[1] Amouee became an editor at the pro-reform business daily Sarmayeh and an active critic of the Iranian government's economic policies, calling the nation one of the most corrupt in the world.
[1] Beginning in June 2009, Iran saw widespread protests following a disputed election in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected amid allegations of voter fraud.
On the night of 20 June, Amouee and Baniyaghoob were arrested at their home by plainclothes police officers, as part of a general crackdown on journalists.
[2] Amnesty International designated both Amouee and Baniyaghoob to be prisoners of conscience, "detained solely for their peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression", and called for their immediate release.
[2][5] Human Rights Watch also lobbied for Amouee's release, stating that his imprisonment was a violation of freedom of speech; in 2011, the organization named him a winner of its Hellmann-Hammett award.