Meeting at their Annual General Assembly on 13 September 2010 in Vienna, Austria, the IPI members unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the government of Iran to release immediately all journalists currently in detention.
Following the presidential election of 12 June 2009, after which the re-election of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad was proclaimed, dozens of journalists, political reformers, human rights activists and others were imprisoned without a fair trial as a result of their participation in or coverage of protests of the election results. While many journalists have been released, others have been detained, subjected to cruel conditions and in some cases psychological and physical torture.
The IPI members resolved that the imprisonment of journalists for their work or opinions is contrary to basic human rights, including the right of free expression and a free press. The IPI members further resolved that detention of journalists also violates the rights of access of ordinary Iranian citizens to information that affects them and to varied perspectives on the news.
The IPI members calls on the government of Iran to release immediately all journalists in its custody, and allow them to practice their profession without fear of imprisonment.