Key Iranian writers behind bars.
NEWS RELEASE
June 24, 2009
Middle East Research and Information Project
1500 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 119
Washington, DC 20005
www.merip.org
Key Iranian Writers Behind Bars
The Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) vigorously protests the arrest and detention of the filmmaker and journalist Maziar Bahari and the reformist intellectual Saeed Hajjarian by authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Both men have been taken into custody amidst the mass civil disobedience following the transparently stolen Iranian presidential election on June 12, the "result" of which Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has today again refused to review in a serious manner.
Bahari is a veteran reporter who has covered Iran for the BBC and Newsweek. Hajjarian was formerly a top adviser to former President Mohammad Khatami. As he was shot by right-wing vigilantes in 2000 and has been physically disabled since then, MERIP is deeply concerned about his health while in detention.
"Bahari and Hajjarian would be the first to note that their arrests are only two among hundreds, if not more," commented Shiva Balaghi, an editor of Middle East Report, where the work of the two writers has appeared. There are several reliable reports of torture and other maltreatment in Iranian prisons.
"The mass arrests, physical assaults upon peaceful protesters and passersby, regulation of the telecommunications system and presence of security personnel in many public spaces are all out of proportion to past repression. The obvious aim of the regime is to paralyze any and all expressions of views and exchanges of information," continued Arang Keshavarzian, another Middle East Report editor recently returned from a trip to his native country.
MERIP points to articles of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran which prohibit ill treatment of prisoners and the persecution of individuals for their beliefs, protect freedom of speech and the press and permit the free holding of public gatherings. These articles correspond to legal protections enshrined in the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory.
MERIP fears, however, that as with the election "result" itself the present wielders of power within the Islamic Republic have resolved to abandon pretense of respecting the Iranian constitution. This is the conclusion that has been reached by civil society organizations in Iran and several high-ranking clerics, as well as the millions of Iranian citizens who took to the streets after the election "result" was announced.
"Popular outrage in Iran about the election is based on reliable polls and the unprecedented illegal behavior of the Ministry of Interior in reinstalling President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," said Kaveh Ehsani, also an editor of Middle East Report. "That outrage has been deepened by the violence the regime has employed in an attempt to silence its critics."
In view of the intransigence of Khamenei and the hardliners within the Islamic Republic, MERIP is doubly distressed by the extrajudicial detention of Bahari, Hajjarian and their fellow prisoners. The current crackdown appears qualitatively different from those that have gone before. MERIP calls upon all defenders of human rights to press for an immediate halt to the crackdown and the prompt release of all persons unjustly detained.
Bahari's film "Football, Iranian Style" was reviewed by Shiva Balaghi in Middle East Report 229 (Winter 2003). The review is available online at: http://merip.org/mer/mer229/balaghi.html
Hajjarian was interviewed in 2000 about Iran's "reformist moment" by Kaveh Ehsani. The text of the interview is accessible online at: http://www.merip.org/mero/mero031300.html.
For background on Iran, see the spring 2009 issue of Middle East Report, "The Islamic Revolution at 30," accessible online at: http://www.merip.org/mer/mer250/mer250.html.
Expect original MERIP coverage of the Iran crisis in the days and weeks ahead.
.
Middle East Report Online is a free service of the Middle East Research
and Information Project (MERIP).
.
June 24, 2009
Middle East Research and Information Project
1500 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 119
Washington, DC 20005
www.merip.org
Key Iranian Writers Behind Bars
The Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) vigorously protests the arrest and detention of the filmmaker and journalist Maziar Bahari and the reformist intellectual Saeed Hajjarian by authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Both men have been taken into custody amidst the mass civil disobedience following the transparently stolen Iranian presidential election on June 12, the "result" of which Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has today again refused to review in a serious manner.
Bahari is a veteran reporter who has covered Iran for the BBC and Newsweek. Hajjarian was formerly a top adviser to former President Mohammad Khatami. As he was shot by right-wing vigilantes in 2000 and has been physically disabled since then, MERIP is deeply concerned about his health while in detention.
"Bahari and Hajjarian would be the first to note that their arrests are only two among hundreds, if not more," commented Shiva Balaghi, an editor of Middle East Report, where the work of the two writers has appeared. There are several reliable reports of torture and other maltreatment in Iranian prisons.
"The mass arrests, physical assaults upon peaceful protesters and passersby, regulation of the telecommunications system and presence of security personnel in many public spaces are all out of proportion to past repression. The obvious aim of the regime is to paralyze any and all expressions of views and exchanges of information," continued Arang Keshavarzian, another Middle East Report editor recently returned from a trip to his native country.
MERIP points to articles of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran which prohibit ill treatment of prisoners and the persecution of individuals for their beliefs, protect freedom of speech and the press and permit the free holding of public gatherings. These articles correspond to legal protections enshrined in the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory.
MERIP fears, however, that as with the election "result" itself the present wielders of power within the Islamic Republic have resolved to abandon pretense of respecting the Iranian constitution. This is the conclusion that has been reached by civil society organizations in Iran and several high-ranking clerics, as well as the millions of Iranian citizens who took to the streets after the election "result" was announced.
"Popular outrage in Iran about the election is based on reliable polls and the unprecedented illegal behavior of the Ministry of Interior in reinstalling President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," said Kaveh Ehsani, also an editor of Middle East Report. "That outrage has been deepened by the violence the regime has employed in an attempt to silence its critics."
In view of the intransigence of Khamenei and the hardliners within the Islamic Republic, MERIP is doubly distressed by the extrajudicial detention of Bahari, Hajjarian and their fellow prisoners. The current crackdown appears qualitatively different from those that have gone before. MERIP calls upon all defenders of human rights to press for an immediate halt to the crackdown and the prompt release of all persons unjustly detained.
Bahari's film "Football, Iranian Style" was reviewed by Shiva Balaghi in Middle East Report 229 (Winter 2003). The review is available online at: http://merip.org/mer/mer229/balaghi.html
Hajjarian was interviewed in 2000 about Iran's "reformist moment" by Kaveh Ehsani. The text of the interview is accessible online at: http://www.merip.org/mero/mero031300.html.
For background on Iran, see the spring 2009 issue of Middle East Report, "The Islamic Revolution at 30," accessible online at: http://www.merip.org/mer/mer250/mer250.html.
Expect original MERIP coverage of the Iran crisis in the days and weeks ahead.
.
Middle East Report Online is a free service of the Middle East Research
and Information Project (MERIP).
.