(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on women’s media and women’s rights groups around the world to rally to the defence of two female journalists who have been arrested in the past week in connection with their work for pro-reform websites. Mahboudeh Abbasgholizadeh, editor-in-chief of “Ferzaneh”, a magazine about women’s issues, was detained on 1 November […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on women’s media and women’s rights groups around the world to rally to the defence of two female journalists who have been arrested in the past week in connection with their work for pro-reform websites.
Mahboudeh Abbasgholizadeh, editor-in-chief of “Ferzaneh”, a magazine about women’s issues, was detained on 1 November 2004 upon her return from London, where she had taken part in the European Social Forum. Police searched her Tehran home, confiscating her computer hard drive and other items.
On 28 October, Fershteh Ghazi, who writes about women’s issues and works for the daily “Etemad” (“Confidence”), was arrested by the Tehran morality squad, Edareh Amaken. She was reportedly accused of “immoral behaviour”, a charge that is often brought against political prisoners in Iran.
In 2001, Ghazi wrote a letter to the Iranian authorities calling for the release of Afsaneh Noroozi, a young woman who had been sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer. Her letter also criticised women’s rights violations in Iran.
