Iranian political detainee gets his first trial

Hossein Derakhshan

Tehran Revolutionary Court held Hossein Derakhshan’s first trial today, Fars News Agency reports.

Derakhshan, who is known as the father of Persian blogging, is accused of “cooperation with enemy states, propaganda against the Islamic regime, promoting anti-Revolutionary groups, insulting sanctities, launching and managing vulgar and obscene sites.”

Hossein Derakhshan is one of the first Iranian bloggers with his blog “Editor: Myself.”

Derakhshan has collaborated with reformist newspapers, Hayat-e No and Asr-e Azadegan and in 2000 left Iran and settled in Canada.

He went to Iran in 2004 and supported reformist candidate, Mostafa Moin in the presidential elections.

After leaving Iran, Derakhshan began to criticize Iranian reformists and appeared in Iran’s international television network, Press TV, expressing support for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

In November of 2008, he once more returned to Iran and was arrested by the Islamic Republic authorities. His lengthy imprisonment and the judiciary’s delays in holding his trial gave rise to grave concern from his family.

In April of 2009, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a letter calling for Hossein Derakhshan’s case to be processed in a timely and legal fashion.

After 19 months of complete news blackout about their son, Derakhshan family has recently started a blog posting information about his situation.