Iranian dissident arrested over football blog

A dissident Iranian actress and blogger was arrested as she prepared to leave for Germany to write a blog for the Deutsche Welle radio station about the women's football World Cup, the semi-official ISNA news agency said yesterday.

Pegah Ahangarani, 27, was arrested last week, ISNA said, citing the prosecutor's office in Tehran. She had been arrested briefly in 2009 after the disputed presidential elections over charges of playing a role in the post-election riots.

Ahangarani is the daughter of Iranian filmmakers Manijeh Hekmat and Jamshid Ahangarani.

The investigation into her case was continuing, ISNA said.

Deutsche Welle said it has learned from people close to Ahangarani that the actress is being detained in Tehran's Evin prison.

The broadcaster urged Iranian authorities to immediately release her.

The actress was to write a blog on the World Cup for the radio's Persian-language section but decided against going to Germany after being warned by Iranian authorities not to go a day before her planned departure, Deutsche Welle said. She vanished shortly thereafter.