Free the Blog-Father

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Hamed Derakhshan, brother of Iranian "Blog-Father" Hossein Derakhshan, says the Canadian government is doing little to seek the release of his brother who has been imprisoned in Iran without trial for close to a year.

According to the New York Times, Derakhshan helped to popularize blogging in Iran by making it possible to write posts in Persian characters. He moved to Canada in 2000 after Asr-e Azadegan, a reformist paper, was shut down. In 2006, Derakhshan visited Israel and went back to Iran in 2008. He was arrested on suspicion of being a spy for Israel.

According to Hamed, nothing much as happened since.
"People should think twice if they expect anything from the Canadian government because they are carrying a Canadian passport," he told the CBC.
The Canadian government has stated that Iran does not recognize dual citizenship. Still, they say they are trying their best to gain access to Derakhshan.

An Iranian group called the The Human Rights Activists have written a report on their site providing details about Derakhshan's detention:

The blogger, Hossein Derakhshan, whose temporary detention order expired on October 10th 2009, is still detained in Evin.

HRA has received reports which suggest that the blogger, Hossein Derakhshan, who was arrested on November 2nd 2008, has spent the first 8 months of his detention in solitary confinement and different wards of the Evin prison upon his return to Iran. During that time he has been subjected to various physical and psychological pressure tactics and multiple transfers.
He has been beaten repeatedly and has been forced to do squats in cold showers. His interrogators have threatened to arrest his father and his sister unless he confessed to espionage charges.

With the start of the massive arrests after the presidential election, and as result of cell shortages in Evin prison, Derakhshan was transferred to Ward 2A of the IRGC prison, where he shared his cell with newly arrested people.

Derakhshan has been given false promises of his release on multiple occasions: During the Fajr celebrations and Norooz. Despite all the promises he is still being held on a temporary detention order. His detention order has been renewed several times, the last of which expired on October 10th, 2009. Derakhshan reportedly intended to start a hunger strike if his situation remained unchanged after this date. HRA has no information as to whether he has started the hunger strike.

During his detention, Derakhshan has been pressured by his interrogators to collaborate and confess to the charges brought up against him. Last September he was taken to court to sign documents granting permission to his lawyer to represent him. He told the judge that all his confessions had come under pressure. According to the reports received by HRA, Derakhshan had agreed to televised confessions under pressure, but the matter was canceled after one recording.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an organization based in the U.S., has also called for Derakhshan's release.

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