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At least 10 confirmed dead in Iran as foreign journalists go home
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by Amy Judd | June 19, 2009 at 09:31 am
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Amnesty International has released a statement today saying that at least 10 people have been confirmed to have been killed in the Iran elections protests, while the number could be as much as 15, but the additional people have not been confirmed dead.
This statement comes as foreign journalists' visas are starting to expire and they have been told they will not be renewed and will be asked to leave the country.
"According to Amnesty International's count based on news monitoring and information received from Iran, up to 10 people may have lost their lives in clashes with security forces and plain-clothed armed militias," the London-based organisation said in a statement.
"In addition, at least four students are currently unaccounted for following the attack on the Tehran University dormitory," it added, after a spokeswoman had initially said it believed there were 15 confirmed deaths.
Amnesty also commented on the statements made by Ayatollah Khamenei to the Iranian people:
"We are extremely disturbed at statements made by Ayatollah Khamenei which seem to give the green light to security forces to violently handle protesters exercising their right to demonstrate and express their views," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of its Middle East and North Africa programme.
"If large numbers of people take to the street in protests in the next couple of days, we fear that they will face arbitrary arrest and excessive use of force, as has happened in recent days."
Coverage of the Iranian elections could change in the next few days however, as foreign jornalists will no longer be able to remain in Iran due to their expired visas not being renewed. News organizations may havve to rely more on the Iranian people getting the news to them.
Christiane Amanpour from CNN has already left Iran after her visa expired
“You can’t keep any of this news down anymore, and that’s a huge change from the past,” she said in an interview. “The process of getting the word out is totally democratized.”
Some of the high profile foreign journalists that were in Iran include:
Robert Fisk from The Independent UK
Tim Marshall from Sky News
A few reporters from NBC
Joe Klein from Time Magazine
Bill Keller from The New York Times
Joe Sciutto from ABC News
The BBC and the Associated Press have a permanent presence in Iran but even those journalists face restrictions.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 18:13 on June 19th, 2009
Thanks Amy for this piece. I think Reza Sayah is still in Tehran reporting for CNN, although he's allowed to file one story per day; and earlier, he was permitted to cover the Supreme Leader's rally. Otherwise he and crew are not allowed to document any of the students' rallies and events.
Amnesty International US also has issued this Urgent Action on the arrest of 8 political leaders.