Maziar Bahari reported acquitted, still in jail
Iranian-Canadian journalist has been acquitted on minor charges of inciting political uprisings, according to Liberal MP Dan McTeague, but remains in an Iranian prison. The opposition MP says the Canadian government should do more to secure his release.
Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari has been acquitted in an Iranian court on minor charges of inciting political uprisings, a CBC report quotes Liberal MP Dan McTeague as saying. But the Newsweek correspondent remains in prison.
The CBC has also reported that McTeague urged Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon to secure Bahari’s release, arguing the journalist is now being held on suspicion he was spying for a foreign government.
McTeague said assurances from Cannon that Bahari was not working for the Canadian government would help get him released.
Cannon met with his Iranian counterpart in August and urged that Bahari be released, according to another CBC report.
Bahari was arrested in Iran on June 21. For further details see J-Source’s July 9 and June 29 postings.
Grant Buckler is a retired freelance journalist and a volunteer with Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and lives in Kingston, Ont.