Iran Remains the Largest Prison for Journalists

Iran continues to be the 'largest prison for journalists.' Reports of the arrest and harassment of Iranian journalists and writers have become common news in the regime's newspapers. Below are some instances: - ISNA News Agency: The 26th branch of the court sentenced Saeed Madani, a writer for the banned publication Iran Farda, to 20 years in prison and 10 years of social rights deprivation for articles he wrote before 1994. - Iraj Jamshidi, the editor of the newspaper Asia, was arrested for publishing a photo of Maryam Rajavi and is currently imprisoned. On Wednesday, April 4, he was tried in Evin Prison without the presence of his defense attorney. - Shargh Newspaper, April 5, 2004: The responsible manager of the weekly 'Gorgan Emrooz' was sent to prison on the last working day of the year after his punishment was confirmed by the Supreme Court. - ISNA, April 15: An Azerbaijani journalist named Ansar Ali Heydat, who was arrested for traveling abroad and attending a meeting of opponents, will be tried on Tuesday in the 'Revolutionary Court.' The National Coalition of Democracy Supporters (EADA) has drawn the attention of member states of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva to the blatant human rights violations in Iran and is raising global awareness of the increasing repression in Iran. The EADA organization condemns the arrest, torture, and harassment of journalists' families regardless of their beliefs and urges the United Nations, human rights communities, and intellectuals worldwide to stand up for political prisoners in Iran and to request the Human Rights Commission in Geneva to appoint a special rapporteur to investigate the human rights situation in Iran under the rule of the clerics.