Two Professional Associations of Journalists and Press Photographers: The Minister of Culture Should Defend Media Freedom Instead of Suppression

The Professional Association of Journalists of Tehran Province and the Professional Association of Press Photographers of Iran, in a letter published on Friday, July 29, called on Masoud Pezeshkian, who was introduced as the "Islamic President" following a government vote, to appoint a Minister of Culture who "defends media freedom instead of suppression." This request comes at a time when several officials of the Islamic Republic and political activists in Iran have stated that the Minister of Culture, like several other ministers in the government, must be introduced to the parliament after approval by the Supreme Leader. According to the Telegram channel of the Professional Association of Press Photographers of Iran, the letter states, without naming a specific individual for the Ministry of Culture, that "our first demand from the Minister of Culture of the fourteenth government is to defend the freedom and independence of the media against any threatening factors and to seriously and responsibly strive to expand access to free information." Previously, the Midpoint Journalism School, in its latest annual report published on May 14, announced that coverage of hijab news, the level of participation in elections, and criticism of the government were the main reasons for pressure on journalists in the year 1402 (2023). This report, published simultaneously with May 3rd, "World Press Freedom Day," classified the highest media censorship in the areas of "women and hijab, the level of participation in the Assembly and Expert elections, and the publication of political-social survey results." Criticism of the Supreme Leader, government and state institutions, exposing corruption of officials, and reporting on poverty and suicide were also mentioned as other focal points of censorship of journalists by the security institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the past year. The Professional Association of Journalists of Tehran Province and the Professional Association of Press Photographers of Iran, in their letter addressed to Mohsen Hajimirzaei, the head of Masoud Pezeshkian's office, stated that over the years, as professional organizations, they have been "almost completely ignored by the state side," referring to the draft known as the "National Media Document" prepared by the Professional Association of Journalists, which was met with government silence. They also assessed the current state of media in Iran as a "product of years of neglect by governing and state institutions towards fundamental principles and valuable human experiences in developing public awareness and public oversight in safeguarding media freedom to combat corruption and accompany the flow of development and progress of societies." In this regard, the organization "Defense of the Free Flow of Information" wrote in a report on July 27 that the Islamic Republic has pursued legal and security actions against media, journalists, and media activists in 236 cases in the first six months of this year. This organization has linked the suppression of media and journalists to social events in Iran. According to this report, following four events in the past six months, including an attack on the anniversary ceremony of Qassem Soleimani, unprecedented military clashes between Iran and Israel, the publication of a BBC World Service report on how Nika Shakerimi was killed, and the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, government mechanisms for suppressing journalists and media were activated. The report further states that in the past six months, the Islamic Republic has continued to suppress media and journalists in a "targeted" and "continuous" manner. The Professional Association of Press Photographers of Iran and the Professional Association of Journalists of Tehran Province also called for the future Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance to strive for "creating social consensus and healing social rifts through negotiation and interaction with cultural and artistic figures and government institutions." The letter emphasized the need for the "Minister's loyalty to the Constitution" and stated that "disloyalty to the Constitution in recent decades has turned many fundamental rights of the people, including the right to publish newspapers and establish media, into a privilege that only includes individuals or institutions with special conditions." These two associations added: "The Minister must have the courage to return to the explicit principles of the Constitution and respect citizens' rights by eliminating special privileges" and emphasized the necessity of the future Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance's understanding of the "position of independent and free media and its role in any social progress." They also pointed out that "the experience of social crises in the years 96, 98, and 1401 has rightly shown that in difficult conditions, governments are more prone than ever to deviate from correct and experienced principles for solving crises and limiting legal freedoms" and wrote: "This belief that crises can be hidden and passed through by not publishing news has led many of our journalist and photographer colleagues not only to fail to perform their fundamental duties but also to face months of legal pursuit, detention, imprisonment, and confiscation of their professional equipment." The organization "Defense of the Free Flow of Information" in its report on July 27 noted that in the first six months of this year, 26 journalists and media activists, including seven women and 19 men, were sentenced to a total of more than 31 years in prison, 10 years in exile, 93 million tomans in fines, 4 years of exile, and four years of prohibition from practicing journalism. This report states that during this period, the Islamic Republic violated the legal rights of journalists who were prosecuted in at least 225 cases. This organization emphasized that from the beginning of 2024 until the end of the sixth month, 61 media outlets have been prosecuted. "Defense of the Free Flow of Information" described the "suppression of independent information dissemination in Iran" as an organized mechanism by the Islamic Republic. Reporters Without Borders assessed the Islamic Republic as "one of the most repressive governments in the world" in the field of media freedom and classified Iran as 177th out of 180 countries in terms of freedom of expression in its report. According to this ranking, only three countries, Vietnam, China, and North Korea, are ranked lower than Iran.