Iranian Bitcoin Advocate Ziya Sadr Arrested by Iranian Security Forces

Ziya Sadr, a Iranian Bitcoin advocate, was arrested by Iranian security forces last month, according to multiple sources.

Nima Yazdanmehr, who said he is a friend of Sadr, told CoinDesk the arrest took place on the streets of Tehran on Sep. 19 and that Sadr has not been released. The arrest came amid widespread anti-government protests over the state killing Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old activist, though a reason has not been provided for his arrest.

Sadr is a popular Bitcoin educator and Youtuber, as well as an advocate for the technology. He’s translated Bitcoin content into Farsi and promoted privacy-focused ways to use Bitcoin personal transactions.

Sadr is currently being held in Fashafouyeh Prison and remains in contact with his family and close friends, according to Yazdanmehr.

Sadr is just one of thousands of Iranian citizens and activists to be detained by the Iranian government in the weeks following the protests. It is not known if the Iranian government’s interest in Sadr is related to his Bitcoin advocacy.

Multiple sources told CoinDesk Sadr was not participating in a protest at the time of his arrest.

Sadr was set to be released on bail Sunday, but mass arrests from the protests have caused bail requests across Iran to be delayed, according to Yazdanmerh.

1/ Thread on Ziya Sadr, the Iranian Bitcoin educator detained by the regime amid #MahsaAmini protests

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

— Alex Gladstein 🌋 ⚡ (@gladstein) October 9, 2022

Sadr’s Twitter account was recently suspended, but a Twitter representative did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment as to why.

This is a developing story.