Iranian student says his father 'abducted' by officials

A man has been arrested in Iran over the Facebook activities of his son, who is currently studying in the Netherlands.

Yashar Khameneh, an international business management student at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, told the Guardian that his father, Abbas Khameneh, was arrested in May.

The 25-year-old said he had been active on a Facebook page about Ali al-Hadi al-Naqi, the tenth of the highly respected 12 Shia Muslim imams. Many of his posts, like those posted by the majority of other members, were humorous and satirical – and aimed at breaking a taboo on discussing religious personalities in Iranian society.

Unlike other of the 12 imams, little is known about Naqi and his life and he is not commemorated in the manner of other religious figures. The Facebook page Khameneh posted to is called Campaign to Remind Shias about Imam Naqi.

"At the beginning, before the page became controversial, I posted comments with my actual profile which had my full details on it," said Khameneh. "I later chose a nickname and continued being active with a pseudonym but I've now realised the government tracked it down from the start."

He added: "My father has been abducted by the Iranian regime, my father had nothing to do with my online activities. My parents were actually against what I was doing at the time but my father has now been accused of providing financial assistance to that Facebook page through paying for my studies here."

Other people have also been caught in the middle of controversy involving Imam Naqi.

Shahin Najafi, an Iranian rapper based in Germany last month became known as "the Salman Rushdie of music" after clerics in the Islamic republic issued fatwas calling him an apostate, which is considered punishable by death under sharia law. He had released a song with references to the imam.

The clip was watched by hundreds of thousands on YouTube and divided opinions in Iran. Many found it insulting while others defending the song for breaking taboos on expressing views about religious figures.

Of the Imam Naqi Facebook page, Golnaz Esfandiari of Persian Letters wrote: "More than 21,000 people have 'liked' the it, while others in Iran say they often visit it but refrain from 'liking' for fear of being identified."

She added: "The page's popularity has made it a thorn in the side of Iranian authorities. Hard-liners have condemned the page and called on the government to take action against it. Last year, hard-line blogs posted the names and pictures of several Iranians inside the country who had 'liked' the page."

- guardian.co.uk