Aadel Collection

With 47 journalists in jail, Iran sets notorious records

          
          With 47 Journalists inJail, Iran sets notorious records - Conmttee to Prote , , http://wwwcpJ.org/2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-mtoriou.
          a:
          (:1: 1? Committee to Protect Journalists
          Defending Journal is: s Worldwide
          With 47 journalists in jail, Iran sets notorious records
          New York, February 3, 2010—Iranian authorities are now holding at least 47
          journalists in prison, more than any single country has imprisoned since 1996,
          according to a new survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists. While many of the
          detainees were arrested in the aftermath of the disputed June presidential election,
          CPJ's survey found that authorities are continuing to wage an aggressive campaign to
          round up independent and opposition journalists. At least 26 journalists have been
          jailed in the last two months alone, CPJ found.
          The number of jailed journalists is the highest CPJ has recorded in a single country
          since December 1996, when it documented 78 imprisonments in Turkey.
          “The relentlessness of the press crackdown in Iran demonstrates that authorities
          continue to fear new ideas and information,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.
          “Our goal is not simply to document the brutality, but to let the government know that
          the world is watching.”
          CPJ's findings are based on a census of imprisoned Iranian journalists conducted on
          February 1. The survey is a snapshot of those incarcerated on that date. It does not
          include more than 50 other journalists in Iran who have been imprisoned and released
          on bail over the last several months. Five of those now in jail were detained prior to
          the 2009 crackdown.
          The current detainees include internationally known figures such as Emadeddin Baghi,
          the author and human rights defender, and Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, an award-
          winning editor and press advocate. They also include journalists such as Mohammad
          Davari, an editor who helped expose prisoner abuse at the Kahrizak Detention Center,
          and Shiva Nazar Ahari, a human rights reporter who has been jailed twice in the last
          eight months.
          In most cases, authorities have filed vague antistate
          charges such as “propagation against the regime,”
          insulting authorities, and disrupting public order. But
          many cases are shrouded in secrecy, without even
          formal charges being disclosed.
          Some detainees have already been sentenced to
          lengthy prison terms, lashes, internal exile, and
          lifetime bans on writing and other social and political
          actMties. One is on death row. The cases of many
          Mashallah Shamsolvaezin (AP)
          Jailed reporter Shiva Nazar
          Ahari
          lof 12
          03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 jorniialists in jail, Iran sets notorioijs records - Comniittee to Prote... http://www.cpj.org/2OiO/O2/with-47-jo jnialists-in-jail-iran-sets-notoriou...
          others are pending. At least two face heresy charges that, upon conviction, would Emadeddin Baghi (AFP)
          bring the death penalty.
          In light of the Iranian government's ongoing crackdown, CPJ will conduct monthly surveys of journalists imprisoned in
          Iran. (CPJ normally conducts a worldwide survey of jailed journalists each December.)
          Iran is now far and away the world's leading jailer of journalists. China was holding 24 journalists behind bars when CPJ
          conducted its worldwide census on December 1, 2009. CPJ research shows the number in China has remained stable
          since that time.
          Here are capsule reports on each journalist jailed in Iran:
          Adnan Hassanpour, Aso
          Imprisoned: January 25, 2007
          Security agents seized Hassanpour, former editor for the now-defunct Kurdish-Persian weekly Aso, in his hometown of
          Marivan, Kurdistan province, according to news reports.
          A Revolutionary Court convicted Hassanpour in July 2007 of endangering national security and engaging in propaganda
          against the state, one of his attorneys, Sirvan Hosmandi, told CPJ. The journalist was sentenced to death. A court of
          appeals overturned the death sentence in September 2008 and ordered a new trial on charges of “working for outlawed
          parties” and espionage, according to the BBC. In November 2009, a trial court convicted Hassanpour on the new
          charges and re-imposed the death sentence, the BBC said.
          Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand, Payam-e Mardom
          Imprisoned: July 1, 2007
          Plainclothes security officials arrested journalist and human rights activist Kaboudvand at his Tehran office, according to
          Amnesty International and CPJ sources. He is being held at Evin Prison in Tehran.
          Authorities accused Kaboudvand, head of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan and managing editor of the
          weekly Payam-e Mardom, of acting against national security and engaging in propaganda against the state, according to
          his organization's Web site. A Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced him to 11 years in prison.
          Mojtaba Lotfi, freelance
          Imprisoned: October 8, 2008
          A clergyman and blogger, Lotfi was arrested by security forces on a warrant issued by the religious Clergy Court in
          Qom. Authorities accused him of publishing the views of Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who had criticized President
          Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's positions.
          Authorities did not specify particular articles or publications in which the views were supposedly cited. Lotfi was
          convicted of several charges, including spreading antistate information, and sentenced to four years in prison, according
          to news reports.
          Hossein Derakhshan, freelance
          Imprisoned: November 2008
          On December 30, 2008, a spokesman for the Iranian Judiciary confirmed in a press conference in Tehran that
          Derakhshan, a well-known Iranian-Canadian blogger, had been detained since November 2008 in connection with
          comments he allegedly made about a key cleric, according to local and international news reports.
          The exact date of Derakhshan's arrest was unknown, but news of his detention first appeared on November 17, 2008,
          on Jahan News, a Web site close to the Iranian intelligence apparatus. At the time, Jahan News reported that he had
          confessed to “spying for Israel” during the preliminary interrogation.
          2 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 Journalists inJail, Iran sets notorious records - Conunittee to Prote , ,, http://wwwcpJorg'2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-notoriou.
          Derakhshan started blogging after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. A former writer for
          reformist newspapers, he also contributed opinion pieces to The Guardian of London and The New York Times. The
          journalist, who lived in Canada during most of the last decade, returned to Tehran a few weeks prior to his
          detention, The Washington Post reported.
          In November, the BBC Persian service reported that Derakhshan's family had sought information about his whereabouts
          and the charges he faced and expressed concern about having very limited contact with him.
          Nader Karimi Jooni, Jahan-e-Sanat, Sharq, Gozaresh, Fekr, and Siasat-e-Rooz
          Imprisoned: December 2008
          Jooni, arrested in late 2008, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on January 11, 2010, at Branch 28 of the
          Revolutionary Court. He was convicted on charges of mutiny, espionage, and acting against national security, according
          ( hftp:llwww.kaleme.orq 11388/10 122 1k 1m-8161) to the reformist Web site Kalame. He denied the charges and said the case
          was politicized.
          Jooni, who was an editor and writer for now-defunct publications such as Gozaresh, Fekr, Jahan-e Sanat, and Siasat
          Rooz, was placed in Evin Prison's Ward 209, where political prisoners are held. He is an Iran-Iraq War veteran who
          requires ongoing medical care, according to reformist news Web site Kalame (http://www.kaleme.ora/1388/1O
          / 22/k!m-8 16 1 )
          Ahmad Zaid-Abadi, freelance
          Imprisoned: June 2009
          Zaid-Abadi, who wrote a weekly column for Rooz Online, a Farsi- and English-language reformist news Web site, was
          arrested in Tehran, according to news reports. Zaid-Abadi is also the director of the Organization of University Alumni of
          the Islamic Republic of Iran and a supporter of defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi.
          Mahdieh Mohammadi, Zaid-Abadi's wife, was allowed to see the journalist after he had spent 53 days in custody,
          according to the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. He told her that he was being held in inhumane conditions.
          Zaid-Abadi was among more than 100 opposition figures and journalists who faced a mass, televised judicial proceeding
          in August on vague antistate accusations, according to local and international news reports. In November, he was
          sentenced to six years in prison, five years of exile in Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan province, and a lifetime deprivation of
          social and political activities, according to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters.
          Omid Salimi, Nesf e Jehan
          Imprisoned: June 14, 2009
          Salimi, a photographer who worked for Nesf e Jehan newspaper in Esfahan, was arrested after being summoned by the
          Revolutionary Guards to pick up belongings confiscated during an earlier arrest, according to Human Rights and
          Democracy Activists in Iran, a local human rights watchdog. Salimi had been detained in December 2008 and had spent
          three months in prison on unspecified charges.
          After his most recent arrest, Salimi was transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran, according to the Iranian Human Rights
          Activists New Agency. No formal charges have been disclosed.
          Kayvan Samimi, Nameh
          Imprisoned: June 14, 2009
          Samimi, manager of the now-defunct monthly Nameh, is being held in Evin Prison after his arrest in Tehran, according to
          news reports. Samimi called his family in October to tell them that he was pressured to make a false confession, his
          lawyer told Rooz Online.
          Samimi was charged with “creating public anxiety,” and “congregation and mutiny to disrupt national security,” his lawyer
          3 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 jorniialists in jail, Iran sets notorioijs records - Comniittee to Prote... http://www.cpj.org/2OiO/O2/with-47-jo jnialists-in-jail-iran-sets-notoriou...
          told Zamaneh Radio. Samimi was found guilty of the charges on February 2, 2010, and sentenced to six years
          imprisonment and a lifetime deprivation of political activities, according to the U.S. government-funded Radio Farda.
          Saeed Laylaz, Sarmayeh
          Imprisoned: June 17, 2009
          Laylaz, editor of the daily business journal Sarmayeh and a vocal critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's economic
          policies, was arrested at home on June 17, his wife, Sepharnaz Panahi, told the BBC Persian service. She said that
          officers searched their home and confiscated videotapes, hard drives, and letters.
          Laylaz was among more than 100 opposition figures and journalists who faced a mass, televised judicial proceeding in
          August on vague antistate accusations, according to local and international news reports. He spent 100 days in solitary
          confinement at Tehran's Evin Prison before being moved to a group cell, where he was denied newspapers, pen, and
          paper, his wife told the Committee of Human Rights Reporters.
          Laylaz was charged with “congregation and mutiny against national security, propagation against the regime, disrupting
          public order, and keeping classified documents,” according to Mowjcamp, a news Web site supportive of the defeated
          presidential candidate M ir-Hossein Mousavi.
          After a two-hour trial in November, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to the Human Rights Activists
          News Agency and online accounts. His wife told the news Web site Kalameh that the “classified document” that was a
          centerpiece of the prosecution was actually a published and widely available investigation into the Iranian judiciary.
          Bahman Ahmadi Amouee, freelance
          Imprisoned: June 19, 2009
          Amouee, a contributor to reformist newspapers such as Mihan, Hamshahri, Jame'e, Khordad, Norooz, and Sharq, and
          the author of an eponymous blog, was arrested with his wife, Zhila Bani-Yaghoub, according to news reports.
          Bani-Yaghoub, editor-in-chief of the Iranian Women's Club, a news Web site focusing on women's rights, was released
          on bail on August 19, according to the BBC Persian service.
          Amouee was being held in Tehran's Evin Prison, part of the time in solitary confinement, according to news reports.
          Amouee's wife said the journalist was denied access to his family and lawyer for several weeks, according to
          Mowjcamp, a news Web site supportive of the reformist candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
          On January 5, 2010, Amouee was sentenced to 34 lashes, along with seven years and four months in prison.
          Issa Sahar-Khiz, freelance
          Imprisoned: July 3, 2009
          Sahar-Khiz, a columnist for the reformist news Web sites Rooz Online and Norooz and a founding member of the
          Association of Iranian Journalists, was arrested while traveling in northern Iran, the association said in a statement.
          Sahar-Khiz's lawyer said his client faces charges of “participation in riots,” “encouraging others to participate in riots,”
          and “insulting the supreme leader,” according to Rooz Online.
          Sahar-Khiz has had a long career in journalism. He worked for 15 years for IRNA, Iran's official news agency, and ran its
          New York office for part of that time. He returned to Iran in 1997 to work in Mohammad Khatami's Ministry of Islamic
          Guidance, in charge of domestic publications. Sahar-Khiz and a superior, Ahmad Bouraghani, came to be known as the
          architects of a period of relative freedom for the press in Iran. After Sahar-Khiz was forced to leave the ministry and was
          banned from government service in a trial, he founded a reformist newspaper, Akhbar-e Eghtesad, and monthly
          magazine, Aftab, both of which were eventually banned. Sahar-Khiz wrote articles directly critical of Ayatollah Ali
          Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader.
          4 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 Journalists inJail, Iran sets notorious records - Conmttee to Prote... http://wwwcpJ.org/2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-mtoriou
          Massoud Bastani, Farhikhtegan and Jomhoriyat
          Imprisoned: July 5, 2009
          Bastani, a journalist for the reformist newspaper Farihikhtegan and Jomhoriyat, a news Web site affiliated with the
          defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, was arrested when he went to a Tehran court seeking information
          about his wife, journalist Mehsa Amrabadi, according to local news reports. Amrabadi, arrested along with two other
          journalists on June 15, was released on August 25.
          Bastani was among more than 100 opposition figures and journalists who faced a mass, televised judicial proceeding in
          August on vague antistate accusations, according to news reports. In September, his lawyer, Mohammad Sharrif, told
          the Amir Kabir Newsletter Web site that Bastani had spent weeks in solitary confinement.
          On October 20, the news site Norooz reported that a court had sentenced Bastani to six years in prison for “propagating
          against the regime and congregating and mutinying to create anarchy.”
          Bastani had been editor-in-chief of the now-banned Neda-ye Eslahat (Voice of Reform) weekly.
          Marjan Abdollahian, Hamshahri
          Imprisoned: July 9, 2009
          The BBC Persian service and other news outlets reported that authorities had detained Abdollahian, a photo editor for
          the Tehran-based Hamshahri newspaper. Six days after her arrest, she called her family to inform them that she was
          being held in BÀn Prison, according to the news Web site Rooz Online. No formal charges have been disclosed.
          Saeed Matin-Pour, Yar Pag and Mot if Bidari
          Imprisoned: July 12, 2009
          A Revolutionary Court in Tehran convicted Matin-Pour of having “relations with foreigners and propagating against the
          regime,” according to local news reports. He was sentenced to an eight-year prison term.
          Matin-Pour was first arrested in May 2007 and released on bail. He was rearrested in 2009 amid the government's
          crackdown on the press. The journalist worked for Yar Pag and Mot if Bidari newspapers in western Azerbaijan province,
          in addition to writing his own blog, according to local news reports. Matin-Pour suffers from heart and respiratory
          problems, and his family was not immediately able to secure a medical release for examination outside prison, according
          to the news Web site Advarnews.
          More than 100 dissidents and journalists faced vague antistate
          accusations during a mass, televised judicial proceeding in August.
          5 of 12
          03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 Journalists inJail , Iran sets notorious records - Conmttee to Prote... http://wwwcpJorg/2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-mtoriou
          (AP)
          Reza Nourbakhsh, Farhikhtegan
          Imprisoned: August 4, 2009
          Authorities took Nourbakhsh, editor-in-chief of the reformist newspaper Farhikhtegan, into custody after searching his
          home, according to news reports. Nourbakhsh also contributed to Jomhoriyat, a news Web site supportive of the
          defeated presidential candidate M ir-Hossein Mousavi.
          Nourbakhsh was among more than 100 opposition figures and journalists who faced a mass, televised judicial
          proceeding in August on vague antistate accusations, according to news reports. He was sentenced to six years in
          prison on November 3, although the exact charges against him were not disclosed.
          Mohammad Hossein Sohrabi Rad, Saham News
          Imprisoned: September 2009
          Sohrabi Rad was arrested by Ministry of Information agents on charges of working with Saham News in preparing a
          documentary on prisoner abuse at the Kahrizak Detention Center, according (file:lIl%2 ohttp:Ilwww.hra-news.org
          InewsIl2O7l.aspx) to the reformist Web site Asr-e Nou. (The detention center was closed in July 2009 after evidence
          emerged of pervasive abuse of detainees.)
          Asr-e Nou reported that Sohrabi Rad had been subjected to physical and psychological pressure at Evin Prison.
          Authorities transferred Sohrabi Rad from Ward 209, where political prisoners are held, to solitary confinement in Ward
          240, according to news reports. A prison doctor said the journalist was suffering greatly in prison, according
          ( http:llhrdai.b logspot.com/2010/01/blog-post 3603.html) to the Web site of Human Rights and Democracy Activists of
          Iran. He was married shortly before his arrest, according to the site.
          Mohammad Davari, Saham News
          Imprisoned: September 5, 2009
          Saham News, a Web site affiliated with presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, reported that its editor-in-chief, Davari,
          had been detained. Seventeen days after his arrest, the journalist was allowed to contact his family, according to
          the Tahavolkhani news Web site. His mother said he was being held at Tehran's Evin Prison.
          Davari was brought to trial on November 22 on charges of propagation against the regime, congregation and mutiny for
          disrupting national security, and creating chaos in public order.
          In the weeks after the election, Davari had videotaped the testimony of inmates at Kahrizak Detention Center who
          alleged they had been raped and abused while in custody, according to the Free iranian Journalists blog. (The detention
          center was closed in July 2009 after evidence emerged of pervasive abuse of detainees.)
          Alireza Moghiseh, Iranian Journalists Association
          Imprisoned: October 18, 2009
          Moghiseh is a member of the Iranian Journalists Association and the prisoner-abuse fact-finding committee of reformist
          candidates M ir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, according (http:/Iwww.roozonhine.com/persian/news/newsitem
          / article/2O lOIianuarvIO5/-b4d18a786f.html) to Rooz Online and the news Web site Sedayefarda
          ( http:llwww.sedayefarda.com/humanrights/106-human-rights/1748-1388-07-26-06-50-39.htmfl .
          He is being held in Evin Prison's Ward 209, where political prisoners are jailed, but little other information on his case has
          been disclosed, according to the same news reports. Moghiseh is an Iran-Iraq war veteran.
          Javad Mahzadeh, freelance
          Imprisoned: October 22, 2009
          6 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 Journalists inJail , Iran sets notorious records - Conmttee to Prote... http://wwwcpJorg/2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-mtoriou
          Mahzadeh, a journalist and novelist, was arrested on his way to work on the orders of the Revelutionary Court's
          prosecutor's office, according to local news reports.
          Mahzadeh, a political analyst and a literary critic who wrote for the Web sites lranian Diplomacy and Baran, is
          well-known in Iran for the novel, Take Away Your Laughter. Authorities confiscated a computer from his home, according
          to news reports. No formal charges have been disclosed.
          Mazdak Ali Nazari, Nasim Haraz Monthly and Journalism for Peace
          Imprisoned: November 2009
          Nazari, who won the Iranian Journalists Association's Best Journalist Award in 2007, was arrested at his home sometime
          in the second week of November, according to news accounts and human rights groups.
          Nazari was editor of Nasim Haraz Monthly, a cultural magazine, and editor-in-chief of Journalism for Peace, a critical
          Web site focusing on human rights. He is also author of the blog Zemzemeh Haye Divaneh. Nazari told his family about
          his arrest in a brief telephone call, but he was unable to relay details, including his whereabouts, according to Rooz
          Online, a Farsi- and English-language reformist news Web site.
          Nazari had also worked for Etemad e Melli, the newspaper owned by defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi.
          Sassan Aghaee, freelance
          Imprisoned: November 22, 2009
          Security forces raided the home of Aghaee, a seasoned journalist who contributed to a number of newspapers,
          including Farhikhtegan, Etemacl, Tose'eh, Mardom Salari, and Etemad e Melli. He was also author of the blog Free
          Tribune.
          Aghaee is being held at E'An Prison, according to news accounts. No formal charges have been disclosed. In a letter the
          journalist asked to be opened in case of his arrest, Aghaee said any confessions he might make in custody should be
          disregarded as coerced, according to the reformist Web site Jaras.
          Saeed Jalalifar, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
          Saeed Katanaki, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
          Imprisoned: December 2, 2009
          Jalalifar and Kalanaki, who reported on child labor and political prisoner issues, were arrested after being summoned by
          the Ministry of Information, the reformist news Web site Kalame reported (hftp:l/www.kaleme.orglfeed) . No formal
          charges have been disclosed against the two, the U.S. government-funded Radio Farda reported
          ( http:llwww.radiofarda.comlcontentlf35 JalaliFar KaIanakiIl893l 45.htm I/content/f35 JalaliFar Kalanakill 893145.html) .
          Jalalifar and Kalanaki were the first of several committee journalists to be arrested for their work in exposing alleged
          human rights violations and government malfeasance. Jalalifar was unable to contact his family during the first 40 days of
          his confinement, according (http:llwww.chrr.us/spip.php?article78O3) to the committee's Web site.
          Kouhyar Goudarzi, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
          Imprisoned: December 20, 2009
          Goudarzi, a veteran journalist for the human rights committee, has been charged with moharebeh, or heresy, a capital
          crime, according to local news reports and the BBC Persian service. Held at Evin Prison, he has also been charged with
          propagation against the regime and participating in illegal congregations.
          Visitors to the prison said Goudarzi's head was bandaged, although it was not clear how he sustained his injuries,
          according to the reformist online publication Rooz Online. The human rights committee said judicial authorities have
          sought to link the organization to external political parties.
          7 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 Journalists inJail , Iran sets notorious records - Conmttee to Prote... http://wwwcpJorg/2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-mtoriou
          Shiva Nazar Ahari, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
          Saeed Haeri, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
          Imprisoned: December 20, 2009
          Nazar Ahari and Haeri were detained while on a bus taking them from Tehran to Qom to attend the funeral of Ayatollah
          Hossein-Ali Montazeri, the influential cleric who had criticized the government's conduct.
          Nazar Ahari had been jailed for four months in the immediate aftermath of the disputed June presidential election. She
          was free on bail when she was rearrested in December. The reformist Web site Kalame said Nazar Ahari is in solitary
          confinement at Evin Prison's Ward 209, where political prisoners are held.
          In a meeting with Nazar Ahari's family members, a prosecutor claimed that the human rights committee was affiliated
          with an armed opposition group, Kalame reported. Haeri's family was unable to visit the journalist until January 24,
          according to the Amir Kabir Bulletin (http:/Iwww.autnews.delnode/6632) , an online student news site critical of the
          Iranian government.
          Nazar Ahari has been charged with illegal congregation, according to the committee's Web site. No formal charges have
          been disclosed against Haeri.
          Mohammad Nourizad, freelance
          Imprisoned: December 20, 2009
          The BBC Persian service reported (http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2009/1 2/091220 na nourizad detained.shtml) that
          Nourizad, a blogger and documentary filmmaker, was arrested after he wrote an open letter to Supreme Leader Ali
          Khamenei urging him to apologize for the government's post-election conduct, and an article
          ( http:llmohammadnurizad.blogfa.com/) criticizing the head of Iran's judiciary.
          The government-run Mehr News said Nourizad is charged with “insulting authorities” and “propagation against the
          regime.” On January 5, security officers raided Nourizad's home, seizing his computer and documents, according
          ( http://www.rahesabz.net/story/7247/) to the pro-opposition news Web site Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz.
          Held at Evin Prison, Nourizad has waged a hunger strike, according (http://www.hra-news.org/news/11905.aspx) to the
          Human Rights Activists News Agency. Jonbesh-e-Rah-e-Sabz reported that (http://www.rahesabz.net/storv/8425/ )
          Nourizad's wife was denied visitation rights.
          Nourizad had once written for Kayhan, a newspaper closely associated with conservative elements in the government,
          but he distanced himself from the publication after the disputed June presidential election. Kayhan has repeatedly
          attacked Nourizad and his writing since that time, according to CPJ research.
          ( http:llnews.gooya.com/politics/archives/201 0/01/098659.php )
          Emadeddin Baghi, freelance
          Imprisoned: December 23, 2009
          Baghi, the prominent Iranian author, journalist, and human rights activist, was arrested after being summoned to the
          security division of the RevDlutionary Court, according (http://www.ayandenews.com/news/1 6776) to the reformist
          Ayandeh News Web site.
          When Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri died in December, the BBC Persian service aired a two-year old interview that
          Baghi had conducted with the influential cleric. Baghi was arrested soon after the rebroadcast. The government has
          sought to clamp down on publicity about Montazeri, who had criticized the conduct of the June presidential election.
          Baghi has been arrested numerous times in the past. In 2000, he was sentenced (http://cpj.org/2000/07/journalist-
          sentenced-for-criticizing-regime.php) to five and a half years in prison on charges of “questioning Islamic law,”
          “threatening national security,” and “spreading unsubstantiated news” in articles detailing the roles of intelligence agents
          8 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 Journalists inJail , Iran sets notorious records - Conmttee to Prote , , , http://wwwcpJorg/2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-mtoriou
          in a series of politically motivated murders. He served three years in prison before being released. He was arrested
          again in 2007 and served several months for “acting against national security,” according to local and international news
          reports.
          Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, Kalameh Sabz
          Imprisoned: December 23, 2009
          Shirazi, editor-in-chief of the now-defunct reformist daily Kalameh Sabz, was taken from his home and brought to an
          unknown location, according to international news reports (http:Ilwww.cnn.com/2009IWORLD/meast/12/28/iran.arrests/ )
          Shirazi had been arrested (hftp://cpj.org/2009/06/iran-releases-some-journalists-vilifies-foreign-pr.php) and released in
          the aftermath of the disputed June presidential election. At the time, he had given interviews to foreign-language news
          media about the post-election turmoil.
          Arvin Sedaghat Kish, Farhang va A hang
          Imprisoned: December 27, 2009
          Kish, a writer for the culture and arts magazine Farhang va Ahang, was the first of three journalists for the monthly
          publication to be arrested, according to CPJ research. Kish, who is also a musician, wrote for other magazines and Web
          sites, including Harmony Talk, according (http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2010/01/100117 _ u01 - Il 7-atashi.shtm I ) to the
          BBC Persian service.
          No formal charges have been disclosed.
          Mostafa Izadi, Etemad e Melli
          Imprisoned: December 28, 2009
          Author and journalist Izadi was arrested at his home by security agents who also searched the property, according
          ( http:llwww.advarnews.bizlhumanriqhtll0l59.aspx) to the reformist news Web site Advar News. He had worked for
          Etemad e Me/li, a now-closed daily newspaper owned by defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi.
          Between 1997 and 2000, Izadi was chief editor of the now-banned reformist newspaper Ava Weekly. Izadi is the author
          of a book about the life of recently deceased Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri.
          Sam Mahmoudi Sarabi, Etemad
          Imprisoned December 29, 2009
          Sarabi, a journalist for the reformist daily Etemad, was arrested and placed in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, where political
          prisoners are held, according to local news (hftp://parlemannews.ir/?n=6690) reports and the BBC
          ( http:llwww.bbc.co.uk/persianliran/2009/1 2/091229 m detainees post ashura.shtml) Persian service. The Human Rights
          Activists News Agency reported (hftp://www.hra-news.orq/news/12688.aspx) that prison authorities advised Sarabi's
          family not to make inquiries about his case.
          Kayvan Mehregan, Etemad
          Imprisoned: December 29, 2009
          Mehregan is the editor of the political section of the reformist daily Etemad. Authorities arrested him at his office,
          according to local news reports. No formal charges have been disclosed against him.
          Badressadat Mofidi, Iranian Journalists Association
          Imprisoned: December 29, 2009
          Mofidi writes articles and conducts interviews with national and international media outlets as secretary of the Iranian
          Journalists Association, according to local news reports. She had discussed the government's press policies in a
          December 22 interview (http:l/www.dw-world.de/dwlarticle/0,,504668200.html) with the Persian service of the German
          9 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 Journalists inJail , Iran sets notorious records - Conmttee to Prote... http://wwwcpJorg/2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-mtoriou
          public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. No formal charges have been disclosed against her.
          Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom of the Press
          Imprisoned: December 29, 2009
          Shamsolvaezin, journalist and spokesman for the Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom of the Press, was
          arrested at his Tehran home, according to (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi /middle east /8433464.stm) the BBC and local news
          reports. Six plainclothes agents entered Shamsolvaezin's home with a blank, or nameless, warrant, according
          ( hftp:llwww.rahesabz.net/story/shams) to the reformist news Web site Rahesabz. Shamsolvaezin demanded that police
          produce a warrant that included his name, but senior officers were summoned and took him away, Rahesabz reported.
          Shamsolvaezin is former editor of the reformist dailies Jame'eli, Tous, Neshati, and Asr-e Azadegan, which were
          successively shut down by Tehran's Press Court between 1998 and 2000. He was sentenced (http: /Icpi.orq 12000 104
          / iran-Ieadinq-editor-jailed.php) in April 2000 to 30 months in prison for insulting Islamic principles in an article that
          criticized capital punishment; he was released after spending 17 months at Evin Prison.
          He was a recipient (hftp://cpi.orq/awards/2000/awards00.php) of CPJ's International Press Freedom Award in 2000 for
          courage and independence in reporting the news. Most recently, Shamsolvaezin has been an outspoken advocate for a
          free press in Iran and has appeared frequently on television as a media analyst.
          Abdolreza Tajik, Etemad
          Imprisoned: December 29, 2009
          Tajik, a journalist with the reformist newspaper Etemad, was arrested as he arrived at the newspaper's offices, the
          opposition Web site Jonbesh-e-Rah-e-Sabz reported (http:llwww.free-journalists.com/2009l12/blog-post 3001 . html) .
          Tajik had been jailed for 46 days during the government's post-election crackdown.
          Tajik's family has been prohibited from visiting him during his current detention, according (http:/Iwww.hra-news.orq
          1news 112688.aspx) to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Authorities have also prohibited his attorney from
          reviewing the case or meeting with the prosecutor, according to the agency. No formal charges have been disclosed.
          Omid Montazeri, freelance
          Imprisoned: December 30, 2009
          Montazeri faces charges related to his participation in Ashura Day protests on December 28, 2009, along with his
          published articles and interviews with foreign news outlets, his aunt told the reformist news site Farhanq-e Goft-o Goo
          ( http:llfarhanggoftego.com/index.php?option=com content&view—article&id=787:2010-02-O1-08-05-08&
          catid=35:2009-08-24-18-45-37&Itemid=54#JOSC TOP) . The site said Montazeri has denied all charges. Montazeri is being
          tried along with 15 other people, some of whom face charges as serious as the capital crime of moharebeh, or heresy.
          Defense attorneys have been obstructed in their efforts to confer with Montazeri and review his file, the journalist's sister
          told (http://www.radiofarda.com/content /f35 Montazeri Fahimi/1 944406.html) the U.S. government-funded Radio Farda.
          Government media have published Montazeri's “confessions,” which his sister said appear to be coerced. She said she
          is deeply concerned about the physical and psychological conditions in which her brother is being held.
          Montazeri was arrested a day after his mother, peace activist Mahin Fahimi was taken into custody, according
          ( http://www.rahesabz.net/story/7244/ ) to Jonbesh-e-Rah-e-Sabz Web site. Montazeri's father was executed for his
          political activities in 1988.
          Mahsa Hekmat, Etemad e MeIIi
          Imprisoned: January 1, 2010
          Etemad e Mel/i, the now-banned newspaper owned by defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, was arrested at
          her father's farm in Saveh, outside Tehran, according to the news Web site Norooz. Hekmat's whereabouts and legal
          10 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 Journalists inJail, Iran sets notorious records - Conunittee to Prote , ,, http://wwwcpJorg'2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-notoriou
          status have not been disclosed.
          In April 2009, Hekmat interviewed the prominent opposition journalist Seyed Ebrahim Nabavi, who is now in exile.
          Hekmat's father, Ali, a former reformist newspaper editor, was also arrested at the family farm. CPJ is investigating the
          basis for that arrest. Several other people were also detained that day at the Hekmat farm but have since been
          released.
          Parisa Kakaee, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
          Mehrdad Rahimi, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
          Imprisoned: January 1, 2010
          Kakaee and Rahimi, journalists for the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, were arrested after being summoned by
          the Ministry of Information, the reformist news Web site Kalame reported ) . Several other
          committee journalists have been arrested for their work in exposing alleged human rights violations and government
          malfeasance.
          Rahimi told his family that interrogators said he would be charged with the capital crime, moharebeh, or heresy, Kalame
          said. The charge was formally announced in late January, according to the BBC Persian service.
          Rouzbeh Karimi, Kargozaran
          Imprisoned: January 2, 2010
          A reporter with reformist daily Kargozaran and regular contributor to the reformist news Web sites Advar News,
          Rokhdad, and Feminist School, Karimi was arrested along with his wife, Forough Mirzaee, a human rights lawyer, at
          their Tehran home, according to local news reports (http:/lwww.rahesabz.netlstoryl7O22) .
          His brother, Siamak, told (http:llwww.advarnews.uslorganizationl lO2O7.aspx) Advar News that officials have disclosed
          no formal charges.
          Yadollah Eslami, Jonbesh-e-Rah-e-Sabz
          Imprisoned: January 4, 2010
          Eslami, former editor of the long-banned newspaper Path, wrote most recently for Jonbesh-e-Rah-e-Sabz, a Web site
          that had backed reformist presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
          Eslami's family publicized the arrest on January 27 after losing hope for a timely release. Eslami, who is also a practicing
          ophthalmologist, was arrested at a Tehran medical facility, according to Parleman News ( http:llparlemannews.ir
          l?n=7076) , the official Web site of the minority factions in the Iranian parliament.
          Behrang Tonkaboni, Farhang va A hang
          Kayvan Farzin, Farhang va A hang
          Imprisoned: January 6, 2010
          Tonkaboni, editor-in-chief of the culture and arts monthly Farhang va Ahang, and Farzin, a reporter for the publication,
          were arrested at their office, according (http:llnews.gooya.comlpoliticslarchivesl20l0lOll09865l.php) to local news
          reports.
          Police searched Tonkaboni's home, confiscating his computer and documents belonging to his mother, the prominent
          author Lili Farhadpour, news reports said. Farhadpour was arrested two weeks later. Authorities also seized Farzin's
          computer hard drive, according to the news reports.
          Mostafa Dehghan, freelance
          Imprisoned: January 8, 2010
          Dehghan wrote about social issues for several newspapers and the women's rights Web site Change for Equality,
          11 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        
          
          With 47 Journalists inJail , Iran sets notorious records - Conmttee to Prote... http://wwwcpJorg/2010/02/with-47-Journalists-in-Jail-iran-sets-mtoriou
          according (file:I/I%2 ohttp://www.rahesabz.net/story/7558/%20%20) to Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz. He is being held in Evin
          Prison's Ward 209, where political prisoners are held.
          The Web site Jmin News ( http:I/www.jminews.comlnewslfal?mi=39&ni=6132) said Dehghan called his family in
          mid-January, but the journalist did not know why he had been detained.
          Mehraneh Atashi, freelance
          Imprisoned: January 11, 2010
          Atashi, a freelance photographer, and her husband were arrested at their home, according (http://www.radiofarda.com
          / archive/news/201 00118/143/1 43.html?id=1 932144) to the U.S. government-funded Radio Farda and other news sources.
          Agents seized some of the couple's personal items, including their computer, reports said.
          Atashi, 30, worked with several domestic publications, such as Soroush Javan and Hamshahri Javan according to
          ( Kalame (http://www.kaleme.orq/1388/10/28/klm-8659Web site, and her work has been exhibited in the U.S. and Europe.
          Background on her husband was not immediately available.
          Lili Farhadpour, freelance
          Imprisoned: January 21, 2010
          Farhadpour, a veteran journalist who has written about cultural and social issues for reformist newspapers, was arrested
          by security forces at her home. She is also the mother of Behrang Tonekaboni, editor-in-chief of Fahang va Ahang, who
          was arrested on January 6.
          EDITOR'S NOTE: This alert has been corrected to reflect that Kayvan Mehregan and Badressadat Mofidi are not
          related.
          February 3, 2010 8:41 AM ET I Permalink (http://cpj.org/2010/02/with-47-journalists-in-jail-iran-sets-notorious-re.php )
          12 of 12 03/08 2010 14:06
        

Download Attachments:

Show More

Related Articles

Back to top button