PARIS, June 15: Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) is calling on the European Union to “react firmly” to the arrest Saturday by Iranian authorities of two journalists because they had met secretly with protesting students.

RSF is also charging Iran with holding eight other journalists in its jails, giving it the dubious status of being the country with the largest number of journalists in prison in the Middle East

The two journalists are Taghi Rahmani of the weekly Omid-e-Zangan and Reza Alijani, editor of the monthly Iran-e-Farda and winner of the RSF - Fondation de France press freedom prize in 2001.

“We call on the European Union, which is currently in talks with Tehran, to take a firm position on this matter,” said RSF secretary-general Robert Menard.