Journalist Demands Apology After Being Branded a “Traitor”

January 25, 2017

2 min read

Sobhe No newspaper wrongly identified the journalist as one of the 30 "traitors" who wrote to Trump

Journalist and activist Mazdak Ali Nazari has called on the paper to issue an apology

A journalist wrongfully identified as being one of 30 so-called “traitors” who wrote to President Trump has called on a newspaper to issue a formal apology.

By publishing a photograph of Mazdak Ali Nazari, Sobhe No (New Morning) newspaper indirectly accused the journalist of being one of the “30 traitors” who signed a letter addressed to President Donald Trump, calling for the new president to support freedom and democracy in Iran and turn its back on the ruling regime. Instead of publishing a photograph of a former political prisoner, Ali Nazari, who currently resides in the United States and put his name to the letter, the paper published the journalist’s photograph. The journalist and activist still lives in Iran, and could be in danger because of the mistake.

On January 25, Mazdak Ali Nazari sent an open letter to the paper and to the press, demanding an apology. This followed a previous letter to the editor-in-chief after the photograph was published on December 27. The editor ignored his request to publicly set the record straight.

Sobhe No, which is affiliated with the office of the mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, insisted it published Nazari’s photograph on accident on December 27, and that he was not one of the 30 signatories to the letter, which has attracted controversy in Iran.

Despite acknowledging its mistake, the newspaper refused to issue an apology. Mazdak Ali Nazari said he was entitled to compensation for the damage the error could do to his reputation, now or in the future.

Mazdak Ali Nazari was sentenced to over three years in prison for taking part in protests in 2009, and has a long history of taking part in student demonstration and other political activism. He was released from prison in 2012.

While other newspapers reported on the letter, none of them apart from Sobhe No published photographs of the signatories.

The newspaper was established in May 2016. It reflects the mayor’s views and political leanings, and is supervised by Ghalibaf's office.