After more than a month of detention in Iran , several journalists may face trials beginning on Saturday on charges of "sending pictures to enemy media," according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
It also reports that three documentary filmmakers were arrested yesterday, bringing the total of journalists currently held in Iranian jails to 42, the highest count in the world.
The CPJ says the journalists are expected to be among 20 unnamed defendants tried on an array of charges, according to a government statement posted by the semi-official Fars News agency. All were arrested in the aftermath of the disputed June 12 presidential elections.
The official Iranian News Agency (IRNA) claimed on Wednesday that photographers Majid Saeedi and Satyar Emami confessed to taking pictures and sending them to "enemy [news] agencies."
CPJ executive director Joel Simon said: "Majid Saeedi is a well-regarded photojournalist who was simply recording the reality he observed and distributing his photos through a global news agency recognized for its nonpartisan coverage of world events.
"We are gravely concerned that Saeedi, Satyar Emami, and the many other journalists in jail could be put on trial merely for doing their jobs."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment