Iranian cyber police have arrested another political activist, opposition media report.
The Kaleme website reports that Omid Dehdarzadeh was arrested on Sunday afternoon by the cyber police in Ahvaz.
Dehdarzadeh was previously arrested by security forces and put on trial for “acting against national security.” He was handed a six-month suspended sentence on that charge and was also given 75 lashes for “insulting government officials” and was fined at least 10 million rials for “resisting arrest.”
Dehdarzadeh’s arrest by the cyber police has raised immediate concerns because of the arrest of Sattar Beheshti, a dissident blogger, who died while under cyber police custody.
There are serious allegations that Beheshti died under torture. The judiciary and Parliament have launched probes into Beheshti’s death.
While the judiciary has confirmed that Beheshti’s body bore signs of torture and that he did not suffer from any prior ailments, it has not yet confirmed that his interrogators were responsible for his death.
Beheshti’s death has triggered widespread outrage in both the domestic and international media and among human rights groups.
