(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed serious concern in response to a court summons against independent journalist Emadoldin Baghi, known for his staunch defence of free expression. Baghi was ordered to appear before the Tehran Revolutionary Tribunal’s Third Division on 3 March 2004. He is accused of writing an article in the suspended reformist daily “Yas-e […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed serious concern in response to a court summons against independent journalist Emadoldin Baghi, known for his staunch defence of free expression.
Baghi was ordered to appear before the Tehran Revolutionary Tribunal’s Third Division on 3 March 2004. He is accused of writing an article in the suspended reformist daily “Yas-e no” in which he described the 20 February legislative elections as “illegal.”
On 4 December 2003, the Tehran Revolutionary Tribunal’s Sixth Division handed Baghi a one-year prison sentence, suspended for five years, on an unspecified charge. He is at risk of going to prison as a result of the new hearing.
The journalist has been targeted by the regime’s hardliners for several years now. On 23 October 2000, he was jailed for three years for “damaging national security” and spreading “false news”.
Since his release on 6 February 2003, Baghi has actively campaigned for human rights, chiefly through articles in the reformist press exposing violations of free expression. He also founded an organisation for the defence of prisoners of conscience.
RSF also condemns:
– The detention, from 21 to 23 February 2004, of Farshad Gorganpour, financial editor of the daily “Gilan-e emrouz”, accused of signing a letter protesting the holding of legislative elections;
– The suspension, from 19 to 21 February, of the daily “Nassim-e Sabbah”, for carrying an article on the temporary closure of the two major reformist dailies “Sharq” and “Yas-e no”;
– The recent summons against journalist Mohammad Javad Roh, who works for the reformist daily “Sharq”. He is accused in connection with his articles on the political culture of Iran and censorship in particular. He is expected to appear in court on 6 April;
– The harassment of cinema critic Payam Fazlinejad, a journalist with the weekly “Sinema”, by Adareh Amaken (a police department that usually deals with “moral” offences) and by Tehran Prosecutor Said Mortazavi;
– The failure to respect legal procedure in the trial of Iradj Jamshidi, editor-in-chief of the suspended financial daily “Asia”, which opened on 24 February before the Tehran Revolutionary Tribunal’s 26th Division. Even though Jamshidi’s lawyer is allowed to attend the trial, he has had no access to his client’s file. Jamshidi was arrested on 6 July 2003 (see IFEX alerts of 13 January 2004, 8 December, 29 and 1 August, 17 and 15 July 2003).
