Travesty of justice continues, with six journalists among defendants

The fourth hearing in the mass trial of critics of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection was held before a revolutionary tribunal in Tehran today. The defendants include six journalists – Saeed Hajjarian, Saeed Lylaz, Ahmad Zeydabadi, Saeed Shariti, Mohammad Ghochani and Masoud Bastani. “The trial continued to be a travesty at today’s hearing,” Reporters Without Borders said. “All human rights activists in Iran and abroad must react to this sad spectacle of confessions extracted under torture, denial of rights and collective indictments, which are banned under Iranian law.” The press freedom organisation added: “The journalists are on trial simply for doing their job, which was to inform Iranian citizens about the demonstrations taking place at a time when the authorities wanted to suppress all the negative reports and images of a country in crisis.” Although seriously disabled, Hajjarian has been mistreated and tortured during detention and had to be hospitalised. Arrested four days after the disputed 12 June election, he was forced to confess and ask the Supreme Leader and the Iranian people to forgive him. As he is unable to talk because of his physical disabilities, his confession was read out in court by another of the detained journalists, Shariti, who has himself been held since 29 July. Hajjarian’s lawyer, Gholamali Riahai, refused to attend the hearing and resigned, after again being denied access to his client’s prosecution file. None of the journalists’ lawyers have been able to meet their clients or see their charge sheets since the start of trial. The Tehran prosecutor-general instead appointed lawyers with links to the intelligences services to defend them. Conditions in Iran’s prisons are generally appalling. Mehdi Karoubi, one of the pro-reform presidential candidates, claimed in a 29 July article that young detainees have being subjected to particularly bad treatment including rape. Several journalists have said that most detainees in Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison are mistreated and subjected to intense psychological pressure. Zeydabadi, who was arrested on 14 June, told his family: “I was kept in a cell that was like a tomb for 35 days, hearing nothing from outside, seeing no one.” Reporters Without Borders has meanwhile learned that Mahssa Amrabad, a journalist who was arrested on 14 June, was freed yesterday after she paid bail, and that Somayeh Tohidloo, the editor of the blog SMTO (http://smto.ir), was freed on 22 August. Tohidloo was held in Section 209 of Evin prison after being arrested at her home on 14 June.