Newsweek Reporter Gets Jail Time In Iran For Photo of Ahmadinejad Appearing to Kiss Another Man.

[Emit]

~snip~

A picture of two men in profile with insufficient depth can cost you jail time in Iran. Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari just received a 13.5-year, 74-lash sentence (in-absentia ~ Emit) for his coverage of Iranian protesters being attacked by military officials, and CNN’s Fareed Zakaria was curious about unusual .5 addition to the sentence. He found that it had to do with a photo of Ahmadinejad that appeared on Facebook, in which the president vaguely appears to be kissing another man.

Bahari had just wrapped up a 180-day sentence related to his coverage of last year’s Iranian elections, after which protesters took to the streets in droves crying fraud. His latest work covering continued protests and military abuses cost him 13 years and 74 lashes– still acceptable punishment in Iran– but it was a photo that a friend of his put on his Facebook wall that got him the six years. Yes, a picture that someone else posted on his wall, of a man walking by Ahmandinejad, cost him six months, because it was deemed offensive to the manliness of the Iranian leader...

~snip~

Photo at link: http://www.mediaite.com/online/newsweek-reporter-gets-jail-time-in-iran-for-gay-looking-ahmadinejad-picture/

[mikelgb]

1. no-click pic:

[rollin74]

2. couldn't Ahmadinejad face the death penalty in Iran for that??

[begin_within]

3. Isn't it a rather common greeting between men in Iran?

Among the handful of Iranian-American friends I have, a casual kiss on the cheek upon first seeing a friend appears to be customary. It does not signify homosexuality at all, just a bond of friendship between them. I'm no expert on it, but I got the impression that it is common for heterosexual male friends to kiss on the cheek, at first seeing each other, and it means nothing beyond just a symbol of a close friendship.

[Skidmore]

4. For the culturally uneducated, in Iran and other parts of the ME, it is not

unusual to see men exchange a "kiss of peace" when greeting or taking leave of one another. Nor is it unusual to see men walking in public holding hands. It is not viewed with suspicion or as a manifestation of sexual orientation either. This sounds like a BS story concocted with a lot of Western baggage heaped on it.

[Emit]

5. As I understood the CNN piece by Fareed Zakaria,

it was the use of the photo with the implication that Ahmadinejad was gay that resulted in the 6 months of added jail time.

[Skidmore]

7. Following on the heels of the Afghani president being a drug

user, I think this has a funny smell to it. I trust my own knowledge of ME culture more than something plopped into an article like that.

[JI7]

8. i have seen those kisses, but the kiss in the pic looks more than that

of course a snapshot taken in a second can be misleading of the whole thing.

like that pic which made it seem like obama was staring at the woman's behind . but video showed he turned to put out his hand to help a woman down.

[Shadow Creature]

6. in certain countries

Disrespecting leaders in some countries is a no-no.

Can you imagine someone doing that inside of North Korea? Probably firing squad and his wife and kids in a concentration camp.

[JI7]

9. i always thought Ahmaninjead and Bush both look like Chimps