Date : 27/01/2012
PARIS, Jan 27 (KUNA) - The French government condemned Iran on Friday for a
series of press arrests and for the death sentences confirmed for two Iranian
bloggers and Paris called for "the revision of these unacceptable decisions."
A Foreign Ministry statement said that France is "extremely concerned about
the situation of bloggers Saeed Malekpur and Vahid Asghari who have seen
earlier death sentences against them confirmed in past days.
France also "condemned with the greatest firmness" a recent wave of arrests
of journalists and denounced these practices as an attempt to control the
press ahead of legislative elections on March 2.
The Foreign Ministry said Iranian authorities were "jamming certain media,
controlling and censoring the internet and arresting and condemning"
journalists.
These are "new and unacceptable obstacles to the fundamental rights of
Iranian citizens to have free and objective information, which is rarely the
case," spokesman Bernard Valero said.
France called on Iran to respect the international commitments it has
signed in the relevant areas of freedom of expression and freedom of the
press. (End)
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KUNA 271740 Jan 12NNNN