Speaker of Parliament: Media Should Not Be Easily Shut Down

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament has called for a 'regulated' approach to shutting down media outlets and filtering websites in the country, stating that 'media should not be easily shut down.' According to the website of the Parliament, Ali Larijani, the Speaker, made these remarks during a meeting with media managers on Wednesday, June 10. He also recommended that the head of the judiciary 'meet with the media, and certainly these sessions will be beneficial.' He stated, 'Just as the issue of reducing imprisonment is being pursued by the Parliament, media should not be allowed to be easily shut down.' Larijani promised that the Parliament would change the laws regarding the closure of media outlets in Iran if necessary. He also mentioned that the government intends to send two bills regarding the press to the Parliament, without providing details. Since the early years after the 1979 revolution, many critical newspapers have been shut down, and this has gradually become a predictable and ongoing trend. After Mohammad Khatami's presidency in 1997, many new newspapers were published, but in the past 20 years, hundreds of newspapers and magazines have been banned, and many of their journalists have been arrested and sentenced to long prison terms. Throughout this time, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic has played a key role in the closure of media outlets and the arrest of journalists, including during the current period when the judiciary is overseen by the brother of the Speaker, Ayatollah Amoli Larijani. Meanwhile, the reform of press laws in the sixth Parliament was halted by the order of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic. According to Reporters Without Borders, the Islamic Republic still has 27 imprisoned journalists and citizen journalists, making it one of the five largest prisons in the world for media activists; furthermore, Iran is the largest prison in the world for female journalists and citizen journalists, with six imprisoned. According to this report, the Islamic Republic of Iran ranks 165th out of 180 countries in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index by this organization. Among the imprisoned journalists in Iran are Hengameh Shahidi, Tahereh Riahi, Ehsan Mazandarani, and Ramin Karimian. Reporters Without Borders also stated that despite a decrease in the number of media closures by the Press Supervisory Board during Hassan Rouhani's presidency, the promises of the Iranian president for 'changes in favor of freedom of expression and the press' have not been realized. Social media in Iran, despite numerous restrictions and filtering, has become one of the main communication tools and an open space for people's activities, and the extent of the use of these facilities in Iran is increasing day by day. Meanwhile, in the last month of the previous year, several managers of Telegram channels close to reformists were arrested, six of whom are still imprisoned. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, announced on Wednesday, June 10, that indictments had been issued for eight of these individuals, and their cases had been sent to court. A day before these remarks, 30 members of Parliament had asked the Minister of Information for a report on the status of the detainees, the reasons for their arrest, the process of handling their accusations, the reasons for their continued detention, and their uncertainty. Other reports have also been published regarding the arrest of Telegram channel operators in Iran. For instance, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights, Alireza Tavakoli, Mohammad Mehdi Zamanzadeh, and Mohammad Mohajer, three Telegram users, were arrested last year by the Ministry of Information and sentenced to a total of 36 years in prison. Meanwhile, the ability to make voice calls through the Telegram app was blocked just two days after being activated in Iran by a judicial order on April 16. In this context, the Attorney General of Iran stated that some of the detained Telegram managers would be released. Majid Ansari emphasized that the judiciary should deal with violations uniformly. Ejei stated that the charge against the detained Telegram managers is the dissemination of anti-security content. 30 members of Parliament demanded that the Minister of Information explain the situation of the administrators of Telegram channels.