Lawyer of Amirhossein Mousavi: James Bidin Identified by Government Agent in Canada

The lawyer of Amirhossein Mousavi told Voice of America that despite more than two months, no bail has been issued for this activist, and the detention of this political prisoner continues without access to a lawyer and family visits. Reza Shafakhah, a lawyer, is defending Amirhossein Mousavi, a civil activist who operated under the pseudonym 'James Bidin' on the social media platform 'X'. He told the Persian section of Voice of America that judicial agents continued the 'activity of his account' for two weeks after his client's arrest and 'used this to arrest others.' According to this lawyer, a two-week delay in informing about the arrest of Amirhossein Mousavi allowed the Islamic Republic officials to 'exploit this ignorance to arrest other virtual activists.' According to the statements of this lawyer and the interrogators, Amirhossein Mousavi 'was under surveillance by a government agent based in Canada for six months and had been identified.' Reza Shafakhah also stated that officials have arrested at least eight other activists through this method and 'it seems they intended to continue activities using the accounts of the detainees and sow seeds of doubt in the public mind, but information dissemination prevented this.' Mr. Shafakhah emphasized that Amirhossein Mousavi's case remains 'pending in the prosecutor's office,' and despite two months passing, judicial officials say 'the investigations are not complete.' Amirhossein Mousavi, a civil activist, was arrested on December 19 while he intended to go with his wife, Shabnam Hosseinzadeh, 'to a house they had recently rented on Kish Island,' by government agents at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport. Additionally, see: A protesting couple in Tehran remains 'in solitary confinement' one month after their arrest. According to Reza Shafakhah, three weeks after the arrest, Ms. Hosseinzadeh was temporarily released on bail due to 'severe illness' after being charged with 'conspiracy and collusion against the regime.' Based on the statements of Amirhossein Mousavi's lawyer, judicial officials have charged this civil activist with accusations including 'conspiracy and collusion with the intent to commit a crime against national security, propaganda against the regime, and insulting sacred values.' The continued detention of Amirhossein Mousavi occurs while he has been held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison for two months without access to a lawyer and without the right to visit his relatives, and his lawyer told Voice of America that 'unfortunately, despite two months since the date of arrest, his bail has still not been converted.' Mr. Shafakhah has previously expressed concern about the possibility of forced confessions of Amirhossein Mousavi being broadcast on 'state television.' Additionally, see: Details of the arrest of 'James Bidin'; warning about the possibility of broadcasting forced confessions. The arrest of protesting citizens in Iran has been reported multiple times by various news sources and even confirmed in some cases by state media. Last month, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in a statement that they had arrested several protesting citizens and referred to them as 'affiliated with royalist groups' without mentioning the identities of the detainees. Additionally, see: Ambiguity in the fate of several detained citizens; IRGC: 'They were royalists.'