In its January 30 issue, the Shargh newspaper published an empty
space where Pouria Alami’s column would usually have appeared and explained that “it will not be printed until further notice.”
The Bahar daily, which also was raided by the authorities, has defended the arrested journalists and dismissed the accusations.
Persian Letters
Tag Archives: Freedom of expression
Maziar Bahari on arrests of journalists in Iran
The Canadian Iranian journalist and film maker Maziar Bahari, who in 2009 was held for 118 days in Evin prison, interviewed for BBC’s Newshour about his experience and the current wave of arrests.
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Media Crackdowns and Public Punishments in Iran
Iran has started an aggressive campaign of media crackdowns and
public punishments in recent days as the economy worsens and presidential elections grow closer.
Iranian human-rights groups say that although public executions happen on occasion in Iran, the uptick in them after rushed court judgments with no chance of appeal in recent days has been alarming.
Two influential and conservative news websites, Tabnak and Baztab, often critical of Mr. Ahmadinejad were shut down Monday, suggesting the media crackdown is targeted at any publication that challenges the regime’s narrative on political and economic issues.
Wall Street Journal
Amnesty International: Iran must release journalists
Iran must release all journalists being held solely for carrying out their legitimate work, Amnesty International urged after at least 14 reporters were arrested in the past three days amid police raids on newspaper offices.
The journalists are reportedly accused of cooperating with “anti-revolutionary” Persian-language media organizations outside Iran.
“This latest example of locking-up Iran’s journalists is a result of draconian restrictions on reporting which violate the right to freedom of expression and must be relaxed,” said Ann Harrison, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“All journalists who are imprisoned in Iran merely for peacefully doing their job should be released immediately and unconditionally.
Amnesty
UN human rights officials urge Iran to stop execution of Ahwazi activists
The UN special rapporteurs on human rights in Iran, on torture and
on executions have all urged Iran to halt the execution of five activists belonging to the Ahwazi Arab minority. The political activists have been sentenced to death on charges of corruption, propaganda and “enmity against God.”
“It is absolutely unacceptable for individuals to be imprisoned and condemned to death for exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association, opinion and expression, and affiliation to minority groups and to cultural institutions,” said the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed.
“Under international law, the death penalty can only be employed when very strict conditions are met, for example only in respect of the most serious crimes and only after a trial and appeal proceedings that scrupulously respect all the principles of due process,” noted the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, expressing serious concerns about the way these trials were conducted.
The Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Méndez, expressed grave concern about the allegations that the activists were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention as well as having been forced to sign confessions.
United Nations
What happens in Iran? 