The Iran 34: Journalists in Jail

Editor's note: On December 8, the Committee to Protect Journalists published its annual report on imprisoned journalists around the world. The total of 145 incarcerated journalists is the highest figure in 14 years. With 34 imprisoned journalists each, the People's Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran -- with a population approximately 1/18th that of China's -- most covet their press behind bars. Only Eritrea, with 17, and tiny Bahrain, with 2, imprison more journalists per capita than Iran.

Following this note is a list of the 34 journalists currently jailed in Iran, ordered by the length of their imprisonment to date. Most of those whose trials have been reported on were convicted of antistate charges such as "mutiny against the regime," "illegal congregation," "congregating and mutinying to create anarchy," "relations with foreigners," "contact with enemy states," "disrupting national security," "actions against national security," "propagating falsehoods," "propagating against the Islamic Republic of Iran," "participation in riots," "encouraging others to participate in riots," "insulting the Supreme Leader," "insulting the president," "insulting authorities," and "creating public anxiety." The two journalists working out of Germany for Bild am Sonntag -- whose names have been disclosed neither by the newspaper nor the Iranian government -- have been charged with espionage, as were Nader Karimi Jooni and Hossein Derakhshan. Along with a raft of antistate charges, Hamzeh Karami was convicted of embezzlement.

Beneath the name of each journalist, three pieces of information are provided: the name of the journalist's primary employer, where applicable (websites are not italicized); the date of imprisonment; and the current sentence. In several cases, the length of the sentence is not available, either because the case is in process, formal charges have still not been brought, or no official information at all has been divulged. For more detail on each individual case, including the nature of the journalistic (and, in some cases, political) activity that lead to the person's arrest and the often gravely abusive nature of his or her incarceration, see the "Imprisoned" section of the CPJ report. -- Dan Geist

Adnan Hassanpour
Aso
Imprisoned: January 25, 2007
Sentence: 15 years imprisonment

Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand
Payam-e-Mardom
Imprisoned: July 1, 2007
Sentence: 11 years imprisonment




Mojtaba Lotfi
Freelance
Imprisoned: October 8, 2008
Sentence: 4 years imprisonment, indeterminate period of internal exile




Hossein Derakhshan
Freelance
Imprisoned: November 2008
Sentence: 19.5 years imprisonment, 5-year ban on "membership in political parties and activities in the media"




Nader Karimi Jooni
Freelance
Imprisoned: December 2008
Sentence: 10 years imprisonment




Mohammad Pour Abdollah
Freelance
Imprisoned: February 13, 2009
Sentence: 3 years imprisonment




Morteza Moradpour
Yazligh
Imprisoned: May 22, 2009
Sentence: 3 years imprisonment




Ahmad Zaid-Abadi
Freelance
Imprisoned: June 2009
Sentence: 6 years imprisonment, 5 years internal exile, lifetime ban on "any political activity" including "interviews, speech and analysis of events, whether in written or oral form"




Omid Salimi
Nesf-e-Jehan
Imprisoned: June 14, 2009
Sentence: n.a.




Kayvan Samimi
Nameh
Imprisoned: June 14, 2009
Sentence: 6 years imprisonment, 15-year ban on "political, social, and cultural activities"




Hamzeh Karami
Jomhoriyat
Imprisoned: June 19, 2009
Sentence: 11 years imprisonment




Bahman Ahmadi Amouee
Freelance
Imprisoned: June 19, 2009
Sentence: 5 years imprisonment, 34 lashes




Issa Saharkhiz
Freelance
Imprisoned: July 3, 2009
Sentence: 3 years imprisonment, 5-year ban on political and journalistic activities, 1-year ban on foreign travel




Massoud Bastani
Farhikhtegan and Jomhoriyat
Imprisoned: July 5, 2009
Sentence: 6 years imprisonment




Saeed Matinpour
Yar Pag and Mouj Bidari
Imprisoned: July 12, 2009
Sentence: 8 years imprisonment




Mohammad Hossein Sohrabi Rad
Saham News
Imprisoned: September 2009
Sentence: 4 years imprisonment, 74 lashes




Mohammad Davari
Saham News
Imprisoned: September 5, 2009
Sentence: 5 years imprisonment




Mehdi Mahmoudian
Freelance
Imprisoned: September 16, 2009
Sentence: 5 years imprisonment




Seyed Hossein Ronaghi Maleki (Babak Khorramdin)
Freelance
Imprisoned: December 13, 2009
Sentence: 15 years imprisonment




Kouhyar Goudarzi
Committee of Human Rights Reporters
Imprisoned: December 20, 2009
Sentence: 1 year imprisonment




Mohammad Nourizad
Freelance
Imprisoned: December 20, 2009
Sentence: 3.5 years imprisonment, 50 lashes




Mostafa Dehghan
Freelance
Imprisoned: January 8, 2010
Sentence: n.a.




Ali Mohammad Eslampour
Navaye Vaght
Imprisoned: February 2, 2010
Sentence: n.a.




Ali Malihi
Etemad, Irandokht, Shahrvand-e-Emruz, and Mehrnameh
Imprisoned: February 9, 2010
Sentence: 4 years imprisonment




Hengameh Shahidi
Etemad-e-Melli
Imprisoned: February 25, 2010
Sentence: 6.25 years imprisonment




Abolfazl Abedini Nasr
Bahar Ahvaz
Imprisoned: March 3, 2010
Sentence: 11 years imprisonment




Akbar Azad
Varligh and Parpagh
Imprisoned: May 25, 2010
Sentence: n.a.




Abdolreza Tajik
Freelance
Imprisoned: June 12, 2010
Sentence: n.a.




Siamak Ghaderi
Freelance
Imprisoned: July 27, 2010
Sentence: n.a.




Navid Mohebbi
Freelance
Imprisoned: September 18, 2010
Sentence: n.a.




Two unidentified journalists
Bild am Sonntag
Imprisoned: October 10, 2010
Sentence: n.a.




Mohammad Reza Moghiseh
Bist-saleh ha
Imprisoned: October 24, 2010
Sentence: n.a.




Nazanin Khosravani
Freelance
Imprisoned: November 3, 2010
Sentence: n.a.



Cartoon -- in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says, "Congrats!" -- by Nikahang Kowsar for Roozonline.

see also | The Plight of Iranian Journalists | Courageous & Principled: Journalists Isa Saharkhiz and Ahmad Zeidabadi