WERBUNGIm Iran haben 135 Journalisten einen Offenen Brief an den Präsidenten Hassan Rohani geschrieben. Es ist eine Art Aufschrei der Entrüstung darüber, dass der Präsident in einem Interview mit Christiane Amanpour auf CNN gesagt hatte, dass es im Iran keine Journalisten gebe, die wegen ihrer Arbeit inhaftiert seien. Sie erinnern den Präsidenten an sein Versprechen vom Juni 2013, denn als er sein Amt übernahm, hatte Rohani ein sicheres Arbeitsumfeld für Journalisten und Medien in Aussicht gestellt.
Und sie erinnern Rohani daran, dass er seinen Vorgänger für dessen Umgang mit den Journalisten kritisiert hatte, aber die Journalisten sagen auch, dass weiterhin zahlreiche Journalisten wegen ihrer journalistischen Tätigkeit in iranischen Gefängnissen einsitzen. Die 135 Unterzeichner verlangen, dass sich Hassan Rohani für seine Aussagen auf CNN entschuldigt.
Im folgenden finden Sie den Text des Offenen Briefes ins Englische übersetzt.
President Hassan Rouhani of Iran
Your Excellency, When you came to power in June 2013, you promised that you would create a more secure working environment for journalists and the media in our country.
Once again, in February 2014, you reminded the citizens of Iran of your election promises, stating that journalists should be entitled to greater security while doing their jobs.
You said that shutting down a newspaper is not the right way to warn those who may have infringed on the law.
We, the undersigned, expected you to take serious and practical measures to fulfill your promises.
Yet more than a year after resuming office, the demands and expectations of journalists have not been realized. In fact, in an interview with CNN’s
Christiane Amanpour, you denied that there was anyone in jail in Iran for their work as a journalist.
You were once critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration and its habit of concealing and denying the truth. Your recent denial that a problem even exists echoes this sentiment, and remind us of its impact.
We, the undersigned journalists, believe that it is unethical, unprofessional and insulting to deny the fact that, today, many journalists remain in prison in Iran for doing their jobs. In fact, a number of journalists have been imprisoned during your presidency.
In our country, security agents regularly imprison journalists, denying them their basic rights simply for carrying out their duty: to inform the public. As the head of the executive branch, and as the second highest official of the land, whose responsibility includes supervising the execution of the constitution by different branches of the government, it is your duty to improve the situation of Iranian journalists.
At the very least, we expect you to correct your false statement concerning imprisoned journalists in Iran. But we hope for more, and we ask you to fulfill your promises to create a more secure environment for journalists in our country.