Khadjedpour Released From Iranian Jail

          
          Kbacijedpour Released From Iranian Jail NPR Ittp://www.npr.org/tençlates/story/story.p lq?stoiyld=113374403&ft=1...
          Khadjedpour Released From Iranian Jail
          October 1, 2009 text sizeAA A
          Iranian businessman Bijan Khadjedpour was one of the people arrested after Iran's disputed presidential
          election. His name came up last week when Steve lnskeep asked President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad why
          people were put in jail for opposing the results of the election. Ahmadinejad said no one was put into prison
          for opposing him and he said he would look into the case. The president's office said the case did get
          looked into, and Khadjedpour was released on bail Wednesday.
          Copyright © 2009 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior
          permission required
          STEVE INSKEEP, host:
          And we have a footnote to that disputed election and the many arrests that followed. We spoke last week
          with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and I asked him why people were in prison for disagreeing
          with him.
          President MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD (Iran): (Through translator) In Iran, no one is in prison because of
          opposing Ahmadinejad. But I'll be glad to follow through with the judicial system if you give me the names
          of the people you speak of.
          INSKEEP: I will give you one name as an example.
          I could have given several names, but I chose one: Bijan Khadjedpour, a businessman I'd interviewed in
          Tehran, one of a hundred people put on trial at once after the election. Since that interview, the president's
          office says he did look into the case, and yesterday Bijan Khadjedpour was suddenly released on bail. He
          woke up with his family this morning.
          He's one of at least two defendants released this week. His family is grateful for the president's dramatic
          intervention, although it does leave you wondering about the other defendants and about Iranians who
          consider the process arbitrary at best.
          If I'd named some other defendant, would Bijan still be in prison - and would that man be free?
          (Soundbite of music)
          Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in
          any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only,
          pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further
          information.
          NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text
          may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of
          NPR's propramming is the audio.
          comments
          Discussions for this story are now closed. Please see the Community FAQ for rrore information.
          Josh Jimenez (Agapito) wrote:
          Huh. So, what? Just 98 rrore interviews to go? Roughly?
          Thursday, October01, 2009 10:29:54AM
          Recomrrend (0) Report abuse
          1 of 1 10/30/2009 5:54 PM