World Press Freedom Day in Iran Under Shadow of Monopoly and Threat; From 'Kidnapping' of a Newsroom to Increased Pressure on Journalists

A news analyst pointed out issues such as the 'three-day kidnapping' of members of a newsroom, the repeated summons and arrests of journalists, the Islamic Republic's efforts to monopolize the information space, and the restriction of media, stating to Voice of America that the situation of press and media in Iran has become more complicated over the past year. According to the United Nations General Assembly, May 3rd, corresponding to 14 Ordibehesht, is recognized as 'World Press Freedom Day' to emphasize the importance of raising public awareness and the necessity of media freedom for this purpose. The Persian section of Voice of America, on the eve of this day, discussed the events and instances of freedom of expression violations in Iran over the past year with Hediyeh Kimiaei, a social journalist. In the latest events regarding pressure on journalists, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic summoned several journalists, including Marzieh Mahmoudi, Asal Dadashloo, and Mohammad Parsi, following their statements on social media after a recent BBC World report on the killing of Nika Shakeri, a teenage protester, by government forces. Marzieh Mahmoudi's summons occurred after she commented on the BBC report regarding Nika Shakeri, stating, 'The report on Nika Shakeri's murder proves that these (Islamic Republic forces) killed people in plain clothes. There are two facts in this report about it. One is where it says one of these individuals entered the crowd as a protester; the other is where it says the person covered Nika's mouth with his sock. In that chaos, it is difficult to open and close a shoelace.' After a few hours, Marzieh Mahmoudi announced that 'a new case has been opened against her in the Culture and Media Court,' but in this case, 'there is no specific accusation, nor details.' Journalist Mohammad Parsi also stated that he wrote about 'the victimization of Nika Shakeri' at night and was summoned to the prosecutor's office the next morning, while despite six months passing since the case of the tea embezzlement, 'no one has been arrested or even summoned!' Additionally, a news source reported that the Tehran prosecutor's office filed a complaint against Milad Alavi, a journalist from the newspaper 'Shargh,' for publishing a reaction from the public to the death sentence issued for Tomaj Salehi. Hediyeh Kimiaei, a social journalist residing in Turkey, in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America regarding the increasing government pressures on media in Iran, stated that in the past six months, social reports from some newspapers that previously conducted field reports 'have significantly decreased.' According to this journalist and media analyst, 'the Islamic Republic has tried to monopolize news for itself'; she adds with an example: 'Especially in the case of the killing of Armita Garavand due to the blows from hijab enforcers, journalists who went to the hospital were not allowed to gather news.' In the incident of Armita Garavand's killing in the early days of last autumn at a Tehran metro station, Maryam Lotfi, a journalist from Shargh newspaper who went to Fajr Air Force Hospital to report, was arrested. Hediyeh Kimiaei also mentions another example of government pressure on media, stating that the Islamic Republic 'held journalists from the newspaper Farday-e Eqtesad hostage in broad daylight for three days, those journalists who only publish news and reports.' The organization 'Defending the Flow of Free Information' reported that the Islamic Republic has pursued at least 91 journalists, media activists, and media outlets in the first three months of 2024, from early Dey 1402 to early Farvardin of the current year. This non-profit organization, established by several journalists, human rights researchers, and legal experts, emphasizes in its report that the Islamic Republic is systematically and in an 'extralegal' context attempting to 'discredit' journalists and non-governmental media. According to this report, since the beginning of this year, 24 journalists and media managers, including seven women and 17 men, have been sentenced to a total of 14 years and seven months in prison, 99 million tomans in fines, two years of exile, four years of prohibition from practicing journalism, four years of prohibition from social media activities, and two years of prohibition from leaving the country. This report also states that in these three months, the Islamic Republic violated the legal rights of journalists who were prosecuted in at least 95 cases, and the number of prosecutions of journalists and media managers in the second month of 2024, that is, the last 20 days of Bahman and the first 10 days of Esfand of the previous solar year, increased by 40% compared to the same period of the previous month. In the course of hacking the judiciary's websites in Esfand 1402, documents were revealed showing that judicial officials of the Islamic Republic had sentenced several journalists working in the Persian section of Voice of America in Ordibehesht 1401 to 'prison sentences' for 'propaganda against the regime' and sent the issued sentences to 'the execution branch of the Tehran Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office.' A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department emphasized in response to these sentences that such behavior from the Iranian government, known for suppressing media, is 'not surprising' and told the Persian section of Voice of America that 'the intimidation of journalists outside the country by the Iranian regime and the suppression of media inside is well known to the world.' According to a report by Amnesty International on the fifth of Ordibehesht, the Iranian authorities have severely suppressed fundamental freedoms using illegal coercive powers and unfair trials against activists, journalists, and critics to silence protests. In this context, Vedant Patel, Deputy Spokesperson of the U.S. State Department, on the fourth of Ordibehesht regarding the recent U.S. report on the human rights situation in Iran, especially the threats against journalists, stated: 'The Islamic Republic continues to be one of the largest exporters of terrorism and has simultaneously shown since 1979 that it is a regime that disregards freedom and continues to seriously suppress civil society, threaten media, and violate human rights.' Independent media in Iran do not have the opportunity to operate freely, and independent journalists face security and judicial cases for any excuse. Among the cases of pressure on Iranian journalists that have drawn the attention of international media and human rights circles in recent months is the 400-day detention of Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, two journalists who were arrested while covering reports related to the killing of Mahsa Amini. International organizations such as Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the International Federation of Journalists have repeatedly condemned the Islamic Republic for violating media freedom and referred to Iran as one of the largest prisons for journalists.