Many NGOs agree that Iran is one of the worst places in the world to be if you are a journalist. Iran currently imprisons the second most journalists in the world, second only to Turkey. As of December 1, 2013, thirty countries were holding at least one journalist prisoner, including the United States. The number of journalist prisoners Iran holds, 35 as of December 1, 2013, has actually decreased since 2012. In 2009, Iran imprisoned just over 20 journalists, but by 2012 they had incarcerated nearly 45 journalists. Iran maintains stringent controls over every aspect of media. In 2010, Iran banned the sale of any books that had received a publishing license prior to 2007. In 2012 one of the largest publishing houses in Iran had its operating license revoked. Television and radio broadcasting are directing controlled by the government, and satellite dishes are illegal. The government regularly bans media coverage of international sanctions, oppositional leaders, and criticism of the country’s nuclear policy. In addition to specific controls such as these, the government has some very vague rules in place that can be implemented in just about any case of media coverage the authorities do not find favorable. Journalists can be prosecuted for “mutiny against Islam,” “insulting legal or real person who are lawfully respected,” and “propaganda against the regime.” Many social media sites are also blocked in Iran, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
It appeared that there was hope for the situation in Iran during the presidential race of 2005, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ran on promises to fight corruption and redistribute wealth to the poor. Once elected, however, Ahmadinejad launched an ultra-conservative administration that actually tightened governmental controls in many arenas, which led to a decrease in civil liberties and even stricter morality laws.
In addition to the egregious restrictions placed on media coverage and journalists, religious, gender-based, sexual and intellectual prejudices are prevalent in Iran. Converting from Islam to another religion is punishable by death. Scholars can be detained, intimidated or forced to retire for expressing their own political views. Women are barred from studying many fields at university, and are widely regarded to be worth about half of what one man is worth. A woman’s testimony in court is regarded with only half the weight of a man’s testimony. Similarly, the damages awarded to a female victim are routinely half of that awarded to a male victim. People who are accused of a crime and arrested may be refused legal counsel and may be tried in closed sessions. Iran’s penal code is based on Sharia, which mandates the death penalty for a wide range of offenses; consequently, Iran executes more people than every other country in the world except for China.
In 2013, Freedom House gave Iran a 6 Freedom Rating, a 6 in Civil Liberties, and a 6 in Political Rights. The scale ranges from 1 to 7, 7 being the worst. The media in Iran is absolutely “not free” according to Freedom House. In 2013 there were only six countries less free than Iran, according to Freedom House, one of which is North Korea. Iran did manage to be the least free state in all of the Middle East and North Africa, which is generally considered to be the world’s least free region. I was mildly surprised by just how bad it is for media in Iran, but I can’t say that I was taken aback by any means. I knew there were extremely limited free speech and civil liberties in Iran, but after doing some research I know more specific details about how these liberties are limited.
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