Tuesday, 4 August 2009

Newsweek 'dismayed' at Maziar Bahari in court

Newsweek's Tehran correspondent Maziar Bahari, detained in Iran since June 21, has appeared in court as part of the mass trial of detainees arrested in the wake of protests after the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"We are extremely dismayed at this turn of events," said Newsweek editor Jon Meacham. "Maziar's journalistic work in Iran has always been balanced and objective, and has been conducted with the full knowledge and accreditation of the proper Iranian authorities. His fairness has been evident throughout his decade-long career, and has never been in question."
Newsweek said in the last six weeks Bahari has not been allowed to meet with a lawyer, and he was not afforded proper legal representationin court.
Newsweek has called upon the government of Iran to afford Bahari access to a lawyer immediately, and continues to campaign for his release.

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