POLITICS - An outspoken Canadian blogger born in Iran has been detained by Iranian authorities for almost two months, prompting worries about his well-being. According to human rights officials Hossein Derakhshan, a 33 year old pioneer of Iran's blogging scene, is being held in prison.Hossein Derakhshan's blog hoder.com has been receiving Islamic death threats during the past 5 years from a blogger called Islamic Army.
Iranian judiciary spokesperson Ali Reza Jamshidi told reporters in Tehran that Hossein Derakhshan was being held under order of the revolutionary court and was charged with insulting religious figures. Derakhshan, a Canadian citizen who lived in Toronto before heading to London for graduate studies, was arrested by agents at his home in Tehran on Nov. 1.
In Canada, foreign affairs department officials have unsuccessfully tried to obtain details of the case from Tehran.
"I'm very concerned, actually," said Nazli Kamvari, a friend and fellow blogger who lives in Toronto. Derakhshan helped Iran's blog boom flower seven years ago by posting technical instructions on how to create sites in Farsi.
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