Brussels, 01/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 31 January, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs urged the Iranian authorities to release journalists arrested over recent weeks and restore their right to freely communicate their views. She said: “I am extremely worried about the growing harassment and persecution of journalists and internet bloggers in Iran. The right to free speech is an internationally enshrined fundamental human right, which Iran itself has freely signed up to respect and protect”.
Ashton also expressed her concern about Iinternet censorship and pointed out that “Iran has gone far beyond filtering access and content: three bloggers - Saeed Malekpour, Ahmadreza Hashempour and Vahid Ashghari as well as web developer Mehdi Alizadeh Fakhrabad - have recently been sentenced to death on charges of 'spreading corruption on earth' and 'mohareb' (enmity against God)”. She called on Iran to reconsider these sentences and indicated that “civil society organisations have raised serious concerns over the fairness, transparency and speed of the court proceedings.” (CG/transl.fl)