London – Anglo-Iranian journalists working in the UK are under death threats from members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), confirming an escalation in attempts to suppress the independent press even outside the country’s territory.
Two professionals working for the independent news channel Iran International TV have received a warning from Scotland Yard of the London Metropolitan Police that their lives have been threatened, according to a statement circulated by the Volant Media network, which controls the channel.
Police formally informed the two journalists that the risks were real to their lives and families.
Journalists release independent news to Iranian people
Headquartered in London, Iran International TV is the leading 24/7 independent news channel, watched by over 30 million viewers across the Iranian population and global diaspora.
The network, whose newsroom is abroad, has established itself as a reliable source of unbiased and uncensored news and analysis on Iran in the context of worsening repression in the past month following the 22-year-old case. Masha Amini. was killed in police custody after she was arrested for allegedly wearing the Islamic headscarf improperly.
As protests intensify across Iran, journalists and other media continue to come under pressure and are denied the right to report, even outside the country, as Scotland Yard has found.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has asked the British authorities to strengthen their protections for threatened journalists. @IranIntlHe demanded that they hold the Iranian authorities accountable for transnational crimes. https://t.co/W9oKp7RRzd
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) 9 November 2022
Social media has also been severely restricted since Mahsa Amini’s death, with regular internet outages.
A spokesperson for Iran International said:
“These are state-sponsored threats to journalists in the UK.
It is truly shocking that independent journalists on British soil receive threats to their lives to prevent free and uncensored information from reaching the Iranian people.
“England is home to freedom of expression. We are part of this tradition, and we are proud to serve 85 million Iranians with information they could not get at home.
The Revolutionary Guards cannot silence the free press in the UK.”
Also Read | Iran: Journalists covering Mahsa Amini’s death accused of spying for the US
Iran International urged the UK government, international governments and others to continue to condemn the death threats and to continue stressing the importance of freedom of the press.
Among the organizations that have raised their voices against threats is the German Green Party, which published a manifesto on social media to defend the Iranian network.
After the Iranian regime’s threats @IranIntl journalists, leader of Germany’s Green Party @nouripour edited to support the leaderboard @IranIntl “Journalism is not a crime. I stand with journalists who follow the truth. Iran International is a free media organization.” pic.twitter.com/ZhKxAhz9Jv
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) 9 November 2022
Iran ranks 178th out of 180 countries in the press freedom ranking of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
In its annual review published in April this year, RSF explains that the country’s media is largely controlled by the Islamic regime, with foreign media outlets such as Iran International the main news sources.
The NGO stressed that journalists and independent media in Iran are constantly harassed through arbitrary arrests and very harsh sentences “after extremely unfair trials in the revolutionary courts”.
And he emphasized the role of government:
“Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei often accuses independent media of being manipulated by foreign powers.
At the head of the country’s main political, military and judicial institutions, it can order the arrest of journalists and sentence them to long prison terms and even death.”
According to the RSF, Article 24 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, but the 1986 press law (amended to include online publications in 2000 and 2009) allows the authorities to ensure that journalists “do not endanger the Islamic Republic.” do not offend the clergy and the Supreme Leader” and “do not spread false information”.
Reporters Without Borders reported that at least 42 journalists have been arrested across Iran since protests began in response to Mahsa Amini’s death on September 16.
Follow-ups show that eight have been released so far and 34 are still in detention, including 15 women journalists.
“There are now five times more women in prison than before the protests started,” the organization says.
The number of women journalists detained has never been higher. Even during the widespread 2019 protests in Iran, only four out of 10 journalists detained were women.
Also Read | Iran: Journalists covering Mahsa Amini’s death accused of spying for the US
source: Noticias
