The First Elections of the Journalists' Trade Association of Tehran Province Were Held

The members of the first board of directors of the Journalists' Trade Association of Tehran Province were elected to officially commence the activities of this trade association. According to ILNA news agency, the first meeting of the founding assembly of the Journalists' Trade Association of Tehran Province was held on the morning of Friday, December 23, at the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare. During this assembly, after approving the association's charter, elections for the members of the board of directors and inspectors were held with the presence of a representative from the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, allowing the association to recognize its first board of directors. At the end of the voting, seven individuals were elected as main board members, two as alternate members, two as main inspectors, and one as an alternate inspector. Behrouz Granpaye, Davood Mohammadi, Afshin Amirshahi, Masoud Hoshamand Razavi, Azam Vismeh, Mehrdad Khadir, and Nasrin Takiri were elected as the main board members of this association, while Giso Ghafouri and Amirhadi Anvari were selected as the main inspectors. According to the law, the results of these elections must be approved by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare. In this regard, Ferdin Bahrami, the head of labor organizations at the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, welcomed the formation of the Journalists' Trade Association of Tehran Province, stating that this is a positive development as the members of this association can play a significant role in shaping the discourse around trade activities and attention to trade organizations through their activities and writings. The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently ranked among the top five countries in the world for the number of imprisoned journalists and bloggers in recent years. Recently, Reporters Without Borders, an international organization defending journalists' rights, ranked the Iranian government first in the world for the impunity of those responsible for the murder of journalists. The Journalists' Trade Association of Tehran began its activities under circumstances where the building of the Iranian Journalists' Trade Association was sealed by a ruling from Saeed Mortazavi, the then Tehran prosecutor, after protests erupted over the disputed results of the 2009 presidential election, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government prevented the continuation of this association's work. The ministries of labor and information under Ahmadinejad's government, in agreement with the judiciary, prevented the reopening and resolution of issues regarding the Iranian Journalists' Trade Association. One of Hassan Rouhani's promises after being elected as President of Iran in 2013 was to resume the activities of the Iranian Journalists' Trade Association, a promise that was not fulfilled, leading to criticism from journalists. In this context, some journalists on social media have stated that security and intelligence agencies, as well as Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, are not inclined to reopen the association. This has not been confirmed by these agencies or Ali Rabiei. Although some media outlets and circles close to conservatives refer to the Iranian Journalists' Trade Association as 'dissolved,' no competent court has yet ruled on the dissolution of this association, and the conditions for its dissolution stated in its charter have not been met. Nevertheless, it seems that the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare has agreed to the establishment of a new labor trade association for journalists, considering the existing obstacles and limitations regarding the reopening of the Iranian Journalists' Trade Association. Although the Iranian Journalists' Trade Association had a national scope, the name and title of the newly established association indicate that it will cover journalists in Tehran Province. The Tasnim news agency, which is known to be close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, expressed dissatisfaction with the establishment and commencement of the Journalists' Trade Association of Tehran Province.