Iason Athanasiadis Freed - The PressTV Version

Iran releases Washington Times reporter
Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:22:04 GMT
Iran says that a Greek Washington Times journalist detained following post-election unrest in the country has been released.

“Because of the humanitarian efforts made by Iran's envoy to Greece and Iran's envoy to the United Nations, the Greek journalist was released today,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told state television on Sunday.

The official said the photojournalist, Iason Athanasiadis, who was covering the events in Iran following the June 12 vote, had been arrested over “unethical and unprofessional behavior and his role in fuelling the recent unrest,” IRIB news agency reported.

Qashqavi stressed, however, that formal charges against Athanasiadis were over his illegal entrance into the country, after being barred from crossing into the country in an earlier row with the authorities.

He did not elaborate on the subject but added that he had used his British passport on the other occasion.

Iranian authorities had earlier said Athanasiadis had been detained for exceeding the duration of his visa to stay in Iran.

The landslide victory of re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been challenged by his rivals, who reject the results as fraudulent.

Unrest broke out when hundreds of thousands of their supporters took to streets to demand a recount. The rallies have lost momentum since last Sunday but the president's chief rival, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has since questioned the “political legitimacy” of the Ahmadinejad administration.

ZHD/MD

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=99859&sectionid=351020101

Salon: The Iason Athanasiadis Story

Iran: "The guest is God's friend"

The detention of journalist Iason Athanasiadis is a legal abomination -- and a breach of Iranian hospitality

By Sandy Tolan

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Photos by Iason Athanasiadis

View a slide show of Iran photos by Iason Athanasiadis.

July 2, 2009 | Journalism's deepest, most honest contributions inevitably spring from on-the-ground reporting, unencumbered by policy agendas in Washington, London or other foreign capitals. That's what epitomizes the work of my friend and colleague Iason Athanasiadis, and it's why his detention by Iranian authorities, on June 17 when trying to board a flight out of Iran, is so troubling.... (more)

Corrected AFP dispatch about Maziar Bahari

Iran mulls trials as it steps up post-election crackdown
ATTENTION - AMENDS scheduled slug ///
TEHRAN, July 4, 2009 (AFP) - Iran is considering pressing charges against a British embassy staffer, a Newsweek journalist and several reformist leaders, lawyers said on Saturday, as the regime intensifies its crackdown on protests over last month's presidential election.
The accused include key figures from reformist 1997-2005 presidency of Mohammad Khatami who oversaw a thaw in relations with the West. They are all held suspected of "acting against national security," the lawyers said.
Any prosecutions would spark a new downturn in Tehran's relations with the West. On Friday, European Union governments already called in Iranian envoys across the 27-nation bloc in protest at the detention of British embassy staff.
Lawyer Abolsamad Khorramshahi said he was seeking permission to see detained embassy political analyst Hossein Rassam after being told by his family of the accusations against him.
"I have not met with him yet, but I will ask the judiciary for an appointment," Khorramshahi told AFP. "I was told by a close relative that he is accused of acting against national security."
On Friday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "urgently seeking clarification" from Iran after a senior official said that some locally recruited staff of the British embassy would stand trial.
A total of nine local staff at London's embassy in Tehran were initially arrested late last month, but the British government said seven have since been released.
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the head of the Guardians Council -- the powerful watchdog body that upheld hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's reelection in the disputed June 12 vote -- charged on Friday that embassy staff had instigated the post-election protests and that some would face prosecution.
A second lawyer acting for Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari and a number of reformist leaders said he too had so far been unable to see his clients.
"Bahari is accused of acting against national security, and I still have not been able to meet him despite going to the prosecutor's office several times," Saleh Nikbakht told AFP.
Nikbakht said he is also representing former deputy foreign minister Mohsen Amizadeh, ex-government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, former deputy economy minister Mohsen Safai-Farahani and former vice-president Mohammad Ali Abtahi, all of whom served under Khatami.
Behzad Nabavi, former deputy speaker of parliament between 2000 and 2004 when it was reformist-controlled, is another of his clients.
"I was not able to see any of them, and Safai-Farahani and Nabavi have not been able to contact their families either," Nikbakht said.
"Any kind of interview and confession by these people who are being held in prison is invalid under the law and the Iranian constitution," he added.
Less than a week ago, the Fars news agency reported an "interview" with Bahari, in which he said that he had filed "unreal and biased reports from Iran which were driven by greed."
Newsweek's Middle East editor, Christopher Dickey, said he was unaware of charges being pressed against the journalist.
"Our understanding is that Maziar Bahari may be under suspicion of acting against national security but that no formal legal charges have been levelled againt him," he told AFP.
Scores of journalists and reformist politicians were arrested following Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election, which triggered mass protests and charges of fraud.
On Saturday, a leading hardline daily called for Ahmadinejad's leading challenger, former premier Mir Hossein Mousavi, who decribed the election as a "shameful fraud," to be tried for treason, along with Khatami.
The Kayhan newspaper, whose editor is appointed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused Mousavi of "killing innocent people, inciting riots, hiring thugs to assault people, evident cooperation with foreigners and playing the part of US fifth column."
"Mousavi and Khatami should account for these horrendous crimes and evident treason in an open tribunal," it added.
bur/kir/srm Iran AFP 041125 GMT 07 09

Response to alleged "confession" by Maziar Bahari

NEWSWEEK Magazine issued the following statement on July 1:

Maziar Bahari has been detained in Iran since June 21 without access to a lawyer. An Iranian state news agency reports that Bahari has said he participated in a Western media effort to promote irresponsible reporting in Iran. NEWSWEEK strongly disputes that charge, and defends Bahari's work. Maziar Bahari is a veteran journalist whose long career, both in print and in documentary filmmaking, has been accurate, even-handed, and widely respected. NEWSWEEK again calls for his immediate release.

----

A version reported on CNN International (and, no, I am not the managing editor of Newsweek, I am the Paris Bureau Chief and Middle East Regional Editor):


The CNN written report:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/01/iran.newsweek/index.html

From the Committee to Protect Journalists:

Iran releases some journalists, vilifies foreign press

New York, June 30, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Iranian authorities to immediately release all jailed journalists and to stop vilifying the foreign press. CPJ also welcomed the release of a number of employees of the reformist newspaper Kalameh Sabz who had been held since June 23.

In recent days, the Iranian government has launched a campaign designed to malign the foreign press, blaming demonstrations that followed the contested June 12 presidential elections on foreign news media, particularly British and U.S. news outlets. On June 19, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed foreign media for social unrest, calling it "evil" for allegedly misleading and agitating the Iranian people. According to Iranian news reports, an official also claimed that the BBC, not government gunmen, had shot Neda Agha Soltan, the demonstrator whose death was caught on camera and broadcast across the world, purportedly to agitate the people of Iran against the government.

Fars News agency today posted an 11-page "confession" by Tehran's Newsweek correspondent Maziar Bahari, who was detained on June 21, in which he is reported to have said, according to a translation on The Washington Post's Web site: "The activities of Western journalists in news gathering and spying and gathering intelligence are undeniable." The document also claims Bahari said: "I, too, as a journalist and a member of this great Western capitalism machine, either blindly or on purpose, participated in projecting doubts and promoting a color revolution."

"The Iranian government invited international media to cover the presidential campaign when they wanted to showcase the elections," said CPJ executive director Joel Simon. "When journalists covered the street protests that erupted in the disputed aftermath, the government turned on the media, essentially blaming journalists for doing their job."... (more)

Orwell and Iran

A Sunday Telegraph video about "George Orwell--A Celebration," in London's West End. It seemed less relevant when I saw it two weeks ago than it does today:

The Ministry of Love-Hate

A new form of totalitarianism is being born in Iran. Why—and what—Big Brother is watching.

By Christopher Dickey in London | Newsweek Web Exclusive

... "Totalitarian" is, in fact, one of those words that's been applied so often to so many governments that it doesn't seem to mean much any more. But back in the middle of the 20th century, when George Orwell wrote the bleak, iconic novel 1984, he had a profound sense of the evil that men did when they sought to control every aspect of a nation's and a people's life. For those who have the chance to see it, there is a dramatization called "George Orwell—A Celebration" playing in London just now. And parts of it, especially the interrogation-indoctrination scene from the closing pages of the novel, bring home this point like nothing else I've seen recently—except the videos out of Iran. Day by day, even as less and less news leaks past the human censors and inhuman digital filters, we can still make out the shadowy outlines of a new totalitarian state aborning. And this is something new.

Perhaps you thought this was always true in Iran, but it wasn't, quite. The reign of terror that followed the revolution 30 years ago had come to seem a fading nightmare. The regime, even under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had become one that could accommodate many views. It was restrictive and sometimes capricious, but it allowed most people to breathe and get on with their lives. When right-wing American pundits anxious to discredit Muslims everywhere talked about "Islamofascism," the Iranian reality tended to give the lie to their arguments, not confirm them. Now, sadly, all that is changing.

"In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph and self-abasement," says the state interrogator in the 1984 Ministry of Love, which is the ministry of hate. The message is beaten into the society until all resistance, even mental resistance, is broken. As the protagonist of Orwell's novel finally surrenders, he lets himself believe that "Freedom is slavery," that "two and two make five," if the state tells him so, and that "God is Power." He learns to love Big Brother.

That was the kind of love, based on lies and fear, that the old totalitarian governments learned to expect from their populations. That is the kind of love the leaders of Iran's government seem to want from their people today. No wonder the Russians, the Chinese and the Cubans are cheering them on.

The full article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/203566

Friend, Colleague Maziar Bahari Arrested in Iran

NEWSWEEK Reporter Arrested

Journalist and filmmaker Maziar Bahari detained in Tehran. NEWSWEEK calls for his immediate release.

Among the dozens of people arrested overnight in Tehran was NEWSWEEK reporter Maziar Bahari, who has covered Iran for the magazine for over a decade. Bahari was home asleep at 7 a.m. when several security officers showed up at his Tehran apartment. According to his mother, who lives with the 41-year-old reporter and documentary filmmaker, the men did not identify themselves. They seized Bahari's laptop and several videotapes. Assuring her that he would be their guest, they then left with Bahari. He has not been heard from since.

In a statement, NEWSWEEK magazine has strongly condemned the detention of Bahari and called for him to be released immediately. Bahari is a dual Canadian-Iranian citizen. According to the statement, "His coverage of Iran, for NEWSWEEK and other outlets, has always been fair and nuanced, and has given full weight to all sides of the issues. He has always worked well with different administrations in Tehran, including the current one."

NEWSWEEK Editor Jon Meacham said, "We are deeply concerned about Mr. Bahari's detention. As a longtime NEWSWEEK reporter he has worked hard to be balanced in his coverage of Iran. We see no reason why he should be held by the authorities. We respectfully ask that they release him as soon as possible."...(more)

From Maziar Bahari in Tehran

Who's Behind Tehran's Violence?

Opposition supporters worry about their movement being hijacked.

Maziar Bahari

Newsweek Web Exclusive

Jun 17, 2009 | Updated: 8:29 p.m. ET Jun 17, 2009

There is no English equivalent for the Farsi words Efraat and Tafrit. They refer to the possibility of extremism on both sides of an issue, and they were much in use during the third day of peaceful marches in Tehran Wednesday.

Despite official warnings against gathering, at least half a million people marched along a street in central Tehran Wednesday afternoon to protest the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a vote that many believe was blatantly rigged. After three days of ignoring the demonstrators, who believe opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was the true victor, state-run Iranian television showed some images of Wednesday's activities. But its reporters chose to talk only to the ordinary citizens on the sidelines, who complained about the Mousavi supporters as a nuisance who were creating traffic in the city and bringing businesses to a halt. The crowd was peaceful and quiet, as they have been in previous days. But a chant against the director of Iranian television, Ezatollah Zarghami, was one of the few slogans heard today. "Shame, Shame, Zarghami!" people intoned.

What incensed people about the television coverage of recent days was its focus on the violence and vandalism that has broken out in sporadic incidents at night, and not the peaceful marches in the afternoons. "It's shameful that the state-run media show all of us as a group of hooligans who break shop windows and burn cars," said Mina, a doctor who has taken part in all of the pro-Mousavi demonstrations since Monday. Mina was a political prisoner before and after the revolution. She fought against both the Shah and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's regime as a member of an armed communist group. She now believes that violence is passé and counterproductive, and that it is only through peaceful means that Iranians can establish their rights. What worried Mina and other marchers was the violence that has broken out at night, which officials have blamed on Mousavi supporters....(more)

I thought you should see this story

Al-Qaida criticizes Obama's upcoming Cairo speech

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7731/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=m9aAH860

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