Human Rights Group: New Wave of Summoning Journalists by the Ministry of Intelligence

The website of the "International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran" reported on Tuesday about a "new wave of summons and threats against journalists by the Ministry of Intelligence" of Hassan Rouhani's government. This human rights group reported on Tuesday, September 5, citing several journalists "working for Tehran-based newspapers," that agents from the Ministry of Intelligence contacted them in recent days and requested to meet them in hotels in Tehran. According to one of these journalists, the main topic of discussion was the "unchanged red lines" in the Islamic Republic, and the intelligence officer told him: "Do not be deceived again; no one will do anything for you, your place is not in prison, do not think that with the change in the composition of the parliament in favor of reformists, anything special has happened. You are under surveillance; you may not be arrested for now, but your writings are being recorded in your file." Another journalist expressed surprise during a conversation with the Ministry of Intelligence officer about how he was summoned even during Hassan Rouhani's government. He was told in response: "The structure of the Ministry of Intelligence has nothing to do with its minister. The structure has been uniform and consistent in all periods; the red lines are fixed." According to the report from the International Campaign for Human Rights, most meetings with journalists were held at Laleh Hotel and Tehran Hotel, but some journalists were also summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence's follow-up office at Vali Asr Square in Tehran. This new wave of summoning Iranian journalists by the Ministry of Intelligence has occurred on the eve of World Press Freedom Day. On the same day that this report from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran was published, 230 Iranian journalists wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President, demanding attention to the situation of imprisoned journalists. In this letter, a copy of which was published on the Kalemeh website, referring to the arrests and heavy sentences issued for several journalists, it stated: "It does not matter how our colleagues were interrogated during the 126 days of detention and why they did not have access to a lawyer. It does not matter why, despite repeated requests, none of the journalists' trials were held publicly. It does not matter that in some hardline media, various accusations and defamation were made against them, disregarding their dignity and that of their families. It does not matter why, despite the investigator's order and the issuance of bail for their release and submission of documents to the esteemed judiciary in those early days, our colleagues were not released. It does not matter that despite all live news programs, speeches, unverified news, etc., they were ultimately acquitted of serious charges of espionage and infiltration and were convicted on other pretexts such as actions against national security and conspiracy." According to the journalists' letter to Mr. Rouhani, "What matters is that you are our President, and we voted for hope and prudence to witness maximum attraction and minimum repulsion, not the other way around." Reporters Without Borders, a non-governmental and international organization defending freedom of expression, has ranked Iran as one of the five largest prisons in the world for media activists due to the imprisonment of 32 journalists and citizen journalists. Iran is also ranked 169th out of 180 countries in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.