Iran shuts down journalists’ association

          
          Iran shuts downjournalists' associafion Reutcrs.com htq://www.reuters.coni'ardclePrint?artic leld=USTRE57547T20090806
          : t REUTERS
          Print I Close this window
          Iran shuts down journalists' association
          Thu Aug 6, 2009 11:52am EDT
          TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian authorities have shut down a leading journalists'
          organization, members of the group said on Thursday, a move condemned
          by international press groups.
          Armed men raided and sealed the Tehran offices of the Association of
          Iranian Journalists late on Wednesday, said the International Federation of
          Journalists (I FJ) which also called for Iran to free up to 42 reporters
          currently jailed.
          “It is true, it has been closed down,” said a member of the Iranian
          association who declined to be named.
          “Government actions against media and journalists erode further the
          credibility and standing of the Government in national and the world opinion,”
          the IFJ said in a statement.
          Iran has arrested dozens of leading pro-reform politicians, journalists,
          lawyers and campaigners since the June 12 presidential election which
          ref ormists say was rigged in favor of hardline President Mahmoud
          Ahmadinejad.
          A court opened the mass trial of more than 100 reformists on Saturday on
          charges of inciting the unrest that followed the election; the biggest
          anti-government protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
          “I ran must not make journalists scapegoats for its political troubles,” the I FJ
          said.
          Iran accuses the West of fomenting protests against the election which
          officials say was the healthiest in the history of the Islamic Republic.
          (Wrfting by Jon Hemming)
          © Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from
          this webste for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of
          Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the
          prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or
          trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.
          Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Edtorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and
          disclosure of relevant interests.
          1 of 1 8/13/2009 1:54 PM