To Mohammad Khatami, President of Iran; Mahmoud Shahroodi, Head of the Judiciary
After clamping down on the publication of dozens of independent newspapers over the past five years, the Iranian regime has now turned its attention to the internet, filtering political blogs and websites, pulling the plug on Internet service providers, and arresting web technicians, journalists and bloggers, keeping them in undisclosed locations without charge.
The latest round of arrests include Shahram Rafizadeh, Babak Ghafouri-Azar, Rouzbeh Mir-Ebrahimi, Hanif Mazroui, Omid Memarian, Mostafa Derayati, Majid Ghoreishi, Reza Vatanikhah, Javad Gholam Tamayomi, and Fereshteh Ghazi.
We, the undersigned, including bloggers, journalists and web technicians from all over the world, demand the immediate release of our fellow Iranian colleagues and call on the Islamic Republic to cease and desist from the perseuction of bloggers, journalists and web technicians -- and the suppression of free speech.
Posted at October 28, 2004 6:48 PM