[Nettime-nl] Zat 31 Juli: Solidarity Night (anti)war journalists held in Iran

[merijn oudenampsen <merijn.oudenampsen@gmail.com>]

Solidaritynight for American anti-war journalists held in Iran
Zaterdag 31 juli, 8pm, Schijnheilig.

EN
Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal are American journalists and
anti-war activists who were seized by Iranian forces while visiting
Sulemaiya in Northern Iraq in July 2009. Since then have been detained in
Evin Prison in Iran, with Sarah in solitary confinement this whole time.
With their films, photography and writing, the three have spent years
contesting the agressive American Middle East policy. They had been living
in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus at the time, working as writers
and teachers. Shon Meckfessel, close friend of Sarah, Shane, and Josh, who
was with them on their trip until the day before their arrest, will be
making a tour of Europe this summer to bring attention to their work and
situation. He will be sharing films, photography, and articles which the
trio have made, reporting on social struggles in Iraq, Palestina, Darfur,
Mexico and the United States.

NL
Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal zijn Amerikaanse journalisten en
anti-oorlogsactivisten. Zij zijn in juli 2009 gevangengenomen door Iraanse
strijdkrachten tijdens een bezoek aan Sulemaiya in Noord-Irak. Sinds die
tijd worden ze zonder aanklacht vastgehouden in een Iraanse gevangenis,
Sarah Shourd zit al de gehele tijd in een isoleercel. Met hun films,
fotografie, en schrijven hebben zij zich al jaren teweer gesteld tegen het
agressieve Amerikaanse Midden Oosten beleid. Ze woonden en werkten in een
Palestijns vluchtelingenkamp in Damascus, waar ze les gaven en artikelen
schreven. Shon Meckfessel, auteur en vriend van Sarah, Shane, en Josh, was
bij ze tot op de dag voor hun gevangenneming. Hij toert Europa door deze
zomer om aandacht te vragen voor hun verhaal en hun werk. Hij zal hun
onderzoekswerk laten zien, waaronder film en fotografie, dat verhaalt over
sociale strijd in Irak, Palestina, Darfur, Mexico en de Verenigde Staten.

For more info on the campaign/ meer info over de campagne:
http://freeourfriends.eu/

Schijnheilig, Passeerdersgracht 23, Amsterdam, http://www.schijnheilig.org
press contact: merijn.oudenampsenATgmail.com (0031(0)641386702)


*How they were captured:*

A five-month investigation by The
Nation<http://www.thenation.com/article/36562/us-hikers-were-seized-iraq>confirms
that Sarah, Shane and Josh were in the Sulemaiya region in Iraq,
not Iran, at the time they were abducted. Several of their friends had
visited the region
previously,<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-mcnaught/what-kind-of-idiots-would_b_594481.html>and
tourism in the area is heavily promoted, as for example in this
video from the regional
government.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jwTkkCuB8E&feature=player_embedded>Of
the numerous recommendations they received to visit the scenic area
around Ahmed Awa village (too small to be marked on their map,) not one
warned them of its proximity to the border, according to travel-mate Shon
Meckfessel.<http://freethehikers.org/wp-content/press-releases/Shon_statement_6AUG2009.pdf>

*Some links to their work: *

-Shane's cover story for the June 22, 2009 issue of The Nation, on
US-trained death squads in Iraq:
http://www.thenation.com/article/iraqs-new-death-squad
-Shane's feature article for Mother Jones magazine on corruption in the
Iraqi Awakening Councils: http://motherjones.com/politics/2009/09/sheik-down
-Sarah's article on women's struggles in Syria around a nearly-passed
“family law:”
http://womensenews.org/story/the-world/100604/syrian-women-reflect-rare-political-victory
-Sarah's article on the occupation of the Golan Heights:
http://womensenews.org/story/the-world/100604/syrian-women-reflect-rare-political-victory


*Links to the American Government and Mainstream Media reports:*

http://www.america.gov/st/democracyhr-english/2010/May/20100521102950ajesrom0.2316248.html?CP.rss=true
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/03/10/iran.us.hikers/index.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/05/201052015357928611.html
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