Islamic Republic raids newspaper offices, arrests four

from left: Keyvan Mehregan, Farzaneh Roustayi, Ahmad Gholami, the three detained journalists

Islamic Republic security forces raided the reformist daily Shargh today and arrested its director, editor-in-chief and two editors.

Zamaneh has learned that at first only the three editors were arrested but later the officers returned to the office to arrest Shargh daily’s director as well.

While the cause of the arrest has not been announced yet, Rejanews website, a state-backed site, reported that the arrests were linked to “security matters.”

Shargh newspaper has been banned three times in the past seven years for reasons ranging from publishing items “against public morality” to offending religious sensibilities through its caricatures.

The last time Shargh resumed its journalistic activities was in December of 2009.