(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the 28 October 2004 arrest of Iranian journalist Fershteh Ghazi, a correspondent for the daily “Etemad” (“Confidence”) and contributor to several reformist news websites. The organisation expressed alarm over reports that the intelligence services were preparing to accuse her and five other imprisoned journalists of “adultery” in a bid to […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the 28 October 2004 arrest of Iranian journalist Fershteh Ghazi, a correspondent for the daily “Etemad” (“Confidence”) and contributor to several reformist news websites.
The organisation expressed alarm over reports that the intelligence services were preparing to accuse her and five other imprisoned journalists of “adultery” in a bid to hide the political nature of their detention. “Such accusations about private matters only serve to cover up flagrant free speech violations. This is a disgusting judicial farce,” RSF said.
Ghazi was arrested on 28 October by the Tehran morality squad, Edareh Amaken, after responding to a summons to appear before the Ninth Chamber of the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office. Her family was not told why she was arrested or where she was being held.
The five other imprisoned journalists – Javad Gholam Tamayomi, Omid Memarian, Shahram Rafihzadeh, Hanif Mazroi and Rozbeh Mir Ebrahimi – are expected to be accused of having adulterous sexual relations with Ghazi. Some of the detained journalists are believed to have been forced to sign confessions. Such accusations by authorities are common against political prisoners in Iran.
