“There is no difference between journalism and intelligence”
indexforcensorship / Maziar Bahari
29-Mar-2010

What the West can do?

I can say these words on this platform because of the support I received from the international community. I was lucky enough to be working for Newsweek. My colleagues went beyond their call of duty and rallied all their contacts in the international media, and among the diplomatic community, to call for my release.

I was also lucky and blessed by the support of organisations like Index on Censorship, Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Sans Frontieres who are advocating the situations of the imprisoned journalists or journalists under duress by other countries.

The fact that I was finally freed (albeit on bail) shows that the Iranian government is not as indifferent to negative publicity as it pretends to be. Iran is not North Korea. Iran needs the help of international community to survive. The Iranian government right now is using international satellite technology to send its message of hate. It is using the same broadcasting laws and regulations as the West to have the offices of its foreign broadcasters in different countries. The world community should prevent the Iranian government from benefiting from what it denies its own people. I was really happy about the European community’s decision this week to penalise Iran for jamming satellite transmissions. I hope they follow these new measures with more urgency and vigour than in the past.

Supporting the free flow of information to and from Iran is inves... >>>

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