Mehdi Yarahee's Lawyer: We Have No News of His Arrest | Publication of His Arrest Photos is 'Illegal'

The lawyer of Mehdi Yarahee, a well-known and protesting Iranian singer, confirmed the news of his 'arrest' but expressed ignorance about the charges and the detaining authority. Mostafa Neyli, Yarahee's lawyer, told 'Shargh Network': 'Like you, we learned about Mr. Yarahee's arrest through the media, and currently, we have no news about the details and reasons for this arrest.' The judiciary of the Islamic Republic announced the arrest of Mehdi Yarahee on Tuesday, September 6. A few hours later, a Telegram channel published photos of him during the arrest. (Voice of America does not intend to republish these photos.) Neyli further stated, 'We have no information about Mr. Yarahee's charges, nor is the detaining authority clear,' adding, 'We also do not know which branch of the court is handling Mr. Yarahee's case or from which branch the arrest order was issued.' The judiciary of the Islamic Republic refrains from disclosing the full names of financial defendants during their arrest but does not adhere to this rule for political defendants. Some social media users and political activists, such as Hossein Ronaghi, reacted to the actions of media affiliated with the security institutions of the Islamic Republic, which published images of the moment of this singer's arrest to undermine his public image, by sharing other images along with news about him. In this context, Mohsen Barahani, a lawyer and university professor recently banned from teaching, wrote on his X account in response to the actions of government-supporting media: 'The publisher of Mehdi Yarahee's photo is guilty under Article 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code; the crime of disclosing professional and occupational secrets.' Last week, at the beginning of September, a new work by Mehdi Yarahee titled 'Rusari To' was released on the eve of the anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the Islamic Republic's police, in support of civil disobedience by Iranian women against compulsory hijab, which received widespread reactions; previously, Saeed Mohammadi had performed this song with a different arrangement. Shortly after the release of this protest work, Islamic Republic officials threatened Mehdi Yarahee with 'judicial action,' although this singer, in a message posted on his personal account (managed by an admin) on the X messaging platform (Twitter) using the hashtag '#Mahsa_Amini,' wrote: 'Don't cry, I am the nightmare of this judge.' The account of Tomaj Salehi, another detained protesting singer, also managed by an admin, wrote using the hashtag '#Mahsa_Amini': 'Let us be the voice of Mehdi Yarahee, a popular artist who became a nightmare for this regime with his freedom-seeking songs.' Hossein Ronaghi, in response to the news of Yarahee's arrest, wrote on his X account: 'Anyone who stands with their people is not alone; we are beside him and with him.' Earlier in May, the presence of Hossein Ronaghi and Mehdi Yarahee at the funeral of Hossein Zaman, another protesting singer against the Islamic Republic who passed away in Tehran due to illness, had also made headlines. Previously, Arash Sobhani, a lyricist, composer, and singer, had said in a special program 'Tomaj and Yasin: Echo of Imprisonment' to the Persian section of 'Voice of America' that the Islamic Republic wants to intimidate artists so that they do not follow the path of Saman Yasin and Tomaj Salehi, two protesting artists. The new work of Mehdi Yarahee: 'Rusari To' - Take off your scarf, let your hair down.