Campaign group Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of Ahwazi journalist Yossef Azizi-Banitorouf, who was arrested on 25 April after a radio interview.
"We strongly deplore the arrest of Banitrouf, who was simply expressing his personal opinion in articles and in interviews given to other newspapers," it said. "As soon as a journalist speaks out in Iran, the authorities crack down, either by closing the paper concerned or throwing the journalist in prison."
Azizi-Banitorouf is a leading Arab intellectual in Iran and had defended Ahwazis who began demonstrating against the regime on 15 April and condemned the violence. He worked for 12 years for the daily Persian-language paper Hamshari but was sacked when hardliners took it over. He now writes for several other papers.
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keywords: ahvaz ahwaz ahwazi arabistan khuzestan khuzistan khuzestani arab arabistan iran iranian human rights security oil news ahmadinejad ethnic cleansing
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