Intimidation and Broken Promises: Press Freedom on Ice

The Iranian government harasses, imprisons and tortures journalists on a daily basis — just for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of information and expression.

Journalism is not a Crime was set up to support these jailed journalists. The site, which is launched this week, documents cases where journalists are unfairly arrested, and aids reporters and their loved ones by providing legal and psychological assistance. 

As part of the launch of the campaign, IranWire spoke to Sherif Mansour.

Mansour is an Egyptian-American human rights activist, and a Middle East and North Africa specialist at the Committee to Protect Journalists.

 

How does the Committee to Protect Journalists see the press freedom situation in Iran today?

Iran is on our list of the most censored countries worldwide. Last year, it ranked seventh among the worst censorship environments. Every year for the past five years, Iran has been one of the top jailers of journalists, with dozens of journalists behind bars. On December 1 last year, when we conducted our last census, there were at least 30 journalists behind bars.

Imprisonment is the most prevalent tool that the Iranian government uses to intimidate the press. Iran usually puts journalists behind bars under the accusation of “insulting the president” or “insulting the Supreme Leader.” They also prosecute critical reporters under the vague accusation of “spreading propaganda."

Imprisonment includes a lot of punishment. Many journalists are kept in Evin Prison, which is one of the worst in terms of respecting the basic rights of detainees. A lot of them have reported being beaten and tortured. Some of them have even been reported killed under torture, including three that we know of, including one young blogger, Sattar Beheshti, in 2012.

Iran also restricts the flow of information by investing in internet censorship. Iran has exercised close control by blocking millions of websites. They have used a high level of technology to infiltrate critical websites abroad, and have used their supporters online to troll activists and defame them. We also know that they have engaged in satellite jamming to prevent Farsi-speaking channels from broadcasting into the country.

 

What cases has the Committee to Protect Journalists focused on recently?

Recently we highlighted the case of the Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian. He is the longest-held international journalist in Iran, ever. He has been imprisoned since last July but, to this date, very little evidence has been shown that would justify keeping him in prison.

Because he works for the Washington Post, which is one of the most recognizable organizations in the US in terms of informing and influencing foreign policy, we think conservative elements within the Iranian regime are keeping him as a pawn to preserve their political and financial interests in negotiations between Iran and the US over Iran’s nuclear program.

 

What obstacles does Iranian civil society face in its efforts to support journalists inside Iran?

One of the most important factors in Iran’s crackdown against journalists was former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's move against the Press Association in 2009. The Press Association was vibrant and strong under former President Mohammad Khatami, and it allowed journalists to work together and unite whenever there was a push by the conservative elements of the government to shut down reformist outlets.

This crackdown against journalists went hand in hand with the crackdown against human rights groups, which have always operated under pressure. We've seen human rights groups and human rights activists, including famous ones like Shirin Ebadi, receive threats and pressure not to speak out since 2009. The same happened to a lot of political activists and political organizers who led the protests after the disputed 2009 election.

 

How can international media help improve the situation in Iran?

There has been a fair amount of movement from international media in regard to international journalists who get into trouble in Iran. That includes Maziar Bahari and Roxana Saberi and others. However, local journalists who do not have other nationalities do not get nearly as much attention. This is something the international media can do better.

One of the most important cases in which the international coverage was able to help a little bit was in 2013, during the election that brought Rouhani to power. While the government established its crackdown against local journalists ahead of time, there was a pushback by international media, which focused on the importance of free and fair elections. We saw the crackdown stall, and we eventually saw the Iranian government allow handpicked international media organizations to cover the elections of 2013.

That sent the important message that the international media still cares, and that they are involved in how the country presents itself to the world. It was also important in ensuring the credibility of the election process. After the election, a lot of journalists who had hope in the Rouhani administration also tracked his behavior, and compared it to the promises he made before the election.

 

Before he became president, Rouhani promised Iranians greater press freedom. Why hasn't that materialized? 

A lot of the people inside and outside Iran are seeing that there is an agreement between Rouhani and the Supreme Leader. Rouhani is going to represent Iran's interests in terms of dealing with the international community and bringing in investment, while his administration will stay away from domestic issues, such as reforms in the system, and reform in the human rights and press environment.

One of the most important promises Rouhani made was to allow the Press Association to operate. To this day, that has not happened. After the election, a lot of people who believed in Rouhani's rhetoric decided to take him at his word and open reformist newspapers. Some of them even returned from exile. Some of those people were prosecuted and imprisoned, and some of the newspapers they tried to reopen were shut down again. That includes the case of the women's magazine Zanan, which was forced to shut down more than five years ago. It tried to resume operation, and over nine months is was able to release nine issues. Recently, they [the editors for the newly-launched Zanan-e Emrooz] were prosecuted because of what they published. This was a concrete example of how the promises Rouhani made have not materialized.

 

To learn more about issues affecting journalists in Iran please visit: journalismisnotacrime.com