An active non-government organization announced in a report on Tuesday, April 2 that 91 journalists and media activists in Iran have come under persecution in the past three months.
The Iranian regime, in the first three months of 2024, has subjected at least 91 journalists, media activists, and media outlets to judicial and security persecution.
“The Organization for the Defense of Freedom of Information” has compiled its analytical-statistical report on violations of the rights of media, journalists, and citizen journalists from January 1, 2024, to March 30.
This report is based on a total of 124 press cases updated from primary sources and reports published in the media and human rights organizations.
The report emphasizes that during this short period, the Iranian regime has registered at least 12 arbitrary detentions of journalists and media activists on its record. Among them, three journalists have been transferred to prison for the execution of the detention order, and nine others have been summoned to judicial and security institutions.
The Organization for the Defense of Freedom of Information says that during this period, the house of one journalist was searched by security forces, and the assets of another newspaper were confiscated.
Meanwhile, a news agency has expelled its photographer for criticizing the government.
The report states that 24 journalists and media directors, including seven women and seventeen men, were collectively sentenced to 14 years and seven months in prison, 990 million rials (approximately $1,564) in cash fines, two years of exile, four years of deprivation from journalistic activities, four years of prohibition from social media activities, and two years of prohibition from leaving the country.
The Organization for the Defense of Freedom of Information adds to this report that the number of judicial persecutions of journalists and media executives in February 2024 has increased by 40 percent compared to the similar period a month before.
This organization notes that this report only addresses data that was possible to collect, verify, and document.
The International Federation of Journalists emphasizes in its report from 2023 that at least 27 journalists were detained in Iran in the past year.
This is while the Committee to Protect Journalists, based in New York, announced on January 19, 2024, that Iran, after China, Myanmar, Belarus, Russia, and Vietnam, is the sixth largest prison for media owners.
