Iran Frees Newsweek Reporter

Maziar Bahari, the Canadian-Iranian Newsweek reporter who has been detained in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison since his arrest while covering the nation’s post-election uprising in June, has arrived safely in London in time for the birth of his first child.

Bahari was released on $US300,000 bail by Iranian authorities yesterday. It was initially unclear whether he would be allowed to leave the country, but Newsweek just announced via press release that he has arrived in London. We trust he won’t return to Tehran for his next court date. Bahari’s wife Paola Gourley is due to give birth in six days.

Evin Prison is a very, very bad place. Another Canadian-Iranian journalist, Zahra Kazemi, died there in 2003 after reportedly being tortured and raped. The Iranians said she suffered a stroke. Bahari was dragged before cameras not long after his arrest and “confessed” that the western media were deliberately trying to undermine Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. We are glad he is out, and hope that one day he can safely return to his homeland.