Iran Arrests Citizen for Online Post on President Raisi's Death

Iranian security forces arrested a resident of Tabriz in East Azerbaijan province for his social media activities related to President Ebrahim Raisi's death in a recent helicopter crash.

According to a report from the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Ali Reyhani Kachvar, the owner of the "Sonmez Azerbaijan" factory, was detained on May 22 due to a post he published about Raisi's death. 

Following Reyhani's arrest, he was transferred to the central prison of Tabriz by the security forces of the Islamic Republic.

Following Sunday's helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi and several others, judicial and security authorities, along with the police, threatened citizens that their reactions to the incident were being closely monitored.

Media activists and journalists in Iran told IranWire that security agencies have disrupted their lives with threatening calls to prevent the republishing of news related to Ebrahim Raisi's death. 

One journalist, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, told IranWire, "When I didn't answer their calls, they contacted my uncle and brother, threatening that an arrest warrant had been issued for me and that if I did not delete my stories and posts, they would come to arrest me."