He helped establish the Golden Pen award for journalists, and is a founding member of the Society for the Defense of Freedom of the Press (SDFP), an organization that opposes censorship and the suppression of journalists in Iran. On the day after Iran’s disputed presidential election in June 2009, security forces raided Saharkhiz’s home, threatened his daughter, and seized computers and personal notes. He was subsequently summoned to court but refused to appear. He was arrested on June 20, 2009, and has remained in prison since, with gravely deteriorating health.