Detained Journalists are Not Criminals

In an exclusive interview with Rooz, two members of Iran’s parliament, the Majlis, declared that journalists who were detained last week were not criminals and that the courts would pass a judgment on them. The two representatives, Mansour Haghighatpour and Fatollah Hosseini, said that the Majlis also would look into the arrests of these journalists.

With the passage of more than a week since the en-masse arrest of a group of journalists, the country’s judiciary has till now not officially announced the reason for the measure, the place where the reporters are being held or the conditions of the detainees. This is in contrast to reports published by security affiliated media and interviews in which the journalists are portrayed as criminals associated with foreigners.

The detainee journalists have not been allowed to appoint defense attorneys and no court has placed their cases on their docket. But despite this, Fars news agency for example publicizes the reporters as criminals.

The arrests began on January 26^th with the detention of Soleiman Mohammadi, an editor of Bahar newspaper and Milad Fadai Asl, the political editor of ILNA labor news agency. The following day, security agents raided the offices of Etemad, Bahar, Shargh, and Arman newspapers and Aseman weekly, arresting Javad Deliri, Nasrin Takhiri, Sasan Aghai, Akbar Montajabi, Porya Alemi, Pejman Mousavi, Amili Amrai, Motahere Shafii and Nargess Javadki from these publications.

Ali Asghar Shafafian, the husband of Ms Shafii told reporters that his wife’s release after her detention was because of the recognition of her medical condition. She suffers from MS.

Following the arrests, Fars news agency which is affiliated to the security-intelligence apparatus of the Islamic republic of Iran, published interviews with a number of Majlis representatives who called the detainees traitors, criminals and affiliated to foreigners, thanking the ministry of intelligence for its arrests. Hassan Kamran Dastjerdi, Hossein Naghavi, Mansur Haghighatpour, Mohammad Ismaili, Mohammad Saleh Jowkar, Fatollah Hosseini and Javad Karimi Ghodoosi are among the Majlis representatives who approved of the arrests. But when Rooz interviewed Mansur Haghighatpour, the deputy chairman of the national security committee of the Majlis and Fatollah Hosseini, a member of the same committee and asked about the evidence for the accusations that they were making against the reporters while no court had yet convened to investigate the arrests, Haghighatpour, who had till then said that the detainees were affiliated with the French government and had told Fars news agency that they were agents of France and Britain told Rooz that he did not have information on the details of the cases and did not know the journalists, adding that he only of the case in very general terms.

Here are the excerpts of the interview with representative Mansour Haghighatpour.

Rooz: Will the Majlis intervene in these arrests?

Haghighatpour: The Majlis will definitely pursue this and if the journalists are found guilty they will be treated according to the laws. If not, then they will be released. We will pursue this issue just as we did the Sattareh Beheshti’s case.

Rooz: That is if they are found guilty. So you too do not know whether the journalists have actually committed any crime or violated any laws. If that is the case then why did you accuse them of being agents of France and Britain when speaking with Fars news agency?

Haghighatpour: We have trust in our intelligence apparatus and know that they act properly.

Rooz: But no court has yet convened to look into this? How can you make these accusations against them?

Haghighatpour: What I know as deputy chairman of the national security committee of the Majlis and what you know are not the same. Your judgment is based on your affiliations and prejudices and mine is based on information that I have.

Rooz: What information?

Haghighatpour: Currently they are investigating this and if the journalists are found to have committed a crime they will be dealt with according to law.

Rooz: One of the detainees is a journalist who has translated a book exposing the Mojahedin Khalq Organization.

Haghighatpour: I do not have the details. I do not know the journalists either. The information that I have is general and we have not been told anything about the specific violations.

Rooz: If it becomes clear that these journalists have not committed a crime, that they are not affiliated to France or Britain and they are not what you have accused them of being, would you apologize to them?

Haghighatpour: If it is shown that they have not committed a crime they will be released and I will speak on the basis of information that I receive.

Rooz: The way the journalists have been treated …

Haghighatpour: You do not know how they have been treated. They have been invited by the security agency to respond to some questions. They will ask those questions and just individuals and judges will pass a judgment on them.

Rooz: Do you believe that calling them criminals before a court has made its judgment is a crime?

Haghighatpour: I did not say they are criminals. I spoke on the basis of information that I have received. I believe that a court of law must determine the accuracy or error of these accusations. Only courts can determine whether they are criminals or not.

Another member of the national security committee of the Majlis who had thanked the ministry of intelligence for its arrests through an interview with Fars news agency, Fatollah Hosseini also told Rooz that the detained journalists were not criminals and that a just court would pass a judgment on them.

Here are the excerpts of the interview with representative Fatollah Hosseini.

Rooz: What is your view of the recent arrest of journalists?

Hosseini: The world has witnessed the determination of the Islamic republic in the last 34 years. The regime belongs to the people of Iran. People have attained this revolution through hard work and will defend it. The Islamic republic is not playing with this issue. The ministry of intelligence will take action against anyone who harms the Islamic republic and the judiciary will investigate if anyone’s rights are violated in this regard.

Rooz: Will the Majlis intervene in this issue?

Hosseini: Definitely. Representatives in the Majlis have sufficient oversight over the ministries. None of our officials do anything that is unlawful. But if someone’s rights are violated we recognize their rights and will investigate this. The Majlis too is monitoring this case.

Rooz: The detainee journalists have been denied to have defense attorneys and you, along with a number of other Majlis representatives, have made accusations against them in your interviews with Fars news agency.

Hosseini: This is absolutely not so. Because Iran’s enemies outside the country have nothing to do and no material to publish they create a special atmosphere for the elections. Western elements want to hurt us but we are alert. We have no need for people outside the country to tell us what to do in order to prevent someone’s right from being violated. Counter revolutionaries are interested to know who has been detained and who has not, but the Islamic republic will not allow anyone’s rights to be violated.

Rooz: While no court has yet convened to investigate this issue, you have called the journalists to be criminals, traitors and affiliated to foreigners. On what grounds?

Hosseini: Whoever has said this is wrong. They are not criminals. The judiciary acts according to law. The courts and juries who will pass judgment on this. There are laws for this, but the ministry of intelligence has definitely intervened decisively. You are an Iranian and must admit that there is complete freedom in Iran. Our friends will pursue this and the Majlis also will investigate to ensure that nobody’s rights are violated.

Rooz: Will the Majlis apologize to these individuals if it is proven that the journalists were merely doing their job?

Hosseini: You should let the Islamic republic do its job. I sense that your remarks are peripheral. There is no merci for any person in Iran who is affiliated (to foreigners) or who hurts the regime. I have faith that the ministry of intelligence is not politicizing this issue.

Rooz: I meant those deputies who called these journalists traitors and criminals.

Hosseini: No representative has said that they are criminals. Perhaps they themselves have said this.