Iran: Two journalists arrested, another expelled
Two men, a reporter and a photographer said to be from Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper, have been arrested by Iranian officials. They were detained whilst interviewing the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani in the city of Tabriz. Mrs Ashtiani’s death sentence, which has been suspended, has provoked international outrage. A spokesman for Iran’s judiciary said the pair did not have the correct media accreditation, whilst a spokesman for Bild am Sonntag said it had no knowledge of the arrests. Iranian prosecutor general Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei stated that “two foreigners posing as journalists have been arrested in Iran”. It is thought Mrs Sistiani’s son and lawyer may also have been arrested.
In a separate development, Tehran-based journalist Angeles Espinosa has had her accreditation cancelled and been ordered to leave Iran within two weeks. The El Pais correspondent is thought to have attracted the authorities’ disapproval for conducting an interview with the son of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the late reformist cleric, in July.