Mohammad-Ali Jedari-Foroughi was jailed on charges of helping the editor of a pro-reform journal, Faraneh Behzadi, spread "false allegations" about the Iranian courts in an August 25 interview with VOA?s Farsi-language Service.

In her VOA interview, Ms. Behzadi alleged that the Press Court in Tehran tried to  manipulate her into implicating several reformist journalists in illegal activities. She said the court had summoned her without specifying the charges. ?When I appeared before the judge,? she said, ?he asked me to write down what he dictated and asked me to practice it at home and in front of a mirror and be prepared to publicly deliver it as my own statement.? The statement would implicate three prominent pro-reform journalists in allegedly unlawful business practices. 

Ms. Behzadi said the Press Court judge warned ?I shall sentence you to a 15- year jail term if you refuse to read the text.? Although she refused to read the ?statement,? it was published in a conservative paper as her confession.  Ms. Behzadi told VOA that she was filing a complaint against the judge, the prosecutor and the newspaper that falsely printed her ?confessions.? In her interview, Ms. Behzadi urged the Voice of America to ?let the people know of the truth because the truth is never fully reflected in Iran.?

In a separate interview with VOA Farsi on the same day, defense lawyer Jedari-Foroughi said his client was not permitted by the court to have a lawyer during the trial. He added that, ?if true, the Press Court?s attempts to manipulate the defendant were clearly illegal.?

Contact: Joe O?Connell
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