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