12 Oct 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
Two men, a reporter and a photographer said to be from Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper, have been arrested by Iranian officials. They were detained whilst interviewing the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani in the city of Tabriz. Mrs Ashtiani’s death sentence, which has been suspended, has provoked international outrage. A spokesman for Iran’s judiciary said the pair did not have the correct media accreditation, whilst a spokesman for Bild am Sonntag said it had no knowledge of the arrests. Iranian prosecutor general Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei stated that “two foreigners posing as journalists have been arrested in Iran”. It is thought Mrs Sistiani’s son and lawyer may also have been arrested.
In a separate development, Tehran-based journalist Angeles Espinosa has had her accreditation cancelled and been ordered to leave Iran within two weeks. The El Pais correspondent is thought to have attracted the authorities’ disapproval for conducting an interview with the son of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the late reformist cleric, in July.
05 Oct 10 | Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Statements
A letter to the head of the Iranian judiciary, from Index on Censorship, PEN Canada, Article 19, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
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28 Sep 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
An Iranian news website is reporting that blogger Hossein “Hoder” Derakhshan has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison. Mashregh News says that he was convicted on charges of cooperating with hostile countries, spreading anti-government propaganda, promotion of counter-revolutionary groups and insulting Islam. Derakhshan has been in prison since 2008. The report says that he can appeal against the sentence.
28 Sep 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Iranian authorities have revoked the filming permit of an internationally acclaimed director over his support for dissident filmmakers. Asghar Ferhadi, who won the award for best director at the Berlin festival in 2009, called for change at a recent Iranian awards ceremony. He spoke out in favour of actress Golshifteh Farahani, and directors Jafar Panahi, who spent three months in jail, and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, who supports the opposition Green Movement. Deputy Culture Minister Javad Shamaqdari described Ferhadi’s comments as “inappropriate”. He said that the director was given a week to change his remarks.
