(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on the Iranian authorities to provide without delay news and guarantees regarding imprisoned journalist Mohsen Sazgara’s state of health. Sazgara, a prominent reformist who was jailed on 15 June 2003, suffers from heart problems and has been severely weakened by a hunger strike. Since 14 August, his family has not […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on the Iranian authorities to provide without delay news and guarantees regarding imprisoned journalist Mohsen Sazgara’s state of health. Sazgara, a prominent reformist who was jailed on 15 June 2003, suffers from heart problems and has been severely weakened by a hunger strike.
Since 14 August, his family has not received any news about his health and has not been able to visit him in prison. On 2 October, Sazgara was transferred from Tehran’s Evin prison to Baghiatollah hospital, where Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi died in July after being beaten in prison (see IFEX alerts of 26 September, 27, 26 and 15 August, 29, 23, 22, 17, 16, 14, 11 and 10 July 2003).
“We demand that Sazgara’s family doctor be allowed to see him,” said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. “His life must not be endangered in any way, neither health-wise, which would suit some people, nor as a result of mistreatment, which is not unusual at Evin prison, as Kazemi’s death has recently shown. We also call on the European Commission to press the authorities to undertake an inspection of the country’s prisons,” he said.
Sazgara is one of the founders of Iran’s reformist press. He was the editor of the daily newspapers “Jameh”, “Neshat” and “Tous”, which have all been suspended, and is the founder of the website www.alliran.net, which was closed after his arrest. An outspoken political commentator, he wrote that “the past five years have shown that the country’s religious rulers are neither reformable nor effective.” He also called the Guide of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “dictatorial.” He was charged with undermining state security, “insulting the Supreme Guide of the Islamic Republic” and creating anti-state propaganda. On 27 September, he was sentenced to one year in prison.
Sazgara is a thorn in the side of the press freedom violators, who fear that once he is released from jail he will reveal details of his detention conditions and practices inside Evin prison.
Several imprisoned journalists are under the supervision of hardline Teheran prosecutor Said Mortazavi and the Guardians of the Revolution. They are held in the same section of the prison where Kazemi was beaten to death. With 17 journalists currently in jail, Iran is the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East.
