1060 Free Hoder

Iranian bloggers are reporting that Hossein Derakhshan‘s family says he is detained. Online activists have set up a Farsi blog calling for his release.

Free Hoder. Since Hossein first told me he was thinking of going back to Iran, I have feared I would have to say that one day. Now I think we all must. The people who write about Iran professionally will have to verify, but I have no reason to disbelieve the bloggers’ reports.

Hossein, if you read this when you get out (may it be soon), sorry for calling for the authorities to release you. I know you asked people not to do so. But I can’t sit on my hands while you’re in jail.

Update: The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has confirmed the bloggers’ reports. Hadi Ghaemi, who runs the project, is a thoughtful, careful and knowledgeable researcher, and I respect his work:

(11 December 2008) The family of Hussein Derakhshan, an Iranian blogger whose whereabouts have been a mystery for more than a month, has confirmed his detention, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The Campaign called on the Iranian Judiciary to either immediately release Derakhshan or to charge him with a recognizable offence under the law and provide for due process and a fair trial.

“We are extremely concerned for Derakhshan’s health and safety. His family should have immediate access to him,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the Campaign’s spokesperson.

Derakhshan, known by his blogging name Hoder, is a controversial figure who wrote in both Persian and English. He returned to Iran a few months ago after several years of living abroad.

The Campaign has confirmed that security agents from the office of Tehran’s Prosecutor General, Saeed Mortazavi, raided his home in Tehran on 1 November 2008, detaining him and confiscating his personal belongings. For several weeks, rumors have circulated on the internet about his detention, but Iranian authorities have provided no information about his situation.

Since his detention, Derakhshan made four brief phone calls to his family, each lasting no more than a minute. His family has not been allowed to visit him and does not know where he is being held. Phone calls from Derakhshan to his family stopped two weeks ago, raising serious concerns for his health and safety.

“It is heartbreaking for any family not to know where their son is, what the charges against him are, and have no official explanations,” Ghaemi said.

“In this, as in many other cases, authorities are exercising raw power over citizens with no explanation, no accountability, and no transparency,” he said.

The Campaign called on the Iranian Judiciary to fully respect Derakhshan’s rights under international standards and Iranian law and allow his family and lawyer to visit him.

(Thanks PH)

4 Comments »

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  1. freehoder.com should be up soon as well.

    Comment by Jillian — December 10, 2008 #

  2. […] Elijah Zarwan, from Egypt, is lending his voice to the Free Hoder campaign, calling for the release of jailed Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan. “Hossein, if you read this when you get out (may it be soon), sorry for calling for the authorities to release you. I know you asked people not to do so. But I can’t sit on my hands while you’re in jail,” he writes. Posted by Amira Al Hussaini  Print Version Share This […]

    Pingback by Global Voices Online » Egypt: Free Hoder — December 11, 2008 #

  3. I would love to help but I can’t read Farsi. Is there a translation anywhere? Or is there anything else I can do?

    Comment by Sickboy — December 12, 2008 #

  4. I think people are setting up an English version. They took out freehoder.wordpress.com in case the story was confirmed, and it seems to be in development now. Activists have started a Facebook group, as well.

    By all means, post ICHRI’s press release on your blog, but my strong advice would not be to run in full-tilt with petitions and so forth. Hossein’s family and lawyers are better aware of the situation there, and are perhaps best able to secure his release. I don’t think any action should be taken without consulting them.

    I would also caution that petitioning the Canadians may be unproductive if Hossein entered Iran on his Iranian passport (and if my understanding of the way things work with dual nationals is correct).

    Comment by The Skeptic — December 12, 2008 #

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