PEN Canada for Freedom of Expression

RAN Appeal #6: June 26, 2009

 

 

IRAN: Canadian-Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari, writer, film-maker and playwright detained without charge

Maziar Bahari

BACKGROUND:

The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN Canada protests the detention without charge on June 21, 2009 of leading Canadian-Iranian journalist, writer and film-maker Maziar Bahari. He is among over 20 journalists who have been arrested in Iran following the disputed presidential elections on June 12, 2009. PEN Canada calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Maziar Bahari and all those currently detained in Iran for peacefully exercising their right to free expression.

According to PEN Canada's information, Newsweek correspondent Maziar Bahari, who has been living and working in Tehran for the past ten years and has dual Canadian-Iranian citizenship, was arrested on June 21, 2009 and remains detained without charge. Index on Censorship gives the following background on his work as a writer and commentator:

"Maziar, 41, is one of the most talented journalists of his generation - a writer, playwright, editor and documentary maker, as well as a news correspondent. He is also one of the bravest. He has consistently made films in Iraq since 2003, at great risk to his own safety, and his documentaries and writing add up to one of the most varied portraits of Iran over the past decade. His work includes a remarkable film about an Iranian serial killer And Along Came A Spider [for which he received an Emmy nomination in 2005] and, most recently, An Iranian Odyssey about the plot to overthrow Mossadegh in 1953.

More than any other journalist working today, Maziar Bahari's work gives a profound insight into the life and history of the country, partly because he is a creative writer as well as a reporter. His book Transit Tehran, an anthology of writing by young Iranians edited with Malu Halasa, offers an immensely rich portrait of modern life that defies categorisation."

When the re-election of President Ahmadinejad was officially declared on June13, widespread peaceful protests by supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi were suppressed by the authorities. As the protests continue in Iran's major cities, reports suggest that at least 200 people have been arrested - mostly in Tehran. Those targeted include reformist leaders and journalists, and although most have since been released at least 20 remain in detention or in hiding. There have also been serious restrictions on foreign reporting and increased censorship of the internet, local media and blocking of access to communications.

For more information:

Canada and Newsweek Seek Release of Reporter Detained in Iran
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/world/middleeast/24canada.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bahari&st=cse

Bahari's article on the current protests published on June 17, 2009:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/202475?from=rss

Sweating out the truth in Iran
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/opinion/24iht-edbahari.2577056.html

An Iranian Dissects U.S.-Iran Talks
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/maziar_bahari/2006
/11/an_iranian_dissects_usiran_tal.html

Talking to Tehran: Ex-hostages Talk about Obama and Iran
http://www.newsweek.com/id/183689

Interview with film director Maziar Bahari
http://www.iranian.com
/Arts/2003/January/Bahari/

Review of Bahari's film "And Along Came a Spider": The beast of Mashhad
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2003/aug/18/edinburghfilmfestival2003.iran/print

Appeal letter:

Your Excellency:

As a member of PEN Canada, a literary and human rights organization affiliated to International PEN, I am writing to share my concerns over the recent detention of the prominent Newsweek journalist, writer, and film-maker Maziar Bahari. According to PEN Canada's information, Mr.Bahari was taken from his apartment on the morning of June 21, 2009 and held, without charge, at an unknown location. He has not been heard from since. Mr. Bahari is one of more than 20 journalists who have been arrested in Iran since the official results of the presidential elections were declared.

Mr. Bahari is a well-respected journalist whose coverage of Iran has been widely admired for its balance and professionalism. PEN Canada believes that his arrest violates his right to freedom of expression in Iran as set out in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory.

We respectfully call for his immediate and unconditional release, and the release of all others who are currently being detained for peacefully exercising their right to free expression.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

[Your address]

Appeals to:

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei,
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir or istiftaa@wilayah.org

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: via Judiciary website: Iranjudiciary.org/feedback_en.html
Salutation: Your Excellency

Copies to:

President:
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency,
Palestine Avenue,
Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: Via Foreign Ministry: +98 21 6 674 790
(mark: "Please forward to H.E. President Ahmadinejad")
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email

Bahram Ghasemi
Chargé d'affaires
Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran
245 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, ON K2P 2K2
Salutation: Dear Mr. Ghasemi
Email: executive@salamiran.org
Fax: 613 2325712

PENs efforts showed me that we writers around the world are not alone, even in our dark prison cells. I realize, perhaps more than any other writer, the nature and significance of such efforts. - Writer and editor Faraj Sarkoohi of Iran, who was imprisoned from 1996 to 1998.