‘Iran arrested 860 journos during 1979-2009’

The Iranian authorities arrested 860 journalists in the 30 years following the 1979 revolution, according to leaked files unveiled by a media watchdog yesterday. Reporters Without Borders said the confidential records for the period from 1979-2009 were provided by whistleblowers to coincide with Tehran’s marking the 40th anniversary of the Islamic republic’s founding this week.

The file contains some 1.7 million records of judicial procedures, and although people’s professions are not listed, RSF said researchers spent months to compile and verify the names of 860 journalists or citizen-journalists who were arrested or imprisoned.

“The very existence of this file and its millions of entries show not only the scale of the Iranian regime’s mendacity for years when claiming that its jails were holding no political prisoners or journalists, but also the relentless machinations it used for 40 years to persecute men and women for their opinions or their reporting,” the rights group’s secretary general Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

He added that the findings would be submitted to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.

 

Iran arrested 860 journos during 1979-2009

The Iranian authorities arrested 860 journalists in the 30 years following the 1979 revolution, according to leaked files unveiled by a media watchdog yesterday. Reporters Without Borders said the confidential records for the period from 1979-2009 were provided by whistleblowers to coincide with Tehrans marking the 40th anniversary of the Islamic republics founding this week. The file contains some 1.7 million records of judicial procedures, and although peoples professions are not listed, RSF said researchers spent months to compile and verify the names of 860 journalists or citizen-journalists who were arrested or imprisoned. The very existence of this file and its millions of entries show not only the scale of the Iranian regimes mendacity for years when claiming that its jails were holding no political prisoners or journalists, but also the relentless machinations it used for 40 years to persecute men and women for their opinions or their reporting, the rights groups secretary general Christophe Deloire said in a statement. He added that the findings would be submitted to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.