|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Mostafa Tajzadeh, a well-known reformist politician, was detained in Iran and charged with plotting against the security of the nation. Additionally, he is charged with “posting false material intended to sway public opinion.” He served seven years in prison between 2009 and 2016 as the former deputy interior minister.
He has been an outspoken opponent of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In connection with a different protest, two Iranian film filmmakers have also been detained.
The films of Mohammad Rasoulof have received honours at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals. He and Mostafa Alahmad are detained on suspicion of stirring up trouble.
They were among an Iranian film collective that protested after a ten-story building in Abadan, Iran, collapsed in May, killing more than 40 people.
They urged the security forces in an open letter to put down their weapons and not put down demonstrations brought on by the collapse of the Metropol office building.
Sebastian Usher, editor of BBC Arab affairs, claims that the Abadan incident rapidly turned into a rallying cry for resentment toward the authorities. People protested not only there but also in other parts of Iran, blaming the tragedy on what they perceived to be official corruption and ineptitude.
President Ebrahim Raisi and the clerical establishment have come under fire from Mr. Tajzadeh, a prominent adviser to former President Mohammad Khatami who served in office for 20 years.
He has always advocated for Iran to become more democratic. He tweeted about the government’s tightening of the Islamic dress code for women hours before his detention, according to the Fars news agency.