The Greek-British journalist Iason Athanasiadis evaluated his release, after a two week arrest in Iran, as a triumph for the Greek diplomacy. The freelance journalist was in the country to cover the local presidential elections for Washington Times. After the adventure he lived through in Iran, he gave a lecture in the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry on the subject: “Recent Iran elections: a personal testimony.” The lecture was organized by ELIAMEP organization.  

The local authorities in Iran charged him with espionage but as Iason himself says: “the Iranians are not so stupid to believe that I am a spy.” In connection to this Athanasiadis said that his arrest was an “intimidation act” for all journalists inside and out of Iran. He was the only foreign journalist in Iran’s prison, where 41 local journalists are being held right now.

Iason Athanasiadis held everybody’s attention with the story of his experience in Iran – about the days before he was arrested, about the elections and about his arrest, where he was charged with espionage during the pre-election riots. Mr. Athanasiadis shared that before he left for Iran he read a lecture in the London SOAS University on the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the Iranian republic, where he joked and said that he has “the perfect profile for a spy,” without even considering what would happen after this…

The Greek journalist arrived in Tehran on Thrusday morning – just few days before the elections, because the issue of his visa was delayed. He left for Kom right away, where as a tradition people cheer for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who according to locals has invested a lot in increasing the quality of life in the provinces. Mr. Athanasiadis believed there was going to be a second round in the elections, because based on the laws of the country, in order for a president to be elected, he has to gather 50% of all votes. The candidates were four but President Ahmadinejad was chosen on the first round with 60%. Iason asked to be in Kom, in order to be “at the right place and at the right time” but there he had his first experience with the police, while he was taking some photos in the local mosque, which ended with him being sent back to Tehran.

After the Election Day Athanasiadis, who was already in Tehran, became a witness of the first protests of the Mousavi (left second in the elections) party members. Their demonstrations were quiet and people were wearing white clothes. If someone started shouting slogans, everybody else turned to him with a finger on their mouth and said: “shhh.” Policemen dressed in black, with masks on their faces and driving high-speed motorcycles were thrusting past the people and hitting innocent citizens. After the first victims, the Mousavi followers continued their silent demonstrations, wearing black clothes as a sign of mourning. The nights after the elections were very tense, because there was a lot of violence between police and citizens. “The ones demonstrating during the day were not the same as the ones rioting at night,” explained Mr. Athanasiadis.

Because his visa was expiring soon, the 30 year old journalist had to leave the country. While he was at the airport running to catch his flight, few men surrounded him and asked him to follow them. When he understood what was going on, Iason Athanasiadis started shouting his name and the newspaper he is working for (Washington Times) in English and Farsi, so that someone can inform of his arrest. At that point the men started punching him but fortunately an American woman managed to jot down the information and called The Times’ newsroom. From there the editor of the newspaper called Athanasiadis’ girlfriend in Boston, who called his parents. This is where the saga of his release started with constant phone calls between Athens, Istanbul and Tehran.

From the first day the Iranian authorities told the journalists that he can be charged with espionage, the sentence of which can even be death. As a proof they showed a photo, taken years before, of him and a British diplomat, who came out to be a press attaché. Iason Athanasiadis was denying the accusations and after 18 days in the Tehran prison, thanks to the persistent attempts of the Foreign Ministry, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Greek embassy in Tehran and the Iranian embassy in Athens, the story had a happy ending – Iason Athanasiadis was released a week ago and now he is with his family in Greece.

Regarding the riots, Iranians thought that the demonstrations will develop into “gentle” revolution. According to Mr. Athanasiadis there were people who were educated abroad on how to organize riots and write slogans but this was not the key to the development of the events. Regarding the authenticity of the election results, Iason stressed that it cannot be said for sure that there were any irregularities, because journalists were not allowed to enter the election centers but the fact that 40 million bulletins were counted in less than 24 hours and that the other candidates had received little votes, is suspicious. In conclusion Mr. Athanasiadis shared that according to him the events after the elections in Iran are “a local subject and we should not interfere, because probably it is a stage, through which the Iranian society must pass – a local reform…”

Iason Athanasiadis has graduated from Oxford, majoring in Oriental studies; he has specialized in Cambridge and studied in Tehran. From September 2008 he is living in Istanbul. He is the only child of Polimnia Athanasiadi - Ancient History teacher in the Athenian University, who is a famous Eastern researcher. Mr. Athanasiadis said that his mother had passed her Eastern civilizations history interest onto him and when he was a child he used to go to the Middle East with her during her researches. Plimnia Athanasiadi is an expert in the history of Late Antiquity and the Middle East and she is examining the connection between Neo-Platonism and Islam – a religion, which she respects. Mrs. Athansiadi is a holder of the prestigious award Ipekci for her translation of Yanus Emre’s poetry. Iason Athanasiadis sharesthat in order to express his gratitude to his mother for the influence she passé onto him, he decided to use her last name in all his journalistic activities.  

photo: NAFTEMPORIKI newspaper