The European Union has added its voice to the international chorus denouncing the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on Iranian journalists.
Catherine Ashton, the head of EU foreign policy, announced in a statement that she is concerned about “the growing harassment and persecution of journalists and internet bloggers in Iran" and she called for their immediate release.
Some of the journalists detained in recent weeks are: Sahameddin Bourghani, Parastoo Dokouhaki, Hassan Fathi, Farshad Ghorbanpour, Ehsan Houshmand, Fatemeh Kheradmand, Saeed Madani, Shahram Manouchehri, Marzieh Rasouli, Arash Sadeghi and Mohammad Soleimaninia. The charges against these media professionals have not yet been formally announced.
The persecution of journalists in Iran was also denounced by the United States and Human Rights Watch.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 10 journalists and netizens were arrested in Iran in the past month. The rights groups said that it has been informed that scores of media professionals all across Iran have been summoned by the judiciary recently.
Human Rights Watch reports that more than 30 journalists and 24 netizens are currently behind bars in Iran.
