A prominent Iranian blogger has been arrested in Tehran and accused of spying for Israel after visiting the country with the aim of being “a bridge between Iranian and Israeli people”. Hossein Derakhshan, 33, was reported by the Iranian website Jahan News to have confessed during initial interrogations to being involved in espionage. The Jahan News site, which is widely believed to be linked to the Iranian intelligence services, also said he had been described in Jewish newspaper articles as a “friend of Israel”. Derakhshan is known in Iran as the Blogfather after effectively launching the country’s craze for blogging. He has claimed 20,000 people a day read his postings. More
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02 Sep
Amy Goodman Arrested at RNC
Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar were arrested by the Minneapolis Police Department. Charged with conspiracy to riot. Footage from Rick Rowley and Brandon Jourdan.
UPDATE
Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC
Goodman Charged with Obstruction; Felony Riot Charges Pending Against Kouddous and Salazar
ST. PAUL–Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have all been released from police custody in St. Paul following their illegal arrest by Minneapolis Police on Monday afternoon.
All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar’s violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, “I’m Press! Press!,” resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman’s arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.
On Tuesday, Democracy Now! will broadcast video of these arrests, as well as the broader police action. These will also be available on: www.democracynow.org
Goodman was arrested while questioning police about the unlawful detention of Kouddous and Salazar who were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman’s crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were arrested on suspicion of rioting, a felony. While the three have been released, they all still face charges stemming from their unlawful arrest. Kouddous and Salazar face pending charges of suspicion of felony riot, while Goodman has been officially charged with obstruction of a legal process and interference with a “peace officer.”
Democracy Now! forcefully rejects all of these charges as false and an attempt at intimidation of these journalists. We demand that the charges be immediately and completely dropped.
Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this action by Twin Cities’ law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of these journalists.
During the demonstration in which the Democracy Now! team was arrested, law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force against protesters and journalists. Several dozen demonstrators were also arrested during this action, including a photographer for the Associated Press.
Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism’s top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and the subsequent criminal charges and threat of charges are a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists.
Democracy Now! is a nationally-syndicated public TV and radio program that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.
Sphere: Related ContentWEST Australian Police have asked the state government to give them the power to take a DNA sample from anyone who is arrested, even for minor offences such as trespass. Police can now take samples only from people charged with or suspected of committing a serious offence that carries a minimum jail sentence of 12 months. The West Australian newspaper said it was understood police had made the request for greater powers in their recent submission to the State Government’s statutory review of the Criminal Investigation (Identifying People) Act 2002, which regulates the DNA database, the collection of samples and the time and conditions under which profiles are kept. Police Minister John Kobelke has backed the move, saying it would help make police even more effective. More
Sphere: Related ContentNEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were arrested and indicted on securities fraud charges on Thursday following a federal criminal probe into the collapse of two funds they oversaw. The former managers, Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, surrendered to officials and are expected to be arraigned later on Thursday on wire and securities fraud charges. The indictment said the fund managers lied about the funds’ prospects despite liquidity concerns and outlook for the market. The indictment also stated that one of the managers transferred a portion of his own investments from one of the funds but did not tell investors about the move. More
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Police say Academy Award-winning actress Tatum O’Neal has been arrested after allegedly buying crack cocaine near her home in Manhattan. Police say the 44-year-old actress was seen making the illicit purchase at about 7:30 last night. She is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. O’Neal is the daughter of actor Ryan O’Neal and appears regularly on the cable television series “Rescue Me.” She was the youngest person to win an Oscar — for her role in 1973’s “Paper Moon.” She chronicled her struggles with addiction in her memoir, “A Paper Life.” Police could not say whether she had an attorney. Messages left for a publicist were not returned early today.
Polly Curtis and Martin Hodgson
A masters student researching terrorist tactics who was arrested and detained for six days after his university informed police about al-Qaida-related material he downloaded has spoken of the “psychological torture” he endured in custody.
Despite his Nottingham University supervisors insisting the materials were directly relevant to his research, Rizwaan Sabir, 22, was held for nearly a week under the Terrorism Act, accused of downloading the materials for illegal use. The student had obtained a copy of the al-Qaida training manual from a US government website for his research into terrorist tactics.
The case highlights what lecturers are claiming is a direct assault on academic freedom led by the government which, in its attempt to establish a “prevent agenda” against terrorist activity, is putting pressure on academics to become police informers. More
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