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Iran expulses BBC correspondent, detains Newsweek reporter

22 June 2009 08:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Iran ordered to BBC correspondent John Leyne to leave the country in 24 hours accusing him in organizing the street clashes, APA reports quoting Fars agency. Spokesman for Iranian foreign ministry Hasan Gashgai said BBC, Voice of America and other Western agencies were the instrument on hand of their countries. â€œThese media organizations have two goals â€“ tightening the confrontation between the ethnic groups and to promote the division of Iranâ€, said Gashgai.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband rejected the accusations that the protesters in Iran are manipulated or motivated by foreign countries. He called his Iranian counterpart Mottakiâ€™s attempt to turn the â€œpost-election dispute among the Iraniansâ€ into the confrontation with other countries as groundless. Mottaki said â€œGreat Britain has plotted against the presidential election for more than two yearsâ€ and that they â€œwitnessed an influx of people linked to the British secret service from Britain before the electionâ€.
Newsweek, meanwhile, reported that a Canadian journalist, Maziar Bahari, who has worked for the New York-based magazine in Iran for a decade, was "detained without charge by Iranian authorities and has not been heard from since." "Newsweek strongly condemns this unwarranted detention, and calls upon the Iranian government to release him immediately," it said in a statement.
According to Associated Press, at least 23 local journalists and bloggers have been arrested in Iran since June 14.