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Iran Focus
 London, May
27 – The international press freedoms organisation
Reporters Without Borders demanded on Saturday the “immediate release” of
two Iranian Azeri journalists who were detained by authorities following
mass anti-government demonstrations earlier this week by ethnic Azeris in north-west Iran.
Amin Movahedi was
detained on Friday in the city of Meshkinshar
and Orouj Amiri was arrested on Thursday in the
nearby city of Marand,
the group said in a statement.
“Absolutely no charges have been brought against Movahedi
and Amiri and the authorities have not said where they are being held”, it
said. “These journalists are being subjected to illegal harassment simply
for working independently”.
The statement said that Movahedi was arrested by
gunmen in civilian dress as he was leaving his home in Meshkinshar,
Ardebil province,
adding that he had previously been detained by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence
and Security for three days in December.
Amiri, who writes for several local papers, was arrested as his home in Marand, East Azerbaijan
province, by plain-clothes police who hit him when he asked to see their
warrant, the group said. “They searched his home and took personal
documents, CDs, and the hard disk of his computer. His wife was forcibly
led away for protesting against his arrest”.
At least nine people have been killed by government forces since Monday
when a wave of anti-government protests began in dozens of towns and cities
in the north-west of the country against the publication of an insulting
cartoon in the official daily Iran.
On Monday, at least 100,000 Azeris rallied in the
city of Tabriz.
Subsequently, thousands have taken part in often violent demonstrations in
the towns of Orumieh, Zanjan,
Marand, and Ardebil.
Ethnic Azeris make up approximately 25 percent of Iran’s population.
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