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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