The Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement today in response to Iranian and international press reports that at least four journalists have been released from Iranian prison on bail, including Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, journalist and spokesman for the Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom of the Press. Shamsolvaezin is also the recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award in 2000 for courage and independence in reporting the news.
“CPJ welcomes the release on bail of at least four journalists imprisoned in Iran, including CPJ award winner Mashallah Shamsolvaezin,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem. “Yet we remain alarmed by an escalating crackdown against the press in Iran. The revolving door imprisonment policy employed by Tehran continues to detain more journalists than it is releasing. CPJ calls on Iran to release all journalists imprisoned in Iran.”