Journalism is Not a Crime: Behzad Mehrani

Citizen journalists, writers, activists and artists are routinely arrested and jailed in Iran for the simple crime of speaking out. Although some of the more dramatic stories occasionally hit the headlines, we rarely hear about these people's detentions or see their names published in English. IranWire's sister project Journalism is Not a Crime aims to change that, highlighting their stories and work, until the day when none of us know the names of journalists behind bars in Iran — because they have all been set free.

 

Behzad Mehrani [Freed]

Professional Record:

Political and media activist

 

Charged with:

Propaganda against the state

Disrupting public opinion

 

Court’s Ruling:

One year in prison

 

Date of Birth:

1974

 

Place of Birth:

Tehran

 

Current Status:

Freed

 

Behzad Mehrani, who wrote a Persian-language blog called “Human Rights and Individualism” before his arrest in 2010, was born in 1974 in Tehran. He was arrested on March 3, 2010 by security forces and jailed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

Mehrani’s case was heard in Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Karaj; he was charged with “propaganda against the state” and “disrupting public opinion” and sentenced to a year in prison. Mehrani was held in solitary confinement for 45 days before being granted temporary release on a bail of 50 million tomans.

The bail was later confiscated by Iranian authorities after Mehrani illegally left the country. He now lives in the United States.

In Iran, Mehrani had also written articles for the Rooz Online website, Bamdad Khabar and the Asia economic newspaper. He was also an activist for campaigns against compulsory hijab and compulsory military service. More recently, Mehrani has worked for the Tavaana Persian-language e-learning site.

After the election of Donald Trump as US president, Mehrani was one of the signatories of an open letter to the president regarding foreign aid to Iranians and the imposition of further US sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

After nationwide protests broke out in Iran in December 2017 and January 2018, Mehrani, in a television interview, addressed the possibility of a US war with Iran. He opposed military action against Iran, saying: “Many experts, such as Peter Singer, believe that an American, French or British missile attack against Syria does not constitute war; that it is a humanitarian intervention, and that it is different from a military attack on Iran. Certainly, any military attack on Iran at the moment will only benefit the Islamic Republic. Iran must be pushed back from [its military activities in] the wider region, back into its own borders, but an attack on Iranian territory is a mistake. I oppose any military action by any country against Iranian soil.”