(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ letter to Iranian President Mohammad Khatami expressing deep concern about the ongoing campaign to stifle the independent Iranian press: **Updates IFEX alerts of 15 July, 8 July, 7 July, 24 June, 17 June, 9 June 1999 and others** July 15, 1999 His Excellency Mohammad Khatami President of the […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ letter to Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami
expressing deep concern about the ongoing campaign to stifle the independent
Iranian press:
**Updates IFEX alerts of 15 July, 8 July, 7 July, 24 June, 17 June, 9 June
1999 and others**
July 15, 1999
His Excellency Mohammad Khatami
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Presidency
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 64 66 415
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-governmental organization
of journalists devoted to upholding press freedom worldwide, is writing to
express its deep concern about the ongoing campaign to stifle the
independent Iranian press.
While the Iranian press has become noticeably more free since your
excellency took office in August 1997, opposition newspapers and journalists
have also come under relentless attack from factions within the government.
Since January 1998, twelve newspapers have been closed for printing material
that members of the ruling elite deemed unacceptable, and many journalists
have been arrested and prosecuted for their reporting on a variety of
sensitive political topics.
In these difficult times, we urge your excellency to uphold the application
of international law in Iran, including Article 19 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which grants journalists the right “to seek,
receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless
of frontiers.” The massive student demonstrations that followed the recent
closure of the independent daily newspaper Salam and the passage of new
legislation restricting press freedom prove, in our view, that these ideals
enjoy wide public support inside Iran.
On July 7, 1999, according to reports from the official news agency IRNA and
other published sources, the Majlis gave preliminary approval to a new press
law that compels journalists to reveal their sources and bars opposition
journalists and editors from “any form of press activities.” The new law
also criminalizes the profession of journalism by making reporters
personally liable for what they write.
That same day, an Iranian court ordered Salam to cease publication, after
the intelligence ministry complained that the paper had printed a secret
government report in its July 6 edition detailing an alleged official plot
to restrict journalistic expression in Iran. Even though the intelligence
ministry withdrew its complaint on July 9, Salam remains closed pending a
justice ministry review of the suspension.
CPJ hopes that your excellency will use your good offices to ensure that
Iranian authorities adopt the following recommendations aimed at bringing
Iran’s practices into accordance with international standards for a free
press:
Ensure that Salam be allowed to resume publication immediately.
End judicial and other harassment of Iranian newspapers and journalists.
Ensure that the internationally recognized right of journalists to publish a
diversity of views, including views that are critical of the government or
of state policies, is respected in Iran.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to a
reply at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Recommended Action
Similar appeals can be sent to:
Appeals To
His Excellency Mohammad Khatami
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Presidency
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 64 66 415
E-mail page: http://year2001.president.gov.ir/email007.html
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