The Islamic Republic of Iran’s regime has made death threats to journalists in Australia working for the broadcaster and media outlet Iran International, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Established in 2017, Iran International is a UK-based Persian-language television channel with multilingual online news platforms producing content on Iranian current affairs, culture and sport. It has bureaus in several countries including Paris, Istanbul and Washington and has been targeted for its critical views about the regime and the government in Iran.
The Sep. 3 ABC report said that Iranian journalists working in Australia faced an “alarming escalation” in threats directed at them by the regime since the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June, according to Iran International.
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ABC quoted Alireza Mohebbi, the Melbourne-based Australia correspondent for the agency, as saying that his family in Iran had been targeted because of his work.
“It’s very stressful. The Islamic Republic’s regime has called my family and threatened if they don’t get me to stop working at Iran International TV, there will be consequences,” Mohebbi told ABC. “I’m worried about my family in Iran. The regime is very aggressive about the work we are doing at Iran International.”
Iran International told ABC that 45 of its reporters in eight countries and 345 relatives had received threats, while family members in Iran were brought in for questioning leading to the detention of several journalists in the country.
Trackers were also put on some journalists’ cars while others were sexually harassed and verbally abused on digital platforms.
“Iran has a long and bloody history of taking repressive and often fatal action at times of the year when the world is looking away: during holiday periods, and when the United Nations and parliaments worldwide are in recess,” legal counsel for Iran International Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC said in an Aug. 22 statement published by his law firm, Doughty Street Chambers. “We have been particularly concerned that the Iranian regime’s horrific targeting of Iran International has been escalating throughout July and into August, at a time when many world leaders are away.”
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Several journalists reported receiving death threats warning them not to continue working for the news agency.
“Over the past few weeks, the level of threats against our journalists has increased dramatically,” Aliasghar Ramezanpoor, Iran International’s executive news editor told ABC. “It’s obvious to us that this is because of our coverage about what is happening in Iran.”
“The government is concerned about our coverage because we go beyond the censorship processes they have,” Ramezanpoor said.
Journalists reporting in Iran have also faced an unprecedented crackdown on their work in recent years. The Islamic Republic is one of the most dangerous places globally for reporters, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
At least 21 journalists are currently detained in Iran, according to a Sep. 3 report by CHRI, which added that the country’s press laws allowed for journalists to be prosecuted on vague charges such as “spreading false information,” “insulting the Supreme Leader,” “propaganda against the state,” or “endangering the Islamic Republic.”
The statement confirmed that 14 states had denounced the threats “by Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass individuals, including journalists, in their territories.”
Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic introduced a bill in July following the Iran-Israel war, which widened the definition of espionage to include activities such as contact with foreign media agencies.
The Islamic Republic currently ranks 176th out of 180 countries for press freedom, on the annual Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters With our Borders (RSF).
Calls to stop the persecution of journalists in and out of Iran have been made in recent months by several of the world’s leading human rights and journalists’ associations such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, RSF, the International Federation of Journalists and the National Union of Journalists.
“We are deeply concerned by credible threats to the lives and safety of 45 Iran International journalists and staff and 315 of their family members in seven countries: Belgium, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States,” the U.N. experts said in an Aug. 21 press release. “This campaign is an attempt to silence and censor critical reporting and courageous public interest journalism by a fragile Government that appears afraid of legitimate criticism.”
Iran’s government has targeted news agencies working in Iran such as ISNA news, Dideban Iran, Asr Iran and Radio Farda. Newspapers targeted abroad include the U.K.’s BBC Persian and Germany’s Deutsche Welle.
