Source:
Committee to Protect Journalists
New York, July 13,
2009--The Iranian authorities have arrested six more journalists--cementing
the country's position as the world's worst jailer of journalists--and
sentenced another on Sunday to eight years in prison, the Committee to
Protect Journalists said today.
A revolutionary court in
Tehran convicted Saeed Matin-Pour
of having "relations with foreigners and propagating against the regime,"
according to local news reports, and sent him immediately to Evin Prison. Matin-Pour
was initially arraested in May 2007 and released on bail after nine months. The
journalist worked for Yar Pag and Mouj Bidari newspapers in
Azaerbaijan province, western Iran, in additing to writing his own blog,
according to local
news reports.
"We condemn the harsh sentence
given to Saeed Matin-Pour on vague accusations and call on the court of appeal
to overturn it," said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator
Mohamed Abdel Dayem. "We call on the Iranian
authorities to halt their campaign against journalists and free those who remain
behind bars."
At least 31 journalists, including those below, have
been imprisoned since
Iran held its June 12 presidential
elections. At least six
other journalists were
in detention
prior to the disputed elections. Of the journalists currently behind bars, 16
work primarily for print publications, four for online publications, two for
television stations, eight are primarily bloggers, and an additional seven are
freelancers or with unknown affiliations.
Among those detained is a
freelance photographer for Getty Images, Majid Saeedi. "We at Getty Images are
working toward his safe and quick release," said the photo agency's co-founder
and CEO, Jonathan Klein, in a statement.
Since President Mahmoud
Ahmedinejad won a disputed election, authorities have arrested thousands of
protesters and dozens of journalists. Most of the detained
journalists
work for the local media, although one of them,
Maziar Bahari, is a reporter Newsweek, according to CPJ research.
Below is a list of
journalists whose detention has been independently verified by CPJ since its
last published count on July 7.
Tohid Begi, photographer
DETAINED: July 9, 2009
The photographer for Mashrota News, affiliated with the defeated
presidential candidate Mahdi Karroubi, was arrested by security agents near
Inqilab Square in
Tehran on July 9, according to news reports.
Kave Muzzafari, blogger
DETAINED: July 9, 2009
Muzzafari,
blogger and women's rights
activist, was arrested near his home in
Tehran. He was a supporter of the
campaign to collect "One
Million Signatures" urging the reform of Iranian laws that discriminate
against women. His mother-in-law, who was with him at the
time of his arrest, told the Tehran-based
Sign for Change
Web site that plainclothes police officers arrested Muzaffari while they were on
thier way home from a hospital.
Muhammad-Reza Yazdanpana,
freelance, blogger
DETAINED: July 7, 2009
Yazdanpana, freelance journalist and blogger for
Yazdanpana, was arrested on the
way home on July 7, according to local news reports. He has worked for several
reformists affiliated newspapers such as Sharq, Karguzaran, and
Yas Nu.
Majid Saeedi, freelance
photographer for Getty Images
DETAINED: July 10, 2009
Security agents arrested Saeedi, a well-known photographer with several
reformist newspapers, at his home and took him to an unknown location, according
to Getty Images.
Hangama Shahidi, blogger
DETAINED: June 30, 2009
Shahidi,
a blogger and contributor to reformist newspapers, was arrested on June 30,
according to local news reports. The details of her arrest are unknown.
Sumaia Nusrati,
Tehran Emrouz
DETAINED: June 21, 2009
Nusrati, a journalist with Tehran Emrouz and Hayat No, has
been detained since June 21, according to local news reports. The details of her
arrest remain unknown.
... Payvand News - 07/14/09 ... --
