(CJFE/IFEX) – The following is a 27 September 2000 CJFE statement and open letter to reformist journalists and writers in Iran: CJFE Supports Iran’s Media In September, nearly 200 Canadian journalists and other CJFE supporters signed an open letter which has now been sent to reformist journalists and writers in Iran. It has been translated […]
(CJFE/IFEX) – The following is a 27 September 2000 CJFE statement and open letter to reformist journalists and writers in Iran:
CJFE Supports Iran’s Media
In September, nearly 200 Canadian journalists and other CJFE supporters signed an open letter which has now been sent to reformist journalists and writers in Iran. It has been translated and is being published in the Iranian independent media. The full letter follows and is available online at: http://www.cjfe.org/protestlets/2000/openiran.html, complete with photos of a dozen persecuted writers and journalists.
An open letter from CJFE to the reformist journalists and writers of Iran
On behalf of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), an NGO devoted to promoting a free press and independent journalism worldwide, we the undersigned are writing to offer our support to all the reformist journalists and writers of Iran, who continue to suffer for their belief that free expression is a right to be preserved at all costs.
We have watched as your colleagues have been struck down, as many of you have been jailed and indeed remain jailed, as many of you have gone into exile to save your lives, and as nearly 30 newspapers have been shut down or banned.
Among the recent violations which we protest against are the arrests and persecution of six journalists and academics after they returned from a conference in Germany in April where political and social reform in Iran were discussed. They are journalist Akbar Ganji, lawyer and human rights activist Mehrangiz Kar, publisher Shahla Lahiji, translator Khalil Rostamkhani, journalist and researcher Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari, and editor Ezatollah Sahabi. This year alone, nearly 20 journalists and writers have been jailed, received summonses or charged with various “offenses” merely for expressing themselves freely and peacefully. Some of them have been detained for periods of several months to years in prison. In the past few years, a number of journalists, writers and pro-democracy politicians have been murdered for speaking out.
We watched with anticipation when President Khatami came to power, hoping he would be strong enough to resist the repressive forces in Iran that fight against democracy. We waited for the parliament to support a bill that would ease the restrictions on the independent press, only to see it shot down before it was even tabled in August by an edict of spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The current Press Law in no way stands up to international safeguards for freedom of expression.
In the past, we have issued many protest letters to the Iranian authorities, appealing to them to stop persecuting the independent media and to allow authors, poets, playwrights and singers to express themselves freely. But now we feel the time has come to address ourselves directly to you, to offer our support at a time when it seems that one blow after another is struck against the cause of free expression.
We honour you for your courage, your tenacity and your will to refuse to be silenced. We write to tell you that you have our admiration and our support while you continue to struggle. We commend you for continuing to publish despite threats and assure you that we will do our best to bear pressure on our own government and upon those forces in Iran who threaten you.
We will continue to support you until the right to freedom of expression as defined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is truly accepted as a basic right in Iran. There are those who believe that once free expression finds a solid footing in Iran, it will take hold across the entire region. We hope that this bears true. Until that day, you may count upon our solidarity.
