Newsweek is escalating its pressure on the government of Iran to release Maziar Bahari, a prominent journalist who was detained there during the country’s post-election protests in June.In advertisements, petitions and in a report on its Web site, the newsmagazine is strenuously objecting to Mr. Bahari’s treatment in the country, where he has yet to receive access to a lawyer. The magazine says it views the arrest as “baseless.”
Mr. Bahari is among more than 40 reporters who remain jailed in Iran, according to nonprofit organizations that campaign for the freedom of reporters around the world. The groups say that Iran has imprisoned the most journalists of any nation in the Middle East.Mr. Bahari was detained in Tehran on June 21, Newsweek said, as part of a crackdown after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Other journalists for Western news organizations were also detained by the authorities after the election… >>>
