Press That Are Not Free

May 3rd is World Press Freedom Day. This day is meant to assess the level of press freedom worldwide and to defend media against threats to their independence, as well as to commemorate journalists who have lost their lives in the pursuit of truth. Reporters Without Borders publishes a report on the ranking of media freedom around the world on this day each year. Reporters Without Borders states that Iran ranked 164th out of 180 countries in 2018, showing no significant progress in freedom compared to the previous year, where it was ranked 165th. For years, Reporters Without Borders has called Iran one of the five largest prisons for journalists. Since December 2017, more than 20 journalists and 50 citizen journalists have been detained in Iran. This week's program discusses the state of press freedom in Iran and where the line of free expression lies, featuring Faraj Sarkouhi, a journalist, writer, and literary critic residing in Germany, and Reza Moieni, head of the Iran section at Reporters Without Borders, based in France. Mr. Moieni, let’s start with you. Where did World Press Freedom Day originate, and how did it come to be named as such? The reality is that in 1991, Reporters Without Borders held a meeting in African countries for the first time, where it was suggested to designate a day to honor journalists and their work. Shortly after this meeting, UNESCO, which was present, took action and in 1992 designated May 3rd as World Press Freedom Day, which is also somewhat a day for journalists. This proposal came from Reporters Without Borders and originally from African journalists who had been under severe pressure for years. Mr. Sarkouhi, since we are discussing World Press Freedom Day, how much can this day help improve the state of journalism, especially in Iran? How do you assess this positively? Has it had any results so far? I would like to thank my friend Mr. Reza Moieni and Reporters Without Borders for their tireless work, which has helped many Iranian journalists under pressure and persecution. I want to point out that when I was imprisoned in Iran and sentenced to death with no hope, several international organizations launched a large campaign for my release, one of which was Reporters Without Borders, which organized a demonstration in Paris and occupied the Iranian airline office. I still have the photos; they put my pictures on the wall... They were very active and managed to raise my case worldwide, in France, Germany, and so on. Their branch in Germany was also very active, and after I was released, they supported me, arranging my first trip to France and then to Germany. I want to first thank them, as part of my freedom and life is owed to their activities, and at the same time, this shows how effective international organizations can be in helping persecuted and imprisoned journalists and writers. While one cannot always achieve 100% success, they can mobilize public opinion and inform. Reporters Without Borders is a credible NGO that is respected by media and public opinion, and it can mobilize public opinion and media, especially in Europe, which can influence governments, parliaments, and parties, compelling them to intervene. Therefore, we can say that it has an impact. This day should be viewed within the broader context of the struggles that organizations like Reporters Without Borders engage in to draw public attention. When a specific day is set, media and networks, including you - Radio Farda - conduct interviews about it, and global media cover it, creating an opportunity for Reporters Without Borders to highlight the situation of journalists worldwide and draw more public attention. Mobilizing public opinion is known to be very effective on governments in Europe, so we can say it has an impact. This day is at the heart of the struggles these organizations undertake, and for this reason, I think the more attention is paid to this day, the more we focus on those who are imprisoned for the sake of information. When you obstruct information dissemination, you are essentially revoking the people's right to know. Censorship of the press and the imprisonment of journalists is not just about oppressing a specific profession; it revokes the rights of all citizens to be informed and aware, and the right to know is a significant human right. Mr. Moieni, Reporters Without Borders has published a new report on the latest media freedom rankings, and Iran remains low at 164th out of 180 countries. How do you view the situation in Iran? The reality is that as the situation for information freedom deteriorates globally, other countries, particularly dictatorial ones or those lacking information freedom, are also experiencing a type of authoritarianism and repression of media freedom. You mentioned the global media freedom ranking in 2018. In our world today, according to the same map we have, 12% of countries are in very poor conditions, 27% are in poor conditions, 35% are somewhat bad, 17% are somewhat good, and unfortunately, only 9% of countries are in good or white status. Reza Moieni: "Last year, with the continued repression and detention of journalists, Iran remained one of the five largest prisons for media activists in the world, and we witnessed threats that were not just limited to detention and interrogation, but also included phone threats, summonses, and especially an increase in threats in smaller towns." In Iran, one characteristic of last year was that local journalists were more threatened. Part of this was due to the numerous protests that began last year, peaking in December and the last months of the year, but throughout the year, the protests and events that occurred led to many journalists being summoned and threatened, even though their efforts were not published in mainstream media. Is there a specific reason for this? Did you find anything specific in your findings that explains why local journalists are summoned or detained? The protests that occurred in smaller towns should be noted; journalists there are more vulnerable than in Tehran, which is a large jungle with a media concentration that might be better. But in a small town, familiarity and recognition are much greater, and the possibility of a local media outlet functioning is much less. For instance, in Bushehr, Kurdistan, Sistan, and Mashhad, we have had several instances of summons, interrogations, or even imprisonments. Faraj Sarkouhi: "We have a press law that is unique worldwide; even in the most fascist governments, there are laws stating what you are not allowed to write. In our press law, it is stated what you must write." Mr. Sarkouhi, Mr. Moieni referred to the statistics provided by Reporters Without Borders and mentioned that according to this organization, Iran is one of the five largest prisons for journalists. How do you assess the situation of repression and censorship of the press and media in Iran? The fact that Iran is considered one of the prisons for the press indicates the situation. We should note that most statistics provided by Reporters Without Borders or other international organizations like Amnesty International are based on publications that are banned, censored, and journalists who are imprisoned. However, there is a larger issue in Iran that is not reflected in the statistics but is a reality: in Iran, to obtain a media license, whether for a newspaper or magazine, you must get a publishing license. The Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Intelligence, and Judiciary assess the qualifications of the individual applying for the publishing license. For the past thirty years, they have never issued a publishing license for an independent journalist. Even cultural magazines usually have owners who are not professionals. Why? Because professional journalists who apply are deemed unqualified based on their writings. Publishing licenses are only issued to government affiliates. There is no newspaper that is not owned by one of the governmental factions, whether reformists or hardliners. Therefore, a significant part of censorship exists here, as they do not allow independent individuals to publish a publication that can later be banned. This does not appear in statistics because it never gets published to be banned and censored. Just like many books that are not allowed to be published, and usually, statistics focus on books that are censored, books that are banned, and pulped. This is part of the issue. However, there are other mechanisms for censorship. First, we have a press law that is unique worldwide; even in the most fascist governments, there are laws stating what you are not allowed to write. In our press law, it is stated what you must write. For instance, you must promote Iran's foreign policy, you must promote the Velayat-e Faqih, which is quite strange, meaning there are both prohibitions and a series of obligations. Now, even this press law is not enforced. Why is it not enforced? Because they cannot enforce it. Why can’t they enforce it? Because there is not just one body that oversees the press. The Ministry of Culture censors from one side, the Revolutionary Guards, the police forces, the judiciary, the Revolutionary Court, Friday prayer leaders, and clerics in smaller towns are all involved in censorship. One reason there is more pressure in smaller towns is that in addition to the Ministry of Culture censoring nationwide and the Revolutionary Guards and Ministry of Intelligence, local officials also impose additional censorship in their cities. Some things that the Ministry of Culture might say are acceptable, for instance, a governor or a mayor, the head of the endowment office, the head of statistics, they all intervene, and then a cleric goes to a mullah, and that mullah gives a speech, and then censorship begins, and that journalist gets arrested. Therefore, we see that in Iran, there are several mechanisms of censorship. First, the publication license is only issued to governmental factions; independent journalists cannot obtain a publishing license and are forced to work as employees in publications of governmental factions. Secondly, there is no professional organization to defend their interests; the Ministry of Culture has created things where key positions are mostly held by governmental factions. Independent journalists like me, who were in Iran, were not allowed to work unless we were under the cover of one of these factions. Journalists must work in newspapers published by governmental factions, so there is a type of limitation here. In addition to these mechanisms, there is a press court, and then there is the judiciary and the Revolutionary Court, and in addition to these various and multiple censorships, there is self-censorship. That is, a space of fear and terror has been created; a journalist wants to write something, and in their mind, there is a police officer stationed, or even not a police officer, but a prudent person who says if we write this, something might happen, you might get arrested, and this leads to self-censorship. Now, if you look at the state of publications in Iran...