Return-Path: Received: from imo-r08.mx.aol.com (imo-r08.mx.aol.com [152.163.225.104]) by fastersite.propagation.net (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id AAA24378 for ; Fri, 14 Feb 2003 00:15:46 -0600 From: Iaczine@aol.com Received: from Iaczine@aol.com by imo-r08.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v34.21.) id i.1eb.1dee332 (3972) for ; Fri, 14 Feb 2003 01:11:17 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <1eb.1dee332.2b7de280@aol.com> Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2003 01:11:12 EST Subject: RSF: Emadoldin Baghi freed after two years in prison To: Iaczine@aol.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="part1_1eb.1dee332.2b7de280_boundary" X-Mailer: 7.0 for Windows sub 10641 Status: --part1_1eb.1dee332.2b7de280_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Reporters Without Borders (http://www.rsf.fr/) - 10 Febrauary 2002 (la=20 version fran=E7aise suit) IRAN - Emadoldin Baghi freed after two years in prison Reporters Without Borders today welcomed the release of Emadoldin Baghi, a=20 journalist with the banned daily newspapers Neshat and Fath, who had been in= =20 jail for more two years for alleged subversion. He was freed on 6 February.= =20 The previous day, another journalist, Ali-Reza Jabari, jailed in December,=20 was released. "We are still worried however about new charges Baghi is facing," said=20 Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert M=E9nard. "We also call=20= on=20 the head of the country's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Sharudi, to free=20 Al-Reza Esraghi, who has been held since the beginnng of the year, as well a= s=20 six other journalists."=20 M=E9nard urged the European Union to press the Iranian authorities to free=20 them. The release of Baghi and Jabari coincided with a visit to Teheran by=20 EU external relations commissioner Chris Patten for trade negotiations. When he came out of prison, Baghi was told he would be summoned on 8 March t= o=20 face new charges in connection with articles he had written in the reformist= =20 press accusing top regime officials of involvement in the 1998 murder of fiv= e=20 intellectuals and opposition figures.=20 The killings caused a stir and a book Baghi wrote mentioning them, called=20 "The Tragedy of Democracy in Iran," was withdrawn from sale in July 2000 a=20 few weeks after it was published. The Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran),=20 former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, the government TV station and=20 former secret police officials all filed complaints against him. Baghi was sentenced on 17 July 2000 to seven years in prison for "underminin= g=20 national security" and "putting out false news." On 23 October, this was=20 reduced to three years. He was jailed because he wrote an editorial in the=20 daily paper Neshat in September 1999 calling for Islam to take a modern=20 attitude to the death penalty.=20 Jabari, a translator and freelance contributor to several independent=20 newspapers, including Adineh, was arrested at his office in Teheran on 28=20 December by non-uniformed individuals and the premises searched. His wife=20 was never told where he was being detained.=20 An interview with Jabari was published on 25 December in a Persian-language=20 newspaper in Canada, Charvand, in which he said the country's hardline=20 spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Guide of the Islamic=20 Revolution, wanted the crisis in Iran to get worse. Jabari, a member of the= =20 Iranian Writers' Association, has translated many Iranian works, some of the= m=20 banned, into English. 10 f=E9vrier 2002 IRAN Emadoldin Baghi lib=E9r=E9 apr=E8s plus de deux ans de prison Emadoldin Baghi, collaborateur de plusieurs journaux dont les quotidiens=20 Neshat et Fath, a =E9t=E9 lib=E9r=E9 le 6 f=E9vrier apr=E8s avoir pass=E9 pl= us de deux ans=20 en prison. Un autre journaliste, Ali-Reza Jabari, arr=EAt=E9 fin d=E9cembre,= avait=20 =E9t=E9 rel=E2ch=E9 la veille. Reporters sans fronti=E8res se r=E9jouit de ces lib=E9rations intervenues au= moment=20 de la visite de Chris Patten, commissaire aux Relations ext=E9rieures de la=20 Commission europ=E9enne, =E0 T=E9h=E9ran. Ce dernier poursuivait les n=E9goc= iations en=20 vue de la conclusion d'un accord commercial et de coop=E9ration avec l'Iran.= =20 "Nous demeurons cependant inquiets des nouvelles charges qui p=E8sent sur=20 Emadoldin Baghi", a d=E9clar=E9 Robert M=E9nard, secr=E9taire g=E9n=E9ral de= Reporters=20 sans fronti=E8res. "Nous demandons, par ailleurs, au chef de la justice,=20 l'ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi la lib=E9ration de Alireza Eshraghi, emprisonn= =E9=20 depuis le d=E9but de l'ann=E9e, ainsi que six autres journalistes actuelleme= nt=20 derri=E8re les barreaux". Dans le m=EAme temps, l'organisation demande =E0 l= 'Union=20 europ=E9enne de faire pression sur l'Iran pour obtenir leur lib=E9ration. A sa sortie de prison, Emadoldin Baghi a =E9t=E9 inform=E9 qu'il serait conv= oqu=E9 le=20 8 mars prochain suite =E0 de nouvelles poursuites judiciaires. On lui reproc= he=20 notamment des articles, parus dans la presse r=E9formatrice, dans lesquels i= l=20 avait mis en cause de hauts responsables du r=E9gime dans le meurtre de cinq= =20 intellectuels et opposants, fin 1998. Cette affaire avait alors fait grand=20 bruit dans le pays. L'un de ses ouvrages, "La trag=E9die de la d=E9mocratie=20= en=20 Iran", o=F9 il abordait le m=EAme th=E8me, avait =E9t=E9 retir=E9 de la vent= e en juillet=20 2000 quelques semaines apr=E8s sa parution. Les Gardiens de la R=E9volution=20 (Pasdaran), l'ancien ministre des Renseignements, Ali Fallahian, la=20 t=E9l=E9vision d'Etat et d'anciens agents des services secrets avaient port= =E9=20 plainte contre Emadoldin Baghi. Le journaliste avait =E9t=E9 condamn=E9, le 17 juillet 2000, =E0 sept ans de= prison=20 pour "atteinte =E0 la s=E9curit=E9 nationale" et "propagation de fausses=20 nouvelles". Le 23 octobre, sa peine avait =E9t=E9 ramen=E9e =E0 trois ans. E= madoldin=20 Baghi avait =E9t=E9 condamn=E9 pour avoir d=E9fendu, dans un =E9ditorial du=20= quotidien=20 Neshat de septembre 1999, une vision moderne de l'islam par rapport =E0 la=20 peine de mort. Le 28 d=E9cembre 2002, Ali-Reza Jabari, traducteur et collaborateur de=20 plusieurs journaux ind=E9pendants dont Adineh, avait =E9t=E9 arr=EAt=E9 =E0=20= son bureau=20 par des personnes en civil. Son domicile avait =E9t=E9 perquisitionn=E9. Jus= qu'=E0 sa=20 lib=E9ration, son =E9pouse ne savait pas o=F9 =E9tait d=E9tenu le journalist= e. Le 25=20 d=E9cembre 2002, une interview de Ali-Reza Jabari =E9tait parue dans Charvan= d,=20 publication persophone bas=E9e au Canada, dans laquelle il expliquait notamm= ent=20 que le Guide de la R=E9publique islamique voulait que la crise d=E9g=E9n=E8r= e dans=20 tout le pays. Ali-Reza Jabari, membre de l'Association des =E9crivains=20 iraniens, est l'auteur de nombreuses traductions en anglais d'ouvrages dont=20 certains ont =E9t=E9 interdits. --=20 Virginie Locussol (norddelafrique@rsf.org / northernafrica@rsf.org /=20 iran@rsf.org) Bureau Nord de l'Afrique - Iran / Northern Africa - Iran desk Reporters sans fronti=E8res / Reporters Without Borders 5, rue Geoffroy-Marie 75009 Paris - FRANCE T=E9l. (33) 1 44 83 84 84 Fax. (33) 1 45 23 11 51 --part1_1eb.1dee332.2b7de280_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Reporters Without Borders (http://www.rsf.fr/) - 10 Fe= brauary 2002 (la version fran=E7aise suit)

IRAN - Emadoldin Baghi freed after two years in prison

Reporters Without Borders today welcomed the release of Emadoldin Baghi, a j= ournalist with the banned daily newspapers Neshat and Fath, who had been in=20= jail for more two years for alleged subversion.  He was freed on 6 Febr= uary.  The previous day, another journalist, Ali-Reza Jabari, jailed in= December, was released.

"We are still worried however about new charges Baghi is facing," said Repor= ters Without Borders secretary-general Robert M=E9nard.  "We also call=20= on the head of the country's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Sharudi, to free Al= -Reza Esraghi, who has been held since the beginnng of the year, as well as=20= six other journalists."

M=E9nard urged the European Union to press the Iranian authorities to free t= hem.  The release of Baghi and Jabari coincided with a visit to Teheran= by EU external relations commissioner Chris Patten for trade negotiations.<= BR>
When he came out of prison, Baghi was told he would be summoned on 8 March t= o face new charges in connection with articles he had written in the reformi= st press accusing top regime officials of involvement in the 1998 murder of=20= five intellectuals and opposition figures.

The killings caused a stir and a book Baghi wrote mentioning them, called "T= he Tragedy of Democracy in Iran," was withdrawn from sale in July 2000 a few= weeks after it was published.  The Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran), fo= rmer intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, the government TV station and form= er secret police officials all filed complaints against him.

Baghi was sentenced on 17 July 2000 to seven years in prison for "underminin= g national security" and "putting out false news."  On 23 October, this= was reduced to three years.  He was jailed because he wrote an editori= al in the daily paper Neshat in September 1999 calling for Islam to take a m= odern attitude to the death penalty.

Jabari, a translator and freelance contributor to several independent newspa= pers, including Adineh, was arrested at his office in Teheran on 28 December= by non-uniformed individuals and the premises searched.  His wife was=20= never told where he was being detained.

An interview with Jabari was published on 25 December in a Persian-language=20= newspaper in Canada, Charvand, in which he said the country's hardline spiri= tual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Guide of the Islamic Revolution, wa= nted the crisis in Iran to get worse.  Jabari, a member of the Iranian=20= Writers' Association, has translated many Iranian works, some of them banned= , into English.


10 f=E9vrier 2002


IRAN
Emadoldin Baghi lib=E9r=E9 apr=E8s plus de deux ans de prison

Emadoldin Baghi, collaborateur de plusieurs journaux dont les quotidiens Nes= hat et Fath, a =E9t=E9 lib=E9r=E9 le 6 f=E9vrier apr=E8s avoir pass=E9 plus=20= de deux ans en prison. Un autre journaliste, Ali-Reza Jabari, arr=EAt=E9 fin= d=E9cembre, avait =E9t=E9 rel=E2ch=E9 la veille.

Reporters sans fronti=E8res se r=E9jouit de ces lib=E9rations intervenues au= moment de la visite de Chris Patten, commissaire aux Relations ext=E9rieure= s de la Commission europ=E9enne, =E0 T=E9h=E9ran. Ce dernier poursuivait les= n=E9gociations en vue de la conclusion d'un accord commercial et de coop= =E9ration avec l'Iran. "Nous demeurons cependant inquiets des nouvelles char= ges qui p=E8sent sur Emadoldin Baghi", a d=E9clar=E9 Robert M=E9nard, secr= =E9taire g=E9n=E9ral de Reporters sans fronti=E8res.  "Nous demandons,=20= par ailleurs, au chef de la justice, l'ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi la lib= =E9ration de Alireza Eshraghi, emprisonn=E9 depuis le d=E9but de l'ann=E9e,=20= ainsi que six autres journalistes actuellement derri=E8re les barreaux". Dan= s le m=EAme temps, l'organisation demande =E0 l'Union europ=E9enne de faire=20= pression sur l'Iran pour obtenir leur lib=E9ration.

A sa sortie de prison, Emadoldin Baghi a =E9t=E9 inform=E9 qu'il serait conv= oqu=E9 le 8 mars prochain suite =E0 de nouvelles poursuites judiciaires. On=20= lui reproche notamment des articles, parus dans la presse r=E9formatrice, da= ns lesquels il avait mis en cause de hauts responsables du r=E9gime dans le=20= meurtre de cinq intellectuels et opposants, fin 1998. Cette affaire avait al= ors fait grand bruit dans le pays. L'un de ses ouvrages, "La trag=E9die de l= a d=E9mocratie en Iran", o=F9 il abordait le m=EAme th=E8me, avait =E9t=E9 r= etir=E9 de la vente en juillet 2000 quelques semaines apr=E8s sa parution. L= es Gardiens de la R=E9volution (Pasdaran), l'ancien ministre des Renseigneme= nts, Ali Fallahian, la t=E9l=E9vision d'Etat et d'anciens agents des service= s secrets avaient port=E9 plainte contre Emadoldin Baghi.

Le journaliste avait =E9t=E9 condamn=E9, le 17 juillet 2000, =E0 sept ans de= prison pour "atteinte =E0 la s=E9curit=E9 nationale" et "propagation de fau= sses nouvelles". Le 23 octobre, sa peine avait =E9t=E9 ramen=E9e =E0 trois a= ns. Emadoldin Baghi avait =E9t=E9 condamn=E9 pour avoir d=E9fendu, dans un=20= =E9ditorial du quotidien Neshat de septembre 1999, une vision moderne de l'i= slam par rapport =E0 la peine de mort.

Le 28 d=E9cembre 2002, Ali-Reza Jabari, traducteur et collaborateur de plusi= eurs journaux ind=E9pendants dont Adineh, avait =E9t=E9 arr=EAt=E9 =E0 son b= ureau par des personnes en civil. Son domicile avait =E9t=E9 perquisitionn= =E9. Jusqu'=E0 sa lib=E9ration, son =E9pouse ne savait pas o=F9 =E9tait d= =E9tenu le journaliste. Le 25 d=E9cembre 2002, une interview de Ali-Reza Jab= ari =E9tait parue dans Charvand, publication persophone bas=E9e au Canada, d= ans laquelle il expliquait notamment que le Guide de la R=E9publique islamiq= ue voulait que la crise d=E9g=E9n=E8re dans tout le pays. Ali-Reza Jabari, m= embre de l'Association des =E9crivains iraniens, est l'auteur de nombreuses=20= traductions en anglais d'ouvrages dont certains ont =E9t=E9 interdits.


--

Virginie Locussol (norddelafrique@rsf.org / northernafrica@rsf.org / iran@rs= f.org)
Bureau Nord de l'Afrique - Iran / Northern Africa - Iran desk

Reporters sans fronti=E8res / Reporters Without Borders
5, rue Geoffroy-Marie
75009 Paris - FRANCE
T=E9l. (33) 1 44 83 84 84
Fax. (33) 1 45 23 11 51

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