Head of State Media: I Was Ordered to Stop Covering the Metropol Building Collapse

The head of Iran’s state broadcaster says he has been ordered to stop covering the Metropol building collapse.

Peyman Jebeli said on Tuesday, June 24, that while the news network was prepared to cover the incident of the Metropol building collapse in Abadan, he received requests from various quarters and orders from some to halt coverage.

According to ILNA news agency, the head of state media, speaking to students at Sharif University, without naming any specific institution or individual, said he was asked to limit news coverage of the Metropol building to one or two hours.

Mr. Jebeli, regarding news coverage of such incidents or street protests, stated: “When protests reach the streets, escalate to physical confrontation and window-breaking, the responsibility of state media becomes heavy.”

On April 9, an audio file was released containing orders from the director of the Culture Radio network of Iran’s state broadcaster, warning journalists of this network about publishing news on price increases and requesting censorship of such reports.

Source: Radio Farda