Iranian judge denies bail for reformist journalist

An Iranian journalist held since May has exceeded the legal limit for his “temporary detention” according to his lawyer. Serajeddin Mirdamadi’s lawyer, Giti Pourfazel, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the detention could not exceed one month.  Nearly two months after his arrest, Pourfazel says her efforts to get Mirdamadi released on bail have been unsuccessful.

Mirdamadi has worked for newspapers Jahan-e Eslam, Toos and Hayat-e No, all which have been shut down by the government. He also contributed to Radio Zamaneh, an Amsterdam-based Persian language radio, while working toward a graduate degree in France.

Mirdamadi returned to Iran in September from Paris after reformist-backed Hassan Rouhani was elected president. When he and his wife arrived at Tehran’s airport, security confiscated their passports. He was charged Jan. 8 for “propaganda against the regime” in a Revolutionary Court in Tehran. Pourfazel argued that Mirdamadi’s case be moved to provincial court instead and be heard in the presence of the press jury. After the judged ruled that his January case had not been adequately filed, Mirdamadi was summoned to another court.

When he appeared before a regional court May 10, he was arrested and transferred to prison. Pourfazel told the New York-based ICHRI that she had not been allowed to read the most recent charges against him but that it appeared that a charge of “assembly and collusion against national security had also been added to his file.