“A witness to the beginning of Iranian-Venezuelan relations is Manuchehr Honarmand, an Iranian dissident journalist… Honarmand is a Dutch citizen who used to write columns for the Iranian opposition daily Kayhan International, based in London. In December 2002, he travelled to the U.S. to expand Kayhan distribution, and passed through Caracas. While in transit at the Caracas airport, waiting for a connecting flight, he was approached first by two Iranians, who asked him for information about himself, and shortly thereafter by two uniformed Venezuelan policemen.
“They handcuffed him and brought him to an office behind the transit area. Then the Venezuelan police beat him and forced him to sign papers in Spanish, which he was unable to understand. A few hours later, Honarmand found himself in a dark cell in Caracas, charged, on no evidence, with transporting drugs in a suitcase. For the first few months, the Venezuelan authorities refused to allow him to contact the Netherlands Embassy. According to the report by the Venezuelan National Guard, the suitcase [in question] was found with a Copa Airlines (a South American company) luggage tag, while Honarmand had been travelling on a KLM flight. Honarmand was robbed of his luggage and his money, and his papers and Dutch passport were confiscated.”
“Honarmand was freed only in 2005, after 3 years, thanks to pressure by the Dutch government. He now lives in the Netherlands, but that experience has marked his life as a human being and as a journalist. Following his release, he devoted much of his work to gathering information on the nature of the ties between Tehran and Caracas.”
Etiquetas: liberdade de imprensa é uma coisa linda
agrandealface.wordpress.com 
Deixe uma Resposta