Iran: The Latest Arrests of Bloggers and Writers

An Iranian woman who won a 2005 blogging prize from Deutsche Welle was arrested earlier this month in Iran, as part of a recent crackdown against journalists and online activists.
Dokouhaki became known for being one of Iran's earliest female bloggers, and her site, Zan-Nevesht (Woman Writer), often took on women's issues, although she has not worked as a journalist in recent years.
Iran's supreme court has also confirmed last year's death sentence of Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian-Canadian web developer, who has been held since 2008. Mohammad Solimaninya, who founded a professional social networking site for Iranians, was also recently arrested at his home in Karaj, north of Tehran, on January 20.
Marzieh Rasouli, a culture journalist who worked for some of the country's top reformist newspapers, was also taken into custody two days after Dokouhaki, on January 17.
According to Reporters Without Borders, three other online journalists and writers were arrested on January 7.
Hossein Derakhshan has been held in an Iranian prison since 2008At the time, Iran's Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said the arrested bloggers and writers had "envisaged carrying out American plans to disrupt the parliamentary elections by using cyberspace and social networks."
Parliamentary elections are set for March 2, 2012, nearly three years after the disputed June 2009 presidential elections that saw massive street protests.
Hossein Derakhshan, an Iranian-Canadian who also served twice as a jury member for Deutsche Welle's blog awards, known as the BOBs, has been held in an Iranian prison since November 2008.
Hoder, as he was known online, largely spearheaded Iran's active blogging community, and in 2010 was convicted of various crimes, including "cooperation with hostile countries and spreading propaganda against the ruling establishment." more here.