BBC accepts Iran’s demand of blackout on its Persian sites amid regime’s attacks on press freedom
The BBC has agreed to conditions set by the Islamic Republic of Iran to not share reporting materials it gathers in Iran with its Persian-language channel, BBC Persian, an internal email obtained by HuffPost reveals. The agreement represents a capitulation to a government that has been hostile to press freedom. The Iranian government routinely shuts down media organizations critical of the regime and imprisons, tortures and executes journalists.
The email goes on to say, “It is absolutely imperative that none of their material is run on BBC Persian TV, Radio or Online now or in the future. That includes any official BBC Persian social feed retweeting or forwarding the coverage. Please do not use the material and stories produced in Iran on any platform or in any format.”In a statement sent to HuffPost, a BBC spokesperson acknowledged that it agreed to demands made by the Iranian government.
In the past, foreign broadcasters have agreed to be accompanied by a government minder and be restricted in their movements and the people with whom they speak in order to gain access to Iran, but the restrictions that the BBC agreed to, to not allow its Persian-language broadcasting service to share its reporting to over 100 million Persian-speaking people in the world, is unusual.
Patience, however, did not reveal that there was a restriction on with whom he could share what was being said, in this case with his own colleagues. In 2017, the Iranian government froze the assets of 152 current and former BBC Persian staff. Iran also opened up a criminal investigation into the 152 individuals and accused them of a “conspiracy against national security.
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