U.S. Journalist Held in Iranian Prison/Hugo Chávez Orders a Mapping of Media Owned by Opponents

U.S. Journalist Held in Iranian Prison
Iranian officials confirmed Tuesday that they are holding 31-year-old freelance journalist Roxana Saberi on court order, but refused to provide further details on her detainment near Tehran, the Associated Press and the French news agency AFP report.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said Saberi was engaged in "illegal" activities because she continued working in Iran after the government revoked her press credentials in 2006, the AP said.
Saberi's father said the reporter was detained in late January for purchasing a bottle of wine, which is illegal in Iran, according to NPR, for whom Saberi has reported. Saberi's family and Iranian press freedom advocates told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) they believe the possession of wine—for which people are usually released from custody within a few days—was only a pretext for detaining the journalist.
Reza Saberi, the journalist's father, told NPR he received a call from his daughter on Feb. 10 from an unknown location, saying she was detained and would be released in a few days. He has not heard from her since.
CPJ has called Iran "the sixth-leading jailer of journalists," with more than 30 colleagues investigated or detained there in 2008.
Roxana Saberi has been living in Iran for six years, completing her Masters in Iranian studies and international relations. She has also contributed reporting to NPR, BBC and other international media outlets, NPR adds.



Hugo Chávez Orders a Mapping of Media Owned by Opponents
The president instructed governors and mayors to draw "the map of the media war," to determine which media are "owned by the oligarchs," El Universal reports. The announcement came during his weekly radio program Aló Presidente (Hello President).
According to Chávez, support for his government is between 60 and 70 percent, and if not for the private media, “who attack and lie and manipulate so much, the support for the government, for the revolution, would be much more than 80 percent," El Nacional reports.
"Every mayor, in every municipality should do an analysis. How many radio stations are there? What's the content? ... The newspapers ... The Internet, there's war there, too. It's a battle every day. I beg you that all of us put ourselves at the front of the battle," Chávez said.

• By Ingrid Bachmann/DG at 03/02/2009 - 10:29