Iranian journalist's arrest, jeopardizes independent reporting

Tehran, March 7, IRNA -- Detention of the Iranian reporter by the Italian government puts independent reporting at jeopardy, secretary general of the Muslim Journalists Association said on Saturday.

Talking to IRNA, Hassan Akhtari condemned the arrest of Hamid Masoumi Nejad and said that information dissemination is the duty of each reporter.

“His arrest is a pre-determined scenario which aims to restrict the free flow of information,” he said.

Describing the remarks of the Italian police as baseless, he called for the release of Iran’s TV reporter as soon as possible.

Akhtari said that the performance of Italy, a western country, proclaiming itself the so-called advocate of human rights will leave adverse effects on the international relations.

Referring to the influence of the Zionists in the state institute of Italy, he noted that they are involved in the country’s decision-making entities.

Hamid Masoumi-Nejad, an accredited journalist working for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting in Rome, was arrested on Wednesday on the alleged charge of smuggling weapons to Iran./end