Human Rights Experts: Iran Must End Persecution of Journalists
United Nations human rights experts and investigators have called on the Islamic Republic to stop the detention, intimidation, and prosecution of journalists and civil activists, and to release imprisoned journalists ahead of parliamentary elections.
A group of UN human rights experts and investigators issued a statement on Wednesday (November 11) calling for an end to the detention, intimidation, harassment, and prosecution of journalists in Iran. They urged Iranian judicial authorities to release imprisoned journalists and civil activists ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections.
According to Reuters news agency, the UN experts’ statement also called on Iran to release Jason Rezaian, Washington Post correspondent in Tehran, who was “arbitrarily and unlawfully detained for peacefully advocating for fundamental [citizens’] rights.”
The 39-year-old Jason Rezaian, who holds dual Iranian-American citizenship, has been in detention since last summer. He was tried in a closed-door court presided over by Judge Moghaddas on charges of “espionage and acting against Iran’s national security” and was convicted a month ago, but his verdict has not yet been announced. It is reported that Iranian authorities intend to use him as leverage for negotiations over prisoner exchanges with Iranians detained in America.
The recent wave of journalist arrests in Iran began last week by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ information protection unit. The arrests of these journalists, labeled as “enemy infiltrators” by media outlets close to the IRGC, drew a reaction from Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president. He called on responsible officials to stop building cases against journalists “to apply pressure and settle political scores with the government.”
Ahmad Shaheed, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, responding to the detention and interrogation of journalists in Iran, described these actions as “a fresh round of suppression of freedom of expression and freedom of the media.”
Read more: Government and IRGC Disagree Over “Infiltrator” Arrests
Isa Saharkhiz, journalist and political activist, Ehsan Mazandarani, editor-in-chief of Farhekhegan newspaper, Afarin Chitsaz, columnist for the government daily Iran newspaper, Hassan Sheikhaqai, manager of the Ravangeh website, and Saman Safarzaei, secretary of Andisheh Poya publication, are among the journalists who have been suppressed and arrested recently. It is reported that more than 20 journalists have been summoned for questioning by the IRGC’s information unit.
Reporters Without Borders identified Iran in March of this year as one of the world’s countries with the highest number of imprisoned journalists, with 46 journalists behind bars. Iran is known as the “hell of journalists” in the world.
