Jailed Newsweek Journo Confessed to Conspiracy: Iran

Mazair Bahari explains the sentence handed down in absentia

(NEWSER) - Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari learned this week that, without telling him or his lawyers, an Iranian court had sentenced him to 13 years in prison and 74 lashes. Bahari won't serve that sentence—he was released from Iranian jail in October, after 118 days of interrogation and torture, and is now safe in London—but he examined his supposed crimes anyway. “They will tell you more about the regime than about me,” he explains. They include: More»

Humanitarian considerations thought to have played role

(NEWSER) - Iran set free yesterday the Newsweek journalist it had held prisoner since the disputed June elections. Maziar Bahari was released on $300,000 bail, likely because of humanitarian conditions—the magazine reports that the 42-year-old is expecting his first child October 26, and the baby's mother has had serious health issues. Tehran was mum on reasons for the release, but Bahari's case was mentioned during recent US-Iran talks in Geneva. More»

(NEWSER) - As his adversaries faced a mass court hearing condemned as a show trial, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was formally endorsed today for a second term as president of Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei conducted the ceremony, which Mir Hossein Mousavi and other opposition figures boycotted. The endorsement came after state television screened courtroom confessions by two prominent reformists, who said they had "changed" since their arrest. They added that they had not been tortured, as supporters alleged. More»

(NEWSER) - Riot police swarmed around Tehran University today, dispersing anyone attempting to gather in protest with batons, shields, and pepper spray, the Washington Post reports. “There are 300 of us in a small alley, and we are under attack by dozens of security forces,” one witness reported. Others say they saw Baseej militia members beating protesters with clubs, and plainclothes police officers leading people into unmarked vans. More»

Top council makes decision

(NEWSER) - After partially recounting ballots, Iran’s top legislators have confirmed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the victor in the country’s presidential election, the BBC reports. The decision by the 12-member, conservative-controlled Guardian Council was announced on state television and follows weeks of protests in which some 17 are believed to have died. The recount found no voting irregularities, Iranian TV reported. More»