Iranian ‘blogfather’ faces death penalty
Hossein Derakhshan, a Canadian-Iranian blogger, is facing the death penalty in Iran for posting material critical of the regime.
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and PEN Canada claim Derakhshan was arrested following his return to Iran in November 2008 and charged with “collaborating with enemy states, creating propaganda against the Islamic regime, insulting religious sanctity and creating propaganda for anti-revolutionary groups.”
Tehran’s revolutionary court convicted Derakhshan of the charges earlier this year and prosecutors are said to have filed a sentencing request for the death penalty to be imposed.
Derakhshan is credited with pioneering the Iranian blogging scene which has taken off in recent years as the authorities clamp down on traditional media.
The Canadian government is seeking consular access to their subject.