Journalists among the 100 on trial in Iran

Journalists are believed to be among the 100 defendants put on trial in Tehran on Saturday accused of conspiring against the government.
The Committe to Protect Journalists' executive director Joel Simon said: "Iranian prosecutors have alleged that journalists conspired through the international media to discedit the June 12 presidential election.
"It is deeply troubling that Iranian authorities invited the international media to Iran to cover the election, and then blamed them when the story turned out to be different from the one they had expected. We urge the Iranian authorites to drop these misguided charges."
Press freedom campaign group Reporters Without Borders said it was "deeply concerned about the travesty of a trial that began in Tehran, in which the defendants are accused of organising or participating in the demonstrations that followed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed victory in the 12 June presidential election. At least two journalists are among those accused of organising the demonstrations. They face sentences ranging from five years in prison to the death penalty." Reporters Without Borders has been told that blogger Mohamad Ali Abtahi(http://www.webneveshteha.com/), and newspaper editor Mohamad Atryanfar are charged with being among the “organisers” of the June demonstrations in Tehran. It says around 10 other people are accused of taking photos and video while participating in the demonstrations and then posting them online.