[Air-l] Iran: Journalist Detained in Internet Crackdown

[Maja van der Velden]

About Arab and Muslim scholars and US home land security...

It is this part that should worry us:

"Shortly before his arrest, Memarian had tried to attend a conference on
Iranian civil society in New York. He had obtained a U.S. visa, but in
Frankfurt, U.S. authorities refused to allow him to board his flight, 
saying
that he was on a "no-fly" list but providing no other information. He 
was
arrested a few days after his return to Tehran."
(see full article below).

Same for Tariq Ramadan. Fortunately, he lives in Switserland:

Tariq Ramadan - a Swiss-born intellectual, imam, and activist - is one 
of Europe's most prominent Muslim reformers. Time magazine named him 
one of the 100 innovators of the 21st century. The University of Notre 
Dame has invited him to teach Islamic philosophy and ethics at its Kroc 
Institute for Peace Studies. But just days before classes began, the US 
government revoked his visa on the basis of national security, without 
explanation. The scholar and his family were stranded as his furniture 
headed to Indiana. Many American scholars were stunned and have decried 
the government's action as an interference in academic freedom.
(http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0921/p16s02-bogn.html ; On perceived 
role of the internet in spreading rumors, see: 
http://www.iht.com/articles/536660.html)

Greetings, Maja

Human Rights Watch:
Iran: Journalist Detained in Internet Crackdown

(New York, October 15, 2004) -- The arrest of journalist and internet
writer Omid Memarian continues a disturbing crackdown on journalists
and internet writers in Iran, Human Rights Watch said today. Memarian, a
well-known figure in Iran's nongovernmental organization community,
has been detained without charge since his arrest on Sunday, Oct. 10.

The Iranian Students News Agency, citing family members, reported that 
agents of Iran's Judiciary working for the Tehran airport prosecutor
arrested Memarian in his office around noon on Sunday. The authorities
also searched Memarian's home and confiscated his personal notes and 
computer.

"Omid Memarian's arrest is a further sign that Iran's systematic 
assault on
writers and activists continues unabated," said Joe Stork, Washington
director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division.
"The Judiciary in particular remains determined to intimidate critics,
isolate them from the public, and make it impossible for their voices 
to be
heard."

Human Rights Watch called for the Iranian government to release 
Memarian immediately and unconditionally.

Shortly before his arrest, Memarian had tried to attend a conference on
Iranian civil society in New York. He had obtained a U.S. visa, but in
Frankfurt, U.S. authorities refused to allow him to board his flight, 
saying
that he was on a "no-fly" list but providing no other information. He 
was
arrested a few days after his return to Tehran.

Memarian has written extensively on youth-related issues in Iran and was
a candidate in last year's election for Tehran's City Council. He 
maintains
a Web-log dedicated to a range of social, cultural and civil society 
issues
in Iran. Human Rights Watch said that Memarian's detention comes on the
heels of numerous arrests of journalists and internet writers over the 
past
month, a negative trend for online expression.

"These developments do not bode well for the future of freedom of 
expression in Iran, especially on the internet," Stork said. "It is 
disturbing that neither President Khatami nor Supreme Leader Ali 
Khamane'i has stepped in to stop the Judiciary's repressive campaign."

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Maja van der Velden
http://www.globalagenda.org