NEWSWEEK issues Statement on Maziar Bahari and calls for his immediate release
Maziar Bahari
NEWSWEEK Magazine issued the following statement on July 1:
Maziar Bahari has been detained in Iran since June 21 without access to a
lawyer. An Iranian state news agency reports that Bahari has said he
participated in a Western media effort to promote irresponsible reporting in
Iran. NEWSWEEK strongly disputes that charge, and defends Bahari's work. Maziar
Bahari is a veteran journalist whose long career, both in print and in
documentary filmmaking, has been accurate, even-handed, and widely respected.
NEWSWEEK again calls for his immediate release.
The Harvard Film Archives had this to say
about Bahari's work:
"In a country known for neorealist
fiction films that focus on small events in the lives of individuals, the
work of Iranian director Maziar Bahari is somewhat anomalous. Employing a
traditional documentary style to explore more far-reaching cultural events,
Bahari's films provide a glimpse inside contemporary Iranian culture as they
reveal the human element behind the headlines and capture cultural truths
through the lens of individual experience. Representing a new generation of
young Iranian filmmakers, Bahari's trenchant looks at social issues in his
country have brought both controversy and international acclaim."
Here are a few films directed by Maziar Bahari:
Mohammad and the Matchmaker 1
HIV/AIDS patients in Iran, brought together by Drs. Kamiar and Arash Alaei.
These doctors were recently imprisoned in Iran.
Witness Online Ayatollah
Ayatollah Sanei shares his office and his family meal with film maker Maziar
Bahari, revealing a traditional holy man offering very modern advice Ayatollah
Sanei shares his office and his family meal with film maker Maziar Bahari,
revealing a traditional holy man offering very modern advice.
Tehran Diary: The Midwife
Haleh Khorram studied to be a midwife in France, then returned to Tehran to
practice and be near her family (Video: Maziar Bahari, Mehdi Ganji)
Qum Diary: The Cleric
Seyyed Ebrahim Lajvardi manages the day-to-day operations of some of Irans
holiest (Web) sites (Video: Maziar Bahari, Mehdi Ganji)
