Freed Washington Times Journalist Reflects On Experience In Tehran Prison

Freed Washington Times journalist and former Roxana Saberi classmate reflects on his experience in Iranian prison. Gets to keep blindfold and prison pants [Article with original information obtained from e-mail and Facebook exchanges between the writer and recently freed journalist Iason Athanasiadis, while the latter was at Dubai airport, waiting to board Emirates flight EK105, which left Dubai at 10:21 local time (UTC + 4) and just landed in Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos airport at 13:45 (UTC + 3). Includes a statement issued this afternoon by Iason Athanasiadis's parents] 'Freed Washington Times journalist and former Saberi classmate reflects on his experience in Iranian prison. Gets to keep blindfold and prison pants' Athens, Greece – Tuesday 7 July 18:51 (UTC +3/ BST+2) By Manos Tzafalias A British-Greek journalist detained in Iran since 17 June returned to Athens today after an ordeal which saw him arrested and released three times because of what he described as the country’s “factional politics”. Iason Athanasiadis-Fowden, a 30-year old freelance reporter and photographer who had been covering the country’s contested elections for the Washington Times and the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, downplayed his experience at the hands of Iranian authorities, saying to friends that he had just “finished a three week embed” at Tehran’s notorious Evin penitentiary and informing them that he had taken with him his prison pants and blindfold. “I was released on the Imam Ali's birthday after being re-arrested on its eve and held in a cell at Imam Khomeini airport...[I was] arrested twice. Once on 17 June, then again on Sunday evening ahead of my release today. Proved the adage about factional politics in Iran,” Athanasiadis wrote in the early hours of Tuesday 7 July while waiting to board a plane in Dubai airport. Athanasiadis was then asked [by this writer] about a previous run in he had with authorities while reporting from Qom, a renowned centre of Shi’i Islam scholarship. Iranian clerics in that city have been vocal in their criticism of the Ahmadinejad regime in the aftermath of the contested 12 June presidential election. “Oh yes, so with the Qom arrest that DOES make for three arrests... thanks for the reminder,” wrote Athanasiadis. In a separate interview given yesterday and published today in Greek

newspaper ‘Ta Nea’, Athanasiadis said that his most recent arrest was by Basaji militia at Tehran’s airport and it was only due to the efforts of Nikos Garilidis, the Greek ambassador to Tehran, that he was finally free to leave Iran. [initially for Dubai and then onto Athens where he arrived this afternoon]. He said that in general he had been treated well but that there had been instances of violence during his arrest on 17 June and the consequent interrogation in Evin prison. Athanasiadis said his interrogators changed their attitude when they realized that he was a foreigner. Iason Athanasiadis was the only non-Iranian journalist held in Iran after authorities banned reporters from the streets as part of a post-election security crackdown. Athanasiadis, a former Nieman fellow now based in Istanbul, Turkey, lived in Iran between 2004 and 2007 and had been a classmate of American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who was imprisoned by state authorities earlier this year. Athanasiadis is fluent in Farsi and Arabic. He is the son of respected Oxford archaeologist and author Garth Fowden, who now resides in Greece and has adopted the Greek Orthodox faith, changing his name to Georgios. Athanasiadis’ mother is Polymnia Athanasiadi, a Greek scholar specializing in late antiquity and who in the past been awarded the Ipekci prize for promoting peaceful relations between one-time rivals Greece and Turkey. Iason Athanasiadis, aka Jason Fowden, has dual British-Greek citizenship but was travelling in Iran under a Greek passport. According to the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, Iason Athanasiadis was arrested on Wednesday 17 June, as he was trying to leave Iran. News of his arrest became public on 23 June, after Iran’s Fars news agency reported that Iason Athanasiadis was arrested in Tehran on charges of "illegal activities”. According to a 28 June report in Athens’ Vima newspaper, Greek authorities had been aware of his arrest since Thursday 18 June and took all necessary measures to ensure his release. According to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website, British authorities were well aware of the situation and were standing by to offer help, while respecting his parents' wish that Greek authorities

handle the matter. In a public statement released last week to international news agencies in Athens, Athanasiadis' parents said: “Iason is a dedicated reporter, photographer and film-maker who grew up in Greece and regards himself as Greek...He is legally entitled to another passport but he has never seen himself as anything other than Greek." Diplomatic relations between London and Tehran have deteriorated in recent weeks. Nine Iranians working at the British Embassy in Tehran were detained and one is still in custody. Iason Athanasiadis was covering the elections for the Washington Times newspaper, the Guardian, the GlobalPost news site and the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting. In the past he has worked for the Daily Telegraph, the FT, the National (Abu Dhabi), the Christian Science Monitor, Al Jazeera and the BBC [mostly for the now defunct Greek language service]. The other foreign journalist held in Tehran is Maziar Bahari, a dual Canadian-Iranian who reported for Newsweek arrested on 21 June. According to Amnesty International, up to 30 journalists are among the hundreds of people imprisoned in Iran as part of the violent post-election crackdown. As yet unconfirmed reports put the number of people killed at about 20. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told Iran state television on Sunday that Athanasiadis was released “because of the humanitarian efforts made by Iran’s envoy to Greece". According to a report earlier today by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said authorities invalidated the press card of the Greek correspondent Iason Athanasiadis-Fowden due to his infractions during Iran's post-election events. Qashqavi further stated that Athanasiadis had previously entered Iran as a correspondent while carrying British passport and was recently arrested for activities “contradictory to journalism” and in connection with the recent street riots. Athanasiadis landed at Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos airport at 13:45 (UTC + 3) having boarded Emirates flight EK105, which left Dubai at 10:21 local time (UTC + 4). -ARTICLE ENDS; STATEMENT FOLLOWS-

STATEMENT FROM THE PARENTS OF IASON ATHANASIADIS Our son, Iason Athanasiadis, arrived from Teheran at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens early this afternoon. We are delighted to say that he seems in excellent health and spirits. Our first task on this occasion must be to express our deepest gratitude to the spiritual father of Orthodoxy, His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, whose appeal to the Iranian authorities played a decisive role in Iason’s safe return. Another immeasurable contribution to our son’s release was made by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has expended tireless efforts on Iason’s behalf from the time of his arrest to the final hour of his repatriation. The willingness of its personnel to keep us informed at all times of the latest developments has been a great comfort to us. We should like to thank specifically the Minister herself, Ms Dora Bakoyannis, for the exceptional interest she has shown in Iason’s case; the Minister’s Chief of Staff, Mr Dimitrios Zafeiriadis, for his cool and resourceful handling of every situation; and, in particular, the Greek Ambassador in Teheran, Mr Nikolaos Garilidis, whose judgment, discretion and insight have been apparent and indispensable at every step of the way. On a more personal note we would like to mention three devoted and loyal friends, George Pilichos, Bruce Clark and Alexandros Massavetas, who have supported us throughout with astute advice and constant sympathy. Words are insufficient to express the gratitude we feel towards them. Many other friends and acquaintances, who cannot be named here, have helped to make our lives more bearable at this difficult time. We are grateful to them all. Polymnia Athanasiadi Garth Fowden Athens, 7 April 2009 -ENDS-