(Washington Post) Roxana Saberi - When I was incarcerated in Iran's Evin prison last year on a trumped-up charge of espionage, I was fortunate that my case received a great deal of international attention. I believe the pressure from this international support eventually persuaded Iranian authorities to free me one year ago this week. Some Iranian decision-makers do care what outsiders say about the Islamic Republic. As the international community focuses on Iran's nuclear program, it should also make human rights a first-tier issue. When the UN Human Rights Council meets in Geneva next month, Washington and the EU should lead calls for a mechanism to investigate human rights atrocities in Iran. A bigger push should be made to send a UN special envoy on human rights to Iran and to aid Iranians, including the many journalists forced to flee their country out of fear of persecution. The writer was detained for 100 days in 2009 in Iran.
2010-05-14 08:42:20Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive