When an Iranian court sentenced "blogfather" Hossein Derakhshan to nearly 20 years in jail, many observers assumed the punishment was exceptional and intended to make an example of the former democracy activist.
If so, it appears the government is looking to make a few more examples.
Mehdi Khazali, an opthamologist, blogger and the son of a well-known hardline cleric, was arrested in Iran on Oct. 13, local press reported. Khazali had been especially vocal in his criticism of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad since the disputed 2009 presidential election and already had spent several short stints in jail.
Khazali's arrest came just a few weeks after blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki was sentenced to 15 years in prison for insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the president and creating and using proxy software to circumvent government filters. Maleki's mother and lawyer have told the press he was beaten and forced to sign a confession.
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