World’s youngest blogger on trial in Iran

Navid Mohebbi

Reporters Without Borders announced that the world’s youngest blogger was put on trial six days ago without a defence attorney behind closed doors in Iranian northern city of Amol.

Persian branch of Reporters Without Borders reports that the eighteen-year-old Navid Mohebbi is currently in Saari Prison awaiting sentencing.

The report stated yesterday: “Navid Mohebbi, director of Gah Neveshteha blog and a women’s rights activist, was arrested on September 18 by intelligence officers at his home under violence and severe beatings.”

The blogger is charged with “activities against national security, insulting the founder and the current leader of the Islamic Republic and membership in the One Million Signatures Campaign.”

Following the controversial elections of 2009, the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was challenged by millions of protesters who claim their votes were stolen. Journalists and bloggers have been a main target of the government’s crackdown on dissent in the post-election events.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Ahmadreza Ahmadpour who writes “Pejvak-e Khamoosh” blog has been detained in Qom Prison since last December. He has been sentenced to one year in prison for the charge of “propaganda against the regime and publishing falsehoods and defaming the clergy.”

Mohammad PourAbdollah, another blogger who was arrested in February of 2009, was sentenced to six years in prison for the charge of “assembly, collusion and propaganda against the regime.” The appellate court has reportedly reduced his sentence to three years in prison but the judiciary has refused to grant him bail.

Mehdi Khazali, another Iranian blogger, was arrested in October charged with “activities against national security and disturbing public minds.” Khazali was released on a $20,000 bail a month later .Mehdi Khazali is a staunch Ahmadinejad critic who has been disowned by his father, Ayatollah Abolghassem Khazali, who unlike his son, is a conservative cleric and member of the Guardian Council.

Reporters Without Borders has repeatedly referred to Iran as the “biggest prison” for journalists and bloggers.