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Iranian news agency says authorities detain newspaper cartoonist to serve prison sentence

Associated Press
Published | Updated

TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian news agency says authorities have detained a prominent newspaper cartoonist.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency, which has ties to government hard-liners, reported Tuesday that cartoonist Hadi Heidari was taken into custody to serve a one-year prison sentence. It did not provide details on the conviction.

Calls to authorities and Heidari's newspaper, Shahrvand, were not immediately returned. The 36-year-old cartoonist was detained briefly twice during postelection unrest in 2009.

Earlier this month, Iran detained five Iranian journalists, including two known for their reformist views. Other recent arrests have included two poets and a filmmaker. Iranian-American Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian was convicted of charges including espionage in October.

The crackdown comes amid hard-liners' push against Iran's nuclear deal with world powers and ahead of crucial February parliamentary elections.