Iranian authorities have released Reyhaneh Tabatabayi and Akbar Montakhabi, two more journalist who were arrested in the wave of arrests that swept over employees of reformist newspapers and websites.
Tabatabayi, a reporter for the Bahar newspaper, was arrested on January 31 at her home. She has worked for several reformist newspapers such as Shargh, Farhikhtegan and Kaleme Sabz.
She was previously arrested in 2010 on such charges as “weakening the foundations of the Islamic Republic” and she was sentenced to one year in jail. She has been reportedly released on bail of two billion rials.
Akbar Montakhabi was also released on bail on Monday February 25. He was arrested on January 27 in the offices of Asman Magazine. He had been previously arrested in February of 2010 and released after a month in jail.
Following the 2009 election protests, many journalists became targets of persecution and prosecution.
In the past month, they have been hit with another campaign of arrests, which many have linked to the upcoming presidential election in June.
