Iranian Security Forces Arrest Bitcoin Advocate Ziya Sadr

Ziya Sadr was instrumental in propagating knowledge related to Bitcoin among Iranians in the local language Farsi.

Last month, the Iranian security forces arrested Bitcoin advocate Ziya Sadr as per sources familiar with the matter. Speaking to CoinDesk, one of Sadar’s close friends, Nima Yazdanmehr, said that the arrest took place on the streets of Tehran on September 19 last month.

The friend also stated that the authorities haven’t released Sadr so far. The Iranian regime has currently come under severe pressure after widespread anti-government protests over the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the state’s morality police.

Ziya Sadr is a very popular Bitcoin educator and YouTuber in Iran. He’s been a great advocate of Bitcoin technology. Sadr made it easy for Iranians to know more about Bitcoin by publishing videos in the local language Farsi. Besides, he also promoted privacy-focused ways of using Bitcoin for personal transactions. He also connected with the crypto community of Iran on Telegram as well as organizing meet-ups and conferences.

According to Yazdanmehr, Sadr is currently held in Fashafouyeh Prison of Tehran. He continues to remain in contact with his close family and friends, said Yazdanmehr. In the weeks following the protests, the Iranian regime arrested thousands of Iranian citizens and activists. However, sources said that Sadr wasn’t participating in the protests at the time of his arrest.

Yazdanmerh added that Sadr was supposed to be released on a bail on Sunday, October 9. However, the mass arrests happening in Iran have further delayed bail requests across the country.

Ziya Sadr’s Contribution to Crypto

As said, the Bitcoin advocate was working on educating Iranians about Bitcoin and crypto by publishing content in the local language. Alex Gladstein, the chief strategy officer at Human Rights Foundation writes:

“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. Ziya helped his fellow citizens (and people everywhere) understand that Iranians could continue to earn income and transact with the outside world through Bitcoin… Something that is normally impossible due to currency controls and sanctions.
He said he saw Bitcoin’s resilience through the power lens of Derrida and Foucault and thought it was remarkable that ordinary people could unite against a global attack His appreciation for BTC’s censorship-resistance came from his lived experience of living under tyranny.”