Iran

2013

  

Second worst year on record for jailed journalists

For the second consecutive year, Turkey was the world’s leading jailer of journalists, followed closely by Iran and China. The number of journalists in prison globally decreased from a year earlier but remains close to historical highs. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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CPJ joins call for passage of Iran resolution in UN

The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined two dozen human rights organizations in signing a letter calling on all member states of the U.N. General Assembly Third Committee to vote in favor Tuesday of resolution A/C.3/68/L.57 on the promotion and protection of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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Iran jails at least 10 journalists in two-week span

New York, July 16, 2013–Iranian authorities have sentenced seven members of a religious minority news website to lengthy prison terms, and arrested at least three other journalists in an alarming trend that reflects a renewed crackdown on the local press.

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Hassan Rouhani leaves a conference in Tehran on June 29. Iran's president-elect called his win in national elections this month a vote for change. (AP/Office of the President-elect)

Rouhani can take steps to improve Iran press freedom

After eight hellish years for Iran’s journalists under outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the election of Hassan Rouhani was welcomed with hope for a better future. As soon as he takes office in August, he should act on his view and take steps to protect journalists in Iran.

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Journalists in exile 2013

Somalis, Syrians flee violence; Iran crackdown deepens Fifty-five journalists fled their homes in the past year with help from the Committee to Protect Journalists. The most common reason to go into exile was the threat of violence, such as in Somalia and Syria, two of the most deadly countries in the world for the profession.…

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Iranian authorities target Internet, media before elections

New York, June 13, 2013–Iranian authorities have intensified their crackdown on the Internet, including on media outlets and journalists, in the days leading up to Friday’s presidential election, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Several opposition websites have reported being briefly hacked, while Google issued a statement on Wednesday that said tens of thousands…

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Authorities are cracking down on election coverage by censoring the press. (AFP/Behrouz Mehri)

Iran restricts international coverage of election

Some authoritarian governments try to hide their targeting of the press, but not the Islamic Republic of Iran. Officials there brag about it. Ahead of Iran’s presidential election Friday, they have much to brag about.

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News outlets targeted in Iran amid run-up to elections

New York, June 10, 2013–The Iranian government is attempting to deprive Iranian citizens of meaningful news coverage by blocking several news websites in the run-up to the country’s presidential elections on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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In Iran, news coverage stifled amid election controversy

New York, May 21, 2013–Internet access has slowed, critical websites have been blocked, and several journalists have been summoned back to prison in Iran as the country’s Guardian Council made a key decision today barring two leading candidates from the presidential election. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the broad efforts to deny Iranian citizens…

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Video: CPJ panel on Iran, with Jon Stewart, Maziar Bahari

Check out the full video of “Censorship and Power in Iran,” a panel discussion on imprisoned journalists in Iran that was held on May 8 at the School of Visual Arts in New York. The panel, featuring Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari and CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon and moderated by political satirist Jon Stewart, was…

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2013