(RSF/IFEX) – On 28 January 1998, RSF reported that journalist Morteza Firoozi, the former editor of the English-language daily Iran News, was reportedly sentenced to death for “spying for a foreign country.” Firoozi was arrested in June 1997, but authorities made no information available on his situation or status (see IFEX alerts). The press in […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 28 January 1998, RSF reported that journalist Morteza
Firoozi, the former editor of the English-language daily Iran News, was
reportedly sentenced to death for “spying for a foreign country.” Firoozi
was arrested in June 1997, but authorities made no information available on
his situation or status (see IFEX alerts). The press in Tehran had initially
reported that he was arrested for spying for an eastern country; later the
press cited the United States instead. According to a senior Iranian
judiciary official, the death sentence has yet to be approved. RSF has no
further information as to the date on which the death sentence was
reportedly pronounced.
**New case plus update to IFEX alerts of 14 and 10 November 1997 (Firoozi
case)**
In a separate case, RSF reports that Akbar Gandji, a journalist with the
monthly “Kian”, was arrested in early December 1997. No official information
is available on the arrest, but a petition organized by Iranian
intellectuals to demand the journalist’s release has been initiated.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the Iranian President:
commitments to freedom of expression and human rights, and recognizing that
while he was in his former post as Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance
the press was freer than it had ever been in Iran
the death sentence against Firoozi is annulled and that Gandji is
immediately and unconditionally released
Appeals To
His Excellency Mohammad Khatami
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 674790 (via Foreign Affairs, ask for fax to be
forwarded)or fax care of the Iranian diplomatic representative in your country
(in France)
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran
4, avenue d’Iena
75116 Paris, France
Fax: +33 1 40 70 01 57(in Canada)
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran
245 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2K2 Canada
Fax: +1 613 232 5712
