Ronaghi Maleki, an Iranian blogger, has been arrested by authorities. The arrest followed tweets he made that were critical of the government. Tehran has become increasingly repressive of online freedoms. This information is published by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Here is an excerpt:
On Wednesday, February 23, the Tehran home of Ronaghi Maleki, a freelance blogger and freedom of expression activist who posts reporting critical of the government on social media, was raided by unidentified security forces who took him to an unknown location, according to news reports and sources familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to the fear of reprisal.
The actions follow a Tuesday Twitter thread by Ronaghi Maleki, posted in both Farsi and English, which condemned the passing of the “User Protection Bill,” a controversial piece of legislation that restricts Iranians’ access to the internet and was ratified by parliament earlier that day.
Authorities have not officially accepted any responsibility for Ronaghi Maleki’s arrest, no charges have been formally announced, and CPJ was unable to confirm where the blogger is being held, the reasons for his arrest, or which branch of the security forces arrested him.
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