Monday, February 27, 2012

Marzieh Rasouli released on bail

Iranian journalist Marzieh Rasooli is released on bail from Evin prison.

Marzieh was arrested on the evening of 17 January at her home and spent most of her six-week detention in solitary cell, during which she was under immense pressure by the Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guards to make false confessions of working with the BBC.

The news of her release comes amid a new propaganda campaign by the Revolutionary Guards in which a number of Iranian journalists are accused of cooperating not just with the BBC, but the British intelligence services.

The website Gerdab, run by the Revolutionary Guards Cyber Defence Command, published a report on Saturday in which Marzieh, along with other detained journalists Parastoo Dokouhaki and Saham Bourghani, were accused of operating as 'agents' inside Iran, helping the British broadcaster logistically, editorially and by way of collecting data.

The report, ostensibly unearthing a secret mission codenamed 'Eye of the Fox', ends with a note that a documentary would be broadcast on the state-run TV 'in the coming days.'

Such documentary would not be the first one of its kind in the history of the Islamic Republic. It could feature 'confessions' by any of the recently detained journalists, which being obtained with force, is void even under the laws of the Islamic Republic. Yet it would certainly cause further distress for the journalists and their family and friends.

It would be imperative to expose any such farcical display even before it is out in the public -- and is used as a pretext to indict innocent journalists.

Thus, expressing our utmost gratitude for all of you who helped us in the past few weeks, we once more ask you to lend us a hand to publicize, condemn and ultimately defeat this malicious attempt to destroy our friends and dispirit many others.

1 comment: