{"id":350353,"date":"2022-10-10T03:12:01","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T07:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/?p=350353"},"modified":"2022-10-10T03:12:01","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T07:12:01","slug":"iranian-bitcoin-advocate-ziya-sadr-arrested-by-iranian-authorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/news\/iranian-bitcoin-advocate-ziya-sadr-arrested-by-iranian-authorities","title":{"rendered":"Iranian Bitcoin advocate Ziya Sadr arrested by Iranian authorities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ziya Sadr, a Bitcoin advocate based in Iran, has been arrested by Iranian security forces. Multiple sources have confirmed that Sadr was arrested last month and is yet to be released.<\/p>\n

Bitcoin advocate arrested in Iran<\/h2>\n

Sadr\u2019s arrest was confirmed by his close friend, Nima Yazdanmehr. According to CoinDesk<\/a>, Yazdanmehr confirmed that the arrest happened in Tehran on September 19. Sadr has remained in prison since then.<\/p>\n

The arrest in question happened amid massive anti-government protests in the country following the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Since these protests, the Iranian government has embarked on mass arrests.<\/p>\n

Sadr is a known Bitcoin advocate. Sadr educates people about Bitcoin and the underlying technology and has a YouTube channel that supports his work. Sadr has also translated content related to Bitcoin into Farsi and guided people in privacy-focused ways that they can use Bitcoin to settle personal transactions.<\/p>\n

Sadr is currently at the Fashafouyeh Prison. Yazdanmehr said that Sadr was still in contract with close friends and family despite his arrest. Sadr is among the thousands of Iranian citizens arrested by Iranian security forces weeks after the protests.<\/p>\n

It remains unclear whether Sadr has been arrested in connection with the protests or because of advocating for Bitcoin. However, multiple sources have said that Sadr was not participating in the protests when he was arrested.<\/p>\n

Sadr was set for a bail release on Sunday. However, according to Yazdanmehr, the high number of arrests made in recent weeks because of the protests has caused a backlog in bail hearings across Iran.<\/p>\n

The news of Sadr\u2019s arrest has sparked reactions across the crypto community. Alex Gladstein spoke of the contributions that Sadr has made to the Iranian community and the Bitcoin ecosystem at large.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve followed Ziya\u2019s work for years: he is an incredibly brave person who has helped thousands of Iranians achieve more freedom by teaching them how to use open-source currency,\u201d the Twitter user said.<\/p>\n

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1\/ Thread on Ziya Sadr, the Iranian Bitcoin educator detained by the regime amid #MahsaAmini<\/a> protests<\/p>\n

I've followed Ziya's work for years: he is an incredibly brave person who has helped thousands of Iranians achieve more freedom by teaching them how to use open source currency pic.twitter.com\/y726kobBiS<\/a><\/p>\n

— Alex Gladstein \ud83c\udf0b \u26a1 (@gladstein) October 9, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n