Iran
2011
Iran continues to target critical journalists
New York, August 10, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about a rise in the number of imprisoned journalists in Iran and the continuing deterioration of their health. In recent days, Iranian authorities increased a prominent journalist’s prison term by two years and arrested a critical journalist who had just finished serving a prison…
Iran continues to target journalists
New York, August 3, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by news reports in Iran indicating that furloughed journalists are being summoned back to prison while new journalists continue to be convicted on manufactured charges. Reports of journalists’ deteriorating physical and mental health are equally disturbing. “That the legal rights of accused and imprisoned journalists…
Iran adds a year to award-winning journalist’s prison term
New York, July 26, 2011– Recent news reports that Iranian authorities have added a year to the politicized five-year sentence currently being served by journalist Mohammad Davari is the latest example of vindictive government policies against critical journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
In Iran, Shamsolvaezin ordered to prison
New York, July 20, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed to learn that veteran Iranian journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin has been summoned to serve a 16-month prison term that was unjustly levied in 2010. Shamsolvaezin is a journalist, political analyst, deputy chairman of the now-defunct Iranian Journalists Association, and spokesman for the Committee for the…
Iran abuses detained journalists, arrests others
New York, July 8, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by the Iranian government’s persistent mistreatment of detained journalists as well as news reports that authorities have arrested two additional journalists in recent days. “We are profoundly disturbed by media reports and testimonies indicating that Iran’s prison and judicial authorities continue to engage in abusive…
When rape is inevitable: Surviving imprisonment in Iran
As I read the account of Saeeda Siabi in an Iranian prison it became hard for me to breathe. Her descriptions of being raped in front of her 4-month-old son stopped the air in my chest. “They took me to a torture room and tied me to a bed,” she said. “I was wounded and…
CPJ’s exiled journalists survey: Behind the numbers
In 2007, my colleague Karen Phillips suggested we do something to mark World Refugee Day. Initially planning to publish a brief statement, I set about reviewing our data for background, checking in with older journalist cases about their current situation and looking broadly for trends to highlight. As the number of cases began counting into…
In Iran, journalists remain in government’s crosshairs
New York, June 15, 2011–Iran’s ongoing assault against independent and opposition media has recently gained momentum, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In recent weeks, a journalist died in custody for what his family said was a lack of adequate medical care, the government sentenced another journalist to 20 years in prison, arrested one…
In Iran, more abuse of unjustly imprisoned journalists
New York, June 7, 2011–Iranian authorities continue to punish unjustly imprisoned journalists when they demand basic rights. They also retaliate when these journalists speak out about their mistreatment and the substandard conditions in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.