Several journalists summoning by the police

In a letter addressed to the President of the Republic, Mohammed Khatami, Reporters Sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders - RSF) protested against the summoning of several journalists by the Tehran police. "We are worried about this wave of interrogations, which appear to be a case of the police interfering in journalists' private lives", stated Robert Ménard, Secretary-General of the organization. "We are asking you to use your influence to put a stop to these illegal interrogations", he added. According to information obtained by RSF, several journalists and lawyers for journalists currently in prison have been summonsed by the Tehran police over the last few weeks. According to reformist member of parliament Ali-Asghar Hadizadeh, interviewed by AFP, they were "questioned about the past, their political and religious convictions, and they were even treated in an insulting manner". These interrogations were carried out by a section of the Tehran police called Adareh Amaken, which usually deals with crimes of a "moral" nature, and is considered to be closely linked to Iranian intelligence. The police has made no official statement on the matter. The journalists questioned include: Firouz Gouran, director of the suspended magazine Jameh-é-Salem, Noshabeh Amiri, editor in chief of Gozarsh Film, Hoshang Assadi, journalist for Gozarsh Film, and Ali Dehbashi, director of the suspended newspaper Kilk and director of Bokhara.