Arrested German reporters do penance on Iranian TV - Feature

Wed, 17 Nov 2010

Tehran - Getting caught as a foreign journalist in Iran without proper accreditation is bad enough, but if espionage charges are thrown in, often the only way out is a contrite confession, broadcast live on the Islamic republic's state television channels.

For two reporters of the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag who were detained October 10 after trying to interview the son of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, admitting their alleged crimes live on air might have been the only option to avoid spending more time in Iran's notorious prisons.

After their coverage of last year's presidential polls, which the opposition charged were manipulated, and the weeks of street protests that followed, foreign journalists have been regarded as imperialist stooges by the government in Tehran, who has also accused critical reporters of undermining the Islamic establishment.

Mohammadi-Ashtiani's case tops the list of taboo topics for foreign reporters. "This issue is that hot, that you can only burn yourself," an Iranian journalist said. "This may be even riskier than having opposition contacts."

The Germans, who entered Iran with tourist visas, tried to interview the woman's son and her lawyer in their hometown in the north-western province of East Azerbaijan. The interview had been facilitated by Mina Ahadi, a human rights activist living in Germany who recently started a campaign against Mohammadi-Ashtiani's sentence.

Going into Iran without a journalist visa was risky enough, an Iranian government official said. "But then going to the provinces to conduct an interview on such a taboo topic and on top of that having organized it with the help of such a notorious dissident, that borders on stupidity," the official said.

Initially, the Germans were only accused of not having proper accreditation, a minor accusation that could have been simply solved by expelling them, legal experts said.

However, because of their connection with Ahadi, the head of the provincial justice authority also accused them of espionage and engaging in a smear campaign against Iran.

Those accusations are much worse, a Tehran-based lawyer said. "Because of similar and not even proven accusations, two Americans have been imprisoned here for 16 months, and God knows for how long they are going to be here," he explained, referring to hikers who said they mistakenly wandered over the border from Iraq into Iran.

But the lawyer also cautioned that the allegations by the provincial justice chief should be taken with a grain of salt because he lacked the authority to decide a case with such political implications, which is Tehran's prerogative.

"As the Germans already confessed on state TV, showed remorse and asked for a pardon, a happy end cannot yet be ruled out," he said.

In the most likely scripted interview broadcast Monday, the Bild journalists not only admitted to their wrongdoings but also claimed they had been deceived by Ahadi, who, they said, had used them for her own propaganda purposes.

While such televised confessions are standard fare in the Iranian system and are not generally regarded as credible, several dissidents and alleged spies, especially those holding double citizenship, were released after doing penance on air.

Iran, which does not want to overly annoy one of the negotiators in an upcoming round of nuclear talks in December, downplayed the case.

"The case of the two Germans is in the hands of the judiciary, and they will remain detained until the end of the legal procedures," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/353909,iranian-tv-feature.html.