Reporters Without Borders Condemns 'New Wave of Repression' Against Journalists in Iran

Reporters Without Borders condemned the recent arrests of several journalists in Iran and their summons to security agencies, deeming it a sign of a 'new wave of repression.' The statement from this organization defending journalists' rights was published on Tuesday, November 6, and referenced recent pressures on Iranian journalists, including the arrest of Masoud Kazemi, a reporter for Shargh newspaper, former Etemad newspaper journalist Saba Azarpeik, independent journalist Ejlal Ghavami, and the summons of Kazem Imanzadeh, the editor-in-chief of the 'Hivani News' website. Reza Moieni, head of the Iran and Afghanistan office of Reporters Without Borders, stated: 'Reporters Without Borders demands the immediate release of these journalists and an end to arbitrary detentions. The repression of freedom of information and the arrest of journalists is not a way to combat widespread corruption.' Moieni's reference to the arrest of Saba Azarpeik is due to her publication of documents accusing former Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari of corruption. Despite this incident, Shariatmadari was able to gain the confidence vote from the Iranian parliament for the post of Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare. Azarpeik, however, was detained for one day, and her accounts on Twitter and Telegram were made inaccessible. Masoud Kazemi was also arrested on November 5. Reporters Without Borders states that his family and lawyer are unaware of the reason for his arrest, the detaining agency, and his place of detention. Kazemi was 'criticizing the state of the country and the positions of various factions on his Twitter page.' His Twitter account is now closed. Reporters Without Borders then reminds that 'journalists and media activists in other provinces of the country are also not exempt from summons, arrests, and convictions,' including Ejlal Ghavami, who was sentenced to eight months in prison on September 16 for 'spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion' due to three writings about the situation of human rights activists and political prisoners in the Sanandaj court. Kazem Imanzadeh was summoned to the first branch of the criminal court of Kurdistan province following a complaint by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is currently temporarily free. Iranian journalists experience much harsher conditions compared to their foreign counterparts, as the Islamic Republic ranks 164th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders this year.