91 imprisoned journalists, bloggers and reporters in Iran

Arshama3's - Iran: List of imprisoned journalists and bloggers

On December 1, 2011 the Committee to Protect Journalists has published a worldwide prison census for journalists, declaring the Islamic Republic of Iran “as the world’s worst jailer, with 42 journalists behind bars, as authorities kept up a campaign of anti-press intimidation that began after the country’s disputed presidential election more than two years ago.”

Back in December 2010 Tehran Bureau had already posted a most useful report on 34 imprisoned Iranian journalists, providing their full names and data.

The real figures for the Islamic Republic are however much higher as the following list proves. I posted it first in February 2010, based on the data by CPJ from February 2010 and The Guardian’s Spreadsheet of the victims of Iran’s crackdown from January 2010, regularly updated since. While some of the listed journalists may have been released or even have fled the country in the meantime, most cases are fairly well documented by reports from Iranian human rights websites as RAHANA (Human Rights House of Iran), HRANA or the Green Voice of Freedom. Even if one ignores the names lacking recent informations, still more than 80 journalists, bloggers and human rights reporters are behind bars, while more than 90 journalists have been released on bail, awaiting their sentences or facing imprisonment. Recent additions with gratitude to the list of political prisoners, compiled by Lissnup.

A List of the 100+ Journalists Detained Since the 2009 Elections has been published in July 2011 by expatriate reporter Masih Alinejad, parts 1 and 2 of this report are also available in German translation on Julia’s Blog.

Reporters Without Borders has firmly condemned a new wave of arrests of Iranian journalists between 1 August and 27 September 2011 without any official reason being given. Two Kuwaiti reporters arrested on spying charges in November 2011 in Abadan have been released and returned home on December 18, 2011.

In its latest report the Committee to Protect Journalists names Iran one of the world’s 10 online oppressors, while authorities block millions of sites. In 2011 “Tehran continued to use the mass imprisonment of journalists to silence dissent and quash critical news coverage. Imprisoned journalists suffered greatly amid the crowded and unsanitary conditions of notorious prisons such as Rajaee Shah and Evin. The health of many detainees severely deteriorated, while numerous others suffered abuse at the hands of prison guards. The detainees also faced a battery of punitive measures, from the denial of family visits to placement in solitary confinement. Authorities continued a practice of freeing some prisoners on furloughs while making new arrests.”

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders has once again named Iran in its “2012 list of the Enemies of the Internet.”

The current list will be updated on a regular base. Any additional data by our readers are most welcome.

The complete list: http://arshama3.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/iran-list-of-imprisoned-journalists/