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Free Sina Motallebi, Iranian Journalist
To: Reporters sans frontières and other human rights organizations
Sina Motallebi, Iranian journalist, writer and the blogger behind
www.rooznegar.com was summoned by the Iranian authorities and
subsequently arrested on ambiguous charges on the eve of his 30th
birthday. These charges include the content of his web log, as well as
interviews with foreign press and his other writings.
Sina’s wife Farnaz posted the news of his arrest on his blog on April
19th, but the posting was later removed. He had already published the
content of his summons the day before.
This is the latest on a series of attacks on freedom of speech by the
government of Iran. Reporters without Borders recently called Iran, “the
biggest jail for journalists in the Middle East”. The group also named
Iranian leader Ali Khamenei on its list of “Predators of Press Freedom”.
The list also included China’s Jiang Zemin, Syrian president Bashar
el-Assad, Ariel Sharon of Israel and the recently deposed Saddam Hussein
of Iraq. Khamenei was also chosen as an “Enemy of the Press” by
Committee to Protect Journalists last year.
The undersigned call for all international human rights advocacy
organizations, as well as groups active in support of journalists and
media to protest the arrest of Sina Motallebi and demand an immediate
halt to any future harassment of journalists by the Iranian government.
We consider Sina Motallebi a prisoner of conscious and demand his
immediate release. Furthermore, we urge all other freedom loving
citizens around the globe to join us by signing this petition and
writing to the following authorities on this very urgent and critical
matter.
Supreme Leader: Ayatollhah Seyed Ali Hoseini-Khamenei, Pastor Ave.
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Tel. (98 21) 61341
The President: Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami - The Presidency,
Palestine Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran , Email:
khatami@president.ir Fax: + 98 21 649 5880 (please ask for the fax to be
forwarded to President Khatami) Or by visiting:
http://www.salamiran.org/IranInfo/State/Presidency/Mail_President.html
Head of Judiciary: His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi,
Head of the Judiciary, Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Ambassador M. Javad Zarif, Permanent Representative of the Islamic
Republic of Iran to the United Nations. Email: jzarif@un.int , 622 Third
Ave. New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 687-2020 / Fax: (212) 867-7086
Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in U.S., Embassy of
Pakistan , 2209 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. Washington D.C. 20007 Tel: (202)
965-4990, Fax: (202) 965-1073
Iranian Ambassador to Canada , Mohammad A. Mousavi, Ph.D. 245 Metcalfe
St. Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2K2 Canada Tel: (613) 235-4726 Fax: (613)
232-5712 , Email: ambassador@iranembassy.org
The Honorable Kofi Annan, Secretary General, the United Nations, New
York, NY 10017 Fax # (212) 963-4879
Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations High Commissioner on Human
Rights, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, Fax # 41 22 917 9022 E-mail:
tb-petitions@ohchr.org
Mr. Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch, New 350 Fifth
Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 Tel: 1-(212) 290-4700, Fax:
1-(212) 736-1300 Email: hrwnyc@hrw.org
Mr. Joel Conarroe, President, PEN American Center, 568 Broadway 4th
Floor,New York, NY 10012 Tel: (212) 334-1660 Fax: (212) 334-2181 Email:
pen@pen.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton Street,
London W1CX0DW England, Tel. 44 20 744135500 Fax 44 20 79561157
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
http://www.petitiononline.com/sina/ |
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RAHA/30/Apr/2003
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RAHA