Caselist - PEN International

78solitary confinement for much of his detention, and in October 2011 wassent for assessment at a psychiatric hospital for 45 days. He is said to bevery weak and there are serious concerns for his wellbeing.Sentenced*Fatima Al-ZAHRA (f) and Sally HASSAN (f): Journalists for the newspaperAl-Fajr, were reportedly sentenced on 11 December 2011 by theAgouza Misdemeanour Court to two months and one month in prisonrespectively on charges of libel, slander and violation of private life.The charges were filed by Sheikh Youssef Al-Badry after the journalistspublished a piece in December 2009, allegedly invading the sheikh’sprivacy. Al-Badri’s complaint was based on article 309 of the Penal Code.The complaint stemmed from a news story published in issue no. 185,1 December 2009, of Al Fajr entitled “Adventure in Maadi : A Ruqyah(Islamic incantation) in the house of Yusuf Al-Badri for 350 pounds.” At anearlier hearing, the Agouza Misdemeanor Court acquitted all the accusedof the charge of violating the sanctity of personal life, yet sentenced Al-Zahra and Al-Baz to a fine of 5,000 Egyptian pounds for libel and slander.On 11 December 2011, Agouza Misdemeanor Court approved the appealof the prosecution and recanted the acquittal of the two journalists. On thefirst charge, the court sentenced Al-Zahra to one month in prison, and onemonth in prison with labor for Hassan. On the second charge, Al-Zahrawas sentenced to one month in prison and three years suspension.On trial*Alaa ABD El-Fattah: Prominent opposition blogger and politicalactivist, aged 30, was arrested by the military authorities on 30 October2011, and was taken to Bab El-Khalq prison. His arrest, for incitingviolence against the army, has been linked to his claims that the armyactively participated in the repression of the Coptic Christians thatoccurred in Cairo on 9 October 2011, when about 27 people died andmany more were injured. Abd El-Fattah reportedly does not recognisethe authority of the army to interrogate him or try him. On 25 December2011, Abd el-Fattah was released from prison pending investigation forallegedly inciting violence against the Egyptian army.Brief detention*Imad BAZZI: Internet writer of Lebanese origin, was reportedlydetained for ten hours at Cairo International airport on his arrival fromBeirut, on 5 September 2011. He was questioned by Egyptian securityofficers before being repatriated to Beirut. Bazzi reported he was questionedabout a recent award he received which classified him as one ofthe most influential internet writers in Middle Eastern region, as well ashis links with some Egyptian bloggers. Bazzi blogs on srella.com.AttackedIn October and November 2011 at least 35 journalists were reportedlyattacked, assaulted, harassed or briefly detained whilst covering unrestbetween protestors and security forces in and around Tahrir Square. Theyinclude:*Mona ELTAHAWY (f): Journalist and activist. Reportedly arrestedon 24 November 2011 and held for 12 hours whilst covering clashesbetween protesters and the military authorities in Tahrir Square. She wasreportedly beaten and sexually assaulted during her arrest.Case closedAdel HAMMUDA and Rasha AZAB (f): Editor and reporterrespectively with the newspaper Al-Fajr. Appeared on 20 June 2011before a military prosecutor in connection with an article critical of anarmy officer, published in Al-Fajr’s 12 June issue. Azab faced apossiblejail sentence on a charge of publishing “false information liable to disturbpublic security” for writing the article. Hammuda is facing a possiblefine for alleged negligence in his role as editor. The article was about ameeting between Cairo military commander Gen. Hassan Al-Ruwaini,a member of the Armed Forces Supreme Council, and representativesof a group called “No military trials for civilians” about the allegedtorture of demonstrators by civilian police. It quoted some of Gen.Al-Ruwaini’s comments including the apology he reportedly gave toa woman demonstrator attending the meeting. Case closed for lack offurther information.Madgy (Magdi) Ahmed HESSEIN: Former editor of the now closed El-Shaab newspaper, and politician, was reportedly sentenced to one year inprison and a fine on 15 June 2010, by the North Cairo Court of Appeal.The case goes back to 1996, when a relative of the then Minister ofInterior filed a complaint against the newspaper after El-Shaab reportedlylaunched a campaign against the Minister and his family. The lengthyprocess finally ended after fourteen years, in mid 2010, when Hesseinwas serving a two-year prison sentence for his alleged participation in acampaign supporting the Palestinian cause. No further information as of31 December 2011, case closed, presumed freed.IRANImprisoned: Main CasesBahman Ahmadi AMOUEE (f)Profession: Journalist. Contributor to several reformist newspapers includingMihan, Hamshahri, Jame’e, Khordad, Norooz, and Sharq. Former editor ofthe now banned leading economic newspaper Sarmayeh. Date of arrest: 19June 2010 Sentence: Seven years and four months, reduced to five years onappeal. Expires: 18 June 2014 Details of arrest: Reportedly arrested withhis wife, Zhila (Jila) Baniyaghoub, editor-in-chief of the Iranian Women’sClub, a news Web site focusing on women’s rights, on 19 June 2009 inTehran. She was released on bail on 19 August 2009 (see below). Details oftrial: On 5 January 2010, Amouee was sentenced to seven years and fourmonths in jail, and 34 lashes, on security charges. In early March 2010, thesentence was reduced to five years in prison. Amouee was released on bailfor the Iranian New Year, on 21 March. He returned to Evin prison on 30May 2010. Place of detention: Evin prison. Other information: Recipientof the 2011 Hellman/Hammett award.Massoud BASTANIProfession: Journalist for the reformist newspaper Farihikhtegan andJomhoriyat, a news Web site affiliated with the defeated presidentialcandidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Date of arrest: 5 July 2009 Sentence:6 years in prison Expires: 4 July 2015 Details of arrest: Reportedlyarrested when he went to a Tehran court seeking information about hiswife, journalist Mehsa Amrabadi, who had been arrested on 15 June2009 and was released on 25 August 2009. Details of trial: Bastaniwas among 140 opposition figures and journalists who faced a mass,televised trial on 1 August 2009 on vague anti-state accusations (see KianTajbakhsh below). Sentenced on 20 October 2009 to six years in prisonfor “propagating against the regime and congregating and mutinying tocreate anarchy” for his alleged role in the post-election unrest. Place ofdetention: High Security Rajaieshahr Prison, near Karaj city. Treatmentin prison: Said to have been hospitalised after being severely beaten bya prison guard on 2 June 2011. Reported in to have been transferred to aprison hospital on several occasions in late 2011 due to severe headaches,and to be in urgent need of tests and CT scans not available in prison.Concerns for his health are mounting. Other information: Bastanihad been editor-in-chief of the now-banned Neda-ye Eslahat (Voice ofReform) weekly.Mohammad DAVARIProfession: Editor-in-chief of Saham News, a website affiliated with 2009presidential candidate Mehdi ‎Karroubi. Date of arrest: 5 September 2009Sentence: 5 years in prison, increased to six years in July 2011. Expires:4 September 2015 Details of arrest: Reportedly arrested on 5 September2009 and charged with several antistate counts, including “propagatingagainst the regime,” and “disrupting national security.” The charges stemmedfrom Davari’s reporting on widespread complaints of abuse and rape ofinmates at Kahrizak Detention Centre. The detention centre was closed inJuly 2009 after Saham Newsand others documented the pervasive abuse.Details of trial: Reportedly sentenced in May 2010 to five years in prison.Place of detention: Tehran’s ‎Evin Prison, ward 350. Treatment in prison:Reportedly tortured and coerced into making false statements retractinghis Kahrizak Detention Centre reports. Placed in solitary confinement anddenied family visits after he complained about poor prison conditions.Update: In July 2011 Davari’s sentence was reportedly increased by onemore year for taking part in demonstrations held by teachers in 2006. Otherinformation: Recipient of the 2010 International Press Freedom Award bythe Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).Hossein DERAKHSHAND.o.b.: c.1975 Profession: Internet writer. Date of arrest: 1 November2008. Sentence: 19 and a half years in prison. Expires: 30 April 2028Details of arrest: According to PEN’s information, Hossein Derakhshanwas arrested from his family home in Tehran on 1 November 2008shortly after returning to Iran from several years living in Canada andthe United Kingdom. The authorities did not officially acknowledge hisdetention until 30 December 2008. He is thought to be accused of ‘spyingfor Israel’, apparently for a highly publicised trip he made to Israel – withwhom Iran has no diplomatic relations - in 2006, travelling on a Canadianpassport. He declared that this trip was to show his “20,000 daily Iranianreaders what Israel really looks like and how people live there”. Healso wanted to “humanise” Iranians for Israelis. Details of trial: Histrial reportedly began on 23 June 2010 on charges of ‘conspiracy’ and‘acting against national security’. No verdict was made known till lateSeptember when it was reported on the Farsi news website Mashreq thathe had been convicted on charges of ‘propagating against the regime’,‘promoting counter-revolutionary groups’, ‘insulting Islamic thought andreligious figures’ and ‘managing an obscene website’. He was sentencedto nineteen and half years in prison. In June 2011 an appeals court upheldhis sentence. Place of detention: Evin prison, Tehran. Treatment inprison: Hossein Derakhshan is held incommunicado in Evin prison, withvery limited access to his family. He is said to have been ill-treated andunder pressure to make a ‘confession’. On 9 December 2010, Derakhshanwas released conditionally, on two days parole, after posting a bail of $1.5million. After less than two days, he was taken back to prison. Healthconcerns: There are serious concerns for his physical and psychologicalwell-being. Other information: Nicknamed ‘the Blogfather’, HosseinDerakhshan is known for pioneering ‘blogging’ in Iran with his Internetdiaries, in both English and Farsi, which have been critical of the Iranianauthorities though more recently have been sympathetic to PresidentAhmadinajad.Ahmad GHABELProfession: Iranian religious scholar and writer. Date of arrest: 20December 2009 Sentence: 20 months in prison Details of arrest:Reportedly arrested on 20 December 2009 en route to the funeral ofthe late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri. Held until his release on bail on 10June 2010 but re-arrested on 8 September 2010 after being summoned tothe Mashhad Revolutionary Courts for questioning about his activitiessince his release. It is believed he was arrested in response to publishedreports and interviews he had given since his release regarding his trial,prison and interrogations. Ghabel also published information regardingalleged secret mass executions in Vakilabad prison. Details of trial: Triedon charges of acting against national security in November 2010 andsentenced to three years imprisonment, three years of exile from his cityof residence and a three-year ban on speeches. Ghabel was released on$50,000 bail by Branch 5 of Mashad Revolutionary Courts on 4 January2011. On 29 July 2011 the appellate court confirmed his 20-month prisonsentence, and he was reported to have been re-arrested on 31 July 2011to serve out his term. Place of detention: Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad.Treatment in prison: Said to be held in solitary confinement and to bedenied medical care for heart disease, for which he was being treatedprior to his arrest. Previous political imprisonment/problems: Knownfor his strong criticism of the conservatives, Ghabel was also imprisonedin 2001 and spent 125 days in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evinprison after writing an open letter critical of Supreme Leader AyatollahAli Khamenei.Adnan HASSANPOURProfession: Iranian Kurdish journalist, writer and human rights activist.Date of arrest: 25 January 2007 Sentence: Death penalty, commutedto ten years in prison. Expires: 24 January 2017 Details of arrest:Reportedly detained on 25 January 2007 in Marivan, a small city in thenorthwestern province of Kurdistan, apparently for expressing his viewson the Kurdish issue. He was reportedly held incommunicado withoutcharge in a Ministry of Intelligence facility in Marivan, and transferred toMarivan prison on 26 March 2007. In April 2007, the Mehr News Agency,which is said to have close links with Iran’s judiciary, apparently allegedthat Adnan Hassanpour had been in contact with Kurdish oppositiongroups and had helped two people from Khuzestan province, who werewanted by the authorities, to flee from Iran. However, it is thought thathe may be held for a phone conversation he had with a staff member ofRadio Voice of America shortly before his arrest. Details of trial: Heappeared before the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj on 12 June2007, in the presence of his lawyer. On 16 July 2007 he was told thathe had been sentenced to death on charges of espionage and Moharebeh(‘fighting God’). The sentence was confirmed on 22 October 2007, butwas overturned by the Supreme Court in Tehran in August 2008 onprocedural grounds. The case was returned to Sanandaj for a re-trial andheard on 6 September 2008 and 30 January 2009. He was sentenced toten years in prison on 1 July 2009. Previous political imprisonment/problems: Adnan Hassanpour is a former member of the editorial boardof the Kurdish-Persian weekly journal, Aso (Horizon), which was closedby the Iranian authorities in August 2005, following widespread unrest inKurdish areas. He had previously been tried in connection with articlespublished in the journal. Other information: He is a member of theKurdish Writer’s Association. (RAN 11/07 and subsequent updates).Honorary member of: American, Swedish and Basque PEN.79