TBD on Ning
Newsweek Steps Up Effort to Free Reporter in Iran
By BRIAN STELTER
Published: August 3, 2009
Newsweek is escalating its pressure on the government of Iran to release Maziar Bahari, a prominent journalist who was detained there during the country’s post-election protests in June.
In advertisements, petitions and in a report on its Web site, the newsmagazine is strenuously objecting to Mr. Bahari’s treatment in the country, where he has yet to receive access to a lawyer. The magazine says it views the arrest as “baseless.”
Mr. Bahari is among more than 40 reporters who remain jailed in Iran, according to nonprofit organizations that campaign for the freedom of reporters around the world. The groups say that Iran has imprisoned the most journalists of any nation in the Middle East.
Mr. Bahari was detained in Tehran on June 21, Newsweek said, as part of a crackdown after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Other journalists for Western news organizations were also detained by the authorities after the election on June 12, but most were released swiftly.
Iran’s state news agencies have reported that Mr. Bahari confessed to involvement in promoting what they called a “color revolution.” Mr. Bahari’s family and colleagues have rejected that confession, saying that it must have come under duress.
“As far as we can tell, Maziar is in jail simply doing his job as a reporter,” said Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
In a statement, the editor of Newsweek, Jon Meacham, said that Mr. Bahari’s “journalistic work in Iran has always been balanced and objective.”
The case grew more urgent on Saturday, when Mr. Bahari and about 100 others were brought before a judge in a mass trial of people who were swept up amid the protests.
Sam Tradeau, the New York representative for Reporters Without Borders, said that Newsweek initially tried to limit public comments about Mr. Bahari’s arrest, “believing this would be the most efficient way to secure his release, especially because the charges against him were completely baseless and ridiculous.”
But “the fact that Bahari was forced to give a false confession, and will now have to stand trial on extremely serious charges without being able to have his lawyer present, a right guaranteed to him by the Iranian Constitution, has put Newsweek in a much more urgent situation,” Mr. Tradeau said.
Newsweek now includes a prominent call to “Free Maziar Bahari” on its home page. The magazine has placed full-page advertisements in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other publications calling for his release. It has also asked readers to sign an online petition.
“We continue to remind the Iranian authorities that Maziar was doing his job legally and openly,” said a Newsweek spokesman, Frank De Maria. The magazine declined to comment further on its efforts.
Mr. Bahari is a well-known freelance writer and documentarian. Newsweek said he had been fully accredited with the Iranian authorities. He has written for the magazine since 1998.
Newsweek editors said they had not heard from Mr. Bahari since his imprisonment. According to the magazine, he has been able to briefly call his mother four times.
“He has not been allowed to speak to his lawyer, nor has he been afforded proper legal representation,” Mr. De Maria said.
While dozens of journalists are reported to be behind bars in Iran, two cases — that of Mr. Bahari and of Majid Saeedi, a freelance photographer for Getty Images — are receiving the most attention.
Another foreign citizen also went on trial on Saturday with Mr. Bahari, who is a citizen of Iran and Canada. Kian Tajbakhsh, an Iranian-American scholar, was reportedly detained on July 9.
Sign the petitions: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/free_maziar_bahari/ Visit the site: http://freemaziarbahari.org/
Published: August 3, 2009
Newsweek is escalating its pressure on the government of Iran to release Maziar Bahari, a prominent journalist who was detained there during the country’s post-election protests in June.
In advertisements, petitions and in a report on its Web site, the newsmagazine is strenuously objecting to Mr. Bahari’s treatment in the country, where he has yet to receive access to a lawyer. The magazine says it views the arrest as “baseless.”
Mr. Bahari is among more than 40 reporters who remain jailed in Iran, according to nonprofit organizations that campaign for the freedom of reporters around the world. The groups say that Iran has imprisoned the most journalists of any nation in the Middle East.
Mr. Bahari was detained in Tehran on June 21, Newsweek said, as part of a crackdown after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Other journalists for Western news organizations were also detained by the authorities after the election on June 12, but most were released swiftly.
Iran’s state news agencies have reported that Mr. Bahari confessed to involvement in promoting what they called a “color revolution.” Mr. Bahari’s family and colleagues have rejected that confession, saying that it must have come under duress.
“As far as we can tell, Maziar is in jail simply doing his job as a reporter,” said Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
In a statement, the editor of Newsweek, Jon Meacham, said that Mr. Bahari’s “journalistic work in Iran has always been balanced and objective.”
The case grew more urgent on Saturday, when Mr. Bahari and about 100 others were brought before a judge in a mass trial of people who were swept up amid the protests.
Sam Tradeau, the New York representative for Reporters Without Borders, said that Newsweek initially tried to limit public comments about Mr. Bahari’s arrest, “believing this would be the most efficient way to secure his release, especially because the charges against him were completely baseless and ridiculous.”
But “the fact that Bahari was forced to give a false confession, and will now have to stand trial on extremely serious charges without being able to have his lawyer present, a right guaranteed to him by the Iranian Constitution, has put Newsweek in a much more urgent situation,” Mr. Tradeau said.
Newsweek now includes a prominent call to “Free Maziar Bahari” on its home page. The magazine has placed full-page advertisements in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other publications calling for his release. It has also asked readers to sign an online petition.
“We continue to remind the Iranian authorities that Maziar was doing his job legally and openly,” said a Newsweek spokesman, Frank De Maria. The magazine declined to comment further on its efforts.
Mr. Bahari is a well-known freelance writer and documentarian. Newsweek said he had been fully accredited with the Iranian authorities. He has written for the magazine since 1998.
Newsweek editors said they had not heard from Mr. Bahari since his imprisonment. According to the magazine, he has been able to briefly call his mother four times.
“He has not been allowed to speak to his lawyer, nor has he been afforded proper legal representation,” Mr. De Maria said.
While dozens of journalists are reported to be behind bars in Iran, two cases — that of Mr. Bahari and of Majid Saeedi, a freelance photographer for Getty Images — are receiving the most attention.
Another foreign citizen also went on trial on Saturday with Mr. Bahari, who is a citizen of Iran and Canada. Kian Tajbakhsh, an Iranian-American scholar, was reportedly detained on July 9.
Sign the petitions: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/free_maziar_bahari/ Visit the site: http://freemaziarbahari.org/
Tags: Maziar Bahari, Newsweek
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