Iran / Middle East & North Africa

CPJ names the worst online oppressors. Booming online cultures in many Asian and Middle Eastern nations have led to aggressive government repression. Burma leads the dishonor roll.

In our special report, “10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger,” CPJ names the world’s leading online oppressors. Here, Deputy Director Robert Mahoney explains why CPJ undertook this report and how it arrived at its conclusions. Listen to the mp3 on the player above, or right click here to download. (5:34)   Read “10 Worst…

Thirty-five members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) join CPJ and Reporters Without Borders in a letter to the head of Iran’s judiciary calling for the release of imprisoned journalist Roxana Saberi, currently held in Iran’s Evin Prison.

Internationally acclaimed Kurdish Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi published a letter today on the Web site of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about his fiancee, jailed Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi. 

What you can do: Write a letter to your Iranian embassy or mission, and have your friends write letters too. Respectful language and a moderate tone will be most helpful for Roxana Saberi. 

CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon spoke extensively to CNN.com’s Tom Watkins about the huge number of journalists imprisoned for their work around the globe. The piece comes at a time when two high profile cases–that of Roxana Saberi in Iran, and Euna Lee and Laura Ling in North Korea–have put the spotlight on jailed journalists. Read…

New York, April 20, 2009–In response to a letter sent on Sunday by Iran’s president urging the public prosecutor to ensure justice for Iranian-American ‎journalist Roxana Saberi, the Committee to Protect Journalists called today for Saberi to be released on bail pending her appeal. An Iranian Revolutionary Court found Saberi guilty of espionage and sentenced…

On December 30, 2008, a spokesman for the Iranian Judiciary confirmed in a press conference in Tehran that Hossein Derakhshan, an Iranian-Canadian blogger, had been detained since November 2008, in connection with comments he allegedly made about a key cleric, according to local and international news reports.

CPJ’s Robert Mahoney says in an interview with NPR that Roxana Saberi’s trial was not transparent. He urges restrained rhetoric but continued advocacy and diplomacy with Iran.