Iran arrests writers and bloggers in run-up to elections

AUTHORITIES in Iran have arrested at least half a dozen journalists and bloggers, in what appears to be a pre-emptive campaign of intimidation to thwart protests surrounding parliamentary elections scheduled for March.

The arrests, including those of two prominent women whose blog posts are widely read in the country, were not reported by the official media.

Rights groups and people who know the detained journalists said the government apparently wanted news of the arrests to spread informally, to heighten the atmosphere of fear.
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It was unclear what specific charges, if any, had been lodged against those held. None seemed to have been politically active or to have published anything that might be considered seditious since the last big Iranian government crackdown last February, when authorities arrested a large number of journalists to subvert any celebration of the revolutions then sweeping Tunisia and Egypt.

The government could not ''come out publicly and name them or charge them with anything because they can't justify why they're holding them'', said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an advocacy group in New York.

Friends of the two arrested women, Parastou Dokouhaki and Marzieh Rasouli, have started a website to publicise their situation.

Ms Dokouhaki, a rights activist whose blog had a wide following, has been in Tehran's Evin Prison since January 15.

The website said Ms Rasouli, an award-winning journalist and social blogger, was arrested on January 17. Mehrad Vaezinejad, a BBC contributor and friend of both women, said the timing of the arrests and the dearth of official information reflected the authorities' wish to ''make reporting inside the country very difficult during the 2012 elections'' and ''make an example out of Marzieh and Parastou''.

Source: NEW YORK TIMES