Sitting at the bar of a dark restaurant a few yards from the Israeli prime minister's house in Jerusalem, the guy with the short, dark hair and dingy T-shirt didn't really stand out.
He was dressed down in a manner typical of many Israelis and he kept scoping the room trying to make eye-contact with various women. The only thing that suggested something different was the T-shirt, which read, in English: I (heart) Tehran.
This was Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan's way of trying to strike up provocative conversations with Israelis during a defiant visit to Israel.
Known as the Iranian "Blogfather," Derakhshan braved condemnation in Iran by making a 2006 visit to Israel where he first came as the guest of Israeli-Canadian blogger Lisa Goldman.
When I met him last December at the bar, where he was having drinks with a mutual friend during his second visit to Israel, he seemed to be more interested in hitting on women than in debating the prospects for Middle East peace.
But now, after recently returning to live in Iran, Derakhshan has been arrested and accused of spying for Israel.
Iranian news is reporting that Derakhshan has admitted to spying for Israel, though that's difficult to accept at face value, especially since he could reportedly face the death penalty if convicted of such a charge.
Derakhshan was dubbed the "Blogfather" for developing a groundbreaking way to show Persian characters, something that reportedly led to a boom in Iranian blogging.
He has always pushed the boundaries, as with his trips to Israel. But Derakhshan's views were never cut-and-dry.
On his last visit to Israel, he defended Ahmadinejad and Iran's nuclear program.
In an interview in 2006, Derakhshan spoke about being detained in Iran and criticized for his blog.
"They said, we have some issues with your blog, including insulting the Supreme Leader, bringing up the negative arguments about the nuclear program, discussing the Iran and Israel relationship," he said. "It really bothered them that I was discussing Internet censorship. I was trying to teach Iranians how to bypass filters. Basically they told me that if you stop writing, then you are free to come back. But if you don’t, you can’t come back, or you can come back but you will be prosecuted."
(Photo from The Media Line.)
Uh oh. This article just published [11/22/08] in Haaretz:
'Iran executes man convicted of spying for Israel' about Ali Ashtari who was arrested back in 2006.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1039863.html
Doesn't look good.
Posted by: Edie | November 22, 2008 at 05:57 PM