Reza Moieni: A New Wave of Suppression of Journalists in Iran Has Begun

Reports from Tehran indicate that Yaghma Fashkhami, a journalist, was arrested on the evening of Monday, August 21. Last week, Sasan Aghaei, the deputy editor of the newspaper Etemad, was also arrested. Reza Moieni, head of the Iran desk at Reporters Without Borders, believes these arrests signify the beginning of a new wave of suppression of journalists in Iran. The ILNA news agency reported that no official authorities have yet provided an explanation for the arrests of these two reformist journalists. The website Khabar Online, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, noted that Yaghma Fashkhami was arrested by security forces at his workplace, the Iran Watch website. Khabar Online added that the arrest is said to have been carried out by the Intelligence Protection of the Judiciary. Mr. Fashkhami was also arrested in 2015 and spent some time in prison. He has been a reporter for the monthly magazine 'Payam Hajar' and a former reporter for the newspaper 'Roozan'. Meanwhile, the family of Sasan Aghaei, the imprisoned journalist, has called for a speeding up of the proceedings regarding his case. Sasan Aghaei was arrested ten days ago. His mother, in an interview with Etemad newspaper published on Tuesday, August 22, stated: 'After his arrest, we saw Sasan during the indictment session at the prosecutor's office, where he firmly claimed he had not committed any illegal acts.' She mentioned that three days after the arrest, the case investigator allowed them to meet Sasan, but they were denied access by prison officials. Aghaei's mother noted that she visited the prosecutor's office on Saturday and spoke with both the investigator and the prison supervisor about the matter, adding: 'At that moment, the investigator contacted the prison to inquire about the reason for this issue, and they stated that since the case is under investigation, according to the law, the accused cannot have in-person visits or phone calls, thus preventing such matters.' She pointed out that the investigator promised a phone call from Sasan Aghaei to his family. In her conversation with Etemad, Aghaei's mother urged judicial officials to expedite the handling of this case so that her son could be freed as soon as possible. Reza Moieni, head of the Iran desk at Reporters Without Borders, in an interview with Radio Farda, stated that 'the suppression of journalists in Iran continues,' asserting that Iran remains 'one of the five largest prisons for journalists in the world.' He expressed regret that the trend of arresting and threatening journalists has continued after the presidential elections held on May 18, adding: 'In addition to Mr. Fashkhami and Aghaei, a group of journalists have also been threatened or summoned. Furthermore, Ms. Aliyeh Matlabi has been sentenced to three years in prison.' Mr. Moieni emphasized that 'a new wave of arrests and threats against journalists in Iran has begun,' commenting on the performance of Hassan Rouhani's government in this area: 'If we consider the twelfth government as a continuation of the eleventh, we witness Mr. Rouhani's silent approach to fulfilling his duty to oversee the implementation of the Constitution, which we hope will change.' The head of the Iran desk at Reporters Without Borders also stated: 'The Ministry of Intelligence has directed one of its main tools of repression against journalists. This is while the Minister of Intelligence is under the supervision of Hassan Rouhani.' Reza Moieni added that Rouhani's government, given the arbitrary arrests and holding of journalists in secret prisons without visitation or access to lawyers, is not the law-abiding government it promised to be. He expressed concern over the security-oriented view of the press and journalists regarding reports on the physical and mental conditions of imprisoned journalists Hengameh Shahidi and Ehsan Mazandarani. In this context, Hengameh Shahidi's daughter tweeted that her mother has been on a dry hunger strike for a week. It had previously been reported that Ms. Shahidi's hunger strike was in protest against 'indecision and the lack of accountability of judicial officials.' Maliheh Hosseini, the wife of Ehsan Mazandarani, also tweeted about her husband's condition, stating that 'for six days, his stomach has accepted nothing but water, and the prosecutor has even denied him medical leave.' Reporters Without Borders states that Iran ranks 165th out of 180 countries in its current press freedom ranking. This organization had previously requested Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, to fulfill the promises he made to the Iranian people during his second presidential term.