TEHRAN – A dissident Iranian journalist was detained again on Tuesday, just three months after being released from prison after serving two years.
Keyvan Samimi, well-known for his activism, was arrested on Thursday, according to a family member.
“We still have no further information on the (security) service responsible for his arrest or his current whereabouts,” they continued.
After being sentenced to three years in prison for “plotting against national security” in December 2020, the 74-year-old was freed from Semnan Prison in January.
He is believed to have met activists and other political personalities since his release, including reformist former President Mohammad Khatami.
Samimi’s family reported in January that he was also facing a separate prosecution in which he was accused of “association against the security of the country.” They didn’t go into detail.
Since the protests following Mahsa Amini’s death, the number of Iranian women disobeying the clothing code has increased.
Samimi was briefly freed from prison and returned home in February 2022 due to health difficulties, but was re-incarcerated in May after being accused of engaging in political activities.
In December, Samimi issued a statement from his cell in favor of the protest movement that erupted in Iran following the killing of Mahsa Amini on September 16.
The 22-year-old Iranian Kurd died in the hands of Tehran’s morality police after being arrested for allegedly violating the country’s dress code for women.
Samimi, a former editor of the now-banned intellectual magazine Iran-e-Farda (Iran Tomorrow), has spent time in prison both before and after Iran’s 1979 revolution.
In addition, just weeks after declaring a crackdown on violations, Iran has punished two notable actresses for releasing photos of themselves flouting the country’s dress code, according to local media.
The case against Katayoun Riahi and Pantea Bahram has been sent to Iran’s judiciary by Tehran police, who accuse them of “the crime of removing the hijab in public and posting photos on the internet,” according to the Tasnim news agency.
If they are charged, they might face fines or prison time.
Earlier this month, authorities said that they would begin utilizing “smart” technology in public places to catch women who flout Iran’s mandatory clothing code.
images of Bahram, 53, went viral last week after she posed without a headscarf at a film screening, while Riahi, 61, shared multiple images of herself shot in public places around Tehran without a headscarf.
On April 16, officials announced the closure of 150 commercial outlets whose staff did not follow the dress code.
Bahram and Riahi have won numerous honors at Iran’s premier film festival, the Fajr International Film Festival.
Riahi was released on bond in November after being detained for more than a week for posting images on Instagram in sympathy with the Amini protests that showed her without a headscarf.
