approved the qualifications of six government candidates to succeed Ebrahim Raisi and rejected the qualifications of dozens of others. Vedant Patel, the deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, on April 24, regarding the latest U.S. report on human rights conditions in Iran, particularly the threats against journalists, stated: 'The Islamic Republic remains one of the largest exporters of terrorism and has shown since 1979 that it is a regime that disregards freedom and continues to seriously suppress civil society, threaten media, and violate human rights.'