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Iran Savagely Beats Reporters

Saeed Matin-Pour
Saeed Matin-Pour / iranhumanrights.org

Iranian security officials beat with batons several journalists at Tehran's Evin Prison, leaving one with a torn vein in his hand, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

At least seven journalists imprisoned in Evin were attacked when guards raided an area of the prison to beat those imprisoned there.

The CPJ condemned the attack:

Among those attacked were journalists Mohammad Davari, a winner of CPJ's International Press Freedom Award in 2010, Saeed Matin-Pour, a freelancer imprisoned since 2009; Omid Behroozi, a journalist for Majzooban-e-Noor website reporting on the Gonabadi dervish community, imprisoned since 2011; Seyed Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, a blogger imprisoned since 2009; Siamak Ghaderi, a blogger imprisoned since 2010; Saeed Haeri, a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, an organization of journalists who document human rights abuses;  and Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand, head of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan and managing editor of Payam-e-Mardom,  imprisoned since 2007.

All of the journalists were beaten with batons, reports said. Behroozi was bleeding as a result of a torn vein in his hand, caused by cut glass. The rest of the journalists were among those transferred to solitary confinement, according to Kaleme and other opposition news sources.

"There is no reason for any of these journalists to be imprisoned in the first place. Their only 'crime' is independent journalism, and now they are being punished with physical violence on top of detention," said Sherif Mansour, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa Coordinator. "We call on the Iranian government to hold to account those involved in the attack and to ensure that all the journalists receive appropriate medical care."

Published under: Iran