September 16, 2004



Blogger Sina Motallebi's father arrested


Said Motallebi, father of journalist Sina Motallebi, was arrested in Tehran on 8 September. Sina Motallebi is living in exile in the Netherlands, where he runs the news website http://www.rooznegar.com.

Said Motallebi was previously summoned by the judiciary following an 8 June RSF press conference in Paris. During the conference and in several articles published later, Sina Motallebi spoke out about the torture and ill-treatment that he had suffered while in solitary confinement in Iran from 20 April to 12 May 2003.

The Iranian authorities have threatened to make Said Motallebi "another Pourzand" (a reference to 75-year old journalist Siamak Pourzand, who has been imprisoned since 30 March 2003 and whose health has badly deteriorated in prison) if his son does not keep silent. Said Motallebi is in poor health and suffers from heart problems.

Source:
- RSF

Posted at September 16, 2004 06:20 AM