2009

New York, April 20, 2009–In response to a letter sent on Sunday by Iran’s president urging the public prosecutor to ensure justice for Iranian-American ‎journalist Roxana Saberi, the Committee to Protect Journalists called today for Saberi to be released on bail pending her appeal. An Iranian Revolutionary Court found Saberi guilty of espionage and sentenced…

On December 30, 2008, a spokesman for the Iranian Judiciary confirmed in a press conference in Tehran that Hossein Derakhshan, an 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.

Dear Mr. President: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to protest the rising incidence of press freedom violations, many of which occurred during the recent electoral campaign that resulted in your re-election to a third term.

CPJ’s Robert Mahoney says in an interview with NPR that Roxana Saberi’s trial was not transparent. He urges restrained rhetoric but continued advocacy and diplomacy with Iran. 

New York, April 18, 2009–An Iranian court convicted journalist Roxana Saberi of espionage and sentenced her to eight years in prison today following a closed, one-day trial earlier this week, according to international news reports. Her lawyer said he will appeal. “Roxana Saberi’s trial lacked transparency and we are concerned that she may not have been…

New York, April 14, 2009–Iranian authorities must ensure that journalist Roxana Saberi, who has been charged with espionage, is treated fairly and justly, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Iranian-American freelancer, who was arrested in late January, appeared in court for the first time on Monday. 

New York, April 14, 2009–The Iraqi military should drop a criminal lawsuit it filed Monday against a newspaper and a TV channel for misattributing a quote to its spokesman, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. 

New York, April 8, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news reports that the Iranian government has charged Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi with espionage. 

Your Majesty: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to protest the ‎recent deterioration of press freedom in Bahrain and your government’s ‎ongoing campaign against critical or ‎opposition Web sites and blogs. The crackdown against those sites has resulted ‎in dozens of them ‎being blocked inside the kingdom, according to local and international human rights and ‎press ‎freedom watchdogs. ‎