Freedom House: Iran is One of the 10 Least Free Countries for Media in the World

The organization 'Freedom House' in its latest annual report has announced an 'increase in pressure on media freedom worldwide' and has identified Iran as 'one of the 10 least free countries in terms of media freedom.' The annual report of this non-governmental organization advocating democracy, published on Friday, May 8, states: 'In the past year, the repression of independent media in authoritarian countries continued, and even in major democracies, media faced unprecedented threats.' According to this report titled 'A Dark Outlook for Media Freedom,' currently, 45 percent of the world's population lives in countries without media freedom, with Iran being one of them. Freedom House has noted that the level of media freedom worldwide is at its lowest in over a decade. According to the report, Iran, alongside Cuba, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Syria, and Eritrea, ranks among the worst countries in the world for media freedom. Two days earlier, Reporters Without Borders also ranked the Islamic Republic of Iran 165th out of 180 countries in its 2017 report on the state of media freedom worldwide, stating that 'media freedom is now more threatened than ever.' Reporters Without Borders reminded that Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, is one of the 'greatest enemies of media freedom' among world leaders. At the same time, the Committee to Protect Journalists, another international and non-governmental organization advocating for media and journalists, reported in its annual report that 'the current era is the deadliest and most dangerous recorded period for journalists worldwide.' This New York-based organization stated in its report published on Tuesday, May 5, that 259 journalists were imprisoned worldwide in 2016, the highest number since 1990 when this organization began recording related statistics. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 332 journalists have been killed worldwide in the past five years, the highest number of journalist deaths in this period in the last 28 years.