Two jailed Iranian journalists were released today after over a month in prison. Farzaneh Roustayi, editor of international service of Shargh newspaper was released on a $10,000 bail, and Reyhaneh Tabatabayi, Shargh newspaper reporter, was released after 36 days in custody.
Reyhaneh Tabatabayi - Farzaneh Roustayi
In November, the owner and three editors of Shargh were
suddenly arrested. Later a reporter and a cartoonist involved with this paper
were also arrested.
To date, all these detainees were released except for Keyvan Mehregan, the
editor of the political sections of the paper.
Tehran prosecutor announced in December that the arrests connected with Shargh
newspaper were due to "security charges."
Shargh is a reformist newspaper which has been shut down three times in the past
seven years.
It was shut down in 2007 for "publishing material considered against public
decency", in 2006, for depicting a donkey with a halo around its head in a
cartoon, and in 2003, for publishing an article about Sattar Khan, an Iranian
historical figure which the supervisory board felt was insulted in the material.
The restrictions against newspapers and journalists have intensified after the
election protests of 2009 and several Iranian journalists are currently in
prison while many more have fled the country.
... Payvand News - 01/18/11 ... --