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Iran: Kurdish Human Rights activist and
journalists arrested
3.7.2007
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July 3, 2007
Reporters Without Borders has learned of the arrests
of three more Iranian journalists, one of them two
days ago. They bring the number of journalists
detained in Iran to six.
“The Iranian regime is one of the most repressive in
the world towards the media,” the press freedom
organisation said.
“Independent journalists are closely watched and
constantly harassed. Arrests are frequent, and
months can go by before the place of detention and
charges are discovered. With six journalists
detained, Iran continues to be the Middle East’s
biggest prison for the press.”
Mohammad Sadegh Kabovand, secretary of a human
rights organization in Iranian Kurdistan and editor
of Payam-e mardom-e Kurdestan (a weekly that was
closed down in 2004) was arrested on 1 July by
intelligence ministry agents, who searched his home
and seized personal files, his computer hard disk
and CD-ROMs. He was immediately taken to Evin
prison. No reason for the arrest was given.
Kabovand was sentenced on 18 August 2005 to 18
months in prison and a five-year ban on working as a
journalist for “upsetting public opinion and
spreading separatist ideas.” The sentence was
reduced on appeal to a year in prison, which he
never served. He founded a Kurdistan human rights
organisation last year along with other journalists.
Access to its website (www.insaniyet.com) has been
blocked several times.
Said Matinpour of Yarpagh (an Azeri-language weekly
based in Tehran) has been detained since 28 May,
when he and his wife were arrested at their home in
the northwestern city of Zanjan. He was transferred
to Tehran two days later and is now being held in
security section 209 in Evin prison. He has not been
charged and neither his relatives nor his lawyer
have been able to see him.
Mohammad Hassan Fallahieh, a journalist with the
Arabic-language service of the public radio and TV
broadcaster Al-Alam, has been detained since last
November. He was tried by a revolutionary tribunal
on 29 April on a charge of spying and was sentenced
to three years in prison. He is also now being held
in Evin prison’s security section 209. His lawyers
says he has many health problems and needs a
thorough medical examination.
The three journalists whose imprisonment was already
known are Adnan Hassanpour of the weekly Asou, Kaveh
Javanmard of the weekly Karfto and Ali Farahbakhsh,
a contributor to several business newspapers
including Sarmayeh.
Hassanpour was arrested on 25 January and is being
held in Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province.
Javanmard was arrested on 18 December and his also
being held in Sanandaj. Farahbakhsh was arrested on
27 November 2006 and is being held in Evin prison’s
security section 209. Reporters Without Borders has
already voiced deep concern about the state of
health of Farahbakhsh, who has requested release for
hospitalisation.
Said Mohamadi, who is the editor in chief of Al-Alam
as well as being a writer and poet better known as
Moghanlou, was arrested by intelligence officers at
Tehran airport on 22 June on his return from a trip
to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. He was freed two
days later on bail of 100 million toumen (80,000
euros) pending trial on charges which the
authorities have refused to reveal.
His passport has been taken and he is banned from
leaving the country.
The High Council for National Security has meanwhile
written to the Iranian news media banning them from
publishing articles about disturbances resulting
from the petrol rationing that was introduced on 27
June. Reports about these development are
nonetheless being posted on blogs and websites.
Several reporters and photographers who went to the
scenes of the disturbances were attacked by members
of security forces or by rioters.
rsf org | Rooz
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