Iran has accused detained political activist Hossein Ronaghi of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic in favor of Israel” over an Instagram story he posted after the start of Israel’s strikes during the recent 12-day war, Iran International has learned.
The charge was brought under Article 8 of the Law on Confronting Israeli Actions.
Ronaghi was arrested on June 23 by order of Tehran’s prosecutor and the Culture and Media Court, and a 30-day temporary detention order has been issued. He is being held in a Ministry of Intelligence safe house.
Ronaghi’s family has not been informed of his whereabouts, and his longtime lawyers, Saeed Jalilian and Milad Panahipour, have not been permitted to represent him.
Authorities have said only judiciary-approved lawyers are allowed in this case.
On Friday, UN experts, including Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, expressed concern over the detention of Ronaghi and his brother, Hassan.
The UN experts urged Iranian authorities to end the post-ceasefire crackdown, saying, “Post-conflict situations must not be used as an opportunity to suppress dissent and increase repression.”
In the past decade, the dissident activist has been arrested several times and has staged hunger strikes in prison. He was first arrested, along with his brother Hassan, in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections in 2009 for assisting journalists and political activists to circumvent internet censorship. In addition, he was charged with insulting the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in his blog posts.
Ronaghi was also detained in September 2022 during the Woman, Life Freedom protests sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. He was detained along with his lawyers in front of the Evin Prison prosecutor's office. Iranian authorities later released Ronaghi on bail.
