Issa Saharkhiz, Freelance
Medium:Internet
Charge:Anti-State
Imprisoned:November 2, 2015

Saharkhiz a prominent Iranian journalist, was arrested on November 12, 2015, for "insulting the supreme leader," and "propaganda against the regime," according to his Facebook page. CPJ was unable to determine who wrote the post.

The next day, local media outlets with close ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) reported that five local journalists had been arrested for being part of an "infiltration network" with links to Western countries. The news website Rah-e-Dana quoted an unspecified source in identifying one of the journalists as Issa Saharkhiz.

Iranian authorities did not disclose a reason for the arrest.

The day before his arrest, Saharkhiz had published a Facebook post in which he accused a representative of the Supreme Leader as attempting to interfere in the Iran's coming elections.

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran on the day of the arrest, Mehdi, Saharkhiz' son said that all of his father's activities had been legal. "Since two years ago, when my father was released from prison he has just continued giving interviews to media outlets and posts his personal opinions on Facebook," Mehdi said. "Beside these activities, he has not done anything else. The Supreme Leader has a personal vendetta against my father because he dares to criticize him."

Saharkhiz, who previously served as deputy minister of culture, was imprisoned from 2009 to 2013 on charges of "insulting the supreme leader" and "propagating against the state." He has a number of serious health issues, including heart problems, and spent part of his last sentence in a hospital, according to local news reports.

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