Media rights watchdog blasts Iran arrests

Iran Focus: London, Mar. 14 – A prominent international media rights watchdog on Wednesday called on the Iranian government to release four journalists who were arrested in Iran’s north-western Kurdish region. Iran Focus

London, Mar. 14 – A prominent international media rights watchdog on Wednesday called on the Iranian government to release four journalists who were arrested in Iran’s north-western Kurdish region.

“The situation of journalists in the Kurdish part of Iran has become even worse”, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement.

“With increasing frequency, they are being arrested arbitrarily and held incommunicado without the authorities feeling it necessary to inform their families or provide them with a lawyer. We call for their immediate release as no evidence of any guilt has been produced”, the press freedom organisation said.

Kia Jahani, a contributor to the Kurdish-language television station Kurdistan TV, was arrested on February 24 in Marivan, according to the watchdog. Aso Salah, who works for the weekly Didgagh, was arrested on March 8 by intelligence officials in Sanandaj, the capital of Iran’s Kurdistan Province, while covering an authorised demonstration marking International Women’s Day.

Adnan Hassanpour and Kaveh Javanmard, who were arrested earlier, are still being held without being allowed visits.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to be the Middle East’s biggest prison for journalists, with a total of seven detained”, RSF said.