Iranian of the Day

CPJ, RAHANA:  Mohammad Reza Pourshajari, a journalistic blogger who wrote under the pen name Siamak Mehr, was arrested at his home in Karaj, outside Tehran, on September 12, 2010, according to news and human rights websites. Intelligence agents confiscated a computer hard drive, satellite receiver, and numerous documents from his home.  In his blog Gozaresh be Khaak-e-Iran (Iran Land's Report), Pourshajari was critical of Iran’s theological state.

In an open letter dated December 2010, published by the Human Rights and Democracy Activists of Iran, Pourshajari described his arrest and subsequent detention.  Pourshajari was taken to Rajaee Shahr Prison, where interrogators tortured him and subjected him to a mock execution, he wrote. Pourshajari said he was not allowed visitors, phone calls, or access to a lawyer.

In December 2010, Pourshajari was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of “propagating against the regime,” and “insulting the supreme leader,” Human Rights Activists for Democracy in Iran reported. In October 2011, Pourshajari was transferred to Ghezel Hessar Prison, where hardened criminals are confined, the group said.

Pourshajari is scheduled to be tried on December 21, 2011 on the additional charges of "insulting the Prophet of Islam" (sabb-al-nabi) and "enmity with God" (moharebeh), charges that could bring the death penalty, according to news accounts.