News, views & muse from Her Majesty's coldest colony

In fields of pessimism, occasional seeds of hope

Hoder Update as 2009/02/05… Worrisome: not much to report

  • Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
    Despite Iran’s official statement over a month ago that they are holding, Hossein “Hoder” Derakhshan, there has still been no official comment from Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. This raises questions about the sincerity of the Ministry’s earlier rationale that the lack of such an official statement from Iran was Canada’s reason for not commenting. http://geo.international.gc.ca/cip-pic/geo/iran-en.aspx
  • The Canadian Press has not yet investigated this international story about the disappearance of a Canadian citizen, or at least if they have, they have not yet found it newsworthy enough to report on.
  • The Guardian (UK) has published seven stories concerning Hossein Derakhshan’s disappearance and arrest. Derakhshan is a Guardian contributor.
  • January 15/09: PEN International has expressed their alarm
  • December 30, 2008 Reuters reported that Iran has admitted to holding Hoder: “”His case is in a preliminary investigative stage at a revolutionary court and he is currently in incarceration in a jail in Tehran,” judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi told a news conference when asked about Derakhshan’s case.”
  • December 22/0, Iranian.com, the online magazine, has published a well-researched plea by former Miss World Canada, who despite having been a victim of written attacks by Hoder, is calling for his release chapter and verse under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Articles 9 and 10 of the UDHD state that: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” and “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”
  • December 15,/08 Reuters reported Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi has called for the liberation of Hoder: All I can say is that I very much hope that he will be released soon, because prison is not the place for journalists and for bloggers 
  • There is a large and growing Facebook group here: Free Hossein Derakhshan but even there, there has been new news since December
  • There is dedicated Free Hoder blog here
  • Globe & Mail December 8: Hoder Really arrested in Iran
  • Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), November 25, 2008, expresses concern
  • Amnesty International Report: Blogger Hossein Derakhshan was arrested at his family home in Tehran on 1 November 2008. Denied access to his family and to legal representation, no one knows where Hossein Derakhshan is held…

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    February 5, 2009 | Filed Under Civic Engagement, Social Justice, When Big and Little Worlds Collide 

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      Out on the land seeking moments and light, I’m often reminded of the similarity between the life and livelihood of a visual journalist/artist and that of the farmer.

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