Behind the Scenes: Iran Releases Photographer

          
          Behii tic Sceirs: Iran Releases Photo apher Lens Blog• NYTinrs.com http://lens.blog.tin rs.conil2OO9/O8/12 /behix •ll/?pagenEde=print
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          PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO AND VISUAL JOURNALISM
          AUGUST 12, 2009, 5:30 PM
          Behind the Scenes: Iran Releases Photographer
          By JAMES ESTPJN AND DAV iD W. DUNLAP
          Majid Saeedi, an Iranian freelancer for Getty Images who was arrested a month ago —
          apparently for taking and transmitting news pictures — has been released from Evin prison on
          the outskirts of Tehran, Getty executives said Wednesday.
          Their relief was tempered by concern, since the charges against Mr. Saeedi have not been
          dropped.
          “We understand that Majid is set to face trial on the charges set by Iranian prosecutors, and is
          possibly facing several years in prison if convicted,” Jonathan Klein, a co-founder and the chief
          executive of Getty said in a statement. He called Mr. Saeedi “a diligent and committed
          photojournalist who documented the reality he observed.”
          Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organization
          with headquarters in New York, said last Friday, “The charge was something like, ‘He went to
          such and such place, he photographed what he saw, he sent the images back to Getty by a
          high-speed line and he was paid for them.”
          “That describes the work of a photographer,” Mr. Simon added. “If that's a crime, then it's a
          crime to be a photojournalist.”
          Mr. Saaedi has worked with Getty Images since the devastating earthquake in the ancient city of
          Bam in 2003. He could always be counted on in news events and had good access to President
          Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Pancho Bernasconi, director of photography/news at Getty
          Images.
          But it is Mr. Saeedi's images of everyday Iranian life that distinguish him. “He always tried to
          give a well-rounded view of his country, not the stereotypical view,” Mr. Bernasconi said.
          Mr. Saeedi's photographs of an Iranian fashion show, along with images of female police
          enforcing an Islamic dress code, give a nuanced view of Iranian women. His memorable
          coverage of an annual rememberance of the dead from Iran's war with Iraq shows the suffering
          of everyday people.
          On May 12, Mr. Saeedi was on hand in Tehran to photograph a very happy journalist: Roxana
          Saberi, an Iranian-American who had just been released from prison on charges of spying for
          the United States. Two months later, he himself was imprisoned.
          “It's obviously dangerous,” Mr. Bernasconi said. “There were journalists jailed before him. He
          knew the potential consequences but decided to put himself at risk to tell the story.”
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          Behii tic Sceirs: Iran Releases Photo apher Lens Blog• NYTinrs.com http://lens.blog.tin rs.conil2OO9/O8/12 /behix •11/?pagenEde=print
          The perils faced by journalists were made terribly plain earlier Wednesday, when The
          Associated Press reported that Emilio Morenatti, a highly regarded A.P. photographer, and
          Andi Jatmiko, a videographer for A.P. Television News, were badly wounded when their vehicle
          ran over a bomb.
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