Journalists in France demonstrate in support of their Iranian colleagues

In response to a call from Reporters Without Borders, journalists demonstrated outside the Iranian embassy in Paris this afternoon in support of their counterparts in Iran, who have been hounded by the authorities ever since the publication of the presidential election results. They also urged the Iranian authorities to give foreign journalists visas to go and cover events in Iran. “There will soon be no more foreign journalists in Iran,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The door will be open to all kinds of abuses as long as these unwanted witnesses are chased away and Iranian journalists continue to be arrested.” The demonstrating journalists brandished their press cards together with placards with the words “Where is my press freedom?” in English. Those taking part in the protest included former TF1 news anchor Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, as well as Thomas Dandois and Pierre Creisson, two French journalists who were jailed for a month in Niger in late 2007 for doing a report on the Tuareg rebels. “The journalists who are in Iran to cover the elections are no longer able to do so freely,” Poivre d'Arvor said. “They are either arrested or expelled. We are not in Iran to challenge the results of the elections but to observe and report. Journalists must be able to work freely.” Six days after the elections results, the authorities continue to crack down on independent Iranian and foreign journalists who want to relay what is being said on the streets and to tell the world what is happening in Tehran and other parts of Iran. The prefect of Ispahan (340 km south of Tehran) today accused journalists of “engineering” the protests. The editors of three daily newspapers – Aftab Yazd, Hayat no and Khabar – today postponed publication of their latest issues after the authorities tried to impose changes in the content of articles. One of the newspapers had wanted to quote the comments of an opposition presidential candidate. The authorities today also warned Iranian news agencies not to provide photos of the demonstrations to foreign news media. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a journalist with an international news agency told Reporters Without Borders: “The pressure has stepped up since the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s decree. The authorities are banning the sending of images to VOA and the BBC in particular.” The regime continues to demonize the foreign media, especially the western media, accusing them of being “the mouthpiece of the rioters.” A foreign ministry press release yesterday referred to them as “enemies” and warned that they would soon be “checkmated.” Twelve journalists have been arrested in the six days since the presidential election results. 14 June: - Somayeh Tohidloo, who also keeps a blog (http://smto.ir) - Ahmad Zeydabadi - Kivan Samimi Behbani - Abdolreza Tajik - Mahssa Amrabad - Behzad Basho, a cartoonist - Khalil Mir Asharafi, a TV producer 15 June: - Mohamad Atryanfar, the publisher of several newspapers including Hamshary, Shargh and Shahrvand Emrouz, who has reportedly been taken to the security wing of Tehran’s Evin prison. - Saeed Hajjarian, the former editor of the newspaper Sobh-e-Emrouz, who was arrested at his Tehran home on the night of 15 June despite being badly handicapped. 16 June: - Mohammad Ali Abtahi, also known as the “Blogging Mullah,” who was arrested at his Tehran home. His blog: http://www.webneveshteha.com/. 17 June: - Saide Lylaz, a business reporter for the newspaper Sarmayeh, who had been very critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s policies. He was arrested at his Tehran home. - Rohollah Shassavar, a journalist based in the city of Mashad. Aldolfatah Soltani, a lawyer who represents many imprisoned journalists and who is a member of the Human Rights Defenders Centre, was also arrested on 16 June on the orders of the Tehran revolutionary court and was reportedly taken to Evin prison’s security wing.