Reporters Withour Borders released this report on 25 June on the current state of press freedom in Iran:

Reporters Without Borders today condemned a parade of Iranian demonstrators being shown on a loop on state-run TV confessing to having protested at the behest of foreign media.

All demonstrators make their confessions using the same words that have opened the nightly news bulletin for the past week: “Bismillah, al-rahman al-rahim. I admit that I demonstrated under the influence of the BBC, the radio Voice of America and other foreign media”.

The confessions are aired at every hour of the day and night to show Iranians the extent to which those disputing the presidential election were persuaded by western agents to take part in an “orchestrated plot” against the Islamic Republic of Iran, confirming the words of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“These methods are aimed at denigrating foreign media, who are already facing huge obstacles to their work and whose journalists and contributors are exposed as a result to the threat of violence from supporters of the regime,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said.

Iranian journalists are also still being demonised and 180 of them on 23 June wrote an open letter addressed to Iran’s leaders and people, protesting at the “deplorable and critical” state of Iran’s media and calling on the authorities to respect the constitution, and to lift bans slapped on journalist so they can do their job of informing the public. “This harassment and intimidation prevents us from doing our duty”, the 180 signatories said.