(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of the Interior Moussavi-Lari, RSF expressed its concern following the issuing of threats against the official press agency IRNA and the governmental daily “Iran”. The organisation asked the minister “to do everything possible to ensure the safety of journalists from these two media outlets”. Moreover, Robert Ménard, the […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of the Interior Moussavi-Lari, RSF expressed its concern following the issuing of threats against the official press agency IRNA and the governmental daily “Iran”. The organisation asked the minister “to do everything possible to ensure the safety of journalists from these two media outlets”. Moreover, Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general, recalled that “about fifteen journalists and press managers, including IRNA agency director Fereidoun Verdinejad, are currently being prosecuted in the courts, which are controlled by conservatives.” Finally, RSF recalled that ten journalists are currently jailed in Iran, and nineteen puiblications have been closed since 1 January 2000.
According to information collected by RSF, on 18 and 19 July, the IRNA press agency received anonymous telephone threats at its editorial offices. On 22 July, the state daily “Iran”, published by IRNA, received an anonymous call from a woman stating that a bomb placed in the daily’s offices was about to explode. Furthermore, “Iran” journalists have received telephone death threats. According to the media outlets’ managers, these threats originate within “Islamic fundamentalist circles.” This pressure follows a dispute between the state media outlets and the conservative daily “Kayhan”, which recently stated that most journalists from the reformist press and certain politicians close to President Khatami have received funds from the American human rights organisation Human Rights Watch. The IRNA agency has denied these allegations, suggesting they are part of “a campaign against those close to the head of state”.
