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.
Name:
Hadi Mehrani
Current Status:
Imprisoned
Professional Record:
Media activist and manager of the “Reformist Veterans” Telegram channel
Hadi Mehrani is a media activist and manager of the “Reformist Veterans of the Sacred Defence” Telegram channel. The channel’s name is a reference to Iran’s 1980-1988 war with Iraq. He was arrested by security forces on April 11, 2020 and transferred to an unknown location.
Hadi Mehrani is a media activist and manager of the “Reformist Veterans of the Sacred Defence” Telegram channel. He was arrested by security forces on April 11, 2020 and transferred to an unknown location.
Mehrani’s Telegram channel has close to a 100,000 members and regularly hosts content that is generally critical of the policies and practices of Iranian government officials.
In addition to this, Mehrani posted a number of tweets using his personal handle that criticized the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting body as well as Shia superstitious practices in response to the coronavirus outbreak in Iran.
In March 2020, an official media outlet close to the regime, Mashregh News, accused Mehrani of publishing “insulting and offensive content” as well as “insulting religious people and beliefs.”
Mehrani describes himself on his personal Twitter account as a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war and as being “proudly reformist.”
The reasons for Mehrani’s arrest and the accusations against him, as well as his current location, remain unknown.
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