PHOTO: Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, imprisoned since late July, with his wife, journalist Yeganeh Salehi
LATEST: Lead Iranian Nuclear Negotiator — Talks Are “Serious and Transparent”
While headlines about Iran this week will be about its nuclear talks with the 5+1 Powers (see below), the regime is imprisoning more journalists.
Some Western outlets will notice Wednesday’s announcement that Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, has been indicted after 5 1/2 months in detention. The charges have still not been announced, but Rezaian, an Iranian-American national, will be tried by a Revolutionary Court, probably behind closed doors.
Rezaian has been joined in prison in recent weeks by several Iranian colleagues. Ehsan Akbari is the latest detainee, seized on Tuesdayarrested by the Revolutionary Guards.
On January 4, Saeed Pourheydar was arrested, two months after he returned to Iran from exile in the US. Pourheydar wrote for reformist outlets and gave interviews to foreign-based media, including BBC Persian, Voice of America, and Radio Farda.
Pourheydar was arrested twice in 2009 and was given a five-year suspended sentence the following year on charges including “propaganda against the state”, “insulting the President”, and “questioning Islamic principles”.
On December 30, imprisoned Iranian cleric and blogger Arash Honarvar Shojaei was given four more years, 50 lashes, permanent defrocking, and a fine of about $250 on charges of “propaganda against the state”, and “insulting the Supreme Leader”.
Shojaei was already serving five years in Evin Prison on charges of “acting against national security”, “espionage”, and “cooperating with foreign embassies”, and “insulting Imam Khomeini”. He was given the extended sentence for an interview wth the reformist Kalemeh website and criticism of the Special Clerics Court.
Two days earlier, it was revealed that Reihaneh Tabatabei, who works for the reformist Shargh and Bahar newspapers, was given a year in prison and a two-year ban on journalistic and political activity for “propaganda against the state”. Tabatabei’s “crime” was an interview in 2013 of Iranian Sunni leader Molana Abdolhamid, which the court said was an example of her attempt to divide the country along ethnic and religious lines.
Yaghma Fakhshami, a reporter for the daily newspaper Rouzan, was arrested on December 25. His location is unknown, and no charges have been published.
The Tehran Prosecutor’s Office ordered the closure of Rouzan after its special edition on December 20 on the 5th anniversary of the death of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, who was ostracized and under house arrest from 1989.
More than 100 journalists and bloggers were imprisoned after the disputed 2009 Presidential election and mass protests, and more than 30 are still behind bars. Iran is second in the world on a per-capita basis for imprisonment of reporters, with only Turkey imposing more detentions.
President Rouhani has promised a more liberal environment for journalism in Iran, but has been pushed back by hardline criticism of his Government and the threat of “sedition”.
Lead Iranian Nuclear Negotiator: Talks Are “Serious and Transparent”
As Iranian and US officials meet in Geneva on Thursday, Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator has assured, “The atmosphere of the negotiations is completely serious and transparent, and the parties are interested in reaching an agreement.”
Deputy Foreign Abbas Araqchi made the remarks after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry met on Wednesday.
See Iran Daily, Jan 14: Zarif and Kerry Meet Before Resumption of Nuclear Talks
The US and Iran will hold three days of bilateral talks before a full plenary between Tehran and the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, Russia, China, France, and Germany) on Sunday.
“All efforts are underway,” Araqchi said. “It is, however, too early to judge the outcome of the talks. [But] we hope to reach a comprehensive agreement in the end.”
While the Iranian and US delegations open discussions today, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif will meet German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin and the European Union’s foreign policy head Federica Mogherini in Brussels. He will seemFrench counterpart Laurent Fabius in Paris on Friday.
