In August 2024, Iranian journalists and media experienced a month filled with significant events, coinciding with the official inauguration of the fourteenth government in the country. During this month, the issuance of prison sentences against journalists increased more than fivefold compared to the previous month, with at least 18 journalists and media outlets experiencing judicial and security confrontations. Additionally, the judiciary and security agencies of the Islamic Republic violated the legal rights of journalists in at least 12 instances.
August was a challenging month for independent and professional information dissemination in Iran. Following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran and Israel again teetered on the brink of direct war. The controversial Paris Olympics took place, a widespread strike by nurses in various cities recorded a new phase of simultaneous protests, and the Arbaeen pilgrimage coincided with an extensive media campaign surrounding it. Additionally, the anti-Afghan campaign on social media, which had begun months earlier, experienced a new turning point, while the increase in kidnapping, assassination, armed robbery, and insecurity in Sistan and Baluchestan became some of the most frequently reported news from the province.
August 2024 began with the continued imprisonment of at least eight journalists and media activists in Iranian prisons. Vida Rabani, Shirin Saeedi, Nasrin Hosseini, Parisa Salehi, Saba Azarpayk, Kamiar Fakoor, Rouhollah Nakhaei, and Yashar Soltani began the month in prison. In the middle of the month, the execution of Foad Sadeghi’s prison sentence increased the number of imprisoned journalists and media activists in Iranian prisons to nine.
The Defending Free Flow of Information (DeFFI) prepared its August report based on 22 newly documented cases by the organization’s researchers. According to these press cases, between August 1, 2024, and August 31, 2024, 18 Iranian journalists and media outlets experienced judicial and security confrontations in 22 separate cases. The number of judicial and security confrontations with journalists and media outlets in August increased by three cases compared to the previous month.
Just one day before the beginning of August, the inauguration ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian was held, officially marking the start of his presidency. With the rise of a reformist president in Iran, hopes for improvement in press freedom indicators and a reduction in disruptions to the free flow of information in the country increased. However, in the first month of Masoud Pezeshkian’s government, the suppression of Iranian journalists and media continued, and no significant change was observed in the mechanisms of press suppression.
On Journalists’ Day in Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian agreed to the request from the Tehran Association of Journalists to “withdraw complaints filed by governmental institutions against media personnel.” The new ministers of Oil and Education also announced that complaints previously registered by their ministries against Iranian journalists and media outlets would be retracted.
However, in the past month, following the official inauguration of the fourteenth government in Iran, judicial and governmental authorities filed complaints against seven journalists and media outlets, leading to legal cases against them. During this month, the governor of shush lodged a complaint against Mehdi AleKasir, a journalist from Khuzestan, while Iran Shah Medical University filed complaints against Sheida Hassanzadeh and Mohammad Yasin Jalalzadeh. The courts in Tabriz summoned Fatemeh Gholipour in three separate cases within a week, and the prosecutor in Isfahan filed charges against Masoud Sepehr, the editor-in-chief of Bouirnews.
On the last day of August, following the controversial presence of Mohammad Reza Aref’s son at the introduction meeting for the Minister of Industry, several journalists took to social media to report that the introduction ceremony for the Minister of Communications was held without the presence of journalists. They noted that the exclusion of journalists from this meeting was carried out at the directive of Mohammad Reza Aref.
Based on the documented cases by the Defending Free Flow of Information, in August, political and press courts, as well as judges of the judiciary, issued indictment orders or prison sentences against journalists and media outlets in 11 instances. During this month, at least three journalists were collectively sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison while one other journalist was detained to serve a prison sentence.
In August, the issuance of prison sentences against journalists increased more than fivefold compared to the previous month. In July, judicial courts sentenced four journalists in separate cases to a total of two years in prison, 40 lashes, and 28 million tomans in fines.
In the early days of August, Foad Sadeghi was arrested and transferred to prison to serve his issued prison sentence. A few days later, Mousa Assef Al-Hosseini, a judge in the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj, sentenced Omid Faraghat, a journalist residing in the city, to six months in prison. In the middle of the month, Elaheh Mohammadi, a journalist for Ham-Mihan newspaper, and Niloufar Hamadi, a journalist for Shargh newspaper, were each sentenced to five years in prison at the Tehran Court of Appeal.
According documented cases by DeFFI, the security, judicial, and governmental authorities of the Islamic Republic violated the legal rights of journalists who faced prosecution in at least 12 instances in just the past month. In eight cases, press trials were held behind closed doors and without the presence of a jury. In two cases, journalists were physically assaulted; in one case, the professional equipment of a journalist was confiscated without a judicial order; and in another case, the exile of a journalist and human rights activist continued despite the completion of their sentence.
In the most alarming event of August, Ejlal Qavami, a journalist residing in Sanandaj, was attacked by individuals armed with knives on the evening of Wednesday, August 29, 2024. After being injured, he was transferred to the hospital.
Additionally, in August, the sealing of the Farda-e-Eqtesad studio continued for two months. Informed sources told DeFFI that despite attempts by the management of Farda-e-Eqtesad to lift the seal, the Economic Security Police of Tehran refused to do so. According to the sources: “Although the office of Farda-e-Eqtesad and its editorial team have not been sealed and journalists from this media outlet have access to social media and the Farda-e-Eqtesad website, the sealing of a media studio effectively amounts to its suspension. Therefore, the activities of Fardae-Eqtesad have been halted until the status of the studio is clarified.”
Similar to previous months, in August, “spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion” was again the most frequently attributed charge against journalists and media outlets, appearing in 12 cases. “Propaganda against the regime” was cited three times, and “conspiracy and collusion with the intent to act against national security” was mentioned twice as other charges against journalists and media in press cases.