Detained Iranian journalist remains incommunicado

Nazanin Khosravani

Nazanin Khosravani, detained Iranian journalist, remains in an undetermined judicial state six days after her arrest.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reports that Khosravani’s mother, Azam Afsharian informed them that despite assurances from Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, Tehran’s prosecutor that her daughter would contact her soon, she has so far heard nothing from her daughter.

Afsharian reports that on Saturday Evin Prison authorities told her that her daughter was not in their list of prisoners. Tehran Prosecutor also refrained from informing Afsharian about the location of Khosravani’s detention.

Azam Afsharian stated that she is very hopeful that her daughter’s arrest is a misunderstanding since in the past seven months she has not been involved in any media or journalistic activities.

Nazanin Khosravani, who has collaborated extensively with reformist newspapers and publications in the past, was arrested last Wednesday after which her home was also raided and her personal items were confiscated. Government officials returned for a second attempt at searching the Khosravani home after her arrest and went on to confiscate her laptop and computer.

Journalists have been the repeated target of arrests and persecution in the past year and a half in Iran after the Islamic Republic faced widespread mass protests to the alleged fraud in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.