Tuesday, February 19 th, 2019

USA  Iran   

Latest News

  • Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their Attacks on U.S. Companies
  • Gantz: I Stand With Netanyahu Against Iran
  • Iran is responsible for Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, says Pompeo
  • U.S. Air Force officer helped Iran wage cyber attack on U.S.
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Exclusive
  • IRGC News
    • Economy
    • Politic
    • Selected News
  • Cyber
  • Intelligence Ministry
  • Human Rights
    • Arrests
    • Executions
    • Tortures
  • Politics
  • Nuclear Fille
  • Quds Force
  • IRGC
    • Who is who in IRGC
    • History of IRGC
    • IRGC Military Branches
  • Editorial
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Pinterest
    • Youtube

How Iran Jails Journalists and Human Rights Lawyers

Nov 16, 2014 Arrests, Human Rights, Slider Comments Off on How Iran Jails Journalists and Human Rights Lawyers


How Iran Jails Journalists and Human Rights Lawyers – Among the endangered species in Iran these days are journalists–and the lawyers who defend them.

Only last month two female journalists were arrested for reporting on recent acid-throwing incidents in the city of Isfahan, where women who were supposedly improperly dressed have been disfigured and blinded by being sprayed with acid. Also arrested was the photographer who documented protests against these attacks. These three journalists were soon released, thanks to public outrage over the acid incidents–authorities have yet to arrest anyone–and the arrests themselves. But they were the lucky ones.

How Iran Jails Journalists and Human Rights Lawyers, Iran, Human Rights, Human Rights in Iran,  Journalists, Human Rights Lawyer, Jail, Iran Human Rights, Arrested, Jason Rezaian, Yeganeh Salehi, Abdolfattah Soltani, Mohammad Seifzadeh, Hasan Rouhani, Evin Prison, Middle East, acid attacks,

How Iran Jails Journalists and Human Rights Lawyers

Editors, publishers and reporters often are summoned by Iranian authorities for allegedly violating the main national press law. The pattern is established: Security officials show up unannounced at a journalist’s home or workplace and arrest him or her. They search the premises and confiscate papers, computers, digital files and cellphones. Interrogations follow. If authorities decide to hold the journalist, they feel no compunction to provide a reason, nor to allow contact with immediate family or access to a lawyer.

This was the experience of Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American reporter for the Washington Post, and his journalist wife, Yeganeh Salehi. They were arrested at home in July; both had personal belongings confiscated. The judiciary provided only vague explanations for the arrests. Ms. Salehi was released last month but has remained silent about her interrogation and incarceration experiences, no doubt out of fear of jeopardizing her husband’s case. This, too, is true to form. Those hauled in for questioning are told when they are released that speaking out and any publicity would hurt rather than help them and their loved ones.

Mr. Rezaian has been in prison, incommunicado, for more than 100 days. A bit of information about his case emerged last week from Mohammad Javad Larijani, the secretary-general of the Iran High Council for Human Rights. In an interview with Euronews television channel in Geneva, Mr. Larijani said that prosecutors have charged Mr. Rezaian with “being  involved in activities beyond journalism.” He predicted that the charges would be dropped and Mr. Rezaian released “in less than a month.” On Wednesday, however, a high-ranking judicial official denied that Mr. Rezaian would be released soon. This was not terribly surprising. On paper, Mr. Larijani’s job is to protect human rights in Iran; but effectively he whitewashes the Islamic Republic’s abysmal record on human rights. When I was a political prisoner in Iran in 2007, Mr. Larijani also assured world media of my impending release; then, too, this proved an empty promise.

As of July, 65 news providers were behind bars in Iran, according to Reporters Without Borders, and Iran remains “one of the world’s most repressive countries as regards to freedom of information.” Journalists in Iran must grapple with not only the Ministry of Guidance but also the Ministry of Intelligence, which works hand in hand with the judiciary. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Guards have established their own (intrusive) Internet watchdog organization.

Lawyers brave enough to defend journalists and political dissidents have not fared well either. Abdolfattah Soltani was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2012. Mohammad Seifzadeh is serving a six-year sentence. The human and women’s rights lawyer and activist Nasrin Sotoudeh completed nearly three years in prison last year; she was briefly detained again when she joined the protests against the acid attacks in Isfahan.

Iranian lawyers and journalists display admirable courage in these difficult conditions. Lawyers continue to take cases and journalists continue to report stories and criticize government repression. Along with their informal colleagues on blogs and Facebook, they sign petitions, call for their incarcerated colleagues to be freed, and seek to uphold the principal of press freedom. Despite good intentions, the government of President Hasan Rouhani has been unable to protect them. Journalists and their lawyers pursue this struggle on their own.

Haleh Esfandiari directs the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She was held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison in Tehran for 105 days in 2007. The views expressed here are her own.

 

Source: The Wall Street Journal – How Iran Jails Journalists and Human Rights Lawyers


  • Abdolfattah Soltani, Acid Attacks, arrested, Evin Prison, Hasan Rouhani, How Iran Jails Journalists and Human Rights Lawyers, Human Rights, human rights in Iran, human rights lawyer, Iran, Iran Human Rights, Jail, Jason Rezaian, journalists, Middle East, Mohammad Seifzadeh, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Yeganeh Salehi
  • tweet
Iran, U.S. and the making of Syrian tragedy Iran to have internet smart filtering within months

Related articles
  • Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their Attacks on U.S. Companies
    Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their...

    Feb 18, 2019 Comments Off on Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their Attacks on U.S. Companies

  • Iran is responsible for Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, says Pompeo
    Iran is responsible for Yemen’s...

    Feb 18, 2019 Comments Off on Iran is responsible for Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, says Pompeo

  • Mike Pence claims Iran is planning a ‘new Holocaust’ to destroy Israel
    Mike Pence claims Iran is planning a...

    Feb 16, 2019 Comments Off on Mike Pence claims Iran is planning a ‘new Holocaust’ to destroy Israel

  • IRAN’S ‘TOXIC MONEY’ PREVENTING ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE- BAHRAINI FM
    IRAN’S ‘TOXIC MONEY’...

    Feb 16, 2019 Comments Off on IRAN’S ‘TOXIC MONEY’ PREVENTING ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE- BAHRAINI FM

More in this category
  • Gantz: I Stand With Netanyahu Against Iran
    Gantz: I Stand With Netanyahu Against...

    Feb 18, 2019 Comments Off on Gantz: I Stand With Netanyahu Against Iran

  • U.S. Air Force officer helped Iran wage cyber attack on U.S.
    U.S. Air Force officer helped Iran wage...

    Feb 18, 2019 Comments Off on U.S. Air Force officer helped Iran wage cyber attack on U.S.

  • Iran’s 40 Years of Darkness
    Iran’s 40 Years of Darkness

    Feb 14, 2019 Comments Off on Iran’s 40 Years of Darkness

  • Iran Threatens Tel Aviv; Netanyahu Warns Revolution Celebrations Could be Last
    Iran Threatens Tel Aviv; Netanyahu...

    Feb 12, 2019 Comments Off on Iran Threatens Tel Aviv; Netanyahu Warns Revolution Celebrations Could be Last


  • Politics
  • Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their Attacks on U.S. Companies
    Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their Attacks on U.S. Companies

    Feb 18, 2019 Comments Off on Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their Attacks on U.S. Companies

    Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their Attacks on U.S. Companies Chinese and Iranian Hackers Renew Their Attacks on U.S. Companies Businesses and government agencies in the United States have been targeted in...
    Read More
  • Gantz: I Stand With Netanyahu Against Iran
    Gantz: I Stand With Netanyahu Against Iran

    Feb 18, 2019 Comments Off on Gantz: I Stand With Netanyahu Against Iran

    Gantz: I Stand With Netanyahu Against Iran Gantz: I Stand With Netanyahu Against Iran Benny Gantz, Hosen L’Yisrael chairman and prime ministerial hopeful, said Sunday that he backs Prime Minister Benjamin...
    Read More

Reviews

Corps’ one hundred thousand of triggered missiles in Lebanon:An official Israel-threatening by Corps

Corps’ one hundred thousand of triggered missiles in Lebanon:An...

Jul 14, 2016 Comments Off on Corps’ one hundred thousand of triggered missiles in Lebanon:An official Israel-threatening by Corps

Iran Briefing: Since August 7, 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini declared the last Friday of Ramadhan as “Quds Day”, the Islamic Republic has always tried to hold an imposing ceremony by using state resources as well as requiring people’s involvement. This year’s Quds march had fundamental...
Read More
logo

Iran Briefing

Foundation is a Non-Profit Human Rights Organization registered in the United States. The primary mission of the IranBriefing Foundation is to promote awareness of and respect for fundamental human rights, through monitoring, documenting and reporting of human rights violations.

Top Link

  • Exclusive
  • IRGC
  • Politics
  • Cyber
  • Human Rights

Top Pages

  • Privacy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • About us
  • Resources
  • Site Map






Barcode Maker

Copyright © 2015 Iran Briefing. All Rights Reserved. Click Here for Our Privacy Policy & Copy Right Information Page.