Life of Girl Under Threat

Bahram Rafiee, Rooz Online:

Twenty days after the arrest of the editorial team of "Hormozgan Civilization" weekly, which has not yet been officially charged or tried, and in an atmosphere of complete secrecy about the case, there are now unconfirmed reports about the suicide of Elham Afroutan, the main accused suspect in the case.

A satirical article in Hormozgan weekly on AIDS which had been initially and originally published on an Iranian website outside Iran has sparked anger and controversy over the issue of who was responsible for publishing the piece which is said to have been ruled insulting to Iranian hardline government officials. The editor-in-chief of the weekly is a member of Iran’s parliament from Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas. READ MORE

Shahriar Moshiri, another Bandar Abbas MP has said that the writer of the article is a 22 year old woman who is suffering from mental disorder. He has quoted the governor of the Hormozgan province to the effect that she had twice tried to commit suicide in the past and was currently under special care.

His revelations came amid rumors of Elham Afroutan's unstable mental health. An Iranian website has claimed that informed sources close to a rightwing conservative faction in Iran’s political system have been lobbying for a fake court trial of Mrs. Afroutan and the other imprisoned editorial board members, while other sources indicate that due to the intense pressure by some of the prison officials and before the court trial session, there is a possibility that she may have been either in a coma or even dead by now.

Moshiri's comments on her suicide and unstable mental health have increased concerns over Elham’s health and life, and also of the other prisoners. But despite such serious concerns and reports, judicial and police officials of Hormozgan province have opted to remain silent about the issue.

Following the crisis that erupted over the suspension of Hormozgan weekly and the arrest of Afroutan and her colleagues, the Association for the Defense of Press Freedoms issued a statement expressing its grave concerns over censorship and the suppression of press editors and warned about freedom of speech and the imposition of censorship under different pretexts. The statement also expressed its concern over the crackdown of the press and editorial board members, calling on Iran’s Judiciary to fulfill its obligations under the Constitution and article 168 of Iran's press law in respecting the freedoms of the press. The statement warns that the young journalist and her editorial colleagues have been exposed to severe punishment and even death.

The direction of events seem to suggest that local government officials in Hormozgan province are trying to acquit the hardline publisher of the weekly and convict Afroutan and the editorial board members of crimes they have not committed.

The rumors of Elham Afroutan's suicide and her unstable mental health remind us of the brutal murder of Zahra Kazemi, the Iranian-Canadian photojournalist who was murdered in notorious Evin prison. In that case, Iran's judiciary had claimed she had died from fall injuries which were followed by a heart stroke.

Are we again witnessing the sacrifice of another human being for someone else’ deeds?

Another blog report.