Iran
2003
Agents accused in journalist’s death
New York, August 25, 2003— An Iranian criminal court investigating the death of Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi in July announced today that two interrogators were responsible for her murder. The official news agency IRNA reported that court officials called Kazemi’s death in custody a “quasi intentional murder” and ordered the two interrogators, who were not…
Security agents detained in connection with journalist’s death
July 28, 2003, New York—Five Iranian security agents have been detained in connection with the death of Canadian-Iranian free-lance journalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in government custody on July 10 after being arrested for taking photographs outside a prison in the capital, Tehran, according to press reports and an Iranian source. Sources cited a state…
Minister’s group releases report on journalist’s death
New York, July 21, 2003—Zahra Kazemi, the Canadian-Iranian photojournalist who died in Iranian government custody two weeks ago, died as a result of a skull fracture, according to an Iranian government inquiry into her death. The official Iranian new agency IRNA reported yesterday that the inquiry, commissioned earlier this month by Iranian president Mohamed Khatami,…
Authorities launch media crackdown and detain at least six journalists
New York, July 17, 2003—A top Iranian official said yesterday that the death of Canadian-Iranian free-lance photojournalist Zahra Kazemi might have be en caused by a fall or another accident, contradicting an announcement the same day by Iranian vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi that Kazemi died from a “brain hemorrhage resulting from beatings” Iranian foreign…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply alarmed by the death of Canadian-Iranian free-lance photographer Zahra Kazemi. Although you have ordered several government ministries to officially investigate her death, we demand that an immediate, independent inquiry be conducted—including an autopsy—and that the results be made public. According to the official Iranian news…
Canadian-Iranian photojournalist hospitalized
New York, July 10, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about Canadian-Iranian free-lance photographer Zahra Kazemi who is currently in serious condition in a hospital in Iran’s capital, Tehran. Kazemi, who has contributed to Recto Verso, a Montreal-based magazine, and the London-based photo agency Camera Press, is in a coma in a…
Journalists who disappeared
CPJ research indicates that the following journalists have disappeared while doing their work. Although some of them are feared dead, no bodies have been found, and they are therefore not classified as “Killed.” If a journalist disappeared after being held in government custody, CPJ classifies him or her as “Imprisoned” as a way to hold…
Attacks on the Press 2002: Middle East and North Africa Analysis
The Arab world continues to lag behind the rest of the globe in civil and political rights, including press freedom. Despotic regimes of varying political shades regularly limit news that they think will undermine their power. Hopes that a new generation of leaders would tolerate criticism in the press have proved illusory, with many reforms…
Attacks on the Press 2002: Israel and the Occupied Territories (Including the Palestinian Authority Territories)
While the press is largely free within Israel proper, the country’s military assault on the Occupied Territories fueled a sharp deterioration in press freedom in the West Bank and Gaza during much of 2002. Despite vocal international protest, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) committed an assortment of press freedom abuses, ranging from banning press access…
Attacks on the Press 2002: North Korea
Shortly after U.S. president George W. Bush arrived in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, in February 2002 for a state visit, the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, reported a miracle: that a cloud in the shape of a Kimjongilia, the flower named after the country’s leader, Kim Jong Il, had appeared over North Korea. “Even…