The sister of an Iranian wrestler who was sentenced to death was arrested and identified as an “agent” by state media.

CNN:
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Iranian officials said they have identified the Iran International agent Elham Afkar, the sister of a famous Iranian wrestler, who was arrested on Thursday. Naved AfkariAccording to the IRNA state news agency, he was executed two years ago.

A news channel based in London Iran International it has become the go-to for many Iranians looking for news about the country ongoing protests in the country.

Opposition television, which Iran’s intelligence minister called a “terrorist” organization on Tuesday, has denied any links to Elham.

In a statement sent to CNN, the London-based broadcaster said Elham was “not an employee of Iran International, nor a partner or agent of the company.”

His brother, Navid Afkari, was convicted of killing Hasan Torkman, a water company security officer, during a protest in Shiraz in 2018.

At first, Afkari confessed to the crime, but in court he refused to do so, claiming that he had been tortured to make a false confession.

“It should be noted that he [Elham Afkari] “She is the sister of Navid Afkari, an employee of the Water Regional Company of Fars province, the killer of martyr Torkman,” reports IRNA.

“Intelligence officers have monitored Elham Afkari’s activities over the past few years,” IRNA said, adding that “he was one of the main leaders behind the recent riots.”

State media released pictures purportedly showing Elham’s arrest. The pictures show a woman sitting in the backseat of a car with barred windows, with a black eye on her face.

Elham and Navid’s brother, Saeed Afkari, confirmed his sister’s arrest on Twitter on Thursday, saying Elham’s three-year-old daughter was also missing.

He later said that Elham had been taken to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and that his sister’s husband and daughter had been released.

“Elham was taken to Department No. 100 of the Ministry of Intelligence,” he wrote on Twitter.

Since Navid Afkari’s execution, his family has faced multiple lawsuits over their involvement in the 2018 protests.

One of his brothers, Vahid Afkari, remains in solitary confinement, reports Iran Human Rights.

Iran International, founded in 2017, has been at the forefront of coverage of the recent protests following the custodial killing. Mahsa Amin – A 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman was arrested by the morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.

However, the 24-hour news channel’s coverage of the protests brought it to the attention of the Iranian government.

Iran International said this week that two of its British journalists working in the United Kingdom had been warned by police of a “credible” plot by Iran to kill them.

The Farsi-language broadcaster said on Monday it was “shocked and deeply concerned” by the alleged death threats, while accusing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of being part of Tehran’s “significant and dangerous escalation of the campaign”. to intimidate Iranian journalists working abroad.”

“Two of our British-Iranian journalists have been notified of an increase in threats against them in recent days,” Iran International said in a statement.

“The Metropolitan Police have now formally notified the two journalists that these threats pose an immediate, credible and substantial risk to their lives and the lives of their families.”

Iran International did not reveal the names of the journalists due to security reasons.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 61 journalists had been arrested in Iran as of Monday, including for covering the protests, reporting on the deaths of protesters and photographing the demonstrations, the organization said in a report.