Threats made in bid to silence Maziar Bahari

The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned threats made by the Iranian government against Newsweek correspondent Maziar Bahari.
Bahari, left, who was imprisoned in Iran for 118 days following last year’s disputed June presidential election, told CPJ that family members in Iran had received a threatening phone call on Saturday from a man who identified himself as an Iranian court official. 

The caller threatened unspecified consequences if Bahari continued to speak out on behalf of his imprisoned colleagues. Bahari, who also serves as a consultant to a campaign calling for the release of imprisoned Iranian journalists and writers, has made numerous statements and appearances advocating for the many Iranian journalists who remain imprisoned and continue to face baseless criminal charges.

“Tell Maziar that he shouldn't think we don't have access to him because he is not in Iran,” said the male caller, who did not identify himself. “The situation is getting dangerous now. Anything can happen without advance notice.”

CPJ denounced the threat. “The Iranian authorities continue to resort to harassment and violence to silence critical voices, as evidenced by this latest threat made against our colleague Maziar Bahari,” said CPJ executive director, Joel Simon. “We call on Tehran to abandon its intimidation tactics against critical journalists.”