A Six-Month Report on the 'Four Waves' of Systematic Suppression of Journalists in Iran

According to a report by a non-profit organization active in the field of freedom of expression, throughout the first six months of 2024, the Islamic Republic has continued systematic, targeted, and ongoing suppression of media and journalists. This report, prepared by the 'Defense of Free Flow of Information Organization' (DeFFI) and based on 216 documented cases, shows that during this period, 181 media outlets, journalists, and media activists faced judicial and security actions. The report indicates that the suppression of media and journalists has significantly increased following important social events, such as the attack on the anniversary ceremony of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, military conflicts between Iran and Israel, the publication of a BBC World report on Nika Shakeri, and the death of Ebrahim Raisi. This non-governmental organization's report identifies 'four waves' of suppression of journalists during this period. Concurrent with each wave of suppression, the Islamic Republic, with the help of state media and pro-regime users on social networks, has organized campaigns to disseminate false or misleading news and reports to prevent challenges to the official narrative. According to the 'Defense of Free Flow of Information Organization', at least 34 journalists and media activists have been arrested or had their prison sentences executed during these six months. By the end of June, eight journalists or media activists, namely Nasrin Hosseini, Parisa Salehi, Vida Rabani, Shirin Saidi, Saba Azarpeik, Kamiar Fakour, Rouhollah Nakhaei, and Yashar Soltani, were still in prison. During these six months, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic issued rulings in 78 cases against media and journalists. In total, during this period, 26 journalists and media activists were sentenced to 31 years, six months, and two days in prison, 10 years in exile, 93 million tomans in fines, four years in exile, and four years of deprivation from the profession of journalism. The report states that 'the heaviest sentences issued against journalists in the past six months were against two women; Zhina Modarres Gorji, a journalist and women's rights activist, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and exile, and Shirin Saidi, an economic journalist and political prisoner held in Evin prison, was sentenced to five years in prison.' 'Defense of Free Flow of Information in Iran', which prepared this report and published it on Tuesday, July 16, is a non-profit organization founded by several journalists, human rights researchers, and legal scholars. The 'Defense of Free Flow of Information Organization' further states in its report that the security and judicial institutions of the Islamic Republic have violated the legal rights of journalists in 225 instances. Violations include conducting closed trials, deprivation of family visits, arbitrary arrests, deprivation of lawyers, and torture. The suppression of media has also continued during this time. 61 media outlets have been prosecuted in 69 separate cases. Seizures, filtering, and closures have been among the actions taken against media outlets. In the first half of 2024, 'Didar News' and 'Farday-e Eghtesad' experienced closures, the website of 'Didban Iran' was filtered for 22 days, and Tehran's economic security police closed the studio of the visual media 'Farday-e Eghtesad'. '91 journalists and media activists in Iran' have been prosecuted in the past three months. The statistical analysis and event recording by the 'Defense of Free Flow of Information Organization' show that the response of the judicial and security institutions of the Islamic Republic to social events follows similar patterns. These patterns indicate the organized nature of the mechanism for suppressing independent information in Iran. The International Federation of Journalists has also emphasized in its report from 2023 that at least 27 journalists were arrested in Iran last year. Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists, based in New York, announced at the end of January 2023 that Iran is the sixth largest prison for media personnel after China, Myanmar, Belarus, Russia, and Vietnam.