Tag Archives: Journalists

Iran’s human rights violations in the new World Report from Human Right Watch

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During 2012 the Iranian authorities arrested, detained, and harassed some of Iran’s most celebrated rights lawyers, and stepped up their assault on critical journalists, bloggers, and their families. The judiciary issued death sentences based on non-serious, vague, or ill-defined crimes such as moharebeh, or enmity against God, and authorities executed several hundred prisoners. Discrimination, both in law and in practice, against Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities led to the arrests of dozens of Baha’is, Christians, and Sufi Muslims.

Sarah Leah Whitson

Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch

“The Iranian people will neither forget nor forgive the abuses that the government has committed against human rights and minority activists, journalists and opposition leaders when it is time to head to the polls in June,” said the Middle East Director Sarah Leah Whitson. “Nor will they forget those such as Sattar Beheshti who have been made to pay the ultimate price in the struggle for a free Iran.”
Human Rights Watch

Newspapers in Iran Protest Against Arrests of Journalists

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​​In its January 30 issue, the Shargh newspaper published an empty Sharghspace 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

Media Crackdowns and Public Punishments in Iran

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Iran has started an aggressive campaign of media crackdowns and Imagepublic 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

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Iranian 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