(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC welcomes the decision by the court of appeal to reduce the sentence against journalist Akbar Ganji to six months’ imprisonment. However, WiPC considers Ganji to be detained in violation of his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC welcomes the decision by the court of appeal to reduce the sentence against journalist Akbar Ganji to six months’ imprisonment. However, WiPC considers Ganji to be detained in violation of his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory, and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
It was reported by the official IRNA news agency on 15 May 2001 that Iran’s leading investigative journalist, Akbar Ganji, had been cleared of three convictions by a Tehran appeals court, reducing his prison sentence from ten years to six months. The court also overturned the further five years of internal exile that Ganji had been ordered to serve in addition to his prison sentence. The convictions against him that have been quashed reportedly include harming national security and keeping classified documents. The court upheld a verdict of “insulting authorities”. Ganji is expected to be freed soon.
Ganji was arrested on 22 April 2000 following his participation in an academic and cultural conference held at the Heinrich Böll Institute in Berlin on 7-9 April entitled “Iran after the elections”. Ganji was sentenced on 13 January 2001 to ten years’ imprisonment plus five years’ internal exile for his attendance at the conference and for a series of articles he had written implicating leading Iranian political figures in the 1998 murders of several dissidents and intellectuals.
WiPC welcomes the decision by the court of appeal to reduce the prison sentence handed down to Ganji, but remains seriously concerned about his detention. WiPC considers Ganji and all other writers charged in connection with their attendance at the Berlin conference to be detained or charged for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory, and is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of those detained, and for all charges against these writers to be dropped.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the authorities:
– welcoming the appeal court’s quashing of three convictions against journalist Ganji, but expressing continued concern that he remains detained
– calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Ganji and all other writers imprisoned or charged in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
Leader of the Islamic Republic
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahrudi
Head of Judiciary
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Please note that there are no fax numbers available for the Iranian authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for Iran in your country to forward your appeals.
Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for Iran in your country and to the source if possible.
