Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Iran

Iran: Farda Correspondent Talks About Her Sentence And Journalists' Dilemmas

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March 05, 2008

Radio Farda correspondent Parnaz Azima, who was stripped of her passport and prevented from leaving Iran for eight months last year, has been convicted by an Iranian revolutionary court of "spreading antistate propaganda" and sentenced to one year in prison.

Azima, a former librarian and literary translator who holds both Iranian and U.S. citizenship, is appealing the verdict, of which her Tehran lawyer was informed on March 1. (More on Azima and her case)

If the decision stands, the Prague-based journalist will face a stark choice: return to Iran to serve out the sentence or forfeit the deed to her 95-year-old mother's Tehran home, which was posted in lieu of bail.

In an interview with RFE/RL desk editor Jeffrey Donovan, Azima talks about her dilemma but calls the situation for journalists in Iran more desperate than her own. She also urges reporters outside her native land to speak up for the rights of their fellow journalists in Iran.

India -- Investigators work at the site where a vehicle exploded near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, 13Feb2012

Alleged Attacks Tehran's Way Of Lashing Out?

(INTRO) Israel has blamed Iran for two bombings targeting its diplomats in India and Georgia this week, as well as for a botched bombing in Bangkok that Thai intelligence officials said were aimed at top Israeli diplomats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran's "terrorist activities" have been exposed, but Iran has denied any involvement. RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari spoke to Juan Zarate, senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism about the attacks and Iran's alleged role. More

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (center) looks on as scientists unveil a fuel rod at the Tehran Research Reactor.

Iranian Nuke Still One-To-Three Years Away, Says Expert

Iran on announced on February 15 that it has installed its first domestically produced nuclear fuel rods in a reactor in Tehran. Tehran also announced that it activated a new generation of centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility. RFE/RL spoke with nuclear physicist Frank Barnaby about what the advances reveal regarding Iran's uranium enrichment abilities, which Western countries allege are aimed at secretly building a nuclear weapon. More

Iran has stepped up its pressure on activists using the Internet

Iranian Activists, Journalists Receive Threatening E-mails

A number of Iranian activists and journalists based inside and outside the country have told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda they have been threatened in anonymous e-mails. More