Middle East News
Iran says arrested Newsweek journalist has "confessed"
Jul 2, 2009, 13:09 GMT
Tehran - A correspondent for the US weekly magazine Newsweek who was arrested by Iran for allegedly writing articles slanted against the Tehran government has confessed to the allegation, the CNN network reported Thursday, citing Iranian media.
CNN cited the semi-official agency Fars as saying that the journalist, Maziar Bahari, had admitted at a press conference to having written articles slanted against Tehran prior to the June 12 presidential election with the aim of toppling the government.
Bahari, 42, of Canadian-Iranian background, was arrested by Iranian authorities on June 21.
According to the Fars report, Bahara is said to have publicly descriped how prior to the elections Western journalists were working toward toppling the government in Iran.
Among others, the Western media allegedly played down public shows of support for the leadership and described the elections as already having been manipulated ahead of time.
Newsweek called the allegations 'absurd' and defended Bahari as a a good employee who was beyond any suspicion.
The magazine also noted that since his arrest, he had not been allowed to speak either with a lawyer or with his family.
COMMENT
blog comments powered by DisqusLatest Headlines in Middle East
- 1. Jerusalem prelate tells Arab Spring youth to have confidence
- 2. More than 100 killed in Syria ahead of ceasefire deadline
- 3. At least 43 killed in Syria, despite UN criticism
- 4. 19 killed in Syria as ceasefire deadline approaches
- 5. Pilgrims flock to Jerusalem for Easter, Passover
Older Talkback
