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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Iran Media Crackdown - Arabasadi (TV)
HEADLINE: Under Pressure, Iran’s Journalist Refuse to be Silenced
TEASER: Iran is jailing record numbers of journalists in an effort to silence its critics. Experts say it’s not working.
PUBLISHED AT: 05/04/2023 at 1 pm
BYLINE: Arash Arabasadi
CONTRIBUTOR: Mary Cieslak, Ihar Tsikhanenka
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mary Cieslak, Gary Jaffe
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs;
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AFP; AP;
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 3:39
NOTE: NO ACCESS VOA PERSIAN
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR’S NOTE: Package part of Free Press Matters TV package originally for Inside Story.))
[[INTRO: In nearly six months of unrest in Iran, the regime turned to wholesale jailing of dissenting voices and threats to media overseas. But some experts say those tactics have lost their power to instill fear. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.]]
((NARRATOR))
Six months of civil unrest after a young woman’s death in the custody of Iran’s “morality police.”
((NARRATOR))
In September of last year, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested for what the Islamic Republic described as “immodest attire.” Tehran released a video claiming to show Amini collapse in custody and blamed the fall for triggering a fatal heart attack. Her family disputed that account in an interview with VOA.
((NARRATOR))
Almost immediately, nationwide anger became worldwide condemnation of Iran’s harsh treatment of Amini and countless others like her. In response, Tehran began jailing journalists critical of the regime.
((NARRATOR))
Iranian journalist and media advocate Yeganeh Rezaian watched from Washington as the government turned up the heat.
((For radio: Yeganeh Rezaian works for the media freedom group, the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ))
((Yeganeh Rezaian, Committee to Protect Journalists))
“In multiple cases we at the Committee to Protect Journalists were in touch with lawyers who are representing these journalists and their families. And one morning we wake up, and our source is gone, because the lawyer, himself, was arrested and thrown in jail.”
((NARRATOR))
The Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ documented nearly 100 media arrests from the end of September — when protests began— to early January. Of those, half were women.
((Yeganeh Rezaian, Committee to Protect Journalists))
“Based on our annual research in 2022, at the end of the year, not only Iran became the biggest jailer of journalists in the world, but it was also the biggest jailer of women or female journalists.”
((NARRATOR))
Those arrested are accused of charges from vague anti-state activity to espionage, a crime punishable by death.
((NARRATOR))
But it’s not just inside Iran’s borders, as Rezaian says Iran looks to silence its critics abroad… like VOA Persian Host, Masih Alinejad.
((Masih Alinejad, VOA Persian Host))
“The Islamic Republic hired three criminals from Eastern Europe. They were clearly part of a criminal syndicate. They were hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me on U.S. soil.”
((NARRATOR))
But that was just one attempt.
((Masih Alinejad, VOA Persian Host))
“The Islamic Republic actually tried to kidnap me first. The FBI stopped the kidnapping plot, and they charged four people, one of them--Niloufar Bahadorifar--is right now in prison. She received four years’ prison sentence.”
((NARRATOR))
Alinejad says she isn’t deterred by Iran’s attempts to reach her in the U.S.
((Masih Alinejad, VOA Persian Host))
“I tell myself that I have two options: to feel miserable every single day, or to make my oppressors feel miserable. Honestly, I choose the second one and that makes me so powerful. Because look, I'm only 45 kilos, you see that I'm not even carrying a weapon, but they are scared of me. They’re scared of millions of Iranian women like me who say no to them.”
((NARRATOR))
Back in Washington, Rezaian says that although Iranians no longer fear the regime like they once did, the threats and following violence remain very real.
((Yeganeh Rezaian, Committee to Protect Journalists))
“And I fear for them. But I’m glad that they’re brave, and they’re not afraid of telling the truth. They are not afraid of covering their own country at its realities.”
((NARRATOR))
Iran’s permanent mission to the UN did not respond to VOA’s request for comment. But the Islamic Republic recently announced the pardoning of tens of thousands of Iranians arrested since protests.
((Arash Arabasadi, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington
Embargo DateMay 5, 2023 03:54 EDT
BylineArash Arabasadi
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English