Ali Tasnimi, the radio host for Farda-ye Eghtesad, who was arrested on February 5, 2024, (16 Bahman 1402) along with the shutdown of Farda-ye Eghtesad, was released on bail from Shapour Detention Center in Tehran on the 66th day of his detention. Tasnimi was the last member of Farda-ye Eghtesad to remain in custody following the collective arrest of the journalists from this media outlet.
A source informed the Defending Free Flow of Information (DeFFI) that Tasnimi was released on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, (22 Farvardin 1403), on bail after being held in inhumane conditions at Shapour Detention Center for over two months without access to legal representation.
On February 5, 2024, in an unprecedented event, officers from the Tehran Economic Security Police entered the newsroom of Farda-ye Eghtesad, locking all its members inside the Kian Building at Argentina Square in Tehran. Following the protest of the journalists’ families outside the Kian Building and the media coverage of the incident, some of the detained journalists were gradually released.
Among the journalists initially held at the Farda-ye Eghtesad newsroom, Ali Mirzakhani, the editor-in-chief, was released on February 8 (19 Bahman). Behzad Bahman-Nejad, deputy editor-in-chief, Ali Tasnimi, radio host, Nikan Khabazi, studio manager, and Mehrdad Asgari, video journalist, were transferred from the Farda-ye Eghtesad newsroom to Shapour Detention Center on February 9 (20 Bahman).
Behzad Bahman-Nejad and Mehrdad Asgari were released after 10 days of temporary detention on Thursday, February 15 (26 Bahman). Farda-ye Eghtesad resumed operations on Saturday, February 24 (5 Esfand), the 20th day of its shutdown, and Nikan Khabazi was released on Monday, March 4 (14 Esfand), after nearly a month in detention. Despite this, Ali Tasnimi remained in custody at Shapour Detention Center for over two months, becoming the last detained member of Farda-ye Eghtesad to be released.