(RSF/IFEX) – On 29 April 2003, RSF strongly deplored the Iranian authorities’ latest attacks on journalists, including the sentencing of one journalist to four years’ imprisonment and 253 lashes, the prosecution of two others who are already in jail, and the suspected false confessions of a fourth journalist. “These new moves by the regime’s hardliners […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 29 April 2003, RSF strongly deplored the Iranian authorities’ latest attacks on journalists, including the sentencing of one journalist to four years’ imprisonment and 253 lashes, the prosecution of two others who are already in jail, and the suspected false confessions of a fourth journalist.
“These new moves by the regime’s hardliners cannot be tolerated,” said the organisation’s secretary-general, Robert Ménard. “The reformers are clearly unable to defend journalists. The situation is disgraceful.”
On 19 April, Alireza Jabari, a translator and freelance contributor to several independent newspapers, including “Adineh”, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, 253 lashes and a fine of six million rials (approx. US$1,115; 1,000 euros) for “consuming and distributing alcoholic drinks” and “adultery and incitement to immoral acts”. Such charges are routinely brought against secular citizens in Iran. In fact, Jabari is being punished because of his membership in the Iranian Writers’ Association and for sending material to foreign-based news websites, including articles defending a jailed lawyer, Nasser Zarafshan.
Jabari’s lawyer said the journalist was arrested illegally and that he himself had not been allowed to attend the trial. Jabari was arrested at his Tehran office on 28 December 2002. He was released on 6 February, but rearrested on 17 March.
An interview with Jabari was published on 25 December in a Persian-language Canadian newspaper, “Charvand”, in which he said the country’s hardline spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Guide of the Islamic Revolution, wanted the crisis in Iran to get worse. His latest arrest came soon after he told the press about his conditions of detention and the pressure exerted on him to make confessions.
Journalists Hossein Ghazian (arrested in October) and Abbas Abdi (arrested in November) are being tried in secret, and in the absence of their lawyers, for “possessing secret Intelligence Ministry documents”. In early April, they were each sentenced on appeal to four years and six months in prison. They received four years for “passing information to enemy countries” and six months for “making propaganda against the Islamic regime.”
Ghazian is a director of the Ayandeh public opinion firm and a journalist for the daily newspaper “Nowrooz”. Abdi is also an Ayandeh director and is also former editor of the daily “Salam”. He has also worked for many other reformist papers. Both were accused of “receiving money from the United States polling firm Gallup or from a foreign embassy”. Ghazian and Abdi were arrested after the official news agency IRNA published an Ayandeh poll on 22 September indicating that 74.4 per cent of Iranians favoured a resumption of ties with the United States.
Sina Motallebi, editor of the news website http://www.rooznegar.com and formerly a staff member of the banned reformist daily “Hayat-é-No”, has been in preventive detention since 20 April. His lawyer was prevented from attending the first hearing of his trial on 26 April. Judge Saberi Zafargandi said it was “pointless at this stage of the case.” Motallebi agreed with the judge, leading his family to fear that he has been subjected to psychological pressure in jail. The judge has tried several other journalists, including Siamak Pourzand, Kambiz Kaheh and Said Mostaghasi, all of whom made alleged confessions.
After “Hayat-é-No” was shut down in January, Motallebi revived the http://www.rooznegar.com website, on which he defended one of the paper’s journalists, Alireza Eshragi, who was arrested on 11 January (see IFEX alerts of 13 and 4 March, 19 February, 24, 15 and 13 January 2003), and other imprisoned journalists. This angered the country’s hardline judiciary but also certain reformers, whom he criticised for remaining silent about the arrests. He was accused of “undermining national security through a cultural activity”.
Motallebi was summoned several times over the past four months by legal officials and the Adareh Amaken, a section of the Tehran police customarily tasked with “moral” offences and considered to be close to the intelligence services.