Judicial authorities urged to clarify reasons for leading blogger's detention

Reporters Without Borders calls on the judicial authorities to clarify why Hossein Derakhshan, a leading blogger with Iranian and Canadian dual nationality, has been detained since 1 November. The judiciary's spokesman yesterday reportedly said he was being held in connection with comments he posted online about key figures of the Shiite faith. “Yesterday's official confirmation that Derakhshan is being held is yet another warning shot for free expression in Iran and a new attempt to intimidate the entire blogosphere,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We urge the authorities to say exactly what charges have been brought against him and to release him while they are being investigated, as envisaged by the law. His detention has gone on long enough.” Confirming Derakhshan's detention yesterday, judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said one of the reasons for his arrest was what he had written about leading Shiite figures in his blog (http://www.hoder.com). He would be held while an investigation was carried out, Jamshidi said. Derakhshan was arrested on 1 November when he was summoned before a Tehran revolutionary court. Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard wrote to Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the head of the judicial system, in November asking him to confirm Derakhshan's arrest and give the official reasons. Iran was the most repressive country in the world towards bloggers in 2008. Around 20 were arrested or attacked because of their blogs and five are currently detained. The government has said it is filtering more than 5 million websites. The authorities closed down Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi's Human Rights Defenders Centre on 21 December. Launched in 2002, the Tehran-based centre provided free legal aid to journalists and human rights activists.