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New York, July 29, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists rejects the alleged confessions by two detained Iranian photographers held incommunicado in Iran since their arrests earlier this month. The two allegedly confessed to sending pictures to the "enemy" following the country's disputed June 12 presidential elections, according to the official Iranian News Agency (IRNA).

IRNA today reported that photographers Majid Saeedi and Satyar Emami have confessed to having ties with a movement seeking to topple the Iranian government. IRNA's statement said that members of a network who took pictures and sent them to "enemy [news] agencies" have been identified.

"We are extremely concerned about the accusations against photographers Majid Saeedi and Satyar Emami," said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem. "Iran has a notorious record of coercing confessions from detained journalists, especially when they are held incommunicado for extended periods of time, as has been the case with Saeedi and Emami."

Saeedi, a prominent photographer for several reformist newspapers in Iran who also works for U.S.-based Getty Images, was arrested on July 10 by s... >>>