Family says Iranian intelligence abducted dissident journalist in Ankara

Fevzi Kızılkoyun – ANKARA

Mohammad Bagher Moradi, an Iranian dissident journalist who took refuge in Turkey nine years ago while he was on trial in Tehran for covering news against the regime, has been abducted by Iranian intelligence in the capital Ankara, his family has alleged.

“My son was a dissident journalist. Iranian intelligence was after him. He was kidnapped by them,” Mohsen Moradi said.

Moradi, who lives in Ankara under international protection, left his house on May 30, telling his family that he will buy bread.

However, he did not return and disappeared. His mobile could not be reached, and his car was found abandoned some kilometers away from his house.

The family filed a criminal complaint to the local prosecutor’s office, highlighting that he was abducted.

An investigation has started regarding Moradi’s disappearance, but to no avail so far.

Turkey has been a prominent destination for Iranian dissidents, with some seeking asylum in Turkey and others using Turkey as a transit point to reach European countries.

In February, Turkish intelligence detained 16 Iranian suspects in Istanbul, who were alleged to be a part of a network to smuggle dissidents back to Iran.

In Feb. 11, Turkish intelligence thwarted an Iranian plan to assassinate Yair Geller, an Israeli businessman living in Istanbul, in retaliation for killing Iran’s nuclear chief Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in 2020.

In March, Turkish prosecutors sought a 30-year prison sentence for 11 suspects, including an Iranian, charged with planning to abduct Mehrdad Abdarbashi, an Iranian military pilot.

He fled to Turkey and asked for asylum after refusing to go to Syria and serve here. According to local reports, a female Iranian intelligence agent was preparing to kidnap him after drugging him.