Ottawa needs to help free Journalist Maziar Bahari

Terry Glavin writes about an important human rights case...

Maziar Bahari was reporting on the Iranian elections. On June 21, at 7 a.m., there came the classic knock at the door. Unidentified agents of the security services took Maziar into custody and pitched him into a Kafkaesque nightmare.

Since that morning, Maziar has been allowed one visit by his mother. His six-months pregnant wife hasn’t been allowed to speak to him. The authorities haven’t even allowed him to see a lawyer. Last Saturday, Maziar was one of about 100 or so opposition leaders brought into court on vague charges of inciting a ‘velvet revolution’. No defence lawyers were present at the court hearings and independent journalists weren’t allowed in either. You can see an impassioned denunciation of the ‘Stalinist show trials’ and a plea for Maziar by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria at the Free Maziar Bahari website.

So what is Canada doing? Well, I’m assured that there has been some behind-the-scenes action. The Canadian government has demanded access to a consul for Maziar, and representations have been made to the Iranian ambassador in Ottawa. But it’s hardly Bill Clinton turning up, is it?

The irony in all of this is that Maziar isn’t just any journalist, he’s that rare creature - an impassioned, objective insider. Just after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Maziar made the difficult decision to become an exile, embarking on a lonely journey via Pakistan to arrive in Canada in his late teens, where he subsequently took up Canadian citizenship. Over the past ten years, Maziar has made countless trips back to his mother country as a filmmaker and journalist to report, reflect and act as a bridge between Iran and the West.

Please visit Terry's blog and learn more about this courageous journalist...