allAfrica.com: Egypt: Bloggers Fly Into Security Trap (Page 1 of 1) | On the recent spate of arrests of bloggers at Cairo Airport. Makes you think, did they get a new computer system or what?
Grading places - The National Newspaper | Marc Lynch on AHDR 2009: I don't get what all the debate is about.
The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010: Democracy, Governance, and Human Rights in the Middle East | Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) | Well-researched report on US democracy promotion spending in the Middle East.
From the inside - The National Newspaper | Iason Athanasiadis on his ordeal in Iran.
EGYPT: Coptic pope likes president's son | Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times | Shenouda yet again says he supports Gamal Mubarak presidency.

Ould Abdel Aziz & the Jews « The Moor Next Door | On Mauritania's junta leader campaign against the Israeli embassy.
TRANSCRIPT: Obama says Africa Command Focused on Partnership to Address Common Challenges | Obama's Ghana speech; bits on AFRICOM highlighted. From the official site.
Conflicts Forum » Tehran troubles | Alastair Crooke, has an article which offers analysis of the recent events in Iran but is dead wrong on the 'Western media' not understanding Moussavi was a regime-approved candidate. He also only seems to quote Khameini backers and their foreign allies. His stuff on inter-regime rivalry is interesting but really do we need to go on about the "myth of a color revolution" (few bought it) or entirely dismiss the protest movement as simply North Tehran? Disappointing.
Arab Reform Bulletin - Whither Economic Reform? | I wanted to post properly about this piece on economic reform in Egypt, but in the meantime will just link. Post tomorrow, inchallah...
A Technocrat Steadily Gains Influence in West Bank, but Questions Remain - washingtonpost.com | About Salam Fayyad.
Times reporter recounts life in Iran prison - Washington Times | Iason Athanasiadis recounts his ordeal in Iran.

Our friend Iason Athanasiadis, the Greek reporter who was arrested in Tehran last month and was only recently released, has given this interview to al-Jazeera English:



I have been in touch with Iason, and understand he is putting his experience to paper...

UPDATE: AP reports he has been released!

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's state television is reporting that a Greek journalist that had been held for more than two weeks has been released.
State television Sunday quoted a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Hasan Qashqavi, as saying that Iason Athanasiadis-Fowden had been released in, what he described as the framework of Tehran-Athens ties.

Some good news from Iran regarding my friend Iason Athanasiadis, the Greek journalist arrested in Tehran:

Iason Athanasiadis, the 30-year-old Greek correspondent for the Washington Times who had been covering Iran’s disputed presidential election until he was arrested in Teheran two weeks ago, is to be freed by Sunday morning, Iran’s ambassador in Athens has told Kathimerini.

“We are pleased to confirm that within the next 48 hours the Greek journalist will have been freed,” Mehdi Honardoost told Kathimerini yesterday morning.

Last Tuesday an Iranian Culture Ministry official had confirmed the arrest of Athanasiadis at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport but without clarifying what charges the reporter faced.

I hope they carry this out and release him soon, as well as any other journalists and unlawfully held people. See also this CPJ profile and a Guardian story about the promise to release him.

Iason Athanasiadis is still being held in an Iranian jail, with no news on the charges against him or when he might be released. (See previous post on Iason's arrest.)

Iason's parents have issued a statement:

Meanwhile the parents of the journalist Iason Athanasiadis issued a statement appealing for the authorities to release their son, who was arrested last week on suspicion of what Tehran described as "underground activities". Iran's state media has said the authorities regard the journalist, also known as Jason Fowden, as a British reporter. Polymnia Athanasiadi and Georgios Fowden said: "Iason is a dedicated reporter, photographer and filmmaker who grew up in Greece and regards himself as Greek."

"Iason has always maintained his integrity as an independent journalist who sells articles, photographs and film to outlets in many parts of the world," the statement added. "His work serves no purpose other than the fair and humane coverage of life in the many countries where he has worked. He has a particular love of Iran, and a deep respect for its cultural and religious traditions."

Both Greek and British authorities are working towards his release.

Iason is one of at least 30 journalists (Iranian and foreign) who have been arrested since the crisis began, including the entire staff of a newspaper affiliated with presidential candidate Hossein Moussavi, Kalameh Sabz. Reporters Sans Frontieres says Iranian demonstrators have been forced to say they protested under the influence of foreign media:

Reporters Without Borders today condemned a parade of Iranian demonstrators being shown on a loop on state-run TV confessing to having protested at the behest of foreign media.

All demonstrators make their confessions using the same words that have opened the nightly news bulletin for the past week: “Bismillah, al-rahman al-rahim. I admit that I demonstrated under the influence of the BBC, the radio Voice of America and other foreign media”.

The confessions are aired at every hour of the day and night to show Iranians the extent to which those disputing the presidential election were persuaded by western agents to take part in an “orchestrated plot” against the Islamic Republic of Iran, confirming the words of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, where Iason was working, has more updates on his situation.