Iranian authorities have arrested journalist and women’s rights activist Jina Modaresgorji and summoned another reporter, Maryam Vahidian, to a Revolutionary court amid a crackdown on the media and freedom of expression.
On April 10, Modaresgorji was “kidnapped by unidentified agents who used violence during her arrest” in Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province, journalist Farzad Saifikaran wrote on her Instagram account.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network said that Modaresgorji is being held at the women’s prison in Sanandaj Correctional Center.
She had been summoned several times by the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj in recent days.
Modaresgorji was previously detained during anti-government protests in Sanandaj on September 21. She was released on bail after spending 40 days in custody and was presented with a new charge last month while appearing in the first branch of the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj.
Modaresgorji is accused of “acting against national security” for allegedly setting up an illegal group and being a member of it, in addition to her previous charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
In Tehran, Vahidian, a journalist who covers labor issues, was summoned to appear in Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court on April 15.
Vahidian was arrested on November 27 last year when security forces raided her home in the capital and was remanded in custody for a month.
She is accused of “collusion and intending to disrupt national security.”
The developments come amid a brutal crackdown by the authorities on nearly seven months of nationwide protests in which hundreds of people were killed and thousands of others were illegally detained, including dozens of journalists.
Some of the journalists have been released, while others have been summoned or threatened and had their electronic equipment seized.
Source » iranwire