August 17 (8th of August) is World Journalist Day. Our writers and journalists in Iran have declared this day a national mourning. Indeed, it is so. Thousands of journalists, writers, and students are imprisoned, undergoing interrogation and torture. All independent publications have been shut down one after another; our friends are sad and heartbroken. They are in mourning. The oppressors of freedom and humanity kidnap poets, suffocate them, and then throw their bodies in the desert. They kill journalists and cover up the murder cases. They torture students to death in the basement of mosques, and then shout from the minarets of the same mosque: God is great. Our journalists, writers, and bloggers in the homeland lay down their pens on World Journalist Day and do not write. However, we are not in Iran, and we can write freely. On this day of the silent protest of our friends and colleagues on August 17, we write even more, expose more, and shine more light into the dungeons so that the world can see the face of the Islamic regime more clearly. In all languages, across the globe, with all our strength, with every means. This onslaught and looting will not stop. The scope of the chain murders has affected each and every writer. The case of the chain murders is the case of each one of us. We remain awake as the other half of that mutilated body on August 17, so our friends can find a moment of peace and fulfill their demands. We write so they can read, for they have always written and we have seen. On August 17, in honor of the journalists and writers who were sacrificed for freedom, in memory of our imprisoned colleagues, for our protesting friends, we rise in national mourning for the press and do everything we can. We write. We write about freedom, about censorship, looting, and invasion, about prisons, about the oppression of people, and human rights violations. We write about liars and criminals, about mass graves, about torture and injustice. Join us.
On August 17, We Write More So Our Friends in Iran Do Not Feel Alone, Maroofi in Malakout - 2003-08-02
On August 17, World Journalist Day, Iranian journalists and writers mourn the repression and imprisonment of their colleagues. The article emphasizes the ongoing struggle against censorship and human rights abuses in Iran, calling for solidarity and continued writing to expose the regime's actions. This matters as it highlights the dire situation for press freedom and human rights in Iran.
👥 Key Players
📰 What Happened
On World Journalist Day, Iranian journalists and writers mourn the repression and imprisonment of their colleagues, highlighting the ongoing struggle against censorship and human rights abuses.
- Thousands of journalists, writers, and students are imprisoned in Iran.
- Independent publications have been shut down, and there are reports of torture and murder of journalists.
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
Iran has a history of repressing dissent and controlling the media, often leading to international condemnation.
🏷️ Entities Mentioned
Translated from the original and edited for English readers. View original source →
Translation confidence: 85%