Amnesty International Calls on Iran to Release Detained Journalists

Fourteen Iranian Journalists Arrested After Security Forces Storm Newspaper Offices

Amnesty International called on Iran today to immediately release all journalists who are being detained following weekend raids by authorities on newspaper offices across the country.

“This latest example of locking-up Iran's journalists is a result of draconian restrictions on reporting which violate the right to freedom of expression and must be relaxed,” said Ann Harrison, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program. “All journalists who are imprisoned in Iran merely for peacefully doing their job should be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Security forces stormed the offices of several Tehran-based publications over the weekend. Ten journalists were arrested in five simultaneous raids on Sunday, while two were reportedly arrested on Saturday and two more today.

The publications targeted over the weekend are Bahar, Sharq, Arman, Etemad, Aseman Weekly and the Iranian Labor News Agency. The pro-government Tabnak news website has also been suspended.

The names of those arrested on Sunday and Monday are: Akbar Montajebi (Aseman Weekly), Emily Amraei (Bahar newspaper), Motahareh Shafie and Narges Joudaki (Arman newspaper), Pouria Alemi and Pejman Mousavi (Shargh newspaper), Sassan Aghaei, Javad Deliri and Nasrin Takhiri (Etemad newspaper), Saba Azarpeik, Keyvan Mehrgan (Shargh), and Hossein Taghchi.

Milad Fadai Asl, the political editor of Iranian Labor News Agency and Soleyman Mohammadi, a reporter from the reformist Bahar newspaper, were reportedly arrested by security forces on Saturday night and taken to Tehran's Evin prison.