New York, April 6, 2010—At least 35 journalists were imprisoned in Iran as of April 1 as authorities continued their nearly year-long crackdown on the news media, according to CPJ’s latest monthly census. Another 18 journalists were free on short-term furloughs granted for the Iranian New Year and were expected to report back to prison.
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Many of the incarcerated journalists are under immense physical and psychological pressure to “confess” to crimes they have not committed, including crimes that could carry the death sentence, CPJ research shows. Many have also been denied family visits and access to legal counsel. Others have been held without charge for periods far exceeding legal limits.
“Not only is the scope of journalist detentions in Iran regrettable, so too is the appalling treatment these journalists have been subjected to,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “People all over the world hold the Iranian government responsible for any harm that might befall these journalists while in custody for simply doing their jobs. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and hope that those furloughed will not be returned to jail.”
In light of the Iranian government’s crackdown, CPJ is conducting monthly surveys of journalists imprisoned in Iran. (CPJ normally conducts a worldwide survey of jailed journalists each December.) CPJ’s March census recorded 52 journalists in Iranian prisons; in February, the census found 47 behind bars. The surveys, conducted on the first of each month, are snapshots of those incarcerated on that date.
Iran remains the world’s worst jailer of journalists, CPJ research shows. 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.
Below are capsule reports on each journalist imprisoned in Iran:
IN CUSTODY
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. According to reports on the Human Rights Activists News Agency Web site, Adnan Hassanpour’s death sentence was overturned in February and he was given a new sentence of 31 years in prison.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 2009, 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.
According to an article in Khodnevis, a cooperative Web site of Iranian journalists, Derakhshan has spent more than nine months of his detention in solitary confinement at Evin Prison. He has not had any visits with his family, and has only recently been allowed to buy items at the prison store. According to this article, Derakhshan’s charges range from espionage for Israel to illegitimate sexual relationships and insulting sacred concepts, charges that carry a death sentence.
On March 18, 2010, in a widely pulished open letter to the head of the Iranian judiciary, Sadegh Larijani, Derakhshan’s mother complained about the judiciary’s silence on her son’s case. In an interview with the U.S.-funded Radio Farda, Derakhshan’s brother, Hamed Derakhshan, also said that Hossein has not been informed of his charges during his 500 days in custody. He said Derakhshan apparently made “confessions” under pressure that he later retracted.
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
Mohammad Pour Abdollah, freelance
Imprisoned: February 13, 2009
On December 9, 2009, branch 15 of Iran’s Revolutionary Courts sentenced Pour Abdollah, a Tehran university student and a blogger, to six years in prison for “illegal congregation, actions against national security, and propagating against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” according to the BBC Persian Web site. According to different news Web sites, he has been tortured and abused physically and psychologically in prison.
Morteza Moradpour, Yazligh
Imprisoned: May 22, 2009
Moradpour, who wrote for Yazligh, a children’s magazine, is serving a three-year prison term on charges of “propagation against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” “mutiny,” and “illegal congregation,” according to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters. An appeals court in Azerbaijan province upheld the sentence, according to the committee’s February 9 report.
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, according to the Parleman News Web site.
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.
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.
According to the Free Iranian Journalists Web site, on February 22, Samimi was transferred from Evin’s general ward to solitary confinement after he objected to unsuitable prison conditions, and a visit with his family was cancelled.
Hamzeh Karami, Jomhoriyat
Imprisoned: June 19, 2009
Karami, editor of the now-defunct reformist news Web site Jomhoriyat was arrested on June 19, 2009, according to the reformist Web site Nedaye Sabz-e Azadi. Jomhoriyat was banned by Iranian authorities on June 12, 2009, according to the Asr-e Iran news Web site. Karami is a close ally of reformist politician Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani. He has been forced to make confessions against himself and others, according to the Reporters and Human Rights Activists of Iran Web site.
Issa Saharkhiz, freelance
Imprisoned: July 3, 2009
Saharkhiz, 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. Saharkhiz’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.
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.
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. Bastani was transferred to the Rajaee Shahr Prison for hardened criminals, along with Ahmad Zaid-Abadi, according to the reformist daily Etemad.
Saeed Matin-Pour, Yar Pag and Mouj 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.
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 to the reformist Web site Asr-e Nou. (The detention center was closed in July 2009 after evidence emerged of pervasive abuse of detainees.)
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.
Seyed Massoud Lavasani, Shargh, Etemad, Etemad-e-Melli
Imprisoned: September 26, 2009
Massoud Lavasani has worked for many Iranian newspapers, including Shargh, Etemad, Etemad-e-Melli, Kargozaran, as well as the Mehr News Agency. He was arrested at home in September 2009.
On December 21, 2009, he was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. He appealed the sentence, but his appeals hearing has not convened yet. The judge has rebuffed requests for bail, according to the Jonbesh-e Rah-e- Sabz Web site.
The site reported that Lavasani went on a hunger strike on March 11 to protest his treatment by prison authorities. His visitation and telephone rights have been suspended. Jonbesh-e Rah-e- Sabz reported that his health is poor, adding that there were reports earlier of a reduction of Lavasani’s visitation privileges from once every two weeks to once every six weeks with the stipulation that he is not allowed to see his child during his visits.
Javad Mahzadeh, freelance
Imprisoned: October 22, 2009
Mahzadeh, a journalist and novelist, was arrested on his way to work on the orders of the Revolutionary Court’s prosecutor’s office, according to local news reports.
Mahzadeh, a political analyst and a literary critic who wrote for the Web sites Iranian 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. Mahzadeh was sentenced to four years in prison on February 3, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency,
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, Etemad, Tose’eh, Mardom Salari, and Etemad e Melli. He was also author of the blog Free Tribune.
Aghaee is being held at Evin Prison, according to news reports. 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.
Aghaee was charged with “actions against national security,” “propagating against the regime,” “disruption of public order,” and “propagating falsehoods,” his attorney told Norooz News. The attorney said requests for bail have been ignored and that Aghaee has been held under “temporary detention orders,” the terms of which have been violated.
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 propagating 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. Kouhyar Goudarzi’s mother told Hammihan News on February 25 that she was allowed to visit for only seven minutes after waiting for hours. Goudarzi told his mother that he is resisting pressure to confess to charges of heresy.
Goudarzi’s mother was informed on March 19 that his temporary detention orders have been extended for two more months, according to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters. According to the same report, Goudarzi is under pressure to reveal passwords to his personal e-mail and to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters’ Web site.
Shiva Nazar Ahari, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
Imprisoned: December 20, 2009
Nazar Ahari was detained with Saeed Haeri while on a bus from Tehran to Qom to attend the funeral of influential cleric Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri. She had been jailed for four months in the immediate aftermath of the disputed June presidential election and was free on bail when she was rearrested in December.
The reformist Web site Kalame said Nazar Ahari was in solitary confinement at Evin Prison’s Ward 209, where political prisoners are held. In a meeting with the journalist’s family members, a prosecutor claimed that the human rights committee was affiliated with an armed opposition group, Kalame reported. She has been charged with illegal congregation, according to the committee’s Web site.
Mohammad Nourizad, freelance
Imprisoned: December 20, 2009
The BBC Persian service reported 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 criticizing the head of Iran’s judiciary.
The government-run Mehr News said Nourizad is charged with “insulting authorities” and “propagating against the regime.” On January 5, security officers raided Nourizad’s home, seizing his computer and documents, according to the pro-opposition news Web site Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz.
Held at Evin Prison, Nourizad has waged a hunger strike, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Jonbesh-e-Rah-e-Sabz reported that 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.
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 Revolutionary Court, according 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 had sought to clamp down on publicity about Montazeri, who had criticized the conduct of the June presidential election. The warrant for Baghi’s arrest said he was being detained to “prevent abuse of Ayatollah Montazeri’s death.”
Baghi’s family has expressed concern about his health. Relatives posted bail for a temporary furlough in March for the Iranian New Year, but authorities did not agree to his release, according to Advar News Web site, which quoted his wife. The report said that after serving 50 days in solitary confinement, Baghi was moved to a cell with two or three other prisoners. He has been allowed to see his children only once, and his access to telephone calls has been irregular.
Baghi has been arrested numerous times in the past. In 2000, he was sentenced 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 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.
Shirazi had been arrested 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.
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 with the Persian service of the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
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 Farhang-e Goft-o Goo. 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.
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, according to Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz. He is in Evin Prison’s Ward 209, where political prisoners are held. The Web site Jmin News said Dehghan called his family in mid-January but said he did not know why he had been detained.
Ali Mohammad Eslampour, Navaye Vaght
Imprisoned: February 2, 2010
Eslampour, a newspaper editor in Kermanshah Province who also writes a blog, was arrested on February 2, according to the reformist news Web site Hammihan. He was summoned to the Revolutionary Courts of Kermanshah on charges of “propagating falsehoods with the goal of creating public anxiety,” and “using abusive language through writing in blogs.” Navaye Vaght was supportive of Mir Hossein Mousavi during his elections campaign.
Zeinab Kazemkhah, Iranian Student News Agency
Imprisoned: February 7, 2010
Kazemkhah, a reporter with the state-owned Iranian Student News Agency, was arrested by Ministry of Information officers at 3 a.m. on February 7 at her home and transferred to an unknown location, according to The Feminist School, a Web site dedicated to Iranian women’s movement issues and news. The officers showed her a warrant for her arrest in which her charge was stated as “participating in congregations,” the Nedaye Sabz-e Azadi Web site reported.
Hamid Mafi, freelance
Imprisoned: February 9, 2010
Mafi was arrested in the city of Qazvin, according to Rooz Online, but his whereabouts and legal status are unknown. Mafi, who is a political writer, wrote for local publications in Qazvin, including Hadis weekly, as well as in national publications such as Shargh newspaper, and reformist papers such as Etemad, Etemad e Melli, and Kargozaran, according to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters. Mafi had previously been the political editor of Farhang-e Ashti newspaper in Tehran.
Ali Malihi, Etemad, Irandokht, Shahrvand-e Emruz, and Mehrnameh
Imprisoned: February 9, 2010
Malihi, a journalist for several publications and a council member of the Iranian Students Association (Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat), was arrested and transferred to an unknown location on February 9, according to a report by the Committee of Human Rights Reporters. The Web site Advar News reported that Malihi is in solitary confinement in Ward 240 of Evin Prison. He was allowed to make one telephone call to his family. No charges have been disclosed.
Hengameh Shahidi, Etemad e Melli
Imprisoned: February 25, 2010
Shahidi faces charges of “propagating against the regime, mutiny, illegal congregation, membership in an organization that has acted against national security, and insulting the president,” according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran’s Web site.
Abolfazl Abedini Nasr, Bahar Ahvaz Weekly
Imprisoned, March 3, 2010
Abedini, who frequently writes about labor rights and labor disputes, was arrested in Ahvaz on March 3, according to local news sources. He was transferred to Tehran on March 6, according to the Reporters and Human Rights Activists News Agency. He has not had any contact with his family during his detention and has been quoted as saying that he will go on an open-ended hunger strike.
Mojtaba Gahestooni, freelance
Imprisoned: March 5, 2010
Gahestooni, the author of a blog about the care and upkeep of historical sites in Ahvaz province, was arrested by security forces at his home, according to the Web site of Reporters and Human Rights Activists News Agency. Considered an authority on the topic, he has been critical of Iran’s management of national heritage sites, the Web site reported. No formal charges have been disclosed.
Sousan Mohammadkhani Ghiasvand, freelance
Imprisoned: March 11, 2010
Ghiasvand, a blogger, is being held at Rajaee Shahr Prison, according to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters. Ghiasvand has written about women’s rights in Kurdistan, her home province, for Kurdish Web sites such as Kurdane. No formal charges have been disclosed.
FURLOUGHED ON APRIL 1 BUT DUE BACK IN PRISON
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.
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, propagating against the regime, disrupting public order, and keeping classified documents,” according to Mowjcamp, a news Web site supportive of the defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
After a two-hour trial in November, he was sentenced to nine 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.
An appeals hearing on March 15 reduced Laylaz’s sentence to six years. Laylaz was furloughed for the Iranian New Year after posting 500 million toomans (US$500,000) bail, according to Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz Web site. Laylaz was due back in prison on April 4.
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, Amouee was sentenced to 34 lashes, along with seven years and four months in prison. Amouee’s wife, journalist Zhila Bani-Yaghoub, told Rooz Online on February 21 that he has been sharing a 115-square-foot (35-square-meter) cell with 40 other prisoners. An appeals court reduced Amouee’s sentence to five years in prison on March 7, according to Rooz Online. He was furloughed for the Iranian New Year after posting bail of 500 million toomans (US$500,000), according to Kalame. Amouee was due back in prison on April 4.
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 Mir-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. Nourbakhsh was furloughed for the Iranian New Year on unspecified bail, according to the Reporters and Human Rights Activists News Agency. Nourbakhsh was due back in prison on April 4.
Saeed Jalalifar, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
Saeed Kalanaki, 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.
Jalalifar, Kalanaki, and several other members of Committee of Human Rights Reporters have been under pressure in prison to confess to ties with the Mojahedeen-e Khalgh organization, an armed opposition group outside Iran, according to the Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz. Members of the committee have been prevented from seeing their attorneys, a right guaranteed under the Iranian Constitution. Two of the other arrested members of the committee, Kouhyar Goudarzi and Mehrdad Rahimi, have been charged with heresy, or moharebeh—a capital crime.
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 to the committee’s Web site. The two were furloughed for the Iranian New Year after posting bail of 100 million toomans (US$100,000) apiece, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency Web site and the news Web site Kalame.
Saeed Haeri, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
Imprisoned: December 20, 2009
Haeri was detained with colleague Shiva Nazar Ahari while on a bus from Tehran to Qom to attend the funeral of influential cleric Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri. Haeri’s family was unable to visit the journalist until January 24, according to the Amir Kabir Bulletin, an online student news site critical of the Iranian government.
No formal charges have been disclosed against Haeri. He furloughed for the Iranian New Year after posting bail of 100 million toomans (US$100,000), according to Kalame.
Arvin Sedaghat Kish, Farhang va Ahang
Imprisoned: December 27, 2009
Sedaghat 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 to the BBC Persian service. No formal charges have been disclosed. Sedaghat Kish was furloughed for the Iranian New Year on unspecified bail, according to the news Web site Mizan Khabar.
Morteza Kazemian, Jonbesh-e Rah-Sabz
Imprisoned: December 29, 2009
Kazemian has written regularly for the opposition news Web site Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz since its inception this year, the news Web site reported. Fahimeh Mellati, He was arrested once before, in 2002, in connection with his work for two newspapers that were facing government shutdown at the time.
After serving 60 days in solitary confinement, Kazemian was furloughed for the Iranian New Year on unspecified bail, according to Radio Zamaneh.
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.
Mehregan’s brother told reporters on February 27 that Kayvan was granted a bail order for 100 million toomans (US$100,000) and that the family is trying to raise the large sum for his release, according to the Mizan News Web site. His charges were announced as membership in the self-described “national religious” opposition Nehzat-e Azadi Party, but conservative newspapers and Web sites later accused him of being affiliated with separatist organizations, according to the same Mizan News report. Mehregan was furloughed for the Iranian New Year after posting bail of $100,000, according to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters.
Mehrdad Rahimi, Committee of Human Rights Reporters
Imprisoned: January 1, 2010
Mehrdad Rahimi and Parisa Kakaee, 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. Kakaee was released in late February.
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. In a February 21, article, the Committee of Human Rights Reporters reported that in a meeting with his family, Rahimi told them he has been under pressure to make a televised confession, but he has maintained that he is innocent and has called his arrest illegal. Rahimi was was furloughed for the Iranian New Year on bail of 100 million toomans (US$100,000), according to Kalame.
Mehraneh Atashi, freelance
Imprisoned: January 11, 2010
Atashi, a freelance photographer, and her husband were arrested at their home, according to the U.S. government-funded Radio Farda and other news sources. Agents seized some of the couple’s personal items, including their computer, news reports said.
Atashi, 30, has worked for several domestic publications, such as Soroush Javan and Hamshahri Javan, according to Kalame Web site, and her work has been exhibited in the United States and Europe. Information on her husband or either of their charges was not immediately available. Atashi was furloughed for the Iranian New Year on unspecified bail, according to the Feminist School Web site.
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. Behrang Tonekaboni was released on February 28.
No formal charges have been disclosed against Farhadpour. She was furloughed for the Iranian New Year after posting bail of $90,000, according to Jonbesh-e Rah-e Sabz Web site.
Nooshin Jafari, Etemad
Imprisoned: February 3, 2010
One of the youngest imprisoned journalists at 22, Jafari is a reporter with Etemad’s arts and culture section. According to the Web site of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, she was arrested shortly after midnight at her home. Security officers searched the premises and confiscated personal items including her computer.
Jafari is a founding member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, although she has not been involved with the organization’s Web site since she started writing for Etemad. No formal charges have been disclosed. Jafari was furloughed for the Iranian New Year under a custodial arrangement, according to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters.
Naeemeh Doostdar, Jam-e-Jam
Imprisoned: February 6, 2010
Doostdar is a journalist, writer, and poet who wrote for the arts and culture section of the conservative pro-government daily Jam-e-Jam. Prior to working for Jam-e-Jam, she worked with Farhang (Culture) Radio and for magazines in the Hamshahri publishing group, which is owned by the city of Tehran. Doostdar was transferred to Evin Prison after her arrest, according to Rooz Online.
The Web site of Reporters and Human Rights Activists, an organization that covers human rights abuses inside Iran, reported that no formal charges against Doostdar have been disclosed. Doostdar was furloughed for the Iranian New Year on unspecified bail.
Akbar Montajebi, Etemad
Imprisoned: February 7, 2010
Montajebi is an experienced journalist working most recently for the opposition daily Etemad. He has also written for numerous reformist and opposition publications, including Sobh-e Emruz and Shargh.
Montajebi was arrested at 2 a.m. at his home, according to the reformist Web site Nedaye Sabz Azadi. In an interview with Rooz Online, his wife expressed concern about Montajebi’s prolonged detention. The journalist’s wife has multiple sclerosis, and she said her condition has worsened since her husband’s arrest. Montajebi was furloughed for the Iranian New Year on unspecified bail.
Somayeh Momeni, Nasim-e Bidari
Imprisoned: February 7, 2010
Momeni, a journalist with Nasim-e Bidari magazine and a women’s rights activist was arrested by security officers at 3 a.m. at her home, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Momeni had previously worked as a reporter for the ISNA News Agency, reported Nedaye Sabz e Azadi, a pro-opposition news Web site. No formal charges have been disclosed. Momeni was furloughed for the Iranian New Year on unspecified bail.
Ehsan Mehrabi, reporter, Farhikhtegan
Imprisoned: February 7, 2010
Mehrabi, a parliamentary affairs reporter for the reformist newspaper Farhikhtegan newspaper, was arrested at his home on February 7, according to the Nedaye Sabz-e Azadi Web site. No formal charges have been disclosed. Mehrabi was furloughed for the Iranian New Year on unspecified bail.
Vahid Pourostad, freelance
Imprisoned: February 9, 2010
Pourostad, a well-known Iranian journalist who has published several books, was arrested at home on a warrant issued by the Tehran prosecutor’s office, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. His home was later searched and his laptop computer and handwritten notes were confiscated. Arresting officers did not give his family reasons for his arrest. According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Poorostad called his home at the end of February and said he is in Ward 240 of Evin Prison.
Pourostad served on the editorial boards of Mosharekat, Yas-e No, and Vaghaye Ettefaghieh newspapers and wrote for reformist newspapers Etemad e Melli, Mosharekat, Salam, and Farhikhtegan, according to another news item by the human rights group.
Pourostad is the author and producer of a book series related to legal documents pertaining to the Iranian press. He was furloughed for the Iranian New Year under a custodial arrangement, according to the BBC.