Reporters Without Borders: Iranian Government Ranks First in the World for Impunity in Journalist Killings

"Reporters Without Borders" has called for justice for all victims of the serial killings on the occasion of the 18th anniversary of these murders. This international organization advocating for journalists and media freedom stated in a statement released on Thursday that the Islamic Republic ranks first in the world for impunity in the killings of journalists, declaring that "the perpetrators and instigators of these crimes, who are now high-ranking officials of the regime, must be prosecuted." The statement begins by referencing last week's events under the title "Suppression of Remembrance," noting that on December 3, 2016, security forces violently prevented a memorial ceremony for the victims of the serial killings of intellectuals and journalists advocating for freedom of expression in the fall of 1998. The Iranian Writers' Association and the families of the victims organized this gathering. The statement then reflects on the serial killings from eighteen years ago, mentioning the victims Dariush and Parvaneh Forouhar, leaders of the Iran Nation Party, as well as writers and journalists Mohammad Mokhtari, Mohammad Jafar Pouyandeh, and Majid Sharif, and the ongoing disappearance of Peyrouz Davani, the owner of the "Peyrouz" publication. It recalls the reactions and the handling of the cases of these ongoing murders, noting that the victims' families have demanded punishment for the main instigators of these crimes and have stated that they have filed complaints with high human rights bodies of the United Nations and other international organizations. To date, none of the cases of murdered journalists, such as Ebrahim Zalzadeh, Zahra Kazemi, Aifer Sarcheh, Omidreza Mirsiafi, Alireza Eftekhari, Haleh Sahabi, and Hadi Saber, have been seriously investigated, and the instigators and perpetrators of the murders remain unpunished. Reporters Without Borders emphasized that "despite the established involvement of high-ranking officials in the killings, there is no will to prosecute them. Three of these individuals—Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the current Minister of Justice, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the current spokesperson for the judiciary, and Ghorbanali Darin Najafabadi, the former Minister of Intelligence and then Attorney General—have never been concerned about prosecution. The perpetrators of the killings, who were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to fifteen years, have all been released today." Reza Moieni from Reporters Without Borders told Radio Farda that the organization has repeatedly protested against the impunity of the perpetrators over the years and has demanded the fulfillment of two requests: the end of impunity and the recognition of the victims' rights, or in other words, the acknowledgment of their murders, especially those who have been silenced. The statement further adds that "one of the functions of impunity is to deter independent lawyers from defending the victims and their families. Many of these lawyers themselves have faced judicial prosecution. Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi was forced into exile after judicial pressures. Two other lawyers, Mohammad Seifzadeh and Abdolfattah Soltani, were arrested, tried, and imprisoned. Abdolfattah Soltani is still in prison." The statement also mentions the five-year imprisonment of Nasser Zarafshan, the lawyer for the victims' families, and the pressures and threats against Parastoo Forouhar, who travels to Tehran every year to hold a memorial ceremony for her parents. Reporters Without Borders concludes its statement by reiterating that to date, none of the cases of murdered journalists, such as Ebrahim Zalzadeh, Zahra Kazemi, Aifer Sarcheh, Omidreza Mirsiafi, Alireza Eftekhari, Haleh Sahabi, and Hadi Saber, have been seriously investigated, and the instigators and perpetrators of the murders remain unpunished.