The Social Affairs Editor of Shargh Newspaper Arrested at Home

Reports indicate that Sadra Mohaghegh, the social affairs editor of Shargh newspaper, was arrested at his home on Tuesday, September 29. No information has been released regarding the reasons for his arrest or the agency that detained him. However, shortly after his arrest, the Mehr News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Propaganda Organization and a supporter of Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, accused Mohaghegh of 'preparing reports on the internal situation of the country for anti-revolutionary media.' Mohaghegh was also arrested in 2013 alongside another journalist, Javad Heydarian, during a protest against the remarks of Mohammad Bozorgvari, a representative from Kohgiluyeh, who used terms like 'Luri club.' Shargh newspaper, where Mohaghegh serves as the social affairs editor, is considered a critic of the Tehran municipality. The newspaper has not yet responded to the news of its colleague's arrest. This is the second arrest of journalists in Iran within the past three days. Yashar Soltani, the editor-in-chief of the 'Memari News' website, was summoned due to reports about the transfer of municipal properties and was arrested on Saturday, September 27, after failing to provide a bail of 200 million tomans. Some websites reported that despite the submission of bail by Soltani's lawyers, the investigating judge increased the bail amount on Sunday, and he was returned to prison. No reports have been published regarding the new bail amount set for Soltani. On September 14, the Iranian judiciary also shut down two news agencies, Mowj and Borna, along with several news websites, including Pouyesh, 9 Sobhe, and Persian Khodro, due to 'complaints in judicial authorities.' In this context, Mohammad Mobin, the CEO of Borna News Agency, reported that the media court cited the publication of statements by Gholamreza Ansari, a member of the Tehran City Council, regarding the transfer of municipal properties as the reason for shutting down the news agency. Borna News Agency was unblocked on September 20, but the other blocked websites remain inaccessible. Mohaghegh's arrest comes at a time when four journalists arrested on November 2 last year are still imprisoned. Eisa Saharkhiz, Ehsan Mazandarani, Saman Safarzadeh, and Afrin Chitsaz have been sentenced to prison terms of up to two years or more. The IRGC Intelligence has accused these journalists of being 'members of a Western government infiltration network,' but Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, and Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran, have confirmed that the purpose of these arrests was 'political retribution.' In this context, two of the arrested journalists were released after 24 hours.