(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Mohammed Khatami, RSF protested the summoning of several journalists by the Tehran police. “We are concerned by this wave of interrogations, which appear to be a case of police interference in journalists’ private lives,” stated Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. “We ask that you use your influence to […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Mohammed Khatami, RSF protested the summoning of several journalists by the Tehran police. “We are concerned by this wave of interrogations, which appear to be a case of police interference in journalists’ private lives,” stated Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. “We ask that you use your influence to put a stop to these illegal interrogations,” he urged.
According to information obtained by RSF, several journalists and lawyers of journalists who are currently imprisoned have been called in for questioning by Tehran police over the last few weeks. Interviewed by Agence France-Presse, reformist Member of Parliament Ali-Asghar Hadizadeh explained that they were “questioned about their past and their political and religious convictions. They were also treated in an insulting manner.” The interrogations were carried out by a Tehran police section called Adareh Amaken, which usually deals with crimes of a “moral” nature, and is believed to be closely linked to Iranian intelligence. The police have not released an official statement on the matter. Journalists who were questioned include Firouz Gouran, editor of the suspended magazine “Jameh-é-Salem”, “Gozarsh Film” editor-in-chief Noshabeh Amiri, “Gozarsh Film” journalist Hoshang Assadi and Ali Dehbashi, editor of the suspended newspaper “Kilk” and editor of “Bokhara”.
