Mr. Niakan, 48, is a former political prisoner during the 1980s. He was imprisoned from 1982 to 1990 and placed under medieval tortures during this time.
MOIS agents raided his residence at 1:30 AM local time on February 7 and made the arrest. Six agents took part in the raid commanded by an individual known by the pseudonym Alavi.
Mr. Niakan’s cell phone, satellite receiver, laptop, telephone list and hand-written documents were confiscated by the agents during the raid. He was interrogated and threatened for an hour in his family house by Alavi, an MOIS chief interrogator.
Currently, a number of Tehran Bazaar merchants are imprisoned at Evin prison, including Mohsen Dokmehchi, Javad Lari, and Mohammad Banazadeh Amirkhizi.