Journalists and feminist activists begin hunger strike after three days in jail

Reporters Without Borders
Iran | 7.03.2007

Reporters Without Borders today called for the immediate release of 25 women journalists and feminist activists held in Tehran’s Evin prison, who, on the eve of International Women’s Day, began a hunger strike to protest against their continued detention.

Thirty-three women were arrested on 4 March while demonstrating outside the Revolutionary Islamic Tribunal in Tehran in protest against criminal charges brought against five activists who organised a women’s demonstration in June 2006.

“We call for the immediate and unconditional release of the journalists and activists in custody in Evin prison,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “These women have not broken any law. They simply exercised their right to demonstrate peacefully.” “After censoring websites which relay and defend the demands of women’s rights organisations, the Iranian authorities have now deprived their main contributors of their freedom.” It added.

Scores of journalists and feminist activists gathered outside the Tehran Revolutionary Islamic Tribunal on 4 March in solidarity with five women on trial for “damaging public order and security”, “publicity against the Islamic Republic” and “taking part in an unauthorised demonstration”.

The five were: journalists Nushin Ahmadi Khorasani, Parvin Ardalan and Fariba Davudi Mohajer and activists Shahla Entessari and Susan Tahmassebi. They had been charged on 12 June 2006 for organising a peaceful demonstration in support of reform of laws which discriminate against women in Iran.

They were re-arrested when they left court alongside the demonstrators who had come to support them. A total of 33 women were arrested, 22 of them journalists. They were put into isolation cells in Evin prison. Three of them who are sick, Parvin Ardalan (journalist), Fatemeh Govarayee (journalist) and Mahnaz Mohammadi (activist) have been refused access to their treatment.

Parastoo Dokoohaki (journalist and blogger), Saghar Laghayee (journalist and contributor to website meydaan.com), Saghie Laghayee (online journalist on meydaan.com), Niloufar Golkar (online journalist on we4change.com), Farideh Entessari (activist), Sara Loghmani (activist), Nahid Entessari (activist) and Parastoo Sarmadi (journalist) were all today released on bail while the others began a hunger strike to protest against their continued detention.

Websites we4change, zenestan, kanonzanan and meydaan, which employ many of the journalists arrested on 4 March, have been censored in Iran after launching online campaigns backing a change in women’s status.

List of journalists currently held in Evin:
Asieh Amini, journalist and blogger (http://varesh.blogfa.com/)
Jila Bani Yaghoub, journalist, Sarmayeh and http://www.irwomen.com/
Mahbubeb Abbasgholizadeh, journalist
Mahbubeh Hosseinzadeh, journalist and blogger (http://kharzar.blogfa.com/)
Zara Amjadian, online journalist (http://www.we4change.com)
Mariam Hossein Khah, online journalist (we4change)
Jelveh Javaheri, online journalist (we4change)
Zeinab Peyghambarzadeh, journalist and blogger
Maryam Mirza, journalist and blogger
Nahid Keshavarz, online journalist (we4change and zenestan)
Nasrin Afzali, journalist and blogger
Elnaz Ansari, online journalist (we4change and zenestan)
Fatemeh Govarayee, journalist
Minoo Mortezayee, journaliste
Nushin Ahmadi Khorasani, journalist
Parvin Ardalan, journalist
Nahid Jafari, online journalist (we4change)
Shadi Sadr, journalist and lawyer