Journalism is Not a Crime: Fereshteh Ghazi

Citizen journalists, writers, activists and artists are routinely arrested and jailed in Iran for the simple crime of speaking out. Although some of the more dramatic stories occasionally hit the headlines, we rarely hear about these people's detentions or see their names published in English. IranWire's sister project Journalism is Not a Crime aims to change that, highlighting their stories and work, until the day when none of us know the names of journalists behind bars in Iran — because they have all been set free.

Fereshteh Ghazi [Freed]

Professional Record:

Journalist

Charged with:

Colluding with the aim of undermining national security

Publishing false news

Court’s Ruling:

Unknown

Date of Birth:

31/05/1978

Current Status:

Freed

Feresteh Ghazi started her career as a journalist in Tabriz, contributing to a number of reformist newspapers such as Khordad, Azad (Free), Ham Mohein (Compatriot), Bahar (Spring), Hambastegi (Solidarity), Norooz (New Day) and Bonyad (Foundation).

On October 28, 2004, Ghazi was arrested on the orders of Saeed Mortazavi, then the attorney general, as part of the so-called ‘Internet Sites’ legal case which had led to the arrest of more than 20 journalists and bloggers between August and October. Ghazi was held, interrogated and tortured for 40 days, during which her nose was broken, requiring her to be hospitalized for medical and psychological treatment after her release from custody. She was also treated for injuries to her chest and spine.

Speaking to IranWire after her release, Ghazi said: “They demanded that I confess to having had illicit relationships with a number of different people who were, at that time, important figures in Iranian politics, including Mostafa Tajzadeh, Ata’ollah Mohajerani and Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, who had all been chosen by [former president] Khatami himself. They all held important positions ... some I had never encountered at all while others I had only met for a very short time. But the interrogator asked me to confess to having had illicit relationships with them. When I didn’t say anything, he began to speak in a repulsive and provocative manner, describing the details of a pornographic film and speaking about illicit relationships.”

Ayatollah Shahroudi, then the president of Iran’s judiciary, visited Ghazi on 13 separate occasions, interrogating her together with the prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi.

Ghazi was detained in the Law Enforcement Information Detention Centre for 30 days and in the women’s section of Evin Prison for 10 days. She was released after paying a bail of 50 million tomans; she was later acquitted of the charges brought against her.

Ghazi’s passport was confiscated in April 2007 at Imam Khomeini Airport. She was later twice summoned to Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Hadad. Ghazi left Iran in July 2008, migrating to the United States, where she now lives and continues to work as a journalist.