Tuesday, December 1, 2015 5:33:26 PM

According to recent news Yaghma Golrouee, the well-known Iranian poet and songwriter, was arrested on Monday, November 30, 2015.

Mr. Golrouee was allegedly arrested by Iran's security officials in a raid on his house and taken to an unknown location, his wife Athena Habibi wrote on her Instagram account on December 1. Officials searched their house, she added. He is apparently kept in Ward 2-A of IRGC, the BCR Group has learned from grassroots sources.

His poetry book 'I have a dream' was Iran's best-selling book last year.

"Another of his books 'Drunken Driven' was published in Germany after Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance refused to issue a license to publish the book in Iran. Two years ago, the controversial Iranian singer Shahin Najafi made a song based on one of Golrouee's poems. Najafi has been called "the Salman Rushdie of music" after clerics in Iran issued a death fatwa against him, calling him an apostate, which is considered punishable by death under the country's sharia law, Journalism Is Not A Crime organization declared.

Golrouee's arrest comes a few weeks after two other Iranian poets, two songwriters (known as postmodern sonnet poets) Miss. Fatemeh Ekhtsari and Mr. Seyed Mehdi Mousavi were sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison, and 99 lashes each by the Islamic Revolutionary Court chaired by Judge Mogheyseh. Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court 's sentences against them included 11 years and six months imprisonment and 99 lashes for Miss Ekhtesari, nine years in prison and 99 lashes for Mr. Mousavi and six years in prison, rights groups said. Mr. Mousavi and Miss. Ekhtesari were previously arrested by Iran's security forces and kept in the infamous Ward 2-A of IRGC. They were released on January 13, 2014.

Previously, Ahmad Hazbawi, from Qalat Chanaan village, 12km southwest Ahwaz, was arrested on April 8, 2015 at his perfume shop in Kut Abdullah town near Ahwaz city. Informed sources and eyewitnesses confirmed seeing masked men in black uniforms, believed to be intelligence agents, arresting, beating and dragging the poet from his shop to their vehicle. According to one source, who was present at the shop, intelligence agents show no documents or ID.

The poet was arrested in connection with a 25 "word Arabic poem after the poet and a jubilant crowd, mainly youth, appeared in a video on 27 March 2015 expressing support for Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen. Iran or Iranians were not mentioned in the video whatsoever. It has been widely shared by Arabic media in the Middle East as well as Facebook and Twitter.

The poem's translation says: "Greeting from beloved Ahwazi to king Salman, Who United the grandsons of Arabs in the Decisive Storm of Cousins. The fighter gets glory appearing over the Houthis of Darkness".

Finally, he was released after spending three months in solitary confinement of Intelligence Service detention on 12 July 2015.

By: Kaveh Taheri