Re-arrest of Hadi Kasai-Zadeh, Journalist, Following Complaint Against Two Government Entities

Hadi Kasai-Zadeh, a journalist and editor of the publication 'Midan Azadi', has been arrested again. Hassan Abbasi, a journalist, reported on 'X' that Hadi Kasai-Zadeh was arrested one day after filing a complaint against two security agencies, in a café during a debate among government election candidates. According to this journalist, security agencies had cut off Hadi Kasai-Zadeh's SIM card about twenty days prior, and he had filed a complaint against the two security agencies at the Tehran Military Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday, June 30. Hadi Kasai-Zadeh, who has a history of summons and judicial actions due to his activities, was also summoned to Evin Prosecutor's Office earlier this year for 'publishing details regarding the death of Nika Shakeri'. Hassan Abbasi also emphasized the simultaneous arrest of two journalists, Hadi Kasai-Zadeh and Vahid Ashtari. Vahid Ashtari, who exposed the 'Sismoni Gate' scandal, published new documents one day after the televised denial of this issue by Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf's daughter, and was imprisoned less than 24 hours later on Thursday, June 31. In recent weeks, coinciding with the start of presidential election campaigns in Iran, the arrests of critical and exposing journalists have intensified. Among them, Yashar Soltani and Saba Azarpeik, journalists who exposed corruption among Islamic Republic officials, were transferred to prison on June 20 to serve their 'prison sentences'. According to the latest report by Reporters Without Borders on media freedom published on May 3, 2023, Iran ranks 177th among 180 countries worldwide.