Journalist freed after family mortgages property to raise bail

Online journalist Reza Validazeh was freed yesterday after his family managed to raise the required bail of 50,000 euros by mortgaging property. He was arrested in Tehran on 27 November on a charge of “jeopardising national security” after posting an article on his website Baznegar (http://www.baznegar.com/) that criticised President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's security services. Validazeh wrote an apology in the form of an article entitled “Explanation” that was posted on the blog Eistgah (“The Station” - http://eistgah.blogfa.com). He said he was sorry and recognised that he had wanted to criticise the president. Baznegar has been inaccessible since 30 November. --------------------------------- 29.11 - Two cyber-dissidents arrested in past 10 days The arrest of Iranian bloggers who criticise government policies is becoming almost systematic, Reporters Without Borders said today after two more were arrested in the past 10 days. “Bloggers put their freedom at risk every time they criticise President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or one of his close political associates,” the press freedom organisation said. “The battle for freedom in Iran is being fought on the Internet but the government sees free speech as a ‘national security threat.' The use of this charge is ridiculous and just serves as a pretext for silencing critics of the regime.” Reza Valizadeh, 31, was arrested in Tehran on 27 November over an article on the website he edits, Baznegar (http://www.baznegar.com/). Posted 10 days before and headlined “Ahmadinejad's four dogs”, it was about the exaggerated price (60,000 dollars) paid for four guard dogs to protect the president's office. The story, which was one of the first articles on the subject, was later picked up by the British newspaper The Guardian. Validazeh is now being held in the Evin prison on the norther, outskirts of Tehran and the authorities are demanding 50,000 euros (74,000 dollars) for his release. Baznegar has been publishing a daily review of Iranian blogs for the past year. Valizadeh has also been writing a blog called Eistgah (“The Station” - http://eistgah.blogfa.com) since March 2005. Maryam Hosseinkhah was arrested on 18 November for writing about women's issues on the on the website Zanestan (“Women's City - http://herlandmag.net/). She is now being held in Evin prison and the authorities are demanding 95,000 euros (141,000 dollars )for her release.