BBC complains to UN about Iran’s harassment of journalists

The BBC has filed an urgent complaint to the UN against Iran’s government over “escalating actions and threats” toward its journalists at its Persian service and their families.

The broadcaster said Tehran has been targeting UK-based BBC News Persian journalists and their families in Iran for more than a decade, but there has been a “concerning increase in harassment and security risk” over the past year.

“There have been escalating actions and threats, including an asset freeze which penalizes the journalists and their families, online harassment, gendered attacks on women journalists and death threats. It must stop,” said Liliane Landor, senior controller of BBC International News and director of the World Service.

She urged the UN “to continue to condemn Iran for their unacceptable treatment of our BBC News Persian colleagues.”

BBC News Persian journalists say in the past year, they have faced increased security concerns for themselves while their families in Iran have been harassed more often.

Despite being banned in Iran, BBC News Persian reaches a weekly global audience of almost 22 million people, including around 13 million in the country.

This is the third complaint in five years filed by the BBC to the UN against Iran’s government. The first was in October 2017, and the second in December 2019.

Iran ranked 174 out of 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index.