Reporters arrested, news sites shut down in Iran

From http://www.prisonplanet.com/reporters-arrested-news-sites-shut-down-in-iran.html

Reporters arrested, news sites shut down in Iran

Daniel Tencer
Raw Story
Monday,
June 15, 2009

International press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders is calling on the international community not to recognize the results of Friday’s presidential election in Iran “because censorship and a crackdown on journalists are preventing a democratic electoral process.”
“Arrests of journalists and media censorship measures are growing as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s ‘victory’ continues to be disputed,” the organization said in a statement.

The group cited a litany of apparent censorship measures taken since protests and riots gripped Teheran and other parts of the country in the wake of a surprising — and now doubtful — landslide victory for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
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From the Reporters Without Borders statement:
In addition to the 10 or so pro-opposition websites already censored, two Farsi-language TV stations were partially jammed yesterday and the mobile phone network was disrupted. Ahmadinejad supporters continued to pressure Iranian news media not to carry reports about election fraud. Four of the main pro-reform newspapers have been closed or prevented from criticising the official election results.
Reporters Without Borders has been able to confirm that journalists Reza Alijani (winner of the 2001 Reporters Without Borders-Fondation de France press freedom prize), Hoda Sabaer, Ahamad Zeydabadi and Taghi Rahmani have been arrested. There is no word of about 10 other journalists who have either been arrested or gone into hiding.

The group listed a number of news organizations whose websites or broadcasts have been shut down, including the Farsi-language services of the BBC and Voice of America. The Arabic-language news network Al-Arabiya says its Teheran office has been forced to shut down.
Reuters news service reports that more than 100 reformists have been detained by Iranian authorities, including Mohammad Reza Khatami, the brother of the former president Khatami. Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice-president, told the news service the reformist politicians were “taken from their homes” on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi is reported to have appealed the results of Friday’s election to the Guardian Council, Iran’s legislative body. Mousavi is seeking to have the results cancelled.