IHRWG-Statement on Press ClampdOWN

IHRWG CONDEMNS THE CLOSING DOWN OF NEWSPAPERS AND THE CLAMPDOWN ON
FREEDOM OF SPEECH

In the last few hours of Sunday 23rd April 2000 it was announced that
the Iranian government had shut down eight daily newspapers and four
journals. These twelve publications were amongst the most widely
circulated and independent publications in Iran, the majority of which
had been set up within the past two to three years. In addition,
following the jailing of Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, the chief editor of
the banned publication Neshat two weeks ago, a wave of arrests of
journalists has started which includes the jailing of Akbar Ganji a
well-known investigative journalist and Latif Safari the publisher of
Neshat, both imprisoned within the last two days.

This widespread attack on freedom of speech comes after recent statements by
the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, made
within the last few days, in which he took a direct stand against the
independent press. Furthermore armed organisations under the control of the
Supreme Leader such as the Revolutionary Guards have, by issuing aggressive
statements, threatened a violent clampdown on opponents of the Supreme
Leader and independent writers.

The simultaneous shutdown of such a large number of publications, which is
unprecedented in the history of the Iranian press, is not only an open and
thorough attack on freedom of speech and of the press but could also be a
prerequisite for a widespread clampdown on political opponents and
dissidents. Other steps taken within the past few weeks, such as the
attempted assassination of the journalist Saeed Hajjarian and the
manipulation by the Guardian Council of election results of the sixth
session of parliament, which have lead to rebellion in different parts of
the country, also point to a coordinated attempt to clampdown on the reform
movement.

In addition to condemning the shutdown of these publications and the
arrests of journalists, we call upon the Iranian authorities to
immediately lift the ban on these publications and to order the release of
the arrested journalists. Furthermore, since a clampdown on freedom of
speech and the press is usually a prerequisite for the suppression of other
rights and political freedoms, we call on all Iranians to observe the
ongoing developments in Iran closely, and to oppose the conspiracy
of silence desired by the Iranian government by communicating the news
as widely as possible and to let the voice of the Iranian people be
heard around the world. Similarly we call on international human rights
organisations and press unions across the world to unite with us in our
quest to lift the ban on these publications and to gain the release of
the imprisoned journalists, so that we can halt this attack on freedom
of speech and the press in Iran.

Iranian Human Rights Working Group
24th April 2000
www.ihrwg.org

P.S. Two more dailies were closed today (Monday 24th April 2000)


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