May 20, 2002	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 7, 1423

PARIS, May 19: A 71-year old Iranian journalist, Siamak Pourzand, has been sentenced to 11 years in jail on charges of “undermining state security”.

He is also a noted cultural personality. He has been incarcerated by Iranian authorities for having “undermined state security by being in touch with monarchists and counterrevolutionaries”.

Pourzand was a cultural commentator for several reformist newspapers that have since been shut down.

“The Iranian authorities are once again showing their immense contempt for human rights,” said RSF secretary-general Robert Menard.