World Press Freedom Day: Press repression and suppression continues in Iran
May 3rd has been designated as World Press Freedom Day by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 1993. Every year on this day, the status of media and freedom of expression and the press in different countries is published, with the latest reports classifying the status of press freedom and media in Iran as one of the ten worst countries in the world.
The 25th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day is being celebrated in a context where, according to the latest State of Press Freedom Report, forty-five percent of the world's population lives in countries without free media and facing repression and suppression.
The report ranks countries from zero to one hundred, representing the best to worst conditions for press and media freedom. The Islamic Republic of Iran ranks ninety, among the ten worst countries in the world for media censorship and suppression.
The report says that criticizing the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a red line that will face severe censorship and dire consequences.
Journalists and media professionals in Iran are forced to remain silent and endure harassment, and are subject to arbitrary arrests and trumped-up charges.
The report says that although Iranian authorities have officially banned popular global media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, users are able to access these media outlets by using filter breakers.
Online activists and bloggers, like journalists, face severe legal consequences for expressing their opinions and views.
The judiciary in Iran deprives journalists and bloggers of due process and refers their cases to revolutionary courts, where trials are held behind closed doors and without the right to choose a lawyer.
Humorists and cartoonists in Iran face a similar fate.
Reporters Without Borders report
A week ago, the international organization Reporters Without Borders announced in its latest press freedom ranking that Iran's position in this regard is still at the bottom of the table and among the worst countries.
According to the 2018 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders on Wednesday, May 25, threats and hostility against journalists have increased in many places.
The report, noting that Iran has improved one place to 164th, states that this is due to the worsening situation in other countries, not the improvement in Iran's situation.
The report continues: “In 2017, Iran remained one of the world’s top five prisons for journalists and citizen journalists. No tangible changes were observed in the areas of freedom of information and media freedom.”
The report also noted that more than twenty journalists and fifty citizen journalists have been arrested since January 2017. A number of them have been temporarily released on heavy bail pending the appeals court's ruling.
Emphasizing that the suppression of journalists and the fight against the free flow of information in Iran continue, the report considered self-censorship and the creation of fear among journalists to be just one of the effects of this behavior by the Islamic Republic government.
Another part of the report also states that during this period, the suppression of freedom of information has not been limited to the country's borders, and that global media, especially Persian-language media outside Iran, have also fallen victim to the Islamic Republic's suppression and threats.
Increasing resentment against journalists
The report, which announced that hostility towards journalists has increased, states: "Open confrontation against the media is encouraged by some political leaders, and the desire of authoritarian regimes to impose their own journalism threatens democracy."
The report, which lists countries like Turkey and Egypt at the bottom of the list at 157th and 162nd, says that the confrontation between political leaders and the media is not unique to these countries. The report says that these countries have turned the accusation of "terrorism" against journalists into a universal accusation and arbitrarily imprison anyone who disagrees with them.
The report also cites war and repressive measures by dictators as threats to journalists over the past year. Norway and Sweden, as last year, ranked first and second in terms of the best media freedom in the world.
The report also places other countries in the Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, at the bottom of the list.
Countries such as Russia and China also rank low in terms of media freedom, due to the continued presence of strong leaders who, according to the report, control the media and suppress critical voices.
Afghanistan, although still witnessing bloody incidents for journalists, has shown hope for improvement by climbing two places.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has been publishing a World Press Freedom Index since 2002. RSF bases its rankings on indicators such as media pluralism and independence.
Source: Voice of America
