Reporters Without Borders: 39 Years of Islamic Republic's Rule Has Been Years of Media Suppression

Reporters Without Borders has described the 39 years of the Islamic Republic's rule as a period of "suppression" of media, journalists, and citizen reporters, accusing Tehran of extending its suppression beyond the country's borders. The report from this press freedom advocacy organization was published on Tuesday, February 13, two days after the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and includes statistics related to censorship, media closures, and pressure on journalists. The report states that since the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, at least 350 media outlets have been shut down, and over 800 journalists and citizen reporters have been summoned, arrested, and interrogated, with more than 500 of them tried and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 months to 19 years. Reporters Without Borders emphasized that "all these journalists have been deprived of their legal rights against detention and trial," while Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, describes Iran as the "freest country in the world." Khamenei recently stated that "the fight against oppression and corruption is very difficult." He also previously referred to the former Iranian government as a dictatorship, claiming that "our youth" have not "seen dictatorship." However, Reporters Without Borders recalls that Khamenei, in May 2000, labeled the press as "the base of foreign enemies" and launched a "total war against reformist media that continues to claim victims." The organization states that for 39 years, the Islamic Republic has systematically suppressed freedom of information, implementing strict measures to control information in Iran, and that this suppression has not been limited to the country's borders. Instead, the Islamic Republic has created a "global network" of fake news media abroad to promote its "official propaganda" by financially supporting some of these outlets. Reporters Without Borders cites the "Islamic Radio and Television Union," which the Islamic Republic founded and finances, as an example, with 210 media outlets from 35 countries as members. The organization further discusses the pressure on foreign media present in Iran, reflecting the statements of a former colleague from the French news agency who said that "this control is sometimes carried out by placing a journalist from security authorities in the media for espionage or through direct threats to foreign journalists." According to him, "there have been many cases where foreign journalists who refused to accept imposed censorship were accused of unethical actions and threatened with imprisonment." Jason Rezaian, a journalist for the Washington Post, and Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist, are among those mentioned in the Reporters Without Borders statement. Both journalists were arrested in Iran on espionage charges. Reporters Without Borders continues to cite other examples of censorship and pressure on foreign journalists in Iran, stating that it has learned that "some journalists who went to Iran to cover the anniversary of the revolution were prohibited from freely moving around Tehran. Additionally, these journalists were forbidden from publishing news about protests and communicating with opposition members and families of political prisoners." The organization finally reminds that the Islamic Republic of Iran ranked 165th out of 180 countries in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.